2006-10-19
Mr Acting Speaker Knight took the Chair at 10 am.
Mr HENDERSON (Tourism): Mr Acting Speaker, I report to the House on an important new program that is being rolled out through the Territory to assist indigenous individuals, businesses and communities wanting to get involved in tourism. It is called Stepping Stones for Tourism. The Stepping Stones program is gaining increasing recognition nationally as the pre-eminent tool for assisting indigenous people interested in starting tourism businesses. It is a program that the Northern Territory has taken a lead in developing.
The Stepping Stones program is designed around 10 footprints. Each footprint represents an important step in the planning of an emerging tourism business or project. The success of the program that I will illustrate in a moment comes from the fact that each of these 10 steps can be easily understood and has a proven record to work across age, literacy, and language differences. It is simple, yet powerful. With a little work, these 10 steps can be built up into a business plan or proposal document to help win further support and investment.
Let me give a few examples of Stepping Stones in action. In Kakadu National Park, Stepping Stones was used to explore ideas for new tourism products. One of those has become Murdudjurl the family-owned business that runs cultural tours and a safari camp used by Billy Can Tours.
In the Centre just north of Alice Springs, the Lynch family at Black Tank has found the Stepping Stones program immensely helpful. Already experienced in running cross-cultural awareness programs, they have their own vision for starting up a tourism business. As Veronica Lynch said: ‘We want to focus on our family and get most of our families working and not just sitting down on CDEP’.
Here in the Top End, a group of Yolngu women at Bawaka south of Nhulunbuy are using Stepping Stones to help plan a tourism program especially for groups of women travellers.
Recently, we have heard how the Gurindji people are wanting to tell their story to visitors. They are also using Stepping Stones as their planning tool to develop their Gurindji Heritage and Visitor Centre. These are just a few of the indigenous tourism measures that Stepping Stones is assisting.
As members will be aware, there has been much talk about the future viability of Aboriginal communities, as well as the need to find meaningful work and economic activity on Aboriginal land. It can be talked about easily, but making real progress is about doing the hard work, sitting down and working through the options and helping people realistically understand what is involved. Stepping Stones is a practical tool that aims to achieve that.
Under the guidance of the Northern Territory’s indigenous tourism strategy, the Tourism Development Unit of Tourism NT is leading the way to see Stepping Stones used for a myriad of business ideas that are emerging. Many people are just starting to think about tourism. Some come with specific ideas which have real potential; other ideas can be poorly formed or unrealistic. Other groups want to help in entering discussions with potential partners. It is hard to service this demand.
Tourism NT’s undertaking at the moment is to support those who help themselves. Of course, this is not just about individual businesses. Traditional owners of those Territory parks that are coming under joint management arrangements will be sitting on boards making key decisions about tourism in these areas. Stepping Stones is also going to be used as a key planning tool to help better integrate tourism planning into the new directions for the parks. Indeed, the Stepping Stones program has already been used at Rainbow Valley to help traditional owners plan for the sustainable use of an important Territory tourism asset. What is important about Stepping Stones is that it encourages those involved to take charge, to formulate their ideas clearly, and maintain strong ownership of plans they have developed themselves.
Stepping Stones has been developed because it has been recognised that enterprise developments and mentoring approaches sometimes are not sufficient on their own for developing indigenous tourism. People also need time and space to discuss what tourism means in relation to aspirations for land, culture and family relationships. The development of stronger futures for indigenous people in tourism is fundamentally important for indigenous economic and social development in the Territory as a whole, and this program is an important part of our platform to invest in the future.
Stepping Stones for Tourism has been rolled out in the Territory through a partnership between Tourism NT, Charles Darwin University and the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism. The partnership has involved the training of facilitators to conduct programs throughout the Territory.
I commend this program as an excellent example of research addressing urgent and practical needs of the issues we are currently facing. I would like to note, for the record, the national leadership that the Territory has shown in this area. I look forward to report to this House in the future on progress we are making in indigenous tourism development.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Mr Acting Speaker, what a fiery caucus meeting it must have been yesterday. This government and the Chief Minister have been well and truly under the pump when it comes to indigenous affairs. She now has six indigenous members of this parliament. Everyone knows they are cranky with her. Everyone knows that they are talking, leaking documents, and so on. That is why, miraculously, at 9.30 this morning, an indigenous policy statement arrived.
It must have been a lovely meeting yesterday when the indigenous members and others on their side - and we reckon we have the sides pretty much worked out, remembering that the member for Wanguri, demoted recently by the Chief Minister, and the member for Millner, the famous memo member for Millner, were at the footy together. Thanks for that, member for Stuart. There is a theory floating around that the member for Wanguri wants to stay very friendly with the member for Millner. He probably helped him write the memo. This is part of the member for Wanguri’s leadership bid. Isn’t it astounding that we have this statement on indigenous tourism when the Chief Minister is at pains constantly to talk about mainstreaming. She does it in the case of women: ‘No need to have specific women’s stuff because they are all Territorians’ and when things get tricky with indigenous stuff: ‘Oh, they are all Territorians, we do not need anything specific’. One wonders what the Office of Indigenous Policy does; that is the question on everyone’s lips. It remains unanswered.
Notwithstanding the very good things that people in tourism - indigenous or not – do, we welcome any initiative in the Territory because tourism is so important to us. The importance of tourism is one thing, but the importance for all Territorians to watch the manoeuvring of the member for Wanguri and his six Aboriginal members of parliament cannot be underestimated either. We note the sudden burst from the blocks on indigenous matters. We look forward to debating this issue because the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory has nowhere to go.
The member for Millner was humiliated and had to do a grovelling apology. Everyone knows he just did not mean it. No doubt the member for Wanguri is stirring him up all the way along. Yesterday’s caucus meeting must have been fantastic. They would have said to the Chief Minister: ‘You have to talk about indigenous stuff. Let us restore what little credibility we had’. What a laugh!
Members interjecting.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON (Tourism): Mr Acting Speaker, I do not know whether it was a full moon last night, but it is going to be an interesting day today ...
Ms Carney: Don’t you want her job? Yes, you do!
Mr HENDERSON: The contribution that the Leader of the Opposition has just made goes to show what a sad, pathetic little runt that the once great Country Liberal Party now is. One of the greatest things that occurred at the last election in the Northern Territory is that this House is now representative of the people of the Northern Territory. To have more indigenous members of parliament than members in the opposition is a great testament to this party and our representation of the people across our great Northern Territory.
Ms LAWRIE (Planning and Lands): Mr Acting Speaker, the Northern Territory’s diverse multicultural community is an important part of our great Territory. Multiculturalism is something we should all be very proud of. The Martin government has backed multicultural Territorians with increased funding through our generous grants program run through the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
In 2006-07, the government is spending $2.25m on multicultural affairs in the Territory. Now we are going one step further by making serviced land blocks available to not-for-profit community organisations and incorporated groups such as migrant groups.
Late last month, the Department of Planning and Infrastructure advertised tenders for a project to create and service six blocks for community use inclusive of a cul-de-sac and construction of a full water main. The release of Stage 1 of Section 445, Hundred of Bagot, will create a five-lot subdivision for community use on the southern side of Batten Road in Marrara.
The Territory government periodically releases serviced land in Darwin to accommodate requirements for community organisations. With little Crown land left available in the northern suburbs, we saw it was desirable to locate community activities in one area so they do not adversely impact on residential areas.
As most members in the House will be aware, Batten Road is currently the home of community halls for some of our multicultural groups: the Kalymnian Brotherhood, Cyprus community, Portuguese-Timorese, the Filipino-Australia Association, to name a few. It makes good sense for the land released to also be developed by other multicultural groups. In anticipation of this subdivision, several blocks are already under application and will be considered through due process.
I am pleased to inform the House the Thai Theravada group will use one of the blocks to build a temple and residence for its monks. Balai Indonesia has also expressed interest in establishing a community hall for the Indonesian community on another block.
I am pleased to say that the Thai Theravada are already successfully fundraising to build their temple and their monks’ residence. The group estimate that their project will cost $1m to build over three stages. It is always heartening to hear of community groups that use their own resources to build and maintain their premises. The Thai Theravadas have the full support of the Thai government in this project. I have met on several occasions with the outgoing Thai Ambassador. The monks are already resident in Darwin and the Thais are already praying, through the Theravada style of Buddhism, with the monks who are here.
The tender for this land release closed yesterday after the normal four-week submission period. The department is currently assessing the tenders, as per due process. I look forward, over the coming weeks, to being able to announce the successful tenderer to lay the headworks that will see an important land release of blocks on Batten Road for multicultural groups to expand in the Territory.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Acting Speaker, I am not sure whether this is a report from the minister for Lands or Minister for Multicultural Affairs. If it is minister for Lands, then I am glad she is continuing to release land. Hopefully, the land will be cheap enough for community groups that are hard pressed to fundraise, and the land is going to provided as government’s contribution to multicultural communities building their local club facilities. That will be a very good thing if it continues the very good work that the Country Liberal Party has done in support of the multicultural communities in Darwin and the rest of the Territory for many years.
The work that the multicultural communities in Darwin promotes the ambience in Darwin that is unique, when you compare what other towns and cities across the country have to show. When people come to Darwin, the first thing they say to me when they get off the plane is: ‘The first thing we noticed is the smell of Darwin; it smells so Asian, so very different to the rest of Australia’. I believe that is the unique part of Darwin, that we are close to Asia and we have the same, not only in weather and environment, but also in the people environment. If the government can continue to support multicultural communities with cheap, not free, land to build their club premises, that would be a good step forward.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the minister for her announcement of opening up some land in my electorate; that is wonderful to know. It is good that the government is providing land for community groups; that is an important role of government. I have a couple of question I would like to ask. What is the government’s intention for the future of Batten Road? For a number of years, I heard there was a move to join Abala Road, where the Marrara football stadium and other sporting activities are held, with Batten Road as an alternative means to exit what is normally a very difficult place to exit, especially when there are interstate football matches occurring. The other thing is that, whilst it is good to hear that the government is giving land to community groups, I once again say you can also do something similar for the people of the Sundown Caravan Park.
Ms LAWRIE (Planning and Lands): Mr Acting Speaker, I thank members opposite for their contribution. Certainly, the land will be affordable, shadow minister, for the multicultural groups. In the example of the Thai Theravada, the Chief Minister announced a land grant; that is, it is a government contribution to their aspirations. We are not charging them for sale of that land; it was done as a land grant. I cannot say what will be the case for future applications. They will each be dealt with on their merits. However, the Chief Minister’s announcement to the Thai Theravadas was very warmly received by the Thai community. I note that the Cambodian and Laotian communities will also benefit from this project, because the Theravada is their style of worship as well.
Regarding the link of Batten Road to Abala Road, there are no plans to provide that link. There are very good reasons why it would not be suitable to provide the link. I am happy to provide you with a briefing on that. The alternative means of exiting from the Marrara Sporting Precinct is on the government record. We will be building a road to create a new exit, if you like, down the Italian Club side of the Marrara precinct, and that is on our forward works program.
Dr BURNS (Health): Mr Acting Speaker, when we came to government in 2001 we had a commitment to provide health services for all Territorians. Since that time, we have been responsible for a 64% increase in health funding. This commitment was recognised by the federal government in March this year, when they signed off on funding for their 2004 promise to set up a National Trauma Centre in the Northern Territory. This followed intensive negotiations by the Northern Territory government to ensure that Canberra’s promise benefits all Territorians.
The decision to establish the trauma centre at RDH recognises its world-class reputation as a facility capable of dealing with large-scale critical incidents. RDH was chosen following its involvement in the treatment of the victims of the first Bali bombings. Since then, RDH has also been involved in other regional disasters and mass traumas, such as the second Bali bombing and the unrest in East Timor earlier this year.
The funding agreement we negotiated with the federal government covers a multitude of items, including clinical support and support staff, capital equipment purchase, and capital works. It will provide an expanded capacity in the Burns Unit, enhanced accident and emergency facilities, upgrading of operating theatres, emergency stocks of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, incident-ready X-ray and imaging services, and aeromedical retrieval readiness. An agreement will be forged with another centre to provide opportunities in disaster response training and support for RDH during an emergency. The funding will also be used to train health professionals across the Northern Territory in disaster response and trauma management. Royal Darwin Hospital has already been raising its trauma capacity by recruiting an anaesthetist, a maxillofacial surgeon, a trauma surgeon, an emergency physician and a plastic surgeon.
Earlier this year, I announced progress with the appointment of two key positions at RDH National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre. Dr Frank Plani from South Africa has been named as the Chair of Trauma Medicine. Dr Plani was a senior specialist surgeon and deputy head of the Johannesburg Hospital Trauma Unit, and a senior lecturer in surgery at the University of Witwatersrand. He was also a trauma surgeon at Milpark Hospital, Johannesburg, and Director of the trauma unit at Union Hospital, Alberton. Dr Plani worked in Italy and Zimbabwe before moving to Johannesburg in 1984. He has been involved in developing programs in advanced trauma life support, definitive surgery of trauma care, and national trauma management.
The second position is Associate Professor of Disaster Response and Preparedness, which will be taken up by Dr David Cooper from New South Wales. Dr Cooper is a specialist emergency physician and Fellow of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. He is currently the Director of the New South Wales Health Counter Disaster Unit and State Medical Controller. Dr Cooper is a senior lecturer in emergency management at Charles Sturt University, and also heads the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific at the University of Sydney. He was previously the Acting General Manager/Medical Director of the Ambulance Service of New South Wales. Dr Cooper has been involved in national policy development and initiatives such as the Australian Mass Casualty Burn Disaster Plan. He was also involved in both Bali bombing incidents at an operational level.
Dr Cooper will take up his appointment next month, while Dr Plani is expected to commence early next year. Both doctors are eminently qualified and bring a wealth of national and international experience to the Territory hospital network.
We have an excellent record in recruitment and retention of doctors in the Territory, with over 96% of our hospital doctor positions filled, despite national and international shortages. We have also increased the number of medical specialists by 9.73 FTE, or approximately 10% over the 2005-06 financial year.
On behalf of this House, I am pleased to welcome Drs Cooper and Plani to the Territory team. I am confident their expertise will be invaluable as we continue to establish the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Acting Speaker, I join the minister in welcoming our two new specialists to the Northern Territory. I hope that they will also share some of their expertise down the track in Alice Springs where, I am sure, many of the specialists would value contact with them and to share in their knowledge and skills.
It is good to see the establishment of the disaster centre at the Royal Darwin Hospital. Obviously, we need to be able to respond to the disasters that seem to be occurring more and more frequently in our region.
However, isn’t it good, though, that the Country Liberal Party, the member for Solomon, David Tollner, and the Country Liberal Party Senator for the Northern Territory, Nigel Scullion, are working so hard to deliver dollars to the Northern Territory to ensure that this government, so unable to manage the budget, gets extra funding to get better facilities? The federal government, only this year, according to your annual report, has provided you with something like $40m extra money. Are you not glad that you have CLP members of federal parliament getting money for you? I hope, minister, that you will actually go to the federal members and thank them for their effort, and do that without being churlish about the whole thing. Go out there, thank them for their efforts, because they have delivered for the Northern Territory where you cannot. Look at it – your oncology services is another one. The federal members have been able to deliver the service for you. You should be thankful that they have done that. Go out there and say thank you to them.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Speaker, I note the minister said when he started his statement how wonderful the record on health spending by this government was in the Northern Territory and how you had negotiated this package with the federal government. However, minister, you have withdrawn funding from Farrar. Your argument is that the Commonwealth government should fund Farrar. CLP members say it is your role. You have still withdrawn the funds. Minister, I simply would like to ask the question: considering that you have funded it for the last five years, what negotiations have you held with the Commonwealth government to keep that after-hours bulk billing clinic open? Have you attempted, in any way, to make sure there could be funding before you decided to close it?
Dr BURNS (Health): Mr Acting Speaker, starting with the member for Nelson, funding has not been withdrawn. In fact, there has been doubling of funding for community health services in the Palmerston region.
As I have said in the House before, the provision of bulk billing GP and after-hours services is a Commonwealth responsibility. I have written to minister Abbott on this issue. I did try to meet with him when I was in Canberra for the Police Memorial a couple of weeks ago. He was not available, but I will be looking to meet with minister Abbott to put forward the case that one of his round-the-clock Medicare grants should be going to Palmerston.
On the issue which the member for Greatorex has raised, firstly, I welcome his bipartisan approach to welcoming the two new eminent appointees who are coming to the Territory. However, regarding the rest of it, let me put on the record that we will work cooperatively with the Commonwealth, but we will ensure that the Territory’s interests are well safeguarded in that. Of course, we thank the Commonwealth, but we should always remember that Royal Darwin Hospital copped the brunt of the first Bali bombings. I suspect the Commonwealth government looked at that and said this is a good place to invest.
Reports noted pursuant to standing orders.
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr STIRLING (Justice and Attorney-General): Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of the bill is to provide for the implementation in the Northern Territory of model national legal profession legislation. This model legislation was developed by the Standing Committees of Attorneys-General (SCAG) to achieve nationally consistent regulation of legal practice. Every state and territory has enacted, or will in due course enact, similar legislation to the Northern Territory.
The new legislation will make it easier for lawyers to practice across state and territory borders by removing current regulatory differences between jurisdictions. The legislation is also designed to reduce regulatory overlap. The result will be the elimination of inefficient business practices. This will serve the interests of lawyers, their clients, and regulatory bodies.
The bill, based on the model bill provisions, provides for: a uniform standard for law degrees and practical legal training, and Australia-wide recognition of those qualifications; uniform rules dealing with trust accounts and fidelity funds; uniform definitions of misconduct which will prevent lawyers who have been struck off or penalised in one jurisdiction from simply moving to another jurisdiction to practice law; standardised requirements for disclosing information on legal costs for clients, ensuring both clients and lawyers will have the same understanding of their rights and obligations regardless of where they live or practice in Australia; and a nationally uniform system governing the entitlement of foreign lawyers to practice the law of their home country in Australia.
The model bill originated from a 2001 SCAG decision to develop model laws to facilitate legal practice across state and territory jurisdictions. SCAG has worked closely with the Law Council of Australia in developing the model bill, and these model provisions form the bulk of the provisions of this bill. It is pleasing to note that the Law Society Northern Territory has been an active participant in the development of the national model bill, and has also given invaluable support in developing the provisions dealing with local issues. I wish to record the government’s appreciation to the Law Society for the substantial contribution it has made to this project.
The model bill includes a set of core uniform provisions that jurisdictions have agreed are to be enacted word-for-word in each of the jurisdictions. These are the provisions necessary to ensure that the same rules apply to most day-to-day activities of persons practising law, and there are common and consistent outcomes for activities that may be the subject of regulation by two or more states or territories.
This bill contains nearly all of the core uniform provisions. The main exceptions are two trust account provisions, which are to be contained in the Northern Territory Regulations.
Additionally, this bill contains core non-uniform provisions for which there is agreement to enact provisions adopting the principles contained in them. Jurisdictions have not committed to word-for-word enactment of them, but have agreed to enact provisions that have the same meaning. This bill contains all of these provisions and, as a general rule, adopts the wording in the model.
Finally, the model bill contains suggested or non-core clauses for most of the other standard areas covered by legal profession legislation; for example, laws relating to the processes used by courts to admit persons to the profession. Again, for most cases, this bill adopts the suggested wording.
It is anticipated that this legislation will commence operation in March or April 2007, when the regulatory and other authorities affected by the amendments have had time to establish the required new processes and procedures. Some provisions - for example the trust account provisions and the costs provisions - will not commence until a later time. The purpose of this delay is to give legal practitioners the necessary time to become familiar with the new legislation and implement any new procedures or practices that will be necessary.
I now turn to some of the key provisions of the bill. Members will be interested to note the bill runs to some 400 pages with almost 800 clauses, making it by far the largest item of legislation introduced in the Northern Territory. Members will, therefore, be pleased to hear that I propose to give only a brief overview of each major part.
Chapter 1 of the bill deals with preliminary matters, including definitions. There are some changes to terms used in the current act, developed to facilitate national practice. The main point is that once a person is admitted to practice, they become an Australian lawyer and, when they obtain a practicing certificate, they become an Australian legal practitioner.
Chapter 2 deals with the general requirements for engaging in legal practice. Part 2.1 - in particular clause 18 - reserves legal work and titles for Australian legal practitioners. This reservation protects the public and clients by ensuring that legal work is carried out only by people properly qualified to do so. This part ensures that there is a textually uniform prohibition across Australia stopping unqualified people from engaging in legal practice or representing that they are entitled to engage in legal practice.
A significant change from current practice, and one I am very pleased to be implementing, is that the executive is completely removed from the appointment of persons as Queen’s Counsel or Senior Counsel. Clause 21 provides that such appointments will, in future, be made by the Chief Justice under the Rules of the Supreme Court.
Part 2.2 sets out the process and requirements for admitting people to the legal profession. This part is designed to work with similar provisions in other jurisdictions to ensure equivalent qualifications and training requirements are recognised throughout Australia. This part also ensures that only applicants with appropriate academic and practical qualifications, and who are fit and proper persons, can be admitted to the legal profession.
Clause 31 is a new provision that provides that a person may apply to the Admission Board for an early determination of their suitability. This allows someone who has something in their past that might affect their eligibility to find out if it would prevent them from being admitted before they spend years completing a law degree. Otherwise, Part 2.2 is similar to equivalent provisions in the current act.
Part 2.3 of the bill establishes the processes for granting and renewing practising certificates. In the Northern Territory, practising certificates are issued by the Law Society. Practising certificates ensure that those lawyers wishing to practice are covered by appropriate insurance and the fidelity fund. Practising certificates also provide an easy mechanism for taking disciplinary action, including, if necessary, suspending or revoking a practitioner’s right to practice.
A person admitted as a lawyer in any Australian jurisdiction will be able to apply for a practising certificate in any jurisdiction. A lawyer must apply for a practising certificate in the jurisdiction where they principally engage in legal practice. The bill contains detailed rules for working out where that place is.
Division 5 of Part 2.3 sets out the process for amending, suspending or cancelling a local practising certificate. This can occur when the practitioner is no longer a fit and proper person to hold the certificate, no longer has appropriate insurance or fails to pay a contribution, or where the practitioner breaches a condition of his or her certificate.
Division 6 of Part 2.3 deals with show cause events. Legal practitioners who become bankrupt or are convicted of a serious offence or tax offence are required to provide details about this to the Law Society. They must explain why, despite the show cause event, that they are a fit and proper person to hold a practising certificate. This division ensures Northern Territory regulatory bodies can take swift action against practitioners who fall into these categories.
Division 7 of Part 2.3 deals with immediate suspension of a local practising certificate if it is in the public interests.
Division 8 of Part 2.3 deals with the conditions on local practising certificates. These can be imposed by the Law Society or are imposed by the act. They include requirements to: undertake continuing legal, educational or an academic training course; to undertake a period of supervised practice; and limiting the type of practice that can be undertaken by the legal practitioner.
Clause 71 provides that conditions can be imposed on a practising certificate if a legal practitioner has been charged with an offence but the charge has not been decided.
Division 9 of Part 2.3 deals with interstate practitioners practising in the Northern Territory and, in general terms, puts such persons on a similar footing to local practitioners.
Division 10 of Part 2.3 deals with miscellaneous matters, including appeals from decisions of the Law Society.
Part 2.4 deals with suitability reports. This part provides that the Admission Board and the Law Society may obtain police and health reports on applicants for admission or for practising certificates.
Part 2.5 sets out inter-jurisdictional provisions regarding admission and practising certificates. This part provides for notification action to be taken by courts and other authorities in relation to admissions and practising certificates.
Clause 107 provides that local lawyers must notify the Registrar of the Supreme Court if their name is removed from an interstate roll. They must also give notice if certain orders are made interstate, or if any foreign regulatory action is taken against them. The local regulatory bodies must take action when they receive such a notice. If a lawyer is removed from an interstate roll, the Registrar must also remove the practitioner’s name from the local roll and the Law Society must cancel their practising certificate unless there is a court order to the contrary.
Part 2.6 adopts the national model provisions relating to incorporated legal practices and multidisciplinary partnerships. The objective of this part is to ensure that clients’ rights are protected and that professional obligations on legal practitioners are not affected by the business structures they operate within. In general terms, these provisions are the same as in the current legislation.
I note, in particular, Part 2.7, which deals with legal practice by foreign lawyers. These provisions will allow registration in one jurisdiction to be recognised in other jurisdictions. These provisions are similar to the existing provisions in Part 12 of the Legal Practitioners Act.
Another important component of the bill is Part 2.8, which deals with complying community legal centres. This part is similar to the present provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act. It requires community legal centres to comply with certain provisions allowing them to supply legal services. Community legal centres provide an essential service in the Australian legal system and for the Northern Territory community. They deserve adequate legislative support and a regulatory framework that is clear, easy to follow, and which focuses on their particular needs. The bill meets these criteria and the relevant provisions, first devised in this form in the Northern Territory, are now the basis for similar provisions in other jurisdictions such as Victoria.
Chapter 3 deals with the conduct of legal practice.
Part 3.1 sets out requirements and procedures for legal practitioner trust accounts and is crucial to the uniform legal profession scheme. Currently, different trust account requirements operate in each jurisdiction. One of the aims of the model laws project is to set similar trust account requirements in all jurisdictions to reduce compliance costs. Part 3.1 generally requires that all trust money received by a legal practice in the Northern Territory be put into a Northern Territory trust account. The Law Society can enter into protocols with authorities in other jurisdictions to determine where trust funds were received. This overcomes difficulties that may arise where there are jurisdictional issues, for example, where the client is in a different state or the firm has offices in different jurisdictions.
Division 2 of Part 3.1 sets out the requirements for trust accounts and trust money. New concepts for the Northern Territory are ‘controlled money’ and ‘transit money’. Other provisions deal with protection of trust monies, prohibition on intermixing, prohibition on deficiencies, reporting irregularities, keeping records, and prohibition on receiving trust money under false names.
Division 3 of Part 3.1 deals with investigations and external examinations of law practices. These provisions replace the provisions of the current act that deal with audits. The Law Society may appoint an investigator to a law practice, and the investigator may investigate a particular allegation or matter, or investigate trust accounts on a general or regular basis. The Law Society can accredit people to be external examiners to examine the records of a trust account. A law practice must have its trust account examined by an external examiner at least once a year. The external examinations ensure that trust accounts are kept in accordance with the law, and also assist the Law Society in identifying any discrepancies in the account.
Division 4 has provisions relating to authorised deposit-taking institutions or ADIs; that is, banks. The effect of this division is that interest on practitioners’ trust accounts will be paid to the fidelity fund. This will result in a major simplification for law practices in relation to the way they handle trust monies. They will no longer be required to expend time and money in arranging for the lodging of a specified portion of their trust monies with a regulatory authority. However, the bill retains the capacity for regulations to be made so as to provide for statutory deposits. At this time, it is not intended that any such regulations will be made.
Part 3.2 re-enacts the existing Part XA of the Legal Practitioners Act dealing with advertising legal services for personal injury claims.
Part 3.3 deals with costs, disclosure and assessment. Presently, cost disclosure and review requirements differ throughout Australia. They can be located in legislation or professional associations’ practice rules. Inconsistencies in costs disclosure requirements cause practical difficulties. For example, a disclosure complying with the requirements of one jurisdiction may not meet the requirements of another. This means two or more separate costs disclosures may be required for the one matter. Uniformity will ensure that consumers receive a single set of costs information. The model bill provisions relating to legal costs ensure there are the same requirements in relation to costs disclosure and similar principles for costs assessment, but with each jurisdiction retaining its own structures and processes for cost assessment.
Division 3 of Part 3.3 deals with costs disclosure. Generally, the Northern Territory provisions will apply if a client first instructs the law practice in the matter in the Northern Territory. When the client first instructs the practice, the law practice must give the client a costs disclosure statement. This includes an estimate of the total costs, an estimate of the amount the client will be able to recover, and how the costs can be assessed.
Clause 306 provides for certain exceptions from the requirement to disclose. These include: where estimated fees are under $1500; where a client who has already received a disclosure notice from the firm has waived further disclosure; and where the client is another practitioner, a public company, the Crown, a liquidator, or where services are provided as a result of tender. As a general rule, a client will not be required to pay legal costs in respect to matters that are not being disclosed unless the costs have been assessed under Division 8 of Part 3.3. In addition to the disclosure statement, a law practice can enter into a costs agreement with the client under Division 5 of Part 3.3. The costs agreement is a binding, written contract detailing how costs will be charged and billed. A costs agreement may be enforced as a contract and can be reviewed under this part. The agreement may be set aside if the agreement is not fair, just or reasonable.
Division 7 of Part 3.3 deals with mediation of costs disputes. Under the act, arrangements can be made for mediation, including informal advice if there is a dispute over costs. Costs billed by a law practice and costs payable by a third party payer can be assessed under Division 8 of Part 3.3. When assessing the bill, a cost assessor must consider certain criteria including whether the legal work was necessary, carried out in a reasonable manner, and whether the fees charged were fair and reasonable.
Part 3.4 provides that a law practice must have approved professional indemnity insurance. The Law Society can arrange for a scheme to provide professional indemnity insurance. The part also provides for exemptions. In general terms, these provisions seek to retain the current requirements in the Legal Practioners Act and the Legal Practitions Professional Indemnity Insurance Regulations.
Part 3.5 deals with fidelity cover. Fidelity funds meet claims by consumers who have suffered financial loss due to a legal practitioner’s dishonest default in failing to pay or deliver money, or through a fraudulent dealing with trust property. The model provisions will ensure greater consistency across Australia, ensuring consumer rights to compensation do not differ between jurisdictions. However, each jurisdiction will retain its own fidelity fund and will set its own cap on claims. These caps are set having regard to the capacity of a particular fidelity fund to meet claims. Presently, the Northern Territory cap per claim event for defalcations by a single practioner is $50 000. This is expected to be increased after consultation involving the legal profession, government and the Funds Management Committee.
Division 2 of Part 3.5 establishes the Northern Territory Fidelity Fund. This fund will take over the existing fidelity fund and will replace the existing multiplicity of trust account funds, fidelity fund and public purpose fund. The fund will be managed by the Funds Management Committee. The committee is to be constituted by the CEO and President of the Law Society, a representative from both Northern Territory Treasury and the Department of Justice, and another person representing the interests of consumers.
Clause 387 provides that the minister responsible for the act can direct the committee in relation to prudential management of the fund. This will include matters such as obtaining actuarial advice in relation to the fund.
Clause 388 provides that the minister can make determinations providing for funding of the regulatory bodies for their costs and expenses in administering this act. This includes the Law Society, Admission Board, Disciplinary Tribunal, Funds Management Committee and the Statutory Supervisor. The Funds Management Committee will be required to advise the minister in relation to the costs and expenses at least once each year.
Clause 388 also provides that the minister can direct that funds be made available to community legal centres and for public purposes. However, the minister, in making these directions, is subject to rules and the regulations and must have regard for the recommendations of the Funds Management Committee. The Law Society is also entitled to income that is at least equal to the income received from practising certificate fees. These provisions are designed to ensure that the fund is managed so that there will always be sufficient monies to meet the prime purpose of the fund; namely, that of compensating clients in respect to defalcations committed by legal practitioners.
The regulations will ensure that it is only excess monies that may be used for administrative and other purposes. At the same time, these provisions recognise that it is a valid use of the fidelity fund monies that they be available to ensure the legislation is properly administered. The model for this legislation is the Agent’s Licensing Act under which, for a long time, there has been a proper balancing of various fund purposes.
Part 3.6 essentially replicates the existing Part VIIA of the Legal Practitioners Act which regulates a practitioner’s ability to carry on a mortgage practice or managed investment scheme.
Chapter 4 adopts the national model provisions relating to complaints and discipline and will achieve greater uniformity in standards applied by regulators and courts across Australia. They will also ensure that the rights afforded to complainants and lawyers are broadly compatible across jurisdictions. Chapter 4 also facilitates the mutual recognition of disciplinary action, cooperation between regulators, and the exchange of information concerning complaints.
There are a number of key concepts in Chapter 4. Professional misconduct is defined. It means conduct that involves a substantial or consistent failure to reach or maintain a reasonable standard of competence or diligence occurring in the practice of law. Unsatisfactory professional conduct is the lesser disciplinary offence and is defined as conduct occurring in connection with the practice of law that falls short of the standard of competence and diligence that a member of the public is entitled to expect from a reasonably competent legal practitioner. Certain types of conduct are capable of being unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct, and these include serious offences, tax offences, and offences involving dishonesty.
Part 4.4 sets out the provisions relating to complaints to the Law Society about legal practitioners. The Law Society can conduct a preliminary assessment and may dismiss the complaint; consumer disputes can be mediated - complaints must otherwise be investigated by the Law Society. After investigation, the complaint must either be dismissed, the practitioner fined or reprimanded, or proceedings must be started in the Disciplinary Tribunal.
Part 4.8 provides for immediate suspension of a practising certificate under some circumstances.
Part 4.10 provides for appeals to the Supreme Court against Law Society decisions under this Chapter.
Part 4.11 deals with proceedings in the Disciplinary Tribunal. The tribunal must conduct a hearing into each allegation, and such hearings will generally be open to the public. The tribunal can make various orders upon a finding of professional misconduct or unsatisfactory professional conduct. These include: removal from the roll; cancellation or suspension of a practising certificate; imposition of conditions; public reprimand; payment of a fine; or order that practise be supervised. An appeal against an order is to the Supreme Court.
Part 4.12 provides that, with the consent of the parties, a compensation order can be made by the Law Society or the tribunal.
Part 4.13 provides for publicising disciplinary action by creating a Register of Disciplinary Action by the Law Society. The register is to be available on the Law Society’s Internet site. There are some exceptions in the case of disciplinary action; for example, unsatisfactory conduct caused by a practitioner’s ill health.
Part 4.14 allows the Law Society to enter into protocols with other jurisdictions for investigating and dealing with conduct that appears to have occurred in more than one jurisdiction.
Chapter 5 provides for intervention in the business and professional affairs of legal practices, in certain circumstances, in order to protect the interests of the general public and clients of the legal practice.
External interveners can be appointed in a range of circumstances, including where the practitioner has died, ceased to be a legal practitioner, become insolvent under administration, or is in prison. The Law Society may appoint a supervisor of trust money for a law practice where there are issues relating to the practice’s trust account.
Part 5.4 allows the Law Society to appoint a manger to take over professional and operational responsibility for the practice. For instance, where the principal is sick or cannot otherwise run the practice, the manager is responsible for carrying on the law practice. The manager may transact any urgent business, operate the trust account, accept instructions from clients, and wind up the affairs of the practice.
Chapter 6 sets out the powers that can be exercised by auditors, investigators, external examinations and investigation of complaints, under the other provisions of the bill. The provisions deal with issues such as giving access to documents and information, requiring cooperation, making copies of documents, entry and search of premises and, in some circumstances, search warrants.
Some provisions of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act are applied in the case of incorporated legal practices.
Chapter 7 deals with the constitution, appointment, and functions of the Law Society, Admission Board, Legal Practitioners Funds Management Committee, Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, and Statutory Supervisor. These provisions are generally the same as in the current Legal Practitioners Act.
The important new position is that of the Statutory Supervisor. This position, which is to be held by the Solicitor-General, takes on various roles currently performed by the Attorney-General. The purpose of the change is to remove the Attorney-General as much as possible from day-to-day administrative and disciplinary issues. However, there remains the need to have some person who, independent of the day-to-day operations of the legal profession, can review certain actions of the Law Society. If necessary, this person must also be able to act as an intermediary between clients and the Law Society as a regulator.
Under Chapter 8, the Law Society will continue to be able to make professional conduct rules in relation to legal practice.
Chapter 9 deals with miscellaneous matters and contains provisions which have general application to the bill.
Chapter 10 deals with repeals and transitional matters. In general terms, the transitional provisions are designed to ensure that the law that applied prior to commencement does not have any different application because of this legislation.
The Law Society Public Purposes Trust Act is to be repealed. The effect of that repeal is that the Public Purposes Trust will no longer be regulated by legislation. The Law Society Council, as trustee of the trust, is considering winding up the trust with the monies to be paid into the fidelity fund. The result will be that the monies will be managed by the Funds Management Committee. Arrangements will be put in place so that Public Purposes Trust monies will still be available for public purposes as per the Trust Deed contained in the schedule to the Law Society Public Purposes Trust Act.
The bill is a very important piece of legislation. It is the culmination of many years work and cooperation between the governments of each state and territory in Australia, the Commonwealth government and the legal profession. Not least, it reflects the hard work and significant intellectual contribution over many years of Northern Territory Department of Justice officers. It also reflects the increasing influence of the legal profession and the legal system on all aspects of modern society. By adopting a national model provision, the Territory government is helping to achieve nationally consistent regulation of the legal profession. This will benefit practitioners and consumers alike, through clear accountability and cost processes and streamlined accounting requirements.
Mr Acting Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members and I table a copy of the explanatory statement.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the debate be adjourned on the biggest bill the Northern Territory has ever seen. I believe there are some representatives from the Law Society up there - my long vision is not as good as it should be. Yes, there are. Welcome. This is a long-awaited moment for pretty much everyone with even a passing interest in the legal profession in the Northern Territory and, indeed, this country.
Debate adjourned.
Mr HENDERSON (Tourism): Mr Acting Speaker, it is my great pleasure today to update the House on the health of the tourism industry and outline key priorities for moving forward. Firstly, I am thrilled to, once again, be Minister for Tourism.
Tourism is integral to the economic growth and prosperity of the Northern Territory, and contributes around 5% of the Territory’s gross state product. Tourism visitors inject over $1.5bn into the Territory economy, and tourism accounts for more than 14 000 jobs, directly and indirectly. Tourism also generates flow-on benefits for the rest of the economy. For every $1m invested in the Northern Territory tourism industry, an additional $1.1m of output is created in other industries.
Whilst much work has already been done, as the new Minister for Tourism, I am excited about building on the solid foundations and momentum achieved by the former Minister for Tourism, the Chief Minister. The government is committed to growing Territory tourism, and we have demonstrated this by increasing Tourism NT’s annual base funding by $10m on a permanent basis. These funds will allow us to: continue our successful destination marketing campaigns; boost our international marketing activity and presence; further develop our online capability; maintain a dedicated focus on indigenous tourism development; continue to market aviation services; attract more conferences; and support new tourism ventures. That is good news for the future of Territory tourism and ensures that tourism is properly resourced and will remain competitive into the future.
All indications suggest that it has been an excellent peak season for tourism, despite the slow start brought about by Cyclone Monica. Results of recent national and international visitor surveys indicate positive growth in holiday visitors to the Northern Territory, particularly from the domestic market, and USA and European marketplaces. In fact, domestically, the Northern Territory is outperforming all other states and territories which, collectively, experienced a downward trend in interstate holiday visitor nights. This increase in both interstate and international holiday visitation indicates that Tourism NT’s brand and marketing campaigns are hitting the mark.
The national visitor survey for the year ending June 2006, which provides information on domestic visitor travel, shows that compared to the year ending June 2005, interstate holiday visitation to the Territory increased by 7.6% to 341 000 visitors. This is the highest estimated year ending June interstate holiday visitation reported since data collection commenced in 1999. Interstate holiday nights to the Territory also increased by 7.3% to 2 600 000 nights, whilst the average length of stay remains stable at 7.8 nights.
The international visitor survey for the year ended June 2006 also shows positive signs for the tourism industry, indicating international holiday visitation to the Territory increased by 9% to 335 600 visitors compared to a 2.1% decrease experienced nationally. The survey also showed international holiday nights increased by 3% for the year. However, the average length of stay in the Territory and holiday expenditure both fell slightly.
Whilst we are, obviously, very pleased with the results, the warning bells nationally are being noted; that is, Australia as a country is currently experiencing a decline in both the international and national markets. We have been able to increase our market share and we are working hard to maintain that in what, I might add, is a highly competitive market. We are doing this by using our money innovatively and creatively to maximise our return on investment. It is important to grow awareness of the Territory as a unique holiday destination but, more important, to convert that interest into visitation and sales of Territory tourism products.
I acknowledge the efforts of my Chief Executive of Tourism, Maree Tetlow, and her team for their persistent and clever work in keeping one step ahead of our competitors. This government will not become complacent. Maintaining our good progress will be a challenge, but we will monitor the situation closely and put in place strategies that will ensure Territory tourism remains strong and resilient from market fluctuations.
Many operators are reporting strong bookings through to November, with numbers expected, as usual, to drop as we approach the new year. I am determined to look at ways of extending the shoulder season and encourage more domestic and international visitors to this part of the world. This is a key priority for me as the new Tourism Minister.
Shoulder seasons provide the greatest opportunity for growth, and the opportunity is certainly there to bring more people here. There is plenty of accommodation and many tourist attractions are still open for business. One initiative in this regard is Territory Discoveries’ NT on Sale campaign which has been running for four weeks now. Territory Discoveries is the government’s commercial wholesaling arm. The objective of this tactical campaign is to stimulate bookings and drive visitation beyond our traditional peak tourism period. The beneficiary will be the Territory tourism operators whose businesses start to slow at this time. Although running only since 1 September 2006, to date we have already had bookings in excess of $600 000 and initial campaigning sales are 76.3% up compared to the same period last year.
$27m of Tourism NT’s current budget is allocated to holiday marketing activity, with another $1m to business tourism. I am pleased to say that we have been able to direct more dollars to marketing as a result of Tourism NT’s $10m increased annual budget allocation. To extend the season beyond October, we will continue to work with regional tourism associations and run campaign activities under the Share Our Story banner. Involvement from regional tourism associations is pivotal in ensuring our intra-Territory marketing is focused and our messages are consistent. I am looking forward to working in partnership with them to achieve our aims.
Marketing the Territory as a tourism destination is only one element to building and maintaining a sustainable and prosperous tourism industry. Equally important is the capacity to deliver on visitor expectations through the provision of infrastructure, products and services. There is also a strong need to strengthen our competitive edge. This is paramount, particularly operating in a global environment that is challenged by an ongoing rationalisation within the aviation sector, and the consequential impacts on consumer confidence as a result of war, terrorism and disease.
Attracting tourism investment is also a key focus of the Territory government. Investor confidence in tourism appears solid, with over $157m and $59m to be invested in Darwin and Alice Springs respectively. This will result in a mix of refurbishing and/or building new hotels and serviced apartments, delivering additional rooms, building new cabin, budget and luxury tented accommodation, as well as campground facilities.
Only last month, I attended the reopening of the Aurora Alice Springs Resort following a $2m upgrade and refurbishment of hotel reception facilities and rooms along the Todd River front. I commend Ian Drummond on his foresight and commitment by investing in the future of Central Australia’s tourism industry.
Other examples of private sector tourism investment which will have a major impact on our economy include:
the proposed Desert Oaks Wilderness Lodge being built by Australian Pacific Touring in partnership with Kings Creek Station. The lodge will feature 10 four-star deluxe tented cabins located on a special remote section of the station amongst desert oaks. It is expected to be open for business in 2007;
Gilligan’s Backpacker Resort being built in Gap Road, Alice Springs, at an estimated cost of $35m. This significant development replacing the former Melanka Lodge, will incorporate a four-star hotel and five-star backpacker accommodation;
another major development for Alice Springs is the All Suite Apartments to be managed by a well-known national chain. This will built on South Terrace, overlooking the Todd River;
the recent announcement of the sale of Mirambeena Tourism Resort to the TOGA Group demonstrates TOGA’s ongoing commitment to Darwin and their confidence in its future. This will be their second property interest after the Medina Apartments to be built as part of the Darwin waterfront development; and
the luxury chain, Peppers Retreats, Resorts and Hotels, announced Seven Spirit Bay as their first Northern Territory property to be added to their suite of luxury properties around Australia. It will be known as Peppers Seven Spirit Bay.
These examples of strong investor confidence are encouraging, but not enough for long-term sustainability - ongoing investment is what is needed. This is particularly important for regional areas of the Territory in order to stimulate economic growth and provide jobs for Territorians. With almost 800 000 holidaymakers visiting the Territory during 2005 spending over $1.5bn whilst here, and with visitor numbers forecast to grow at a conservative average annual rate of 2.6%, the time to act is now.
Tourism has the potential to be the mainstay of the Territory’s economy. Its competitive advantage lies in its natural and cultural assets. We need to leverage this advantage and develop new or enhance existing tourism product, particularly indigenous tourism product, to meet the growing consumer demand for culture and nature-based experiences.
The Territory is rich with natural assets that are predominantly on indigenous-owned land or within jointly managed national parks. In short, indigenous Territorians are the major shareholders of the Territory’s best natural assets. We need them to actively engage with tourism opportunities. This is integral to the success of achieving status as a leading nature and culture tourism destination, and to the growth and success of the Territory tourism industry as a whole. The Territory is seen worldwide as a destination to learn more about a fascinating culture and we need to capitalise on this, but at a pace suitable to all stakeholders. We need to ensure that it is achieved with the full support and wishes of our indigenous Territorians.
I had an opportunity last month to speak at the Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference in Alice Springs. What a fantastic forum this was, and will continue to be for building and strengthening indigenous tourism across Australia. This conference reconfirmed to me as the new Minister for Tourism that developing this sector is all about our indigenous people creating a sustainable economic future for themselves by tapping into the demand from holiday visitors for genuine indigenous cultural experiences.
I am determined to continue with the government’s support for indigenous communities and individuals who have a desire to develop these experiences and get things moving. I am keen to continue the dialogue and work with land councils, Aboriginal associations and indigenous communities to help them identify and develop product. It is these partnerships that drive our indigenous tourism strategy. I am strongly committed to supporting indigenous Territorians in their desire to create a brighter future for communities and children.
The government’s indigenous tourism strategy is important. It sets out a path for achieving a sustainable indigenous tourism industry in the Territory. This strategy recognises that indigenous tourism enterprises can only be sustainable if the community wants these projects and are aware of the work involved in getting them up and running.
I acknowledge the efforts of the Indigenous Tourism Development Unit within Tourism NT. This unit consists of four dedicated staff, led by their manager, who work tirelessly with indigenous communities and individuals across the Territory in assisting them get their products off the ground. In the last 18 months, we have seen five new indigenous tourism ventures start up across the Territory, and I am told that we can expect another five to open their doors by June next year. It is as a result of Tourism NT’s $10m increased annual budget allocation that we can continue to maintain a dedicated focus on indigenous tourism development.
Gunya Titjikala, south of Alice Springs, is a shining example of how a remote community, together with a joint partner, can develop a top quality tourism product on their land. There are luxury tents overlooking the desert, the type of product that appeals to the high yielding, spirited traveller, supplemented by guided bush tucker and hunting tours. It truly is an authentic indigenous cultural experience. Looking at the successful business model of Gunya, it is without reservation that I can say there is significant potential for indigenous people to embrace the tourism sector. It is a natural mix, one which will see more and more people demanding genuine indigenous cultural experiences.
My commitment to tourism will see immediate focus on encouraging sustainable indigenous tourism products around the Red Centre Way, within the Daly River region and Groote Eylandt. I congratulate the Anindilyakwa Land Council on the construction of the Dugong Beach Resort at Second Beach, Alyangula, an $18m development scheduled to open in July 2007.
The dedication and hard work needed, however, should not be underestimated. A complex path lies ahead and there is much to do. However, it is achievable, and Anangu Waai in Uluru is a perfect example of that. A wholly-owned indigenous product offering cultural tours, bush tucker walks and talks, it employs people from nearby communities and has won several Australian and international tourism awards. It is recognised as the most successful Australian indigenous tourism product, a shining example for all. Anangu Waai, which incorporates Anangu Tours and Uluru Camel Tours at the Rock, have expanded their business through the purchase of Frontier Camel Tours, Milky Way Caf and, most recently, Desert Tours and Transfers - all in Alice Springs.
It is all about real jobs and real opportunities for indigenous Territorians and, as Minister for Tourism, I make a personal commitment to keep the momentum up. I recognise that Australian indigenous culture is a fundamental asset for our tourism industry. Indeed, tourism is one of the few industries that can provide tangible benefits for Aboriginal people within both urban and remote Australia.
Another fundamental component, critical to tourism growth in the Territory, is the development of our aviation capacity. This is especially so for international air access, not only in the number of seats available, but competitive pricing and scheduling. Attracting airlines is a complex business, one which is particularly challenging, given that the Territory’s small population does not readily align with the airlines’ commercial imperatives. The challenge ahead remains: convincing airlines to consider services to small population-based destinations with a vibrant tourism industry such as ours. The $10m increased annual budget allocation to tourism will enable us to maximise opportunities to market new and existing airline services.
I share concerns expressed by members of the community about the increasing number of Jetstar services replacing traditional Qantas routes. There has been quite a bit of speculation on the topic; however, I encourage us all to focus on the benefits: the daily services and increases in seat capacity. In saying that, I make a commitment to continue to work with Qantas to bring other benefits to the Territory; for example, reduced fares into Darwin from our long haul markets in the United Kingdom and Europe. I want to ensure that the Territory is not disadvantaged in any way as a potential first port of arrival in Australia. I have raised my concerns with Mr Geoff Dixon, CEO of the Qantas Group. We will continue to work with Qantas to resolve these concerns.
We must also look for and realise opportunities to work with both mainstream and low-cost airline carriers in overseas markets to promote Darwin as the first point of entry on an Australian holiday. Given the success of the direct charter flights into Central Australia from Japan which, since the first charter flight touched down in 2003, has delivered more than 3500 Japanese travellers to Central Australia, we will continue with these charters and look forward to expanding offerings into the Top End. The Japanese market continues to grow in importance for the Northern Territory, and these charters provide a boost for the tourism industry, drive economic growth and keep the Territory moving ahead.
Tiger Airways, the dominant and very successful low-cost carrier in the Asian region, commenced services between Darwin and Singapore on 19 December last year, bringing an additional 720 international seats per week into Darwin. With their connections in 13 other ports throughout Asia, they provide the greatest opportunity to promote Darwin as the low-cost gateway to Australia, and to increase visitors to the Territory from nearby Asian markets. Tiger Airways also provide an excellent alternative means of travel to the Territory for the budget conscious European market. This is especially important for the Territory’s backpacker sector, as it provides another avenue to encourage working holidaymakers to come to Darwin as their first port of entry for their Australian holiday experience.
We will continue to work with Tiger Airways to leverage visitation from the Asian marketplace, with further marketing campaigns in Singapore, Thailand and China. Whilst other tourist destinations are targeting the mass Chinese travel market, we are taking a more considered and targeted approach to this market, and will continue to identify new methods to target the high-yielding segments of this market. Whilst this may take longer to result in significant visitation, it does allow time for the Territory industry to develop the products and services to deal with the market and improve its profitability.
Given the rise of the Internet as an information gathering and travel booking tool by consumers, increased efforts will be made to ensure industry operators respond to this trend and build their e-marketing capacity. We know that 75% of our spirited travellers use the Internet when planning a holiday, and that, of the 700 million adult Internet users globally, approximately 10% are accessing the Internet on a regular basis specifically for travel and planning purposes. Our online tourism strategy will also be refined and strengthened to ensure the Territory maintains its competitive position amongst similar destinations. Work is also under way to improve Territory Discoveries’ online capabilities and provide consumers with more options in the future.
It is the $10m increased annual budget allocation to tourism that will enable us to bolster our online capability. As Minister for Tourism, I am delighted with our achievements in redeveloping the consumer website, travelnt.com. It incorporates the use of Google maps, a new online mapping solution, a first for any Australian destination website. The site also features a host of new functions to make navigation and searching easier. Visitors to the site can search through over 1100 listings for Territory tourism operators. Since the launch in mid-August, the site has received over 135 000 visits. This redevelopment positions Tourism NT as a leading destination marketer that is responsive to global trends.
There is more to come, and I am excited about planned upgrades over the next 12 to 18 months. The site will be translated into key foreign languages, including German, Italian, French, simplified Chinese and Japanese. It will feature a new look and a more experience-based content, including multimedia and video, greater functionality, better search capabilities, and improved menu and user-friendly navigation tools. The redevelopment of this award winning site will improve travelnt.com’s capacity to capture people’s awareness and encourage them to visit the Territory; that is, convert people’s interest into actual visitation. It is initiatives such as this that will see the Territory keep pace with consumer trends and expectations.
Another area where we are keeping pace is the highly competitive business tourism market. The $10m increased annual budget allocation to tourism will enable us to continue our efforts to attract more conferences in the business tourism market. During the last financial year, Tourism NT bid for, and won, 41 business events for the Territory. These events will take place between 2006 and 2008, and will be held in Alice Springs, Darwin and several regional areas across the Northern Territory. It is estimated that these events will inject over $7.6m into the local economy. Even more exciting, negotiations are under way for another 45 events through to 2010. Things are certainly looking bright for the business tourism section.
However, we cannot slow down. Increasing global competition, where rival destinations are offering cash incentives to secure business events, means the Territory must be clever in challenging our rivals. We can achieve this by using the Territory’s uniqueness and value for money experiences to gain a competitive edge. It is through this that we will be able to elicit emotional responses from the business tourism market and drive them to action to choose the Territory as their business event destination. We will focus on securing the types of business events that offer the greatest return on investment, given our current aviation and business tourism infrastructure capacity.
We will also focus on raising awareness within the local tourism industry about the benefits and expectations of the business tourism market and the long-term commitment required in securing business that may not be realised for up to three years. This is particularly important for the Top End, given the scheduled opening of the Darwin convention centre in 2008.
The Territory government’s $144m investment in the waterfront precinct and convention centre will provide a major boost to tourism in the region, and help make Darwin, absolutely, a destination in its own right. The Chief Minister was only down at the waterfront last week to see the convention centre take shape as giant steel beams were lifted into place.
Tourism delivers economic and social benefits through wealth generation and job creation, and it is the key driver of regional developments. In order to articulate the visions, strategies and priorities for the Territory’s tourism industry for the next five years, we will work over the next 12 months to develop a strategic plan to guide sustainable tourism growth. We will work closely with industry to ensure that the plan highlights critical areas for attention, significant change or ongoing support, especially in regard to infrastructure and investment. I am keen to expand our tourism products in the Territory and build new business and employment opportunities.
The strategic plan will also rely heavily on input from our Tourism Advisory Board, which is, in my opinion, one of the best tourism boards in Australia. The board, chaired by Grant Hunt, has the right balance between local knowledge and outside experience, and has a great combination of skills that I am confident can provide me with the best advice for building the tourism industry into the future.
The signs for the tourism industry are very positive, but there is still more to do to move Territory tourism ahead. I am pleased to be taking on this portfolio, and I look forward to building on the excellent foundations and progress made to date. As the new Minister for Tourism, I reinforce my commitment to building a strong, sustainable tourism industry, one which will deliver real economic and social benefits for all Territorians.
Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the minister for making this statement; it is timely. Of course, tourism is very important. How pleasant it is to hear from the member for Wanguri. Since his demotion, we have heard so little from him, so it is good to hear his dulcet tones. I note with great interest that he said he was pleased to be Tourism Minister. I do not think so. After the ministerial reshuffle six or seven weeks ago, he would have gone home feeling none too pleased.
I remember when the Chief Minister gave herself the portfolio of Tourism - I think she was minister No 4. There was the member for Nhulunbuy first, then I think there was a member for Wanguri, then the member for Johnston, and then it was the member for Fannie Bay. The timing was interesting with that too, because it was not too far away from the Territory election. Of course, tourism is a really people friendly, people intensive - if you like – portfolio. You go to lots of functions - I was shadow minister for a while - and you meet a lot of people. For the Chief Minister, no doubt - although her tactics are increasingly being called into question these days by her own colleagues - the tactic, obviously, at the time was to get the Chief Minister out and about so that she could cultivate as many votes as possible.
Regarding the next election, although it is several years away, I will make this prediction: that the Chief Minister will hold the portfolio of Tourism at the next election, and the Chief Minister at that time will be the member for Wanguri. I have said before that I want the member for Fannie Bay’s job as well, and I look forward to the member for Wanguri being the next Chief Minister so that he can continue to act in the role of Tourism Minister. I hope, for the sake of the industry, that this term of parliament we do not go through as many Tourism Ministers as we did in the last term. Every time we stood up, we wondered who was going to be the next person on their feet. Good on you, member for Wanguri, hang on to it, as I am sure you will - and I am sure you would be very keen to hang on to it in the same way that the Chief Minister would be equally keen to hang on to her present job.
Turning to some of the matters in the statement, there are a number of matters contained therein. Some, of course, do not require comment, but some do. The minister will be aware, as any member of parliament and anyone involved in the tourism industry is, of speculation that Qantas may pull out of the Territory. I have spoken to John Cason from Qantas and others repeatedly about this. It is a concern. The minister will know the Qantas office in Alice Springs is closed. John Cason told me why that was. In this day and age with increasing bookings on the Internet, on the one hand, you can understand why that is. On the other, no one likes to see any company, whether they are national icon or not, close their office in regional centres such as Alice Springs. Therefore, although the minister said that he had spoken or made a representation to Geoff Dixon, one wonders how vigorously this government has pursued it. I ask him very genuinely to do whatever he can to ensure that Qantas stays in the Territory.
Of course, the oft used expression is that the Territory is the ‘nt’ in Qantas. I think that Paul Everingham coined that phrase about 20 years ago. There are all sorts of stories about what Everingham used to say in the event that Qantas ever thought about pulling out of the Territory. There was a joke going around that Qantas would change its name to just be Qaas or something like that, because the NT would be removed. We, as Territorians, should put that argument to all and sundry every time we hear a whisper about Qantas because we are the ‘nt’ in Qantas.
I would like to hear more from the minister on that. Territorians, one and all, would appreciate an assurance that this government will fight tooth and nail to ensure that Qantas stays in the Territory. Perhaps, in his reply, he could advise what is being done by the commonly referred to aviation ambassador - it has another title, but Peter Roberts the aviation person. One wonders what is being done in that very formal sense to ensure that Qantas stays in the Territory.
I note that the minister talked about business tourism, with all the talk of the convention centre, tour group numbers, and the waterfront, it is obvious that the Territory has a huge stake in the Darwin and Alice Springs convention centres. The critical factor, however, will be to ensure that other Australians and international visitors can get to the Territory - yet another reason why we should encourage Qantas to stay here.
I note that the minister referred to business tourism. What he did not say was that in figures recently released - I think on 13 October 2006 by Tourism Research Australia - business travel in the Territory had gone down by 17% in the year ending 2006. Business tourism down 17% is very significant. I ask the minister, in his reply, to comment why that was not included and why there was not specific action to address it. I wonder what might have been the causes of that decline. Of course, Qantas changing the make-up of its service in the Territory and removing business class from some of its flights is an issue that directly links into business tourism. I do not, for a moment, suggest that business tourism is down because there are no business class seats but, for many, that will be regarded as a factor. It is important that, if we are as the Territory selling ourselves as a sophisticated jurisdiction, we would naturally expect people to fly here business class. I do not stress that overly strongly, but it is certainly something I would like government to keep a very close eye on and, to the extent that it is possible to improve matters, I ask on behalf of any Territorian that government do what it can.
Intrastate travel: the minister, similarly – based on the Tourism Research Australia figures released on 13 October - did not refer to a significant and probably alarming development: a decline in intrastate visitations. That is down year ending 2006 by 22%. A 22% reduction in intrastate visitors is significant. Similarly, the overnight trips is down by 5% - not an enormous number, but down in any event.
I think the minister said in his statement - it may have been in reference to business tourism but it is an interesting comment anyway. He rattled off the good things that were being done and said we cannot slow down. I suggest to him that, based on the 17% reduction in business tourism, the 5% reduction in overnight trips of Territorians elsewhere in the Territory, and the 22% reduction in Territorians visiting elsewhere in the Territory, does not support the statement ‘we cannot slow down’. Rather, it suggests he should speed up matters because, if those figures continue, they will have a reasonably significant impact.
I note that this minister, like his opponent, the Chief Minister, touched upon indigenous tourism. His efforts in that regard cannot, in any way, be regarded as anywhere near as desperate as those of the current Chief Minister. However, he talked about indigenous tourism. The federal government’s contribution or efforts in indigenous tourism should not be forgotten, although it is the way in which this government works that clearly demonstrates that they always conveniently forget to refer to it. The federal government is actually doing some quite good stuff in tourism generally, as well as indigenous tourism.
One federal program, for instance, is the Business Ready program for indigenous tourism. The Business Ready program aims to address key barriers to the successful development of indigenous tourism businesses; namely, the lack of management, business and strategic planning skills. Mentors have been placed throughout communities and are working with indigenous groups to encourage sustainable and successful business opportunities through tourism. That is a great initiative and I am sure one that the aspiring Chief Minister would support.
One sure way of encouraging the indigenous tourism industry is through crocodile hunting safaris. On this front, the CLP has been well and truly in front. Be it in Canberra or the Territory, the CLP has been the loudest voice of dissent, calling for the federal minister for Environment to reconsider his decision not to allow controlled crocodile hunting in the Territory. The numbers of crocodiles in our waters have been increasing since bans on hunting were introduced in the early 1970s. We are seeing more crocodiles than ever being removed from our harbour, and with five deaths being recorded in four years, clearly, there is no entrenched fear of people, in particular areas at least. Safari hunting would allow for a different form of employment to appear in remote Aboriginal communities, one I would have thought would be a particularly attractive proposition to indigenous members of the government.
Just like the sounds of silence emanating from the government on airlines - and this government has had a pretty poor history with airlines. I do not have the figures in front of me but, last time I looked, the airline access to the Territory has declined under this government.
I ask the minister in his reply to give an indication as to what his position is in relation to crocodile harvesting and hunting. I may be mistaken and, if I am I apologise, but I cannot recall the minister coming out publicly and stating his position. This may well be an opportunity for him to do so, just for the sake of the Parliamentary Record. I suggest that this government must look outside the traditional backpacker markets for continued growth and value adding to our tourism potential.
An example of this government’s failure to seize real opportunity was the Chief Minister’s knee-jerk reaction to Senator Nigel Scullion’s proposal to revisit a Cannonball Run-style event in the Territory. Senator Scullion has put an idea on the table that does have some merit or, at the very least, should be investigated. Yet, the minute the current Chief Minister found out about it, as usual, she shot from the blocks and put her foot in it and said: ‘No, no, no, we cannot possibly have it’. We know that she did not even ask her colleagues. Maybe that is another reason why they are so unspeakably unhappy with her. A detailed analysis and assessment is what the Chief Minister should have committed to, instead of dismissing it outright. Her immediate dismissal of the concept suggests that this is yet another demonstration of how she makes things up on the run - and one need only refer to her performance in the indigenous areas portfolio for further evidence of the fact that she does that. It is a Cannonball Run-style proposal, potentially another massive money spinner for the Territory, and it was extremely disappointing that the Chief Minister, with the member for Wanguri hot on her heels, knocked it on the head before she spoke to her colleagues, let alone other Territorians. It smacks of arrogance.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Can I just halt you there, Leader of the Opposition. I advise honourable members of the presence in the gallery of Year 9 students from Nightcliff High School, accompanied by Lucy Murrel. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to our visitors.
Members: Hear, hear!
Ms CARNEY: Mr Acting Speaker, for the benefit of the young people who have joined us today, we are not so much debating, but are talking about the importance of tourism in the Northern Territory, something I am sure many of you will be interested in - perhaps some of your friends and family work in the industry. Tourism is, indeed, a critical part of life for all of us here in the Territory.
I had said that one of the unfortunate aspects of what the minister was talking about before, was that he did not talk about the fact that there are some troubling trends in the Northern Territory in tourism.
Intrastate - which meant Territorians visiting from one place in the Territory and going to another - has fallen at the financial year ending 2006 by 22%, which is fairly significant. If you live in Darwin, you might want to go to Alice Springs; similarly, your Year 9 counterparts in Alice Springs might want to travel to Darwin. One asks, as one is entitled to do - as any Territorian is entitled to do - how government can assist people travelling more throughout the Northern Territory? I say that for the benefit of those who have recently joined us, Mr Acting Speaker.
Returning to where I was, there are a number of matters that would have been considered. We were talking about the Cannonball Run, the Cannonball Run-style of event. That might be of interest, member for Blain, to young Territorians. Many of them will not be old enough to remember the original Cannonball Run, but Senator Nigel Scullion, that sensational Senator for the Northern Territory - that fantastic CLP Senator, Nigel Scullion, living legend himself - came out only a couple of months ago and he wanted right thinking Territorians to give a little thought to the possibility of a Cannonball Run-style of event. Although not the current Chief Minister - and this is by way of an aside, I admit - the current Minister for Tourism actually wants the Chief Minister’s job. He would have been really unhappy when, after the CLP Senator Nigel Scullion said: ‘As mature individuals that we are, let us all talk about the possibility of a Cannonball Run’, the Chief Minister did not even talk to her colleagues, the Tourism Minister, or anyone else for that matter - she just knocked it on the head. That is why so many of her colleagues are really unhappy with the Chief Minister at the moment. If you stay around the parliament long enough, you will be able to pick up the full extent of their unhappiness.
I will tell you what: people should really keep their eye on the member for Wanguri. I cannot mention his name, but he is a big bloke. He sits over there. He is the Tourism Minister and he wants the member for Fannie Bay’s - I cannot mention her name, but you will know her, she is pretty famous - job. I look forward to hearing from him, because I might invite him - for the purposes of putting it on the Parliamentary Record - to state his position; whether he wants the Chief Minister’s job. That is okay, because I want the Chief Minister’s job too, being the Opposition Leader. I know …
Ms Lawrie: You will not get it!
Ms CARNEY: I may never get it, member for Karama, but that is okay, because the member for Wanguri is prepared to do just about anything to get it. In fact, the member for Wanguri - there he is, so how interesting for them.
In any event, I look forward to the most interesting race in the Northern Territory, which is the race between the member for Wanguri and the member for Fannie Bay. In any event, the young people there, I am sure, would be very interested in hearing from the Chief Minister - sorry, current Minister for Tourism - about the Cannonball Run.
A Cannonball Run-style event can have the advantage of bringing in massive income for the Northern Territory. When we are looking at declines in interstate visitations by 22%, in overnight trips by 5%, and in business tourism to the Territory, year ending 2006, down 17%, you have to get really smart as a government - any government, it does not matter what side they bat for - and they have to think, how they can pick up these figures and, not just steady the ship, but do better than other jurisdictions, given that tourism is so vitally important to all of us in the Territory.
By way of an illustration, millions of Americans have been able to experience Kakadu National Park live via a webcam that was beamed on to the big screens at New York city’s famous Grand Central Station. That was a clever idea; it was fantastic. Why should we not, as Territorians, flog our wares to international visitors? The fact that United States citizens were beamed live Kakadu National Park at Grand Central Station is the sort of innovation and creative thinking that needs to continue and be stepped up if we are to preserve our fundamentally important tourism industry.
The 24-hour real-time webcam has been developed by Tourism Australia, with the support of Tourism NT, Kakadu National Park, and the traditional owners of Kakadu. These cooperative programs must continue between all levels of tourism enterprises because the rewards are worth the efforts. By launching the Kakadu webcam in New York city’s busy Grand Central Station, millions of the city’s commuters were exposed to what Australia’s nature experiences have to offer via the big screens located in the terminal. It is important to recognise that, in an environment such as New York city, the appeal of nature-based experiences with international visitors is a jewel in the crown of the Northern Territory, and innovative marketing campaigns such as that at Grand Central Station need to be further developed in cooperation between all stakeholders, including Tourism Australia, Tourism NT, and local and indigenous tourism providers.
Tourism today is competing for the consumer dollar. More Australians are buying plasma TVs, heading overseas, or holidaying instead of camping in a national park - or certainly in the Territory - seeing other parts of our great Northern Territory. There is, clearly, a need for some finetuning. I take this opportunity of congratulating everyone at the Northern Territory Tourist Commission. They are very hard-working, creative and a dedicated group of people. With strong leadership - and by that I mean leadership from government and the man who thinks he has so much of it, the aspiring Chief Minister, the member for Wanguri - tourism can do even better in the Northern Territory.
However, in order for it to do better, we need to not only learn from our current successes, but also from those areas where we have failed. We need to prepare ourselves for increased visitor numbers and focus on developing sustainable tourism. If you look at places such as Alice Springs with the enormous infrastructure problems they have - there was a federal government White Paper a couple of years ago, a very extensive review of Australia’s tourism industry, when Joe Hockey was the minister. Actuaries were employed to project how many tourists were going to come to Australia. The main market was, from memory, China. I cannot remember the figures off the top of my head. However, they projected that some 10 million people from China would come to Australia.
If you look at a place such as Alice Springs - and I am not suggesting for a moment that 10 million people are going to rock up at Alice Springs - there is a limit to how many tourists can be accommodated in that town. We only have a certain number of rooms and campsites for a night; therefore, there does need to be a very long-term analysis of how we in the Territory are going to cope with tourism. If you look at Tennant Creek, for instance - and I am sure the member for Barkly would agree – it needs all the help it can get. We have to be creative again in tourism opportunities in Tennant Creek. Katherine tends to be up and down. No one can help the flooding, of course, but all of us would be aware that, after the last Katherine flood, other Australians who might have previously been thinking about moving or holidaying there decided - and I hear this from people in Katherine – to go somewhere else.
The regions are particularly important, and I am pleased the Minister for Regional Development is here. The work involved needs to be from departments such as his working closely with tourism. I do not know what side that minister is on in the leadership stakes, but I ask him, regardless of who he is barracking for in the leadership competition, to put whatever differences he may have to one side and work constructively with the member for Wanguri.
The long-term sustainability and development of the tourism industry is critical. There is too much riding on tourism in the Territory for a slack approach. I know the Minister for Tourism is an ambitious fellow, so I am sure he will be trying his best. I do believe that. It is critical that he tries his best as he needs, in the next few months, to impress his colleagues like he has never impressed them before. I am sure he will be pulling out all stops to show them that he is leadership material just as the ad used to say.
With those comments, thank you, minister - aspiring Chief Minister - for bringing this statement on today. I very much look forward to hearing from other members of government, in particular the Minister for Regional Development, to hear what they have to say about doing what we can for areas such as Tennant Creek and Katherine, and whether the government has given any consideration to the impact of tourism in Alice Springs as well.
Ms Lawrie interjecting.
Ms CARNEY: I can hear mumblings from the member for Karama. Word is that a deal has been done with the members for Wanguri and Karama whereby she has been promised the position of Deputy Leader provided that the member for Wanguri gets the top job.
Dr Burns: You swap all the time over there.
Ms CARNEY: When you are in an opposition of four, you are pretty much bulletproof, so you cannot …
Members interjecting.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order!
Ms CARNEY: It does not matter, I kid you not. Am I relaxed? Absolutely. Are you guys relaxed? No, not at all. We look forward to the entertainment you are providing. Thank you for it very much, indeed. I cannot wait to come back for the next sittings where I can watch your body language all over again. You are a sight to behold.
Debate suspended.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: I advise honourable members of the presence in the gallery of the Parliament House Public Tours program visitors. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to our visitors.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Mr Acting Speaker, on behalf of the Chief Minister, I nominate Wednesday, 29 November 2006, as the next day on which precedence will be given to General Business, pursuant to Standing Order 93.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the Assembly at its rising adjourn until Tuesday, 28 November 2006 at 10 am or such other time and/or date as may be set by Madam Speaker pursuant to Sessional Order.
Motion agreed to.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Mr Acting Speaker, I table the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report 2005-06.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Mr Acting Speaker, in accordance with section 9 of the Financial Management Act, I am pleased to table the 2005-06 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report. The fiscal statement forms part of the 2005-06 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report and presents the Territory’s fiscal performance for that year. The report satisfies the requirements of the final fiscal results report set out in the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act. In addition, the unaudited section provides a summary of the key financial performance of agencies and government business divisions for 2005-06.
The highlights of the 2005-06 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report are: a general government cash surplus of $40m, a $108m improvement on the original 2005-06 budget and the fourth consecutive cash surplus; a general government accrual nett operating surplus of $27m, the first such surplus since the introduction of accrual accounting in 2002-03; significant underlying growth of 11% in general government own source revenue due to an increase in business activity and confidence; significant capital spending of $477m on the Territory’s infrastructure, an increase of 15% on 2004-05; a significant reduction in nett debt for the non-financial public sector to $1594m, $149m below the high of $1743m recorded back in 2001-02; and when measured as a percentage to revenue, both nett debt at 48%, and nett debt plus employee liabilities at 112% are again the lowest since the introduction of accrual accounting.
Turning to detail for the outcome for the 2005-06 financial year. In the 2006-07 budget, this government revised the 2005-06 cash target to reflect the change in timing of the investment in the Darwin waterfront development. The 2005-06 outcome of a $40m cash surplus is $108m higher than budgeted in May 2005, and $87m higher than the revised estimate published in the May 2006 budget. This is now the fourth year in succession that a cash surplus has been recorded, indicating that achieving a balanced outcome in 2008-09 remains achievable.
The $108m cash improvement since budget time was the result of the $237m increase in operating receipts being only partially offset by increased nett spending of $129m. The $237m increase in operating receipts were predominately due to: $21m additional GST revenue following a small increase in the national GST pool available for distribution; increases in taxation revenue of $81m, about two-thirds of which are the result of one-off stamp duty receipts, and one-third due to increased economic activity; $80m increase in specific purpose payments from the Australian government, largely the result of the finalisation or renegotiation of agreements, predominately for education and health related grants; and transfer of responsibility for indigenous housing from the Indigenous Housing Authority of the Northern Territory to the Northern Territory government resulting in additional revenue of $39m.
Payments were $129m higher due to: an additional $56m expenditure relating to the increase in specific purpose payments from the Australian government; indigenous housing expenditure, associated with the transfer of responsibility to the Territory, $23m; new and expanded initiatives across government of $18m; one-off legal settlements costs of $17m; other non-discretionary costs across a range of agencies of $37m; and lower nett capital spending of $22m, largely as a result of the timing of payments for the Darwin waterfront development.
Capital investment plays a central role in the government’s budget strategy as it is essential for the delivery of government services and contributes to the economic development of the Territory. In 2005-06, capital spending, including Territory Housing and Power and Water Corporation, increased by $63m from 2004-05. This increased expenditure predominantly relates to improved education infrastructure, strategic transport-related projects, and the bringing forward of $25m of capital grants for sporting and cultural facilities.
I turn to the 2005-06 accrual outcome. The operating surplus of $27m is the first operating surplus since the introduction of accrual accounting. This result would have been even better without the effect of the reassessment of the superannuation liability that occurred in 2004-05 and flowed through to 2005-06 and future years. This increase largely accounts for the variation in the cash and accrual outcomes since May 2005. The fiscal balance deficit of $51m was a $34m improvement on the May 2005 budget, and $78m on the May 2006 revised estimate. This was predominantly a result of the improved operating result and the change in timing of capital spending.
Both the improved nett operating balance and the fiscal balance outcomes suggest that this government’s fiscal target of a balance by 2012-13 remain achievable. This is despite substantial capital investment over the next couple of years in projects such as the Darwin waterfront development. While the general government sector is the appropriate sector to focus on for the operating and cash flow statements, the non-financial public sector is the focus for analysis of the balance sheet; that is, the Territory’s assets and liabilities.
I turn now to the balance sheet outcomes for the non-financial public sector. Nett debt of $1594m in 2005-06 has reduced by $62m since 2004-05, and is now at its lowest level since the high point of $1743m in 2001-02. When measured as a percentage to revenue, the 2005-06 outcome of 48% represents a 6% reduction on the 54% recorded in 2004-05, and a 19% reduction on 2001-02 levels. This reduction in nett debt incorporates the effect of the Territory raising a nett provision of $16m against investments held in the railway in the event that they cannot be recovered. This provision has increased nett debt and reduced nett worth by $16m, but has had no effect on general government outcomes. The raising of the provision is in line with actions taken by all other investors, and will be the subject of ongoing review.
Unlike other accrual measures, nett debt plus employee liabilities is affected by the upward movement in the Territory’s superannuation liability that occurred in 2004-05 and has flowed into 2005-06. Despite this, nett debt plus employee liability for 2005-06 was $3753m, a decrease on the 2004-05 outcome of $24m. When measured as a percentage of total revenue, the 2005-06 outcome of 112% represents a significant reduction on the 134% recorded at 30 June 2002. This improvement demonstrates the government’s target of nett debt and employee liabilities to revenue to fall is being achieved and is testament to the fiscal responsibility of this government.
The Territory’s nett worth has also continued to improve. Nett worth is $260m higher than 2004-05 as a result of continued upward movement in the valuation of the Territory’s asset base, and improved cash outcomes. The Auditor-General has issued his usual two-part audit opinion on the financial statement, with the technical qualifications still existing in relation to compliance with Australian Accounting Standards, as has been the case since 1999. The Territory continues to comply with the Uniform Presentation Framework requirements rather than Australian Accounting Standards. Work is now advanced nationally to merge Uniform Presentation Framework and Australian Accounting Standards, with the likelihood that the new merged formats will be applied from 2008-09. Until then, that technical qualification will remain.
In addition, this year, the Auditor-General has also issued a qualified opinion on the carrying value of certain utility assets contained in the books of Power and Water Corporation. As the Power and Water Corporation is consolidated into the whole-of-government numbers, this qualification has flowed through to the whole-of-government financial statement. This qualification is fairly technical in nature and surrounds the methodology used by the corporation in valuing its asset base under new International Financial Reporting Standards. The corporation will be reviewing its methodology in 2006-07 in order to align more closely with these new reporting standards.
Before completing, there are two technical accounting issues that I wish to bring to the House’s attention. The first is that, from 1 July 2005, all Australian governments adopted the Australian equivalent of International Financial Reporting Standards in accordance with AIFRS requirements. The 2004-05 outcomes presented in this year’s report has been restated to provide a comparable base with 2005-06. The restated 2004-05 results represent minimal change to the operating result and no change on the cash outcome to those numbers tabled in October 2005. There are, however, some changes in valuation methodology for certain assets and superannuation liabilities recorded on the balance sheet, resulting in an improvement in nett worth of $112m at 30 June 2005.
The other change is the treatment of certain tied funds from the Australian government, where those funds will not be committed in the year they are received. As a result, in 2005-06, around $60m of special purpose payments predominantly related to national highways and the trauma centre will now be recognised as revenue in the year the expenditure actually occurs.
In conclusion, Mr Acting Speaker, 2005-06 represents an extremely positive outcome. The Territory has continued its trend towards achieving the medium-term fiscal objectives and targets as set out in the fiscal strategy. The cash outcome of a $40m surplus in 2005-06 is the fourth year in succession a surplus has been recorded, largely accounting for the significant improvement in nett debt and nett debt plus employee liability. The accrual operating result is in surplus for the first time, and the fiscal balance is an improvement on both the May 2005 and May 2006 estimates. Nett worth continues to improve as a result of continued infrastructure spending and the upward revision in the valuation of the Territory’s asset base.
The 2005-06 outcome shows that this government is committed to managing the Territory’s finances responsibly, while maintaining an appropriate balance between community needs, the needs of the Territory economy and maintaining a sound fiscal position.
Mr Acting Speaker, I move the Assembly take note of the report. I seek leave to continue my remarks at a later hour.
Leave granted.
Debate adjourned.
MOTION
Note statement - Territory Tourism
Moving Forward
Continued from earlier this day.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Mr Acting Speaker, it is with much delight I speak to the statement on tourism and commend the Minister for Tourism on his contribution today. I was very sad just - what was it? - a couple of months ago, to relinquish, in a way, the Tourism portfolio because it is one that, for nearly three years, I enjoyed very much. I am sure that it is in excellent hands now.
Tourism for the Territory is our second biggest contributor to the economy; it is a very important industry. The Opposition Leader implied, in a way, that the minister has been demoted by having Tourism. There are many tourism operators in the Territory who would find that an extremely offensive statement; to say that to have carriage of an industry that directly or indirectly employs 15% of our population is not significant, is the Opposition Leader not understanding the importance of tourism in our economy, and the importance of tourism in building in our economy.
Opportunities in tourism for development in regional and remote areas are absolutely significant to our future. It is an interesting portfolio, because not only is it tough, it also has a lot of delight within it. There is a lot of really exciting, challenging things to be done in tourism. However, it is a tough industry; there is no doubt about it. The last five years has seen the nature of tourism, in itself, change quite dramatically by the fact that we had 11 September, and we have budget airlines now. Before, quite reliably - say five to 10 years ago – people would book a holiday six months in advance. Now, we have travellers who will book a holiday with three hours notice. It is very hard for the industry to actually make assessments of their forward bookings, their forward revenues, when the shape and the style of the industry has changed so much.
We are not rejecting the fact that there are budget airlines. Virgin Blue Airlines has its happy hour every day and it is always worth checking because there can be some incredibly competitive fares there. The same with the other budget airlines. Therefore, if there is an opportunity, you have to grab it and go. However, it makes it very hard for our tourism industry.
The fact that, over the last three years, we have seen a significant pick-up is a real tribute to our industry and the fact that they have worked closely with government to see a significant turnaround in the numbers coming to the Territory, staying longer times in the Territory and, importantly, spending their dollars here and enjoying it, has really seen a turnaround in both the Territory’s economy and the viability of the tourism industry.
The fact is that our economic wellbeing is very much tied up with the health of the tourism sector. The confidence we are seeing at the moment within the industry is very reassuring and an indication that we have well and truly moved on from the global downturn at the start of the decade. However, you cannot put that behind you; you just have to work in a very different environment, as we are here in 2006 and moving to the future.
There have been a number of things that really have assisted in changing where we are in tourism. The fact that this government put the single biggest ever injection of funding into tourism is something that we are proud of. We responded to the industry. We needed to pick up our marketing effort and we did that, initially, with the funding of $27.5m and have continued that now into the future. Regarding our spend per capita on tourism, it is very high, but this is a very important industry for the Territory and we make no apology about that. When you look at the way we have been able to market - how and where we have marketed - we have certainly seen a pick-up in the numbers of travellers coming to the Territory. I am proud of the fact we have been able to reap those dividends, partly because of that significant injection of funds into tourism. For a start, those additional funds which, as I said are ongoing, have allowed us to look carefully at the way we market the Territory. It has allowed us to do the hard work to get the strategies right.
Tourism undertook extensive research to find out who visitors to the Territory are, and what kind of unique and cultural experiences they wanted from what the Territory has to offer. It allowed Tourism NT the opportunity to sharpen the competitive edge through a refreshed brand; one that clearly indicates what sets the Territory apart from its competitors. There is no doubt about it: we are unique in Australia. However, there are other very competitive parts of Australia from where we have to attract visitors.
When you look at, for example, Chinese tourists, growing numbers are coming to Australia, but the first thing that attracts them is not wide open spaces, it is the big capital cities. They are travelling down the east coast. We have to recognise that, for some travellers, going to the Gold Coast or Sydney is seen as far more attractive than coming to the Territory. A lot of work is happening in China to make sure there is a greater awareness of wide open spaces here and our unique natural and cultural attractions.
When I was in China a couple of times talking about tourism, I sat down the first time with a group of wholesalers in Shanghai. It was three years ago and they were not very familiar with the Territory. We had the brochures, and were having lunch and talking about what the Territory had to offer. The Sounds of Silence dinner at Uluru captivated them. Shanghai has very few days on which you can actually see the sun, and there is this thick grey-yellow cover over the city and surrounding areas, and the fact that you can sit under the stars in the darkness and see the wonderful sky array was absolutely captivating for them. If we can market those things well in China - and we now have a representative there doing a great job; Joseph Xi - then we can secure a growing number of Chinese travellers.
The other thing the wholesalers loved were the jumping crocodiles. We tend to take them for granted, but the idea that you would be on a boat on a river and have crocodiles jump out of the water was enormously attractive to the Chinese market. They know about crocodiles …
Mr Henderson: Theirs don’t jump.
Ms MARTIN: Ours are larger, to be fair. This experience in the Top End was of great attraction to them.
We are targeting, much more effectively, the travellers who want to come to the Territory. We have to compete hard against those who want to go to large capital cities, or to the theme parks on the Gold Coast. We have identified our spirited travellers, a group of people who seek journeys rather than holidays, and those who want to learn from their travel experiences. This is the detail of marketing that we have done in investigating our market; that they want to go home feeling different about themselves, having had a substantial experience rather than a retail one.
Story telling was seen as the best way of connecting with these knowledge-hungry travellers and, therefore, the tag line of Share Our Story was the result. I know, initially, when we put it to the market, there were those who were a bit cynical - some quite loudly cynical. Every Territorian has a story to tell and that story could be told at the base of Uluru, or by someone sitting in a pub and talking about the big fish that got away. Territorians are natural story tellers and the tag line of Share Our Story was the result. It has paid off. It is fair to say that all the detailed work and repositioning of the Territory in the market has paid off.
Our destination marketing has also been very successful. We Share Our Story now through promotion of six key destinations: Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Uluru, and that includes the Katherine and Barkly regions. The first round of campaigns has been very well received.
As you have heard from the Minister for Tourism, Aboriginal tourism is and will remain one of our top priorities despite - and I was clearly taken aback by this - the Opposition Leader letting forth on this sudden discovery of Aboriginal tourism. I do not know where she has been over the last few years, in the times that we have come into this House and talked about - acclaimed - new Aboriginal businesses in tourism and talked about, at length, the work that tourism was doing and how proud we are of it. It is not just us we are proud of. It is not about government, it is about Aboriginal communities grasping opportunities that are there and making sustainable jobs and enterprises from a growing industry for the Territory. Great work has been done, and I really pay tribute to those in Tourism NT. With those additional dollars that we have put into tourism, there is now a much greater capacity to look at tourism development work.
The Stepping Stones program the minister was talking about this morning is a key component of that. Tourism NT has people who are very effective at sitting down with communities and working them through the detail of setting up a business, what it means to be in tourism, the demands of that, and how we can support them to get there. We have seen the three new businesses in Kakadu, and businesses in the Centre and the Barkly region, and we will continue to do that work. Not every business that gets up and going is going to survive - this is tough. I believe that we have seen a real growth in the interest in Aboriginal communities for establishing those business.
One great example, and one that I have talked about many times, is the Red Centre Way in Central Australia and the opportunities there. At Hermannsburg, the Ntaria community and its surrounding communities have a wonderful opportunity to gain long-lasting economic benefits and sustainable jobs from increased tourism activity. There is no doubt that the traditional owners and community members all around that area really have a strong desire to develop tourism products. They come from a beautiful part of the world. Whether you are talking Areyonga or Ntaria and communities along that Red Centre Way, there are great opportunities that are still really undeveloped.
Our task is to work with these communities and help them in achieving their goals, and that is what we have done. It is what we will continue to do in the future. I am also really pleased at what has happened in Kakadu. A lot of work went into Kakadu, and I pay tribute to John Morse and John King, who sat down with the traditional owners in Kakadu and those on the board of management and worked through a lot of issues that had impeded the growth of tourism in the area. They came out with an agreed document, a way forward for developing tourism in Kakadu.
A lot of trust has been established, especially when you see how enterprises like Hawk Dreaming, the Kakadu Cultural Camp, and Patonga Homestead have been set up. With support from Tourism NT and that regional economic support from DBERD, it is terrific to see the success of ventures like that. They really have been triggered by the work that was done, co-funded by the federal government and ourselves, to tackle some of the outstanding issues in Kakadu, particularly with traditional owners and the impact of tourism. We have come through that and, so, people like Mandy Muir, and Freddie and Jen Hunter, have embraced the opportunity. It is going to be tough for a while. I know with the Kakadu Cultural Camp it is not going to be easy, but they have a great product - so has Mandy Muir - and I believe the opportunities are there. We will continue to support them through various agencies to make viable businesses. We will see more developments like these in years to come, and I take this opportunity to congratulate all those who are playing a part, particularly in transforming Kakadu.
It has also been very satisfying to see Alice Springs tourism strengthen and grow. The $1.2m Destination Alice Springs campaign was the first of our destination campaigns to be rolled out under the Share Our Story tag. It centred on the region’s compelling points of difference, which are its outback adventure, its desert landscape, with Aboriginal art and craft, history and heritage. It has been successful. It is tough in Alice Springs at the moment. The last few months have been good for tourism. The Masters Games starting on Saturday will see the usual impact of visitors, which is certainly a boost to the local economy.
Tourism is fundamental to the future of Alice Springs, and we will continue to work right across all areas of Alice Springs, particularly in focusing on getting better outcomes of alcohol abuse, changing town camps to being part of suburban Alice Springs, and growing jobs, particularly for Aboriginal people. All that will contribute to a better success in tourism. There is no doubt, of all parts of the Territory, tourism needs to work in Alice Springs for the future viability of that community.
The launch of Taking the Next Steps Action Plan, which is Alice Springs-based, was very important and it provided a unified approach to new product development in the region. The action plan has been jointly implemented by Tourism NT, CATIA, the Alice Springs Council, and other parts of government.
There are some exciting initiatives under way, such as the world heritage listing for MacDonnell Ranges - that will take time, but we have started the work to do that - and the promotion of Alice Springs as a leading destination for Aboriginal art and craft. It is probably the strongest area in the Territory for art and craft. All you have to do is go to the Desert Mob exhibition and just see that strength leaping off the walls. The success of the Desert Mob marketplace the day before the opening of Desert Mob, has again indicated the strength of Aboriginal art and craft. I commend the member for Macdonnell for her piece this year in the Desert Mob - very fine work and you put the rest of us to shame with your artistic talent.
I will also look back on the changes we have made to Tourism NT. When I took on the job, it was the Tourist Commission. We have seen a change in the functioning from a tourist commission to Tourism NT. I believe that our efforts to take a whole-of-government approach to tourism is vital for the long-term success of the industry. We have a great new Tourism Advisory Board under the chairmanship of Grant Hunt.
As I said in Question Time, there has been a lot achieved, but there is a lot more to do in tourism. It is in the very capable hands of the new Minister for Tourism who is having a second turn at it, so it is not new to him at all. I know that he will do an outstanding job and enjoy the challenges. There are a lot of people I will take this opportunity to thank for working so effectively for the last three years in tourism, and they will continue to do that. I would like to thank them for my time as Tourism Minister: the CEO, Maree Tetlow, for the work she has done; it has been terrific. It is difficult to single somebody, but I would like to thank everybody in Tourism, but make particular mention of the woman who has this marketing right on track, and that is Rita Harding. She has done a great job. Also, in tourism development, John Coleman, who is out there working with communities, making sure that we can support the development of tourism businesses - new businesses in regional and remote parts of the Territory.
I also thank the RTAs. They are a wonderful mob, our Regional Tourist Associations. Some of them give it to you between the eyeballs from time to time, which is great. It is a viable and very volatile industry and people need to speak their mind. When you are talking about people who speak their mind you have to put Sylvia Wolf at the top of that, the Tourism Top End Chair – she is fantastic. Her contribution is enormous. Occasionally, you have to duck as she fires things at you - so be warned, minister. Also I appreciate the work of General Manager Tony Clemetson; in CATIA, we have Lynne Peterkin who has been Chair, and done a very effective job there, with Craig Catchlove; in Barkly Tourism, Richard Dodd, and John Stafford for his work - he has now moved on; and in Katherine, there is Gary Higgins and Shelley Davis, who are a very energetic team.
Mr Acting Speaker, the tourism industry is a wonderful industry to work with. As I said, they can be very forthcoming. They can certainly tell you exactly as it is. Over the last few years, there has been a good relationship established between this government and our tourism industry. As I said, we have done a lot, but there is a lot to do.
Mr McADAM (Central Australia): Mr Acting Speaker, I support minister Henderson’s statement on tourism. I have previously spoken in this House about the crucial role that regional development will play for the future of Central Australia. Today, I wish specifically to focus on tourism as one of the most important industries for the economic future for people living in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and, of course, all the remote communities surrounding that particular region.
Tourism is an industry that offers great promise and prosperity for indigenous and non-indigenous people. It is one of the singular most important industries of Central Australia upon which genuine equitable partnerships can be built and sustained. Evidence suggests that tourists are drawn to the Centre primarily to experience the magnificent landscape and the indigenous cultural diversity of that region. It is within this context that many significant companies have made and will continue to make their mark. Sahara Outback Tours, Wallace Rockhole Tourist Park, Gunya Tourism at Titjikala, Alice Wanderer, Keringke Arts Centre, Tanamart Tours and Desart, to name but a few, are forging partnerships that provide significant, mutual, social and economic benefits. These partnerships add to the ever increasing diversity of visitor experiences on offer in Central Australia. Tourism spending in Central Australia for financial 2005-06 equated to $631m, an increase on the 2004-05 figures.
I also wish to make mention of the impact that tourism is having on the Barkly Tablelands. Tourism expenditure increased from $34m in 2004-05 to approximately $40m in 2005-06, attributable to a massive increase in domestic tourism expenditure, but offset by a decrease in the international visitor expenditure.
Current visitor spending represents a small portion of the potential revenue that tourism offers the Centre. Central Australian visitor numbers, including Uluru and Barkly, climbed to above the one million mark in 2005-06. Last financial year, about 317 000 people visited the Petermann Region including Uluru and Kings Canyon, the vast majority of these people being international visitors. Alice Springs, on the other hand, attracts about 250 000 visitors per year, two-thirds being from within Australia. The anticipated growth rate represents enormous potential for both indigenous and non-indigenous people.
Already, businesses have capitalised on the draw of Uluru. There are many different grades of accommodation provided by Voyages which includes catering for backpackers, the self-drive, the camper-type holidaymaker, the five-star unique experience of Longitude 131, and everyone in between. This diversity of accommodation has assured that Uluru and Kata Tjuta will continue to be a world-class visitor experience.
Other entrepreneurs have equally benefited from development opportunities presented by Uluru. Notably, Anangu Tours continues to provide the unique cultural experience that so many visitors to the Centre wish to have. They continue to receive the national and international accolades that they so richly deserve.
Whilst we were at Yulara the other day visiting the Mutitjulu Community, the member for Macdonnell, the Chief Minister and I had the opportunity to meet with managers from Voyages. It is fair to say that there is a very sincere commitment on behalf of Voyages to include the community at Mutitjulu in future developments of Uluru as a tourist destination but, not only that, to provide jobs. It is certainly something on which we, as a government, should work very hard. I know the local member for Macdonnell will provide that very important role in liaising between Voyages and the indigenous community. There are so many wonderful opportunities there and it can be a real employment creation in giving those people an equitable input into the tourist resort.
We cannot rest on our laurels, as I have said previously. That is why this government has committed to sealing the Red Centre Way to develop much stronger connections between Uluru and Alice Springs. The Red Centre Way, or Mereenie Loop as it is known, was recently voted by Australia Travel magazine as being the top 10 tourist drives in Australia. By sealing the Red Centre Way, we will open up the area to, potentially, hundreds of thousands of more visits and open up opportunities for hundreds, if not thousands, of indigenous and non-indigenous people along the route. Already, communities like Areyonga and Ntaria have commenced planning to market their communities to increased numbers of passing tourists. Wallace Rockhole is doing likewise. The opportunities and potential for tourism enterprises for genuine partnership and shared prosperity along the Red Centre Way are boundless and only limited by people’s imagination.
Parks and Wildlife are planning to enhance the visitor experience through the provision of improved facilities and an interpretive centre. This government has committed approximately $4m to achieve this, stretching from Alice Springs along the West MacDonnell Ranges. Prior to the last election, the Chief Minister outlined her government’s vision for the listing of the West MacDonnell Ranges as a World Heritage area. Connecting the existing World Heritage listed Uluru Kata Tjuta and the West MacDonnell Ranges for the world-class tourist drive, and supported through development of the region as Australia’s first national landscape, is visionary and exciting. It will provide visitors to the Centre with a compelling reason to remain in the region to visit both Uluru and Alice Springs, and to immerse themselves in 40 000 years of indigenous culture along the way.
In other areas of Central Australia, the burgeoning cultural tourism industry is taking shape. Gunya Titjikala has had great success in attracting visitors looking for an exclusive experience. They have developed a partnership with ANH Alice Springs Helicopters to enhance the experience via helicopter transfers from Alice Springs to Titjikala. The Rainbow Valley area and Black Tank are other communities that have undertaken the Stepping Stones process, facilitated by Tourism NT, to strategically plan their move into the tourism industry.
Alice Springs visitation increased by approximately 7% in 2005-06 following a 9% increase in the previous financial year. This government’s commitment to the tourism industry through increased funding for tourism marketing has been a boon to Alice Springs. The Destination Alice Springs campaign, together with the Share Our Story branding, contributed to a marked improvement in travel intention, particularly amongst spirited travellers. This marketing is assisting to maintain the trend of increased visitation to Alice Springs. While a lot has been achieved, there is still a great deal more to do, including the focus on the aim of continually improving visitor expenditure.
Earlier this year, the Chief Minister released a research report on heritage tourism. Among its findings was the significant role that heritage tourism plays in the economy of Alice Springs, accounting for 10% of current visitor expenditure. The report included an action report that provides tourist operators with practical ways to make the most of our heritage by improving, for example, interpretative media to enhance the visitors’ experience. In doing so, it encourages visitors to stay longer and to spend more money in the community.
This week, we are seeing a great example of the benefits of business tourism to Alice Springs. The Australian Pipeline Industry Association is holding its 38th National Conference at the Convention Centre in Alice Springs, and has brought together over 350 delegates, as well as their partners and 47 children. While primarily here to exchange professional knowledge and ideas, importantly, these visitors from all over Australia will spend four days immersing themselves in Alice Springs tourism attractions. Visitors will be spending their money and assisting with the creation of jobs for people in Alice Springs. I applaud the Australian Pipeline Industry Association for their family-friendly attitude, and commend this approach to other organisations looking to hold their conferences in Alice Springs.
In my home town of Tennant Creek, the Barkly Regional Tourist Association has made great strides in promoting the region. Attractions like the Devil’s Marbles, Nyinkka Nyunyu, the world-class indigenous cultural interpretive centre, the Davenport Ranges, the Battery Hill Mining Centre and Newcastle Waters, offer tourists an unique perspective of life in the Barkly Tablelands. As I have previously stated, overall visitor expenditure increased to the Barkly in 2005-06, but against a weakening of visitor numbers and bed nights.
The Barkly offers tourists a fantastic range of attractions, but it is important that tourism operators continue to work together to maximise the length of stay in the region, the potential tourism spend and, naturally, their own viability. Continual refreshing of the visitor experience is a necessity. The new Social History Museum at Battery Hill and the pilot performance of traditional dance to be staged at Nyinkka Nyunyu on 31 October are two such examples. The dance performance will draw dancers from all over the Territory and will involve a cultural and experimental exchange with more advanced traditional dance groups. It aims to provide a platform for enhanced visitor experience through regular performances at Nyinkka Nyunyu in the future.
A new initiative is to encourage more four-wheel drive enthusiasts to the region. This initiative is enhanced by clever use of new media technology and strategies to entice visitors to immerse themselves in the Barkly lifestyle. This initiative will provide opportunities to enhance that most valuable of tourist experiences, the joy of meeting locals.
Ideas such as these encapsulate the Barkly Regional Tourism Plan 2006-08, due for release in the near future. I am personally confident that the Barkly Regional Tourist Association, which recently appointed Kate Foran, will provide inspirational leadership. I have known Kate for a long time, and she has a unique way of being able to get things done. I am absolutely confident that she will engage with everyone in the Barkly area, the businesses and local indigenous communities, and help grow that particular tourism market. I will say something else about Kate, which is important, and is an indication of her vision. She recognises that indigenous people within that community and region play a very important role, not only in the context of present social and economic outcomes, but in their cultural, spiritual and traditional links to the region, as they do right across the Northern Territory. Kate is very passionate about engaging indigenous people into the whole tourism industry and economy. Tennant Creek is ideally placed, and I wish Kate the very best in that particular project.
I pay tribute to Craig Catchlove from CATIA, who I had the pleasure of having lunch with a couple of days ago. Again, Craig is a very passionate person and has a vision for tourism in Alice Springs and the Centralian region. He is ably backed up by a very supportive and committed board. It is people such as Kate and Craig who are the future in how we grow tourism forward.
There are other things I want to say, more so as the local member for Barkly. I was at Borroloola a few months ago when the Chief Minister launched the Gulf Regional Tourist Plan. This is an important document in providing a way forward in respect of that region. Over the last two to three years, there is no doubt that the Borroloola region, from the Queensland border to Borroloola, is increasingly being recognised as the jewel in the crown of tourism potential, right throughout the Northern Territory. It must be remembered that it is the second largest recreational fishing area outside Darwin, and there is great capacity to enhance and grow that industry by the traditional owners of that region.
Batten Point, an area which adjoins King Ash Bay, has a lot of potential should the traditional owners consider developing that. King Ash Bay itself draws literally thousands of people on a regular basis into that particular region. I do know that there is a lot of interest regarding Batten Point being a possible low impact-type camping ecotourism facility. I am absolutely certain that, should they choose to go down that path, then this government will be very keen to provide whatever support and assistance it could.
This is equally so for Robinson River, otherwise known as the Mungoorbarda. That is on the Highway 1. It is a very unique, special, and beautiful place, not far off the major highway. Increasingly, more and more tourists are traversing that highway, although they would agree with me when I say that we have a lot more work to do, though, in fixing up the road between Borroloola and Mungoorbarda. Over time, I know that we will do what we can to address that However, the point I wish to make is that Robinson River, or Mungoorbarda, also has immense capacity to become a major tourist destination, particularly in regards to people who wish to fish at ecotourism-type enterprises.
Bauhinia Downs is another one which is not far from Heartbreak Hotel. Heartbreak Hotel itself is a very interesting place; the name would indicate that automatically. The point is that it is a stepping off point to places like the Bauhinia Downs and the Lost City. Over time, I have absolutely no doubt that more and more people will wish to travel throughout that particular region to Heartbreak and places like Bauhinia Downs, the Lost City, Vesteys Springs which is on McArthur River pastoral lease - perhaps McArthur River Mine should start talking to the traditional owners. It is a great big waterhole. Locals know about it, but the tourists do not know about it. It is a great opportunity to add one other attraction to that particular region. Maybe MRM can give it some thought.
Elliott which, again, is in my electorate - and I have spoken about this before – has the Longreach Waterhole. It is an excellent opportunity for local people to get involved in tourism, providing jobs. It is a waterhole 15 km, 16 km, maybe 20 km to the west of Elliott. It is a permanent waterhole. The bird life there is absolutely magnificent. I do know that the community has talked about this in the past, but I encourage them to do what they can over the next few years because it will provide a real focus in economic development and, more importantly, it adds to the whole Stuart Highway experience by being able to drop in there and to spend a few peaceful days.
Other areas which I mentioned before in this House but I will mention again because they are worth mentioning, is at Policeman’s Waterhole in the Davenport Ranges …
Mr NATT: Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I move that the member’s time be extended under Standing Order 77 in order that he may conclude his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr McADAM: The destination that I have just referred to, Policeman’s Waterhole which is in the Davenport Ranges, is also a permanent waterhole. It is part of a four-wheel drive venture, turning off just north of Barrow Creek out to places like Murray Downs pastoral property and then, of course, into Policeman’s Waterhole. It is, without a doubt, one of the best four-wheel drive experiences that you will ever get anywhere in Australia. It really does test your driving ability but, at the same time, subjects you to some of the most beautiful countryside, culminating in a few days at Policeman’s Waterhole.
The other important point here is that Epenarra, an indigenous community not too far away from there on the route back into Tennant Creek, also has a lot of potential to be able to link in by developing tourism enterprises, adding to that experience which so many people want to have. They want to, quite genuinely, understand and engage with indigenous people in a very mature and new way in communities like Epenarra and, of course, Kurrundi Station which is also on that route. What I am saying is that we really do have some wonderful tourist destinations in the Barkly area. It is not something that you can flick your finger at and, all of a sudden, they are there, but, over time, it is something which we can build on.
Whilst I am talking about the region, I pay a tribute to all the roadhouses up and down the Stuart Highway, but none more so than the ones in my electorate, starting from Barrow Creek, Wauchope, Tennant Creek, Three Ways, Dunmara and the Highway Inn. They are often the point of contact for tourists where tourists can actually experience the outback. I pay tribute to the owners of Three Ways who developed it as a tourist information centre in partnership with the Northern Territory government tourist people. It is a great addition. I know Bob at Wauchope also had a grant to renovate his place. The people at Dunmara - Gary Green - also has a grant and he is going to build on his snake and lizard collection which is providing people with an opportunity to look up close at what a snake looks like, I suppose, as opposed to all the road kill on the road.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, as you can see, there is plenty going on in Central Australia in the tourism industry with plenty to be optimistic about. Before I conclude, there is one place I did want to mention which was mentioned in the House yesterday; that is, the marine park proposal of the Edward Pellew Group of Islands. Again, I believe it is one of those great opportunities to work with the traditional owners, the people there, the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory government, to develop a world-class marine park. It is something which will provide real opportunities for people to be able to showcase their culture.
In conclusion, there is plenty going on in Central Australia. As the minister, I share this with the members from Central Australia who also play an important role in supporting tourism; it is in great shape. There is more that we can do and I am certain that all the members on this side of the House will work hard to support sustainable tourism development, create environments for opportunities for people across all regions.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I wish the new minister, minister Henderson, well for his second stewardship of this portfolio. All the very best and we look forward to working with him on behalf of Centralians and all people out there in the bush.
Ms ANDERSON (Macdonnell): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I support the statement on the health of Territory tourism brought to this House by the Minister for Tourism. Central Australia contains some of Australia’s most iconic images that draw international and national tourists in large numbers. Tourism is the region’s key economic driver, so it is good news that visitor numbers in Central Australia continued to rise this year.
In Central Australia, total visitors increased by 1%, with interstate and international visitors up by 8% and 6%, respectively, for the financial year ended June 2006, compared to June 2005. In Alice Springs, total visitors increased by 7%, including a 3% increase in interstate visitors for the financial year ended June 2006 compared to June 2005. This is an excellent performance in an environment where the numbers of interstate and international holidaymakers to other states and territories were in decline.
Every year, thousands of local and overseas tourists head to Central Australia to visit spectacular national attractions. Uluru Kata Tjuta has been at the forefront for this type of tourism experience, but now a diverse range of new tourism adventures and opportunities are emerging, backed up by sound economic and grassroots planning.
The Central Land Council and Tourism NT are cooperating to assist local communities to strengthen existing tourism ventures and develop and improve traditional landowners’ capacity to manage existing new tourism projects. A memorandum of understanding between the two agencies has placed a Tourism Development Officer into the CLC Land Management Unit to help improve indigenous participation in the tourism industry, maximising the delivery of jobs, and creating economic growth for indigenous landowners and the Territory has a whole.
As a result, What is Tourism? and Stepping Stones workshops that involve grassroots consultation, training assessment and negotiation process, have been run at many communities. These are being run at communities in subregional level to draw out good ideas, let community members know what to expect from running a tourism venture, and what makes it feasible from a social, economic and business level, and establish trial runs. Tourism is very new to indigenous people, so the Territory government has taken a very good initiative in educating indigenous people in remote Aboriginal communities to have pathways into tourism.
A key focus for these workshops has been in the region of the Red Centre Way, formerly known as the Mereenie Loop Road. Areyonga community, whose members have been keen participants in What is Tourism? and the Stepping Stones workshop are in the process of developing a cultural experience package for tourists. They are undertaking thorough planning to ensure the success of the enterprise, recognising that the enterprise will only be sustainable if people want these projects and are aware of the workloads.
Across at Ntaria, the campgrounds are fully operational and five cabins have been erected, with three available for short-term rental. The signage has been greatly improved along the tourist strip and tourist information areas have been erected. The tourist information area will provide a central point for visitors to Hermannsburg to obtain information about sights of significance, history, information on cultural activities, and road conditions. For people residing on the outstations between Ntaria and Areyonga, the Tjuwanpa Outstation Resource Centre has helped provided the Tjuwanpa Ranger program, which experienced difficulties in 2005.
To restart the program in 2006 Tjuwanpa provided a troop carrier and funded the Ranger Coordinator Positions for six months to restore momentum. The Tjuwanpa Ranger group worked in the nearby Finke Gorge and West MacDonnell National Park, and are involved in a range of park management activities with Parks and Wildlife Services such as fencing, infrastructure development, fauna surveys, fire management, and weed control. The ranger program will also explore the potential for contract work and tourism opportunities.
Wallace Rockhole community has catered for tourists for many years and they see tourism as an important part of the community’s development. They have made significant efforts to develop the community area for the tourist market and they like the economic spin-offs. They like having tourists around at Wallace because, when the tourists shop at Wallace Rockhole shop, the money actually stays there. Wallace Rockhole is very appreciative of tourists visiting.
Other developments in this region includes a multi-gender ablution block at Glen Helen Resort, two camping areas on the Larapinta Trail and the proposed Desert Oaks Wilderness Lodge that is to be built by APT in partnership with Kings Creek Station.
Tourism NT is supporting these Red Centre Way developments, not only working with stakeholders and industry to develop new products, signage and camping grounds as discussed, but also by achieving recognition of the Red Centre Way as Australia’s first national landscape, which will see the region included in the Australian Government’s Top 20 Landscapes and marketed internationally by Tourism Australia. Branding and marketing the Red Centre Way is included in the Destination Alice Springs marketing campaigns for the self-drive and fly-drive markets research to inform private and public investment decisions in tourism infrastructure along the Red Centre Way.
Many Aboriginal people are keen to see tourism developments go ahead for the economic and employment prospects it can provide. Tourism NT is working with indigenous people to develop opportunities for tourism growth and employment. In addition to the work undertaken by the Tourism NT office outposted to work with the Central Land Council, Tourism NT has funded campground infrastructure at Docker River, Oak Valley and Harts Range – all in my electorate; invested in development projects at Watarrka, Palm Valley, Rainbow Valley, Chambers Pillar National Park and Black Tank community; and is working with Lhere Artepe to develop signage at the Alice Springs Airport and the railway station.
Atitjere (Harts Range) community are looking at tourism as a central part of their future development. Given the increasing traffic along the Outback Way, the community’s vision involves providing tours and service to tourists, with an emphasis on interpreting some of the historical features of the region. The community believes such ventures will bring income and employment. Community members suggest that tourist traffic in the area is already increasing, and they have established an art centre to sell their art work to passing tourists. This latter development has been established by the women of the Atitjere, Eagle Beak and Irrerlirre. The communities along the Outback Way are also looking at opportunities for servicing travellers. Ideas include providing tourists with access to cultural information, and to show them historical features on their land.
The Plenty Highway region is rich in gems, dinosaur remains, mining and pastoral history and, with the development of the Outback Way as the major east-west route through the centre of Australia, there is real potential to further develop sustainable tourism enterprises that will increase the employment of Aboriginal people.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tourism is one of the mainstays of the Central Australian economy and, as the minister said, its competitive advantage lies in its natural and cultural assets. This government is leveraging this advantage through the enhancement of existing tourism products and the development of new ones that will meet market demand and provide a sustainable economic future for indigenous people. As the minister said, tourism is one of the few industries that can provide tangible benefits to Aboriginal people in remote Australia. I welcome the minister’s determination to continue supporting indigenous communities and individuals in their desire to create a brighter future.
Debate adjourned.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, last week we welcomed the sixth Aboriginal member of government to this parliament. Almost one-third of our parliamentary members are now Aboriginal, and our party is truly representative of the Aboriginal electorate in ways never achieved in Australian history. This is something we can be proud of - and on this side we are.
The Aboriginal MLAs bring valuable experience, skills and knowledge to the task of government areas like public administration, housing, community development, health and local government. It also says a lot about the faith that Aboriginal Territorians have in the Australian Labor Party and how important that Aboriginal constituency is to our party. Getting Aboriginal affairs right is a huge challenge, but one I believe we can achieve together.
At the last sittings, I spoke of our determination to secure a national long-term commitment to improving the wellbeing of Australian Aboriginals. The commitment is vital because any meaningful change will require all Australians and government working together over a long period of time, and it will ensure our efforts are not derailed by partisan politics in the future.
I am pleased to report that COAG has accepted our argument and has set up a committee to consider a proposal for a generational plan in early next year, 2007. The plan will provide a framework for action, but there is much more to do in the meantime. We are committed to implementing our detailed plan, released in early 2006, which covers all areas of Aboriginal development in communities across the Territory.
Today, I want to outline a significant package of measures that will improve economic and social outcomes for Aboriginal Territorians, and provide a significant boost to our regional economy.
The centrepiece of this package is an extra $100m investment in remote housing over the next five years - an investment that will make a real impact. Other elements of the package are: a new local government model that will improve governance and service delivery; Territory Housing to work in partnership with existing indigenous housing organisations to manage delivery and maintenance in the bush; the continued expansion of secondary education in the bush; further roll-out of innovative approaches to alcohol; and the provision of new police stations in remote locations to improve community safety - working in that area specifically with the Commonwealth.
These measures are specific initiatives to address immediate needs - needs that will improve the social and economic status of Aboriginal Territorians. They will be incorporated into our agenda for action and the COAG generational plan. Let me talk in more detail about these measures.
Local government in remote areas of the Territory is, typically, made up of a large number of small isolated organisations taking on too much with too little. Expectations of local government across Australia continue to grow, and it will become increasingly difficult for small poorly-resourced councils to meet the administrative governance and service delivery expectations of their communities.
In March this year, the Department of Local Government, Housing and Sport conducted a risk assessment of 56 councils; that is, the 30 community government councils, the 23 association councils and the three ORAC councils. The risk assessment classified 50% of the councils as either high risk or dysfunctional. In the last six months, 22 councils - 38% of all community government and association councils - have advertised or readvertised for a chief executive, and eight of those chief executive positions have again been advertised within the last 12 months. In other words, we are still seeing high numbers of newly-recruited CEOs resigning within a year.
In the last six months, the department has been required to make 17 major interventions into the affairs of councils due to financial administrative and/or governance irregularities. These interventions include four show cause notices to chief executives, involving allegations of serious financial mismanagement. The problem is, basically, one of scale. There are insufficient funds at the local level to attract the best people for skilled positions, particularly in management. That means those currently involved on councils are spending much of their time at meetings with government officials and others, instead of focusing on the standard of service delivery in their community.
We have been addressing this problem through the gradual introduction of regional authorities. There have been improvements, but the changes have been slow, so we have decided to take action. I advise the House that, as a major reform of local government - the biggest reform since self-government - we intend moving to a shire system in the bush, with municipal councils remaining unchanged. We will have fewer local government bodies, and that means that these new organisations will be strong, deliver good services, and exhibit good governance.
The new system will lead to real local jobs, better services for core local government responsibilities, and better use of plant and equipment meaning better roads. Larger and more robust organisations will provide stable administration with higher quality management, opportunities for more local jobs and training, and have more money spent on services instead of administration. Further details of the new local government model will be presented to this House in the near future.
We are all aware of the unmet demand for housing in the bush. When last measured, it was $1.2bn and rising because of increasing population pressure. Under the Bilateral Agreement on Housing, the Australian government agreed to use the Northern Territory to deliver its national Aboriginal health strategy which is worth around $22m from 2006. That money brings the Territory pooled program to around $69m, and about two-thirds of it goes to new construction, with the rest going to management, repairs and maintenance. It is obvious that this will hardly keep up with the growing demand from an increasing population, let alone make inroads to the backlog - a backlog that has been growing for decades. Greater effort and new approaches are required.
Construction and maintenance is provided by indigenous community housing organisations. These organisations have the same pressures associated with economies of scale as with local government and, indeed, are often a department of a small local government council. Many have fewer than 100 houses to manage, and this is a benchmark that national research shows lacks efficiency and effectiveness. We need to look at problems with rent collection, adequate housing maintenance to protect the asset, and transparency in the allocation of housing. As well, we need to address the spiralling costs of remote housing and ensure that we have got the size and standards right to deliver the lowest whole-of-life cost of providing a good housing service.
I now move to the core commitment of this package. We will commit $100m over five years, over and above current programs for new housing in regional and remote areas. I am proud to say that this is by far the biggest commitment to Aboriginal housing by any Territory government. The Territory’s $100m commitment is not dependent on matching grants from the Australian government, although I am sure they will be keen to join us and we would certainly welcome additional effort from the Commonwealth to support this housing package.
Currently, under the Bilateral Agreement on Housing, both Territory and Australian government programs are delivered as one to provide consistent policy application and economies of scale. I truly hope that our $100m on the table will see further commitments both from the Australian government and from individual owner/occupiers as well as the private sector. We are determined that this investment in our local communities produces real, local jobs.
As part of this $100m initiative, we will review house designs to ensure they are appropriate, look at new construction techniques to support local employment and address costs, investigate establishment of factories to fabricate prefabricated houses in regional centres, and deliver this program through a small number of long-term contracts to get best value and ensure local training and employment outcomes.
This $100m construction program will be carried out in partnership with local building teams where they exist, with the potential to create new local building teams where they do not. We have a strong expectation that local building teams will develop and flourish under the new local government model when it is in place, but we are not waiting for that to occur.
We see housing as the key to improving the lifestyle and wellbeing of Aboriginal Territorians. Better housing leads to better health, better education outcomes for kids, and the removal of many of the stresses that lead to domestic violence. As well, by linking housing to jobs we reinforce the importance of work for a healthy and sustainable future.
To support this significant increase in housing funding, Territory Housing will assume responsibility for our existing remote housing programs as well as the new funding. This is a move that will bring economies of scale and consistency and professionalism to the management of housing in the bush. While much good work has been done over many years by indigenous community housing organisations, there is a need to raise standards in some areas. This will be done by Territory Housing in partnership with these organisations on the ground. Territory Housing will bring improved systems for rental collection, housing maintenance and waiting list management – key issues that the Australian government sees as barriers to future investment. We will also be looking at ways to lower the cost of housing including the possibility of encouraging the setting up of factories in regional centres to prefabricate housing elements.
Underpinning these changes is our provision of secondary education in remote areas. Education is the key to how most of us live our lives. It gives us opportunities and options in life. Unfortunately, for many Aboriginal Territorians those opportunities and options are not available. Over a number of decades we have seen literacy and numeracy outcomes get worse rather than better in some places. There is still much to do but we have begun the change. It is this government that has delivered secondary education in the bush for the first time in the history of the Territory. We have invested an extra $15.84m over four years in the bush to ensure Aboriginal people are better able to access a quality secondary education.
When we came to office in 2001, no student had ever graduated from a bush school in the Territory. That changed in 2003 when Rhonda Rankin, Lianna Brown and Meshach Paddy graduated through Year 12 in the Kalkarindji community. The following year, another six students graduated and, in 2005, the number of graduates increased to 25 including seven from Wadeye. This year, the number is set to rise to 30. Secondary school sites in our remote communities have been expanded in Kalkarindji in 2002, Maningrida and Galiwinku in 2003, at Wadeye in 2004 and Yirrkala in 2005.
The Department of Employment, Education and Training is now looking to further expand secondary education delivery in the bush. The focus is on Ramingining, Borroloola, Yuendumu and Ngukurr. Each of these sites, once consolidated, will work closely with some of their neighbouring schools to provide secondary education. The number of remote indigenous primary students achieving MAP benchmark has improved off a very low base since 2001, and that is due to the efforts of our schools and the communities themselves.
We are also looking to implement a community engagement strategy. The aim is to get government and the communities working together to get better educational results in their schools and ensure more young Aboriginal people finish school and move into employment.
We are all aware of the twin evils of violence and alcohol abuse that plague so many of our communities. Research shows that there are marked differences in alcohol consumption between indigenous and non-indigenous people. As a proportion of each population, fewer Aboriginal people drink alcohol than the non-Aboriginal population. It is unfortunate that, of those Aboriginal people who do drink, many do so at harmful levels. There have been concerted efforts over many years by various community action groups and Aboriginal organisations seeking the introduction of measures aimed at reducing alcohol abuse. We want to support Aboriginal people who are working hard to overcome these issues.
In regard to alcohol, we have worked with communities and the Licensing Commission to develop innovative alcohol control measures such as the permit system on Groote Eylandt. This model has seen significant improvements in alcohol-related crime like assaults and break-ins. Some of the early results, after a year of the new restrictions on Groote, include reductions in drink driving, which were down 80% from the previous year, aggravated assaults down 75% from 2002-03, and a reduction in absenteeism of Aboriginal workers at the GEMCO mine, down from just over 7% to 2.4%. The result is a healthier and happier community, and our challenge now is to consolidate and improve those reductions.
Other models are being examined in Nhulunbuy and Alice Springs, as well as in smaller towns. It is a matter of getting the right fit for the right community. However, the common link, the common aim, is to cut down the over-consumption of alcohol which will, in turn, give communities the breathing space to develop stronger and deeper strategies down the track. The culture of drinking excessive amounts needs to change, but communities need to be stable and well governed in order to achieve that goal. We will work with communities to help them do this.
The latest alcohol restrictions came into action on 1 October in Alice Springs. It means that cheap high alcohol content products, such as cask wine and port, are not available until 6 pm and, then, only in limited quantities. It also means that licensees have to take more responsibility and their staff need to have further training in the responsible sale of alcohol. To reinforce this, all takeaway outlets will need to have surveillance equipment that can be accessed by the Licensing Commission to check compliance.
Current levels of alcohol-related violence and community dysfunction are unacceptable. Alcohol courts became operational on 5 July this year in Alice Springs and in Darwin. These courts deal with people who have committed alcohol-related offences, and determine appropriate penalties including rehabilitation and prohibition orders. These are not soft options. Each offender is case managed by professional clinicians who address the causes of the offending behaviour, not just the symptoms. The Minister for Racing, Gaming and Licensing will be informing parliament of other strategies the government has implemented right across the Territory to continue to minimise the harm from alcohol.
Personal and community safety is imperative if we are to address issues such as health, education and employment in our communities. We are committed to helping Aboriginal people build safe communities by tackling the real causes of crime and violence, boosting frontline community policing, and ensuring the justice system meets the need of communities. In conjunction with other jurisdictions, we have agreed with the Australian government on the need to provide more resources for policing in remote areas. We will be negotiating with them to provide a number of new police stations. The Australian government will provide the capital and we will pick up the ongoing costs. This funding will come from the $130m committed by the Australian government at June’s inter-governmental summit to discuss violence and abuse in Aboriginal communities. We expect the first of these stations to be announced in the near future.
The Australian Police Ministers Council has set up the National Indigenous Violence and Child Abuse Intelligence Task Force. This task force, established this year, comprises staff drawn from the Australian Crime Commission and seconded officers from state and territory police forces and the Australian Federal Police. A forward element of the task force has been established in Alice Springs to support the collection of information and intelligence in relation to drugs, alcohol, pornography and fraud in Central Australia.
It is also intended that a joint strike team be set up to respond to linkages between substance misuse and violence. It is proposed that two AFP members be located in Darwin, potentially co-located with the child abuse task force. The government’s policies and programs to improve community safety have been set out in Building Safe Communities, a framework for crime prevention and community safety strategy. Under the safer community strategy, rates of sexual assaults have decreased over the past five years, but in this area there is much more to do.
The introduction of initiatives such as the Violent Crime Reduction Strategy has also seen the reporting of violent and domestic crime by victims increase – a rise of 18% in assault offences reported over the past five years. In June, the FACS Police Child Abuse Task Force was announced, which represents a new level of collaboration between FACS and police to investigate the most serious cases of child sexual assault and physical abuse.
The establishment of an independent board of inquiry into the protection of Aboriginal children from sexual abuse is another significant government initiative. Pat Anderson and Rex Wild QC were appointed as co-chairs of this inquiry on 8 August 2006 to look into ways to better protect children from sexual abuse and make communities safer. The board of inquiry is due to report to me by the end of April next year, and I look forward to receiving their recommendations on how better to address these issues.
Today I have announced significant initiatives that, together, form a package that will be a big contribution to improving the condition of Aboriginal Territorians. The $100m for housing is a huge increase in our contribution and one that we hope will attract similar contribution from the Australian government. We are underpinning that investment by directing Territory Housing to take its systems and expertise and work with community housing organisations to deliver better maintenance and management of houses. We have announced the biggest reform of local government the Territory has seen, with the aim of strengthening service delivery and employment outcomes for Territorians in the bush. We are committed to continuing the expansion of secondary schooling in the bush to ensure young Aboriginal people have the skills to engage fully in the economy. We are continuing to work with communities to roll out innovative approaches to managing alcohol and its effects to minimise the damage it causes. We are working with the Australian government on a range of measures to improve public safety, including a number of new police stations.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I am sure you will agree that this is a valuable package that will be welcomed by all Territorians as an investment in our common future. I know that all government members believe that, together, we can make a real difference to the lives of all Territorians. The package I have outline today will help make a real difference to Aboriginal Territorians.
Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, this statement is curious in a number of respects. It is the first time in my five years, from memory, that we have received a statement dropped off at 9.30 am. Usually, of course, they are dropped off sometime between …
Mr Stirling: Sometimes! We never used to get them at all.
Ms CARNEY: … 6 pm and 8 pm, but not today. It must have been a ripper of a caucus meeting yesterday, because the pressure was, no doubt on. Someone must have said: ‘I know, we will get the Chief Minister to do a statement. She has had a bit of hammering. Because you have had a terrible couple of weeks, we will see if we can get her to finish strongly and we will provide this statement’. That is why it was still warm when it was dropped off - still hot off the photocopier. I gather that the spinners upstairs have told someone at the Centralian Advocate today: ‘Oh no, we have been working on this for a very long time’. What nonsense! You may well have plucked a figure of $20m out of the air and tried to workshop that for a while, but you have not been working on this for a long time. There is no one around - not even relatively new journalists at the Centralian Advocate - who will believe you on that front. So many things to say.
In February this year, the member for Barkly said that $180m was needed for indigenous affairs - $180m a year. Yet, the Chief Minister today - probably last night, or yesterday afternoon - would have thought: ‘Oh well, what is a figure? $20 sounds good. $100m over five years’. The member for Barkly is saying $180m and the Chief Minister is saying $20m. They are so fractured they cannot even speak to each other and see how much is a fair thing. We have $20m from the Chief Minister and $180m from the member for Barkly.
Over and above that, we have this nonsense about contacting Mal Brough and saying: ‘Oh, Mal, we know you are really into indigenous affairs now, and we are trying to be really good with it too, can we have some more money?’ Quite rightly, Mal Brough has said: ‘You were given $94.6m by the Commonwealth Grants Commission, you have about $98m by way of other federal grants, and you have not spent the Commonwealth Grants Commission money’. That is only $4.7m as indicated in Question Time today.
Mr Stirling: That is not true and you know it.
Ms CARNEY: Well, member for Nhulunbuy, tell us how it is not true! Is it the case that the opposition and other Territorians cannot rely on your documents? The documents you tabled are from your publication so, if the figures are crook, it is your problem. We can but rely on what you give us, Treasurer.
The Chief Minister and her little friends - I know she does not have many these days, but a couple of friends - knocked together this statement in an effort to finish the week strongly because, after all, Labor Party members pride themselves on being good on indigenous issues. However, the reason they are so fractured at the moment is that they know the Chief Minister does not care, cannot be bothered, and would much rather be seen down at the waterfront development with her little hard hat on, and the little jacket - often it is the orange one but, sometimes, it is the green one. That is where she can, inevitably, be found.
It is not just me saying this. Who can forget Paul Toohey’s article in The Bulletin dated 24 May 2006? I know Paul but I would never have described him as a CLP sort of a guy. He wrote an article which, I guess, the member for Millner has pinned up on his noticeboard. I will extract a couple of things to illustrate why it is that what the Chief Minister has said today, firstly, cannot be believed but, most importantly, the reasons for her doing it cannot possibly be taken seriously. Paul Toohey said of the Chief Minister:
Using the old CLP trick of blaming Canberra. Mr Toohey went on:
That was just Paul Toohey. Members will remember, I am sure, that the Chief Minister was pretty much bagged by this nation’s media after the Nanette Roger’s interview. It is very interesting that the media awards are going to be held on Saturday night. Who is going to be there? None other than Tony Jones from Lateline. It is timely - is it not? - that Tony Jones from Lateline, with the interview the Chief Minister referred to as iconic - I have never referred to the interview as iconic although the Chief Minister said I did. She obviously thinks it is iconic and, I suppose, upon reflection that is a view that some people would share. I know it was a profoundly important interview because it has changed Aboriginal politics in this country. The fact we have such energy from the federal government on indigenous affairs speaks volumes.
The fact that this government is continually playing catch-up - as Paul Toohey said, she has been caught out. She has been barely able to say the word ‘Aborigine’ until all of this. Remember? After May 15, she could not get her act together. She had the hissy fit with the media which was, of course, captured on film which was good, and she was under a great deal of pressure. Then, on 21 June, we had the second Lateline interview about Mutitjulu, and what a disgrace the Chief Minister has been in that respect.
A week or so ago, we learnt that the Chief Minister knew all about what was happening at Mutitjulu and did not say anything. She simply said to Territorians and Australians that she was deeply shocked - one of her Academy Award wining performances – by what she had heard. Rubbish! She told an absolute untruth because she knew all about it. She has since been caught out again, and tried desperately to blame one individual, Greg Andrews. From memory, there were five or six people interviewed on Lateline. She has not said that Mantatjara Wilson is a liar. She has not said that Jane Lloyd is a liar. Jane Lloyd, of course, serves as Chair on the government’s Domestic and Family Violence Council which advises, or used to advise, the Chief Minister, but now advises one of her offsiders. It was rude and illogical for the Chief Minister to target just one individual; she did not call the others liars. She tried, as usual, to deflect attention, blaming one person. She was caught out.
One wonders whether her ministerial colleagues knew about this memo in November 2004 that was going around. One wonders whether, after the second Lateline interview on 21 June, they went to the Chief Minister and said: ‘This was shocking. Did you know about this?’ Maybe they did. Maybe the Chief Minister said: ‘No, I did not know about that’. Anyway, let us go forward. Next day, 22 June, under the pump extensively, the Chief Minister says: ‘I am going to announce an inquiry’. Of course, she could do that because it meant she did not need to talk about these patently foreign concepts to her like domestic violence and sexual abuse in indigenous communities. She is not good at this stuff; she does not get it. I stand by those comments everyday of the week. She called an inquiry. She did not have to talk about these issues for another six months. She got Mick Palmer, announcing: ‘Former Police Commissioner does high level inquiries’, then had the audacity to go on ABC a month or so later when people were starting to ask what was happening with the inquiry - that is, what was happening with the political opportunistic inquiry that she announced.
She went on radio and did not give any indication that Mick Palmer was about to pull the pin when she knew, not unlike the Mutitjulu memo - she knew about that and pretended she knew nothing about it and was shocked after the Lateline interview. She misled us when it came to being on ABC radio talking to Julia Christensen; did not give any indication that she knew Mick Palmer was about to pull the pin. Then she appointed Rex Wild QC who, whilst he has a name as a prosector by dint of him having been the Director of Public Prosecutions, has never run an inquiry, does not have the investigative experience that someone like Mick Palmer did, and was too close to the existing system, a part of which an inquiry would presumably look at because it must; that is, the reporting, prosecuting and so on of children who have been sexually abused.
Jane Lloyd was critical of that appointment. I do not think that was picked up in a Territory paper. I cannot help but wonder why that was. It was reported in The Age newspaper, I think, in Melbourne. Jane Lloyd, me and several other people had been critical of Rex Wild’s appointment, and I stand by that. The Chief Minister just does not get it; she cannot even get the inquiry right.
Then, what happened next? Little Stewart O’Connell, best man at the member for Millner’s wedding, wrote an article in June in the National Indigenous Times which contained a number of offensive references asserting that the offender in the Yarralin case – you will remember the 55-year-old man who beat the 14-year-old girl with a boomerang before he had anal sex with her - was a bloke who did that, according to Mr O’Connell, because he was and, I quote ‘struggling with change’. Mr O’Connell also said that it was indigenous men who were suffering more than anyone else in this country.
There were a number of other references. He indicated that the women were, basically, bringing it upon themselves. I am paraphrasing that one, but it was not far from the mark. He made a number of other references in relation to the Yarralin offender. He said that he was not a man from whom the community should have been protected. What is the position of Mr O’Connell? Hmm, he would be the policy officer on the child sexual abuse inquiry. Is that appropriate? I do not think so. It is an outrage that anyone with views like that should be anywhere near an inquiry like that. Therefore, the inquiry has a number of deficiencies. Notwithstanding, I know very well some people are working very hard to put in submissions - and good on them. If there is anything that is going to come out of this then we should encourage people to participate.
However, the buck stops with the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister is not taking any responsibility and thinks that O’Connell is just fine and dandy in that role. The report, because of the muck up with Mick Palmer, will be given to her in April, and we all know what is going to happen. There is going to be nice photo opportunities, lots of clicking cameras; Rex and Pat will hand over the report, handshake, big report, and then the Chief Minister is going to say: ‘There are a lot of recommendations in this report and we are not going to shy away from making the tough decisions. We are not going to shy away from making the tough decisions, and we will look at all of these recommendations very closely’.
One wonders how brave some of the recommendations are going to be, given the views so obviously held by Mr O’Connell. One wonders how seriously the Chief Minister takes this issue. I know her colleagues are wondering about it, as they should.
On that point, I refer to an article in The Australian on 19 June, and I will quote it:
It is not just the opposition who is saying this or even just some of the people in your own caucus; it is well-respected journalists in well-respected publications: Paul Toohey from The Bulletin; Ashleigh Wilson from The Australian who, I should add, has been nominated for a Walkley Award - we congratulate him and wish him the best - as has Nicholas Rothwell. In fact, I understand that the Lateline program has been nominated or nominated itself …
Mr Stirling: And what a disgrace to the Walkley Awards – what an absolute disgrace …
Ms CARNEY: Shame on you …
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms CARNEY: Yell all you like …
Mr ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Nhulunbuy! Order, order! There will be order in the House, please! Member for Nhulunbuy, please refrain from doing that.
Ms CARNEY: Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker. When you have such credible people like those who have been nominated for Walkley Awards, you have to take them seriously ...
Ms Scrymgour: You are a sad individual.
Mr Natt: You are a sad case.
Ms CARNEY: I know this hurts. I know that you are all hurting.
I know that the members for Millner and Wanguri went to the footy together, went to the AFL grand final, did a bit of bonding, did a bit of plotting. The member for Millner is not a guy who has, in the normal course of events, a great deal of credibility. What does he do? He was not even in the Territory around the Rogers interview time, 15 May. He was out of the Territory. He came back and wrote the memo - and you wonder whether the member for Wanguri helped him with it, but I digress. The memo is done - reportedly leaked by the member for Macdonnell - that says hatred in the Aboriginal community. What a memo! It will go down in history as an all-time classic political memo. It was leaked brilliantly to the National Indigenous Times - again, a publication that you lot like to quote when you like.
I am happy to quote The Bulletin, The Australian, the National Indigenous Times and there are more. The file upstairs is about that thick, I reckon, full of learned writings from just about everyone ...
Mr Bonson: Richard Lim for leader!
Ms CARNEY: The member for Millner will be delighted to know that his memo is right on the top of the file, and we even have it pinned up on our noticeboard. The memo was written. The member for Millner was not even here, and he was so disgusted with the way the Chief Minister conducted herself, he was compelled to write the memo which someone else leaked.
It is not just the opposition. It is not just The Bulletin, The Australian, the National Indigenous Times, or the member for Millner. In fact, it is not even just some of the more rusted on Labor voters, many of whom are my friends. I saw them for all of the years in opposition pining away, hoping like hell that the CLP would lose government so that the great freedom fighters, the Northern Territory Branch of the Australian Labor Party, would come in and fix up everything. Yet, under the leadership of this Chief Minister, as Paul Toohey wrote:
Is that a damning indictment? I think so. Is it any wonder that the ABC reported the other day that if the six indigenous members got together, were a bit nice to us, a bit nice to the Independents, things could become really interesting?
I encourage you to work with your conscience and get rid of the Chief Minister as Indigenous Affairs Minister. I do not need to spend too much time on your future as Chief Minister, because I know the member for Wanguri is taking care of that one for me, and I wish him well in that regard. I am at one with him because we both want her job. I suspect the member for Wanguri is going to beat me to it, but it is going to be an interesting battle in any event.
Why can we not take this statement seriously? Because the Chief Minister does not even take it seriously. This statement lobbed in our office at 9.30 am this morning - never been done before, never seen it before. This was still warm from the photocopying because of your caucus meeting yesterday, wherein many of you said: ‘Come on, Chief Minister, everyone – everyone, our rusted old Labor supporters - are saying you are bad at it, move over’. But no, the Chief Minister, with her usual dictatorial and authoritative style said: ‘We will finish strongly. We have had a shocking two weeks, in fact, things have been pretty poor since 15 May so we will do this statement on indigenous affairs’, so she can latch on to the bandwagon of some of those people who are saying she should stay - and I know only about three of them, however - so she can finish strongly and say: ‘I am the Minister for Indigenous Affairs’.
How irresponsible is the Chief Minister, when she had the ministerial reshuffle about seven weeks ago, when she demoted her threat, the member for Wanguri. We miss him. We miss him in the media, and I am sure some Territorians are just crying themselves to sleep because they are no longer seeing the member for Wanguri. She dispensed with him. She shuffled pretty much everyone. However, what did she hang on to? This is a sign of her arrogance: she clung on to Indigenous Affairs. The thing that she is worst at by any measure, she hung on to. If that is not blinding arrogance, I do not know what is. That is why so many of her colleagues are so cranky - and they have been cranky pretty much since 15 May.
In relation to some of the specifics of the statement - what a laugh in so many respects it is. I am obliged to draw the member for Barkly’s attention to the third paragraph on the first page. This is a ministerial statement on Indigenous Affairs and the Chief Minister did not write this, obviously, but someone wrote it. On the fact that Labor has so many indigenous members, it says: ‘This is something we can all be proud of, and on this side of the House we are’.
Last week, on 10 October, the member for Barkly got very cranky because I referred previously in a debate on regional development to the need for indigenous members of this parliament to step up to the plate. You have a wonderful opportunity, you have a fantastic majority, you have money coming in from everywhere and, yet, you still fail your core constituency, and I believe that is a disgrace. I was calling on the indigenous members …
Ms Scrymgour: What for speaking out, because you and every other loony out there wants us to speak out.
Ms CARNEY: … to get stuck in. Then the member for Barkly said: ‘However, I note the Leader of the Opposition continues to refer to Aboriginal members on this side of the House. She refers to Karl Hampton as being an Aboriginal person’. The member for Barkly was so indignant that I dared to do that and, yet, on page 1, paragraph 3: ‘their Aboriginality is something about which they can all be proud’. How do you want it? Which way do you want to play it, member for Barkly? Can we not say that you are indigenous members and you do sometimes and not others? I do not know, perhaps we can have a chat about that later on. Anyway, I am only on the first page.
Already, you must have been having so many disagreements with the Chief Minister in relation to housing. You said you need $180m a year; the Chief Minister, in this very statement, said $20m should do it. The Chief Minister said we can all be proud of the fact that you are indigenous members - and you should be. I really mean that; you should be damn proud. That is a fantastic achievement. However, then, the member for Barkly said: ‘Oh, please do not talk to us about being indigenous members’. Well, you cannot have it both ways! However, it indicates the amount and the level of division on your side. You and the chief are not getting along well, and everyone knows that ...
Mr Bonson: Oh, all 19 of us! Get off your high horse.
Ms CARNEY: The member for Millner still, while he referred to the hatred …
Members interjecting.
Ms CARNEY: … while he referred to the hatred in the indigenous community, he must be …
Members interjecting.
Ms CARNEY: … he must have been good at his job …
Members interjecting.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order!
Ms CARNEY: Thank you, Mr Acting Speaker. The Chief Minister, in this statement, just cannot be taken seriously. Let us have a look at a couple of things. She does her usual ‘Kumbaya, let us hug trees’ statements, and then she talks about, on page 2, how pleased she was to report at COAG that ‘COAG has accepted our argument and has set up a committee to consider a proposal for a generational plan in early 2007’. When was the summit? That would have been 25 May 2006 or thereabouts. The summit the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory refused to go to - and didn’t she cop some flack for that, and she deserved every bit of it! Then, in the lead-up to COAG, she said: ‘I am not going to summit, that is for other people to do, but I have COAG in a couple of weeks after that. That is when all of the Chief Ministers and Premiers get together with the PM and that is my place’.
Then, as the lead-up to COAG, they reckon that this issue got about 50 seconds or something, I think. The big 20-year plan got about 50 seconds or thereabouts at COAG. Of course, COAG was going to say: ‘Okay, you have a plan, let us rip into it’. The plan, as has been exposed in this statement; whereas the Chief Minister has said it is a 20-year plan, let us do the figures. The Chief Minister announced a funding boost of $20m a year. That is about 50 houses, on her own calculations. She has also said that the Territory is about 4000 houses short. Therefore, the 20-year plan has been stretched, remarkably, to a plan of 160 years. The 50 seconds that this priority issue got at COAG - and the Territory Chief Minister must be regarded as the worst advocate for any state or territory the people there have ever seen – for the 20-year plan that is really taking 160 years. No wonder that so many of the members of the caucus are angry - and they should be.
The Chief Minister went on to talk about housing. Of course, the federal minister, Mal Brough, issued a very good media release today in which he said that he rejected the Chief Minister’s call in this statement to match the Territory’s funding. He said: ‘Rather than match it, we would prefer the Territory to spend it because we gave you $95.6m or $94.6 and you have not actually spent it yet. Do you think you could possibly do that and then we can have another chat?’
There is another issue underlying the housing one; that is, if you mob want to keep building houses that are going to be trashed then, even if you were given to spending your $95m instead of just $4.7m of it, you would do something about law and order and dysfunction in the communities so that you would not spend the hard-earned dollars of the Australian taxpayer by just building houses. There are no answers on that front in this statement.
Of course, when we are talking about indigenous issues and divisions in the Australia Labor Party, let us think about a debate that has occurred in the last couple of months - land rights. We have the Labor president in the Territory, Warren Snowdon, being very unhappy and the member for Arafura being downright unhappy, yet, the Chief Minister just keeps sailing through saying: ‘No, it is all okay because I really like it. I know I have let you all down, but I am, after all, the Chief Minister’. A bit of bad luck there. Is it any wonder that the member for Wanguri is rapidly rallying his troops?
In relation to law and order, I note that the Chief Minister has referred to doing some work with the Australian government. Was it the police station at Mutitjulu that the Territory government forgot - deliberately in my view - to tell the feds about? They injected more than half the money or thereabouts and this government, in its complete arrogance, decided to have an opening and the feds found out about it late in the piece. You can bag the feds all you like, but they are the ones putting their hands in their pocket giving the money and you are just saying: ‘Please, we are such victims, can you keep giving it to us? We might spend a little of it – say, $4.7m on housing - but we have these other projects. As your funding is not tied we are under no obligation to do what you want us to do with it, or what the Commonwealth Grants Commission want us to do with it; we will spend it on something else’. There is that word ‘waterfront’ once again.
In any event, regarding public safety, the Chief Minister has failed - has always failed, and will always fail - as long as she hangs on to this portfolio. She fails the Aboriginal children and women in the Northern Territory. She just does not get it. She does not think that violence is as extensive as the evidence suggests. She would rather have on the board of inquiry into this issue a man who holds views that are offensive to every thinking Australian. In fact, the Chief Minister even said in the parliament she did not share his views. And why would she? Because they are offensive. Even in the politically charged climate in which we find ourselves, she could not possibly say in the parliament that she thought everything he said was spot on, and it was not.
I wonder if the Chief Minister actually reads her e-mails? The Parliamentary Library Service sends stuff through. I commend to her the United Nations General Assembly report, issued 13 October or thereabouts, in which it says:
That sentence should be thoroughly understood by the Chief Minister. She has a bloke on the board of inquiry who holds offensive views, that condone levels of violence and sanctions it. She thinks he is all right. The Chief Minister is in a mess. You people need to step up to the plate. You need to get rid of her. I know her days are numbered as Chief Minister, because Hendo is looking after that, but please get rid of her as Indigenous Affairs Minister.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, your time has expired.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Mr Acting Speaker, I support the Chief Minister and her statement on initiatives in indigenous affairs. Today, the Chief Minister and this government will be judged into the future on what is a landmark decision, and will be one of the key decisions that go a long way to overcoming indigenous disadvantage.
Before I go on with the balance of my speech, I want to pick up some of the drivel put on the record by the member for Araluen. She again raised the furphy that this government, somehow, did not spend money on indigenous housing. Nothing could be further from the truth. What she relies on - and this has previously been brought to the federal government’s attention and ignored largely by them, and also brought to the attention of the Commonwealth Grants Commission. In 2004-05, there is no doubt there were expenditure classification errors in the 2004-05 Commonwealth Grants Commission report on state revenue sharing relativities. Those errors on their own, of course, fuelled perceptions that the Northern Territory government was underfunding indigenous housing in the Northern Territory.
They were subsequently corrected in the Commonwealth Grants Commission’s 2006 update. In that report, it shows that the Territory’s expenditure on indigenous housing is on par with its assessed amount. The government demonstrated clearly that it invested $90m in 2004-05 on housing for indigenous citizens. That does not suit the member for Araluen, the Sean Bowdens of the world or those critics out there who say that this government keeps money from its proper expenditure channels into indigenous areas. However, of course, the truth will never perturb the conscience and mind of those such as the member for Araluen and others of her ilk, because they just want to ignore that - as do some of Minister Brough’s advisors choose to ignore the truth in front of them - and continue to run a myth that this government does not spend its dollars on indigenous housing.
Once these errors are out there, they are enormously difficult to correct, particularly when you have commentary - deliberately malicious commentary – claiming: ‘This is what this report says’. That is what the 2004-05 report says, and she should have the 2006 update report stamped on her forehead so she does not get it wrong into the future.
In relation to Lateline – and she is fond of going to this. She reminded me, unfortunately, that Lateline and Tony Jones are up for a Walkley Award. Nothing could be more disgraceful in Australian journalism. The fact that this program has been nominated undermines the Walkley Awards. The Walkley Awards are one of the most prized awards in journalism in Australia. Guess what they are for? They are for ethics in journalism. They are for truth and integrity and honesty in journalism. Yet, we have this grub of a program - I watched this program and I had tears in my eyes when I listened to this old lady saying some of the things that had happened at Mutitjulu. It was much later after the event that I found out this old lady had not lived in Mutitjulu for seven years, and was portrayed on that program as having spoken about events that occurred that week, the week before, or in the weeks and days, or weeks and months previously. She had not lived there for seven years. The doctor had not lived there or worked there for four years. Did that stop Tony Jones? Did that stop Lateline? We all know about the infamous Greg Andrews. What a lying little grub he is. What a lying little grub Greg Andrews is. He sat there, shaded out – do not put the light on, do not let the dawn light on his face because he, as we all know, is a staffer to minister Brough.
There can be no bigger beat-up than having an old woman who has not lived there for seven years, a doctor who has not lived and worked there for four years, and a staffer from the federal minister’s office intent on creating as much mayhem as he can in this area. They put all of these lies together, presented them as fact that this all occurred in the days and weeks and months prior - ran this drivel out. I sat there and, listening to that old lady, I had tears in my eyes. However, little did I know what a pack of lies and innuendo had been drawn together to present, as fact, something that was far from the truth. To hear and learn that ABC Lateline and Tony Jones are up for a Walkley Award just beggars belief. Just to be nominated demeans the Walkley Awards. You would not want one! You would not want a Walkley if Lateline and Tony Jones have been nominated for it.
There is stigma against Lateline, a program that used to enjoy strong support from the community because of its ethics and its integrity. Lateline ought (1) sack Tony Jones and apologise for the lies that they have run out or, (2) be removed from the air because it no longer enjoys any integrity or reputation for honest reporting in the community. That is sad because it was once a wonderful program. This charade of a program also paints the ABC, overall, in a very unfortunate light. That is sad because I am a great supporter - a lifelong supporter - and continue to be a strong and great supporter and friend of the ABC. It hurts me that a program like this, based on lies, fuelled and fed by the likes of the malicious rumourmongering of the member for Araluen, can be held up against the ABC until such time as they come out and say: ‘We actually got this wrong’.
Members would be aware that Treasury recently investigated the levels of expenditure of the Territory government on indigenous purposes across the board. I have reported to the House today, and the Chief Minister touched on it in her statement, the outcome of that which showed the Northern Territory government spends around 49.7% of its total budget on indigenous purposes. It shows that this government outspends, in revenue, by about $175m per year. The total amount of revenue received for indigenous purposes is around 43% of total revenues. What that report showed was that indigenous people are high users of government services. There is no secret around that, because we know the levels of ill health, the presentations in the legal system, and an increasing number, in a positive way, of indigenous students in the education system.
The report confirmed one thing quite starkly: the level of indigenous disadvantage is not being moved substantially, despite that high level of expenditure. That means we need a higher level of funds to address the issues of indigenous disadvantage, and that means we must get greater level of support from the Commonwealth. They have just produced around a $15bn surplus. However, we do not go to the Commonwealth government asking for more money without showing some determination of our own intent. The $100m housing initiative announced today, along with every other element of this package, shows the strength of that determination to break the back of indigenous poverty and disadvantage. That is the message that this government will be taking to Canberra: ‘We are putting our commitment on the table, now we need to see some of yours’.
The Martin government has a strong record in tackling indigenous disadvantage. Since coming to office in 2001, we increased health funding by 64%, much of that aimed at improving the underlying health condition of people in the bush and providing adequate hospital services to meet those needs. We have also increased indigenous education and training expenditure. Most importantly, we made indigenous education the core business of the agency. In 2001, prior to us coming to government, indigenous education was a little side issue in a separate division within the agency, tucked away there: ‘Yes, we have a little division on indigenous education’. No one cared too much about it; it certainly was not a priority. Well, today it is a major focus of every person within the Department of Employment, Education and Training.
We produced the Indigenous Education Plan that breaks new ground nationally in its focus for indigenous education. I outlined in August last year - and as the new minister told parliament last week - getting indigenous children to school remains a critical priority. That is why we are embarking on a series of contracts with 15 communities across the Territory, aimed at outlining the education responsibilities and their obligations of both community and government. Those contracts will be historic firsts right across this country for any government, and they are well under way. I look forward to supporting my colleague in the House when they are brought forward.
Education is the key to opportunity; it opens up an individual’s knowledge of the options they have available to them and the opportunity to participate in those options. For example, those seven students at Wadeye now have opportunities that their older brothers and sisters simply did not have - to go into further training, to go directly into the labour market, or to go on to tertiary education. The delivery of education to the bush prior to us coming to government, if you are kind, you might say it was patchy but, at its worst, it was absolutely, deliberately and criminally neglected by our predecessors over many years. It is an unforgivable fact of life that it took until 2003 before an indigenous student graduated in their own community to the level of Northern Territory Certificate of Education. I am proud this government put in place the conditions that allowed that to happen. I am disgusted that it took so long before it happened. Today, those first three students have grown to seven in 2004, 24 in 2005 and, hopefully, between 30 and 35 in 2006. Small steps, but large gains for all of our community.
I am proud that this government reversed policies in the education area that could only be seen as institutionalising disadvantage. For example, until this government made it compulsory, it was not mandatory for students to even sit the MAP test. That meant students who have not obtained a literacy or numeracy level that was standard or reasonable did not have to sit the test in case they brought the level of results down across the board. That is unforgivable: ‘They might lower our results across the board, we will not let them sit that test’. We stopped that, and we put an end to the outrageous policy of not providing proper secondary education out bush.
We implemented the policy that stopped schools from turning students away once they reached 13 on the grounds they did not have the capacity to teach those students beyond the primary years. Now, if a student presents at a school, he or she must get a desk and a place to learn, and be linked to educational opportunity programs - not difficult. Why could it not have happened before? I wonder why it could not have happened before?
We also introduced a world-class distance education plan and provider. Through our emphasis on training programs, we have achieved a lift in indigenous apprentice and trainee rates - 23% of all of our trainees and apprentices are indigenous. We have also successfully lifted the rate of indigenous employment in the public sector, and today it stands around 1000 or 6% of the public sector. All of this reflects this government’s desire, not only to overcome indigenous disadvantage, but to entrench indigenous people into the mainstream economy and the outstanding economic outcomes that are being achieved in the Territory.
Government has also played an active role in combating crime on communities. The crime prevention, Community Harmony, the alcohol policy staff we have across government have been pushing back on the issues of crime, antisocial behaviour and substance abuse, particularly alcohol in the communities across the Territory. Nothing can be more stark than the early outcomes of the Groote Eylandt alcohol trials. Members who have been around will remember the difficulties the communities of Groote faced across the 1980s and 1990s. The evidence, to date, resulting from the trials of those alcohol restrictions, show there are massive drops in crime, violence towards women, and failure to turn up to work. The fact that they are in the workforce at all in the numbers that they are is also a credit, of course, to the success of this program over the last 15 months. If you ever needed any evidence that the root of many of our problems in these communities lies with the issue of alcohol, we certainly have it now. I am aware it is early days, but it is encouraging to see these outcomes. It speaks volumes for the determination of the people themselves, including the Anindilyakwa Land Council, which has been a driving force behind these reforms.
Results from Tiwi trials also show reduced community problems with the move simply from heavy to medium strength beer. I am proud the government is front and centre in supporting the community efforts to overcome crime and, most particularly, alcohol abuse. We will continue to do that. It is clear that the government has played a determined role, through the key agencies of health and education, in tackling indigenous disadvantage, and I believe the results are slowly starting to emerge. We can see incremental improvements in graduates from the secondary system. There are positive stories on alcohol reduction. There are positive stories on the overall health of indigenous Territorians. We now take the next steps.
The announcement by the Chief Minister today of $100m in housing adds impetus to this government’s determination to resolve the overcrowding in houses and all of the subsequent social problems that stem from that. We had the criticism from the Leader of the Opposition who said: ‘Well, it is going to take 160 years’. I wonder if that is the attitude that her predecessors had to secondary education for indigenous kids in the bush? I wonder if that was the same attitude and why they never went there? Listening to her today, it sounds like the same mental approach of: ‘It is all too hard; we will not worry about it. It is going to take 160 years. We have better things to do with that extra $100m than put it into indigenous housing because we are simply never going to get there’. You give up. You wring your hands, you walk away and you give up. You condemn a generation-and-a-half of indigenous people in the bush to not having (1) decent housing, and (2) even access to education. For whatever the Country Liberal Party achieved in the Northern Territory over 26-and-a-bit years - and their achievements were significant - the one big shame game against them is their failure to adequately deliver education to the indigenous remote communities. We are wearing that today as a government, and our community is continuing to wear that social cost of their negligence - their criminal negligence - in ignoring those needs for those years.
I stand shoulder to shoulder with the Chief Minister when she says that overcrowding is at the basis of many social problems. We both know the problem is larger than this. However, $100m does start the long process of building more housing out bush. It will have a significant employment and training spin-off, and it will go a way towards resolving what I have always considered an iniquitous situation for local recruits. This, the police post program, and the other programs mentioned by the Chief Minister, should be acknowledged by the Commonwealth and, together, we should work together to overcome these issues.
I have been minister now for over five years. I have dealt with a variety of Commonwealth ministers. I was always encouraged in dealings with ministers like Helen Coonan, the stand out; and Brendan Nelson. You could talk sense with them, you could work with them, you could achieve great reform with them. Cooperative federalism has an enormous amount to recommend it, and I urge our federal ministers to heed it. These matters do not need to be the subject of continual and evermore graphic headlines. We actually need to resolve the problems, not talk them up.
I am hopeful that with today’s initiative along with the others we have seen over the last five years, we can convince the Prime Minister and his Cabinet of the seriousness of this government to get the job done and leave the politics behind. After all, the Territory is heading into a phase in its development when the cultural and ethnic mix of our community will be unlike any other in Australia - and our schools reflect that today. We cannot have one part of that community left out on the side. We must be there achieving for the common good. The federal government can make a real difference by working with us. That difference can happen much more quickly than it is now. That is what we are elected to achieve. I am proud of this government’s push to get that job done.
That is an appeal to the Commonwealth to work cooperatively with us on these issues. I also make the same appeal to members opposite. It ill behoves the Leader of the Opposition to come in here and, with some relish, outline how a program based on lies and deceit such as Tony Jones and the Lateline show on Mutitjulu, can even be nominated for a Walkley Award. That is hurtful to me as an all time - and I always will be - greatest and strongest supporter of the ABC. That support within me - that natural, lifelong support - for the ABC is seriously challenged.
I will tell you the difference. When a politician or a minister makes a mistake anywhere in Australia, they are out there the next day. They are out there in front of the cameras, the media, the print news, the radio and everyone else. When they make a mistake as grave and as serious as putting together a hotchpotch of lies deliberately engineered to manipulate the worst possible outcome that they could, where is the accountability on the Australian media? Where is the accountability? Where is Media Watch? Where are the rest of the media outlets? I pay credit to the Northern Territory News. I do pay credit to the Northern Territory News because they were on to this and they said this was a fabrication - and they told the truth, and credit to them.
It is a pity papers like The Australian did not ’fess up too and get on the back of Tony Jones because, until such time as Jones leaves, Lateline is wiped from the airwaves, or they come out and say: ‘We got it wrong’, the whole of the ABC, sadly, is tarnished with these grubby lies and the deceit that Tony Jones so proudly sits behind. My final word is I think it is an absolute disgrace that he is invited here for the media awards on Saturday night because, as much as the nomination of his program devalues and undermines the creditability of what ought be the highly prized and ethical award - the Walkley Award - so also is the evening on Saturday night in the Northern Territory press awards by having such a grub in their midst.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Mr Acting Speaker, I thank and fully support the Chief Minister for her statement delivered today; not least for the major announcement she has made on such a critical area such as housing for indigenous Territorians.
In responding to the Chief Minister, I would like to focus on the ambitions and hopes of Aboriginal people in the Territory. I am not just talking about the here and now, not just for this moment talking here in parliament, and not just for the current electoral cycle, but for the long term. In saying this, I am telling members of this Assembly that I am sick of the cheap advice, and the slick promises, and short-term-ism. I am sick of people telling Aboriginal Territorians what is good for them.
Let me make things perfectly clear. I have been around politics for around 20 years in local government, land council, and the health sector for the most part and, for the last five years, in parliament. If I have not learnt anything over that time, I have learnt that Aboriginal Territorians will get nowhere without resources, and unless we start taking things seriously and plan those resources for the long term.
That is why into politics: to work, not just for the warm and fuzzy feel of the short-term fix, but for the long haul. That is why I fully support the announcement by the Chief Minister early this year that the Labor government is working towards plans in indigenous affairs that takes us out 20 years. It is why, on this day, I welcome the Chief Minister’s statement with its particular emphasis on housing. It is also why I join with the Chief Minister in saying there is much work yet to be done.
It is about being in for the long haul, because Aboriginal Territorians know there is no slick answer or magic wand. It will take time and, at times, it will take and be a painful struggle to turn our circumstances around. As I mentioned, I spent a number of years in health, initially as a public servant and, then later, in the community-controlled Aboriginal health sector. Although Congress in Alice is over 30 years old, the expansion of the community-controlled sector did not really get under way until the 1980s. It was not until the establishment of AMSANT in the 1990s that we saw a Territory-wide community-controlled focus in health.
Assisted by the then federal minister, Labor Health minister, Carmen Lawrence, and then federal Coalition Health minister, Michael Wooldridge, at the federal level, there was an expansion of resources available to the sector for that period, as well as a more sustained focus from politicians in the Territory. That came later with the CLP then minister for Health, Steve Dunham.
In the last few years, it would appear that we are finally turning the corner in some key areas such as chronic disease management, for example. However, it took a significant amount of time and significantly expanded resources. It took long-term planning and sustained activity. Above all, it took Aboriginal Territorians to assert themselves and put forward their knowledge, skills and experience. It also took changes in the culture of government towards looking to sustained action for long-term outcomes. It was a process that rejected short-term-ism, and the scramble for the mirage of a quick fix. It was a process that acknowledged the immense problems that we face and the hard work required to achieve sustainable results in the long term. It was a lesson to us all, one that I brought with me into parliament. In the current context, it is a lesson that informs my personal position. I believe it is a position shared by my fellow Aboriginal parliamentarians. I am here for the long haul, and I support the government of which I am a part because it is a government that is working for generational change and advancement.
I can think of no better example in this than the approach of the Martin Labor government to secondary education in the bush. When I tell people down south or when I am just having discussions with them - including Aboriginal people - that until 2002 there had not been a single kid graduate from a bush community, the shock is palpable. They are astonished. I will be straight about it. When I heard about those first three young people from Kalkarindji - and one stayed with me in Katherine at the time that I ran the Katherine Health Board and when I heard of her graduation from Year 12, I cried. At last, three young Aboriginal kids for one of the richest countries in the world had the opportunity to get through high school while living in their own community.
As the Chief Minister pointed out, those numbers are steadily growing as those opportunities are steadily expanding. Where else in Australia would you expect such emotion over the simple graduation of three students? I will tell you: a Northern Territory where, for decades, around a quarter of the population was denied very simple, very basic, benefits such as health, housing and education - a fact that the Leader of the Opposition still does not like hearing thrown back: a Northern Territory where it will became normal to allow a quarter of the population to form a permanent underclass. That is the kind of Northern Territory my colleagues on this side of the House are dedicated to consigning it to history.
I will say that being an Aboriginal member of parliament is different and, at times, very difficult. It is true that we face obligations and demands from extended family and relationships because of the desperate poverty of so many of our people. These relationships are often mediated through personal and community tragedies. These, in turn, may very often extend to distant relations across wide geographic areas. I am not saying that makes Aboriginal politicians better or worse than my non-Aboriginal colleagues, just different, with different kinds of life experiences. However, those differences do not prevent me, nor my brothers and sisters here, from working as effective politicians, effective party members or, indeed, effective Cabinet ministers. Yet, too often, these differences are turned into stereotypes.
For example, it is assumed by many that Aboriginal politicians must break rank and publicly declare with our party, parliamentary colleagues or leader, just because we are Aboriginal when issues that affect Aboriginal people come up. We are constantly being set up as some sort of oppositional black caucus on every short-term issue of the day. These set-ups are being used as a cheap political or journalistic gimmick as a no-win situation. When the Leader of the Opposition or a journalist demands we break ranks and we do not, we are branded as stooges or dupes. For some reason, the stereotyping that is being promoted suggests that, somehow, Aboriginal people are not allowed to work in solidarity with their colleagues and are not allowed unity of purpose and action.
The flip side of this is that our non-Aboriginal colleagues are assumed to not pay attention to our experiences, our knowledge, and our concerns and to be in opposition to Aboriginal Territorians’ interests. Both stereotypes are utter nonsense. I will not use the term ‘racist’ because I do not think it is helpful or useful in this context; however, I do reject the stereotyping of Aboriginal politicians that seems to be so much the bread and butter of the political discourse in the Territory of late. I am sick of the number of times journalists and many others demand that I be available to talk on ministerial matters that properly belong to another ministerial portfolio just because Aboriginal issues may be involved.
Why is it that Aboriginal ministers of the Crown, in this situation, seem to be obligated to break Westminster conventions on the way Cabinet operates? The same interrogators would not demand comment of the Police minister on the Heritage Act, or demand that the Treasurer is obliged to answer questions on the Local Government Act. This type of stereotyping leads to double standards being applied to Aboriginal politicians that are completely unwarranted and unjustified. I am sick of the times when some two-bit nobody of an opposition politician demands the resignation of the Chief Minister as Minister for Indigenous Affairs, and that her Aboriginal colleagues plot for her removal, then brands us as puppets if we do not. This is from an opposition party that, on the one single occasion they preselected an Aboriginal person to a winnable seat, they promptly dumped him.
Apart from that, there was the posturing of a Northern Land Council functionary, accusing Aboriginal members of parliament of being a waste of time and being gagged on an issue in which he and his organisation have been very deafening in its silence, and the lack of attendance at public meetings. We are not myalls. We are not just sitting around under a tree waiting to be activated by our betters. We are dedicated to the future for our kids and grandkids, and we are in it for the long haul.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, the Chief Minister has today outlined signposts on a long road. It is a road on which I dearly hope the federal government will join us with substantial complementary resourcing, especially in the area of housing. The recognition by this government of the need for a long-term approach to indigenous affairs in the Northern Territory began on 19 August 2001. We have stabilised debt and strengthened the economy. We have dramatically increased resources in health and education. We are now commencing on the road to tackling one of the biggest challenges: housing. We have discarded the deals of the ‘snake oil merchants’ plying us with quick fixes. We are in it for the long haul. That is what it is all about. I fully support the Chief Minister’s statement.
Mr McADAM (Local Government): Mr Acting Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement regarding indigenous policy. I intend to specifically address some of the initiatives under my portfolio areas that have impacted upon the lives of indigenous Territorians. The Chief Minister has articulated a clear policy vision for indigenous affairs in the Northern Territory.
The Leader of the Opposition, the member for Araluen, had that same opportunity to place on record her credentials, her vision, as an alternative Chief Minister. She failed miserably - she failed. There can be no better description. As a member of this House, you come into this place because you believe in what you are doing. There is no doubt today that we witnessed possibly one of the most shameful responses to a statement of real vision. She had the opportunity to place on record her responses and her commitment to the indigenous people of the Northern Territory but, more importantly, to the people of the Northern Territory. Again, I honestly believe that she has no credentials whatsoever in the context of being an alternative Chief Minister, or in even being part of the Territory.
The Chief Minister’s statement reflects this government’s commitment to improving key social economic indicators for indigenous Territorians for the long term. This government understands that the social and economic challenges that we face with indigenous communities cannot be dealt with in isolation to one another. Issues around law and order, health services and healthy houses, governance, passive welfare, employment and economic development, and education and training require a holistic commitment and hard work over the long term. That is what the Chief Minister has set out here today.
The Chief Minister’s statement builds on the work done to date across government: a strong and sustainable social housing system; a strategic approach to housing in the bush in close partnership with the Commonwealth government; significant investment in education so that people in the bush can better access secondary education; improvements in health services in key areas including life expectancy and infant mortality rates; and the introduction of support of initiatives to more effectively manage alcohol abuse and reduce violence. I commend the Chief Minister’s work towards a generational plan with COAG. This government is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of indigenous Territorians in need. By bringing the energy of these initiatives together and the whole-of-government policy approaches to indigenous affairs, I believe this Labor government can make that difference.
Housing is the most logical intervention point for government. It is the most critical for improving health, education and safety outcomes for indigenous Territorians. This is especially true in remote communities where the current shortfall for housing is estimated at around $1.2bn. The case for a long-term approach, a 20-year plan, has never been stronger. Unfortunately, we are dealing with decades of CLP neglect and underfunding exacerbated by the fast-growing population in many of our remote communities.
The plan will be realised through a transformation of indigenous housing from welfare housing to a strong mix of social community and public housing, private rental housing, and private ownership. As I have said on many occasions, a housing mix akin to the rest of Australia is what we need to develop in the bush. The 20-year plan will target private sector investment in housing and it will involve partnerships between government Aboriginal organisations and private investors. That may also include, very clearly, indigenous royalty associations.
The July workshop on indigenous housing which was convened by the Northern Territory Indigenous Advisory Board, has created a lot of interest amongst the construction and building industry, architects, housing service providers and other stakeholders. I acknowledge and pay tribute to the board members: Mr Michael Berto, the Chair; Patricia Brahim, the Deputy Chair; Mr W Tilmouth; Ursula Raymond; Tony Jack; Suzanne Bozic; and Sarah Butterworth.
We are working with organisations to make the best use of new building techniques and technologies. In the next few weeks, I will announce the details of a new innovative initiative concerning low-cost housing solutions. Key elements of this initiative will be creating training and apprenticeship opportunities for indigenous people in the bush and creating sustainability through economies of scale and getting more housing for the indigenous housing dollar. I will continue to work closely with all the sectors within the industry to progress these important changes.
As the Chief Minister has stated, the centrepiece of the government’s package is the $100m investment in remote housing over a five-year period. This is new money. It is over and above our current program for housing in the bush. It is a real commitment by the Martin Labor government to respond in a very creative way to provide better housing outcomes. Accordingly, I invite minister Brough to engage the Northern Territory government in a very mature way, to work together in a partnership in addressing some of these very critical housing problems in the bush.
The Chief Minister highlighted the use of five-year contracts which provide a time frame that is conducive to real employment and training outcomes. Training opportunities and skills transfer to local people will be incorporated into the building contracts. The work will be carried out in collaboration with existing local building teams and indigenous community housing organisations, which will have an opportunity to expand their operations and increase local employment.
This government’s approach to housing is based on the same principles as our approach to health, safety and education. We recognise indigenous people have a right to the same standards, expectations and opportunities as every other person in the Territory. This is an important hurdle for everyone’s thinking around the issue of indigenous housing. Irrespective of where a Territorian lives, this government’s vision is to bring the quality of construction and maintenance in line with a single standard for social housing across the Territory.
Territory Housing, the landlord for government, is a key driver for this vision. The organisation is well placed to meet the challenges to improve housing in the bush, and is already working to meet the housing needs of indigenous people in urban centres. A total of 33% of public tenancies are indigenous households; 50% of people on the wait list are indigenous. Territory Housing is working better to assist indigenous clients through the employment of community liaison officers and life skills and tenancy support programs.
I recently visited one of our excellent senior villages in Darwin where I met with the residents over a cup of tea. One of the points they made has stuck with me. One particular gentleman asked: ‘Our senior accommodation is very good but what can we do for people out in the regions or out in the bush?’ Under the public housing framework, which is set to be expanded into the bush, public housing, social housing and the opportunity to enter home ownership will be available to all Territorians. Territory Housing will bring first-rate housing management systems, rent collection, repairs and maintenance, waitlist management and support to viable Indigenous Community Housing Organisations in the regions.
Under the 20-year plan, Territory Housing will assume responsibility for existing remote housing programs and new funding. To be clear, existing programs will continue under current arrangements. As a government business division, Territory Housing will drive for efficiencies and economies of scale on the strength of its commercial acumen.
In a recent article in The Australian, Mike Steketee suggests that the Territory government spends around $70m on indigenous housing and that we are shirking our responsibility. He would be right. In the words of Mr Steketee: we would not be pulling our weight. However, his calculations were wrong. In 2004-05, the Northern Territory government invested $90m in housing for the benefit of indigenous citizens. Of the $142m spent on housing in 2005-05 by Territory Housing, the Department of Local Government, Housing and Sport, and IHANT, $90.751m was for the benefit of indigenous people across the Territory.
No one can say that this government is shirking its responsibilities for indigenous affairs. This government is making significant structural changes to how housing is delivered across the Territory. We are increasing investment in housing in the bush, and we are doing so with clear strategic imperatives for employment and economic growth, and to reduce overcrowding. The time has come for the Commonwealth government to step up with more dollars for indigenous housing and, as I mentioned previously, to develop and work in a very professional way in a partnership which is going to get some real long-term benefit for those people out in the communities.
As I recently announced, the Martin Labor government is considering what is needed to make councils outside the major urban centres more effective and sustainable. It needs to be acknowledged that there are problems with local government in remote areas. There are, however, excellent initiatives that have taken place in the last year to improve administrative governance and service delivery arrangements in local government. To name just a few of the initiatives: the recent coming together of the Katherine Town Council and the Binjari Community Council; the strategic planning work presently being undertaken by the Tiwi Island Local Government Council; the support provided by the Darwin City Council to the Tiwi Local Government Council, and for its innovative work with other associations around Darwin; the work of the Palmerston City Council with the community in the Palmerston Indigenous Village; the great effort of Nyirranggulung in being nominated as a finalist at this year’s Reconciliation Australia’s Governance Awards; and the involvement of the Alice Springs Town Council, Tangentyere Council, Lhere Artepe, the Australian government, and the Northern Territory in the whole-of-government strategy to improve the livelihoods of people living in what we once called town camps in Alice Springs.
I want to make particular mention of this last point. Last month, I formed the Alice Springs Town Camp Implementation Committee, headed up by Mr Barry Chambers, a highly-respected former senior NT public servant. This committee has begun the challenging task of implementing the recommendations of the Alice Springs Town Camp Task Force. With representation, as I mentioned previously, from the Alice Springs Town Council, Tangentyere, Lhere Artepe, the Australian government, the Northern Territory government, the police, the Chief Minister’s Department, and Local Government and Housing, this committee has been an outstanding example of a range of government and non-government agencies working together for the benefit of all, most noticeably, the residents - those people who live in the town camps and, indeed, the broader Alice Springs community.
These fine achievements continue, though, to be overshadowed by the overall systematic problems we face. As the Chief Minister indicated, my department has recently conducted a risk assessment of 56 councils, which classified 50% of the councils as either high risk or dysfunctional. In the last six months, 22 councils - that is, 38% of all community government and association councils - have advertised or readvertised for a chief executive. Eight chief executive positions have been readvertised within the last 12 months. In other words, we are still seeing high numbers of newly-recruited CEOs resigning within a year.
In the last six months, the department has been required to make 17 major interventions into the affairs of council due to financial, administrative and/or governance irregularities. These interventions include four show cause notices to chief executives involving allegations of serious financial mismanagement. This is also a stark reminder that there are serious structural problems in the present system of local government in the bush and this government is determined to confront these difficult issues.
At the same time, it is clear the Australian government has an agenda for change in relation to bush communities which could see the removal of direct funding to small communities. We need a system of local government in the Territory that can not only survive these changes but can actually take advantage of them for the benefit of people in the bush. It is time to provide some long-term certainty about the future of rural and remote communities and the types of services they could expect as citizens of the Northern Territory.
Government has agreed to a far-reaching reform program to address these issues, particularly in relation to local government in rural and remote areas. This fundamental reform of local government is intended to create certainty and stability through strong regional local governance that will have a similar capacity to that of municipal councils. These regional shires will need to have robust business and management systems to deliver efficient and effective services, and a governance framework which ensures that everyone is represented through effective community planning processes, strong leadership and community engagement.
The Chief Minister has said commitment to improving the wellbeing of Aboriginal Australians will require all tiers of government working together. We need to ensure that local government is strong and well resourced and has the expertise to fully play its part in achieving meaningful change. A local government advisory board with an independent chairperson will be established and report directly to me as Minister for Local Government. This advisory board is to be established as an immediate priority, and I will be shortly calling for expressions of interest from relevant stakeholders.
The issues that government, in conjunction with the advisory board, will be taking into consideration establishing a new system of municipal and regional shire councils will include: that communities of interest and geographic cohesion be considered in the establishment of a regional shire; the identification and prioritisation of core local government services; what could constitute adequate, equitable and appropriate delivery of services and provision of facilities and, the ability to mandate minimum standards and service levels so that remote community residents can expect and demand a better service; the type of representative decision-making and planning arrangements that will be required at both the community and shire level; the potential for resource sharing and cooperative arrangements among shires and municipalities in the administrative regions of the Northern Territory; the need for a comprehensive indigenous employment and business development strategy in every community across the Territory; the need for ongoing cooperation and agreement between the three spheres of government; the extent to which legislation can be amended to clarify and improve the functions, powers and responsibilities of local government; the need for orderly transitional and implementation arrangements; and, most importantly, the long-term sustainability and viability of communities within regional shires established under the framework.
It is government’s aim to strengthen and improve the livelihoods of people in remote communities. We need to ensure that all communities will be better off under the new arrangements, and that we engender and maintain an appropriate sense of identity in each community. Four key components of our strategy are: a local government framework of municipal and regional shires across the entire Northern Territory …
Mr BONSON: Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the member be granted an extension of time under Standing Order 77 to complete his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr McADAM: … municipal and regional shires working together through regional plans and agreements; an absolute commitment to delivering fair standards of core local government services to all communities; and integrated planning between the three levels of government to deliver better services in the bush.
Very briefly, I will move onto two other areas within my portfolio responsibilities. The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority is a statutory authority established under the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989. As far as I understand, the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority is unique in Australia and no other jurisdiction has an agency that plays a similar role. For over 20 years, all places that are sacred, or otherwise of significance according to Aboriginal tradition, have been protected under the Commonwealth Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. All sacred sites are given global protection.
The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority plays a principal role of protection of sacred sites in the Northern Territory. They achieve this by: consulting with custodians and proponents of work to reach mutually acceptable agreements; issuing authority certificates setting out the conditions under which the proposed works may proceed; receiving an evaluation request for the registration of sites; maintaining a register of sacred sites and making it available for public inspection; prosecuting offences against the act; and convening, reviewing, and reporting on matters arising from any appeal against the decision to action of the authority. The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority’s role has two purposes. Firstly, it ensures the protection of sacred sites and, secondly, it increases certainty for economic development. Work of the authority has also increased appreciation within the community of the value of Aboriginal sacred sites and the traditional interest in sacred sites.
The authority meets on a regular basis with various industry groups - the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association, Seafood Council, and Mineral Council of the Northern Territory - and it has regular meetings with the respective land councils across the Northern Territory. The mere existence of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority in the Territory is a reflection of the significance afforded to indigenous people and indigenous policy in the Northern Territory. It is possible, contrary to the protestations of some, for economic development to co-exist with treating indigenous people and culture with respect. The AAPA is such an example of how government can provide a meaningful mechanism by which a modern economy and traditional values of the indigenous people can co-exist.
The final matter that I wish to address is in the area of the Department of Corporate and Information Services. They provide a range of centralised services to government as a whole. At least two of these services - the outsourced ICT and base grade recruitment - has been provided in such a way to maximise outcomes for indigenous Territorians. In 2005-06, DCIS engaged Fujitsu for a new desktop held desk contract for government agencies. This new desktop contract has an industry development component which will provide for improved maintenance and service of IT equipment in remote communities - both for government agencies and the indigenous communities. By leveraging the government’s ICT investment, the new contract will provide for more timely services to communities at no additional cost to the community. This will help minimise the effect of one of the barriers to the uptake of ICT in remote communities, and costly and lengthy delays in servicing and repairing ICT equipment. This can only benefit businesses in these remote communities.
In 2005-06, training and employment programs continued this contribution to the personal and professional development of the Northern Territory public service. The Northern Territory public service new apprenticeship program entered into the third and final year for the Northern Territory government’s Job Plan, building the Northern Territory workforce public sector training initiative to employ an additional 200 apprentices. The program has seen significant success in meeting targets, including increasing employment training opportunities, by commencing over 360 new apprentices. The program has provided a range of qualifications from business information technology to horticulture, the aquaculture industry, conservation and land management, health support services, dental assistants, printing and graphics, automotive, tourism, laboratory skills and community development.
Over the past few years, the total intake of apprentices to the NT public service has increased from 53 in 2003 to 119 in 2004, to 123 in 2005, and to 127 in 2006, demonstrating this government’s overall commitment to training. The number of indigenous apprentices employed by the Northern Territory public service, likewise experienced a dramatic increase from six in 2003 to 56 in 2004, 45 in 2005 and 31 in 2006. The national indigenous cadetship program has run alongside the intake of apprentices in the Northern Territory public service and also has increased from eight in 2003 to 20 in 2006. Indigenous employment strategies are the result of a successful collaboration between agencies and the Northern Territory government. These figures represent a real increase in the level of employment for training being offered to indigenous Territorians.
Mr Acting Speaker, in conclusion, I applaud the Chief Minister for her vision, for her indigenous policy that she announced here today. It is a vision that includes the belief that the social and economic determinants of indigenous people can be substantially approved. I support the Chief Minister’s statement and say, as an indigenous member of this House, I am very proud to be associated with the Martin Labor government. I am very proud to be a Territorian and I am very proud to be an Australian. If we start thinking any other way, then we get caught up with the claptrap, the bile, the vitriol, the vindictiveness, lack of vision, and the lack of leadership of people like the member for Araluen.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Acting Speaker, I have to admit I was nearly going to call attention to the state of the House so that I at least have an audience to talk to. I am pleased that we have managed to drum up a bit of business.
The criticism that has been aimed at the Chief Minister is the fact that the timing of this statement was lousy. We have had two weeks of sittings where the program has been very light on legislation and, by the looks of, it still will be in the next sittings. We have had two ministerial statements every day and, then, suddenly this morning we had this statement from the Chief Minister on indigenous affairs after a fair amount of criticism. All I can say to the Chief Minister is that your timing is lousy. If you really did not want criticism for this you would have put this out much earlier. It is even worse when you say things like this in your statement:
That is a blatant grab for the Aboriginal vote. Perhaps that is necessary because the Chief Minister can see that she has received a lot of criticism in many areas. Let us not pretend it is not there, because it is and whether you like it or not, too bad; that is what is happening. I take criticism that government members throw at me, that the CLP in the past have done so ...
Dr Burns: We never do that.
Mr Kiely: No, I have never criticised you.
Mrs BRAHAM: Let me just read from here now that you have said that. The Minister for Housing in fact, in one of his statements, was having a go at me and said:
What he did not do in making that statement, which was a bland statement, was tell the whole story. Yes, I was Minister for Housing. Yes, we did sell a lot of stock, but that was because we had a change in policy. To get a Housing Commission home, it was income tested, so it reduced the number of people who could apply for a house. There were lots of tenants within those homes who had lived there for many years, considered them to be their homes, and they were given the opportunity to purchase them. With the money that was gathered from all those purchases, the government was then able to embark upon the complexes they built, such as the seniors complexes. I opened the one in Dick Ward Drive. Let us face it, those complexes are great. Also, we started the Kurringal demolition and update. I am sure the Chief Minister would be pleased about that because we used to have so many complaints. Therefore, even though it looked as though we were selling a lot of public housing, there was a reason. There were benefits for the people who lived in them for a long time. Of course, home ownership increased within the Territory and there were funds to do other things.
It is easy to criticise. If the Aboriginal members of this government feel as though they are being picked on and targeted, then it is simple: speak up. It is as simple as that. I speak up. I can take the criticism, and I have in the past, but there is no reason why I should not have my say. I cannot see that a government like this, that has so many members, would not allow one of the members to be forthright and honest in their personal opinion, even allowing for the fact that there is a party position as well.
The timing is lousy. Indigenous members should not feel so precious about what has happened; it is all part of the political game. For instance, just the other day the member for Arafura had a go at me about walking the political side of the Borroloola people who were here. Perhaps, if she knew the background I have with those people she might have understood the relationship that was there. In the 1960s and early 1970s, I travelled extensively to Borroloola and Bing Bong and the Wearyan River - camped there, fished there, swam there, met the people. I taught many of those young children who travelled to Alice Springs to board at St Phillip’s College - it was not a school then - and at St Mary’s. They were often little tackers who did that.
I was chuffed yesterday when one of the mothers came up to me and said: ‘I am …’ - I will not mention her name - ‘You taught my daughters at Ross Park’. Another young man came up to me and gave me a big hug. I was staggered to see him. He said to me: ‘How is Michelle?’ He would have been in school with Michelle in Year 3. He has four kids, Michelle has one, and we had a great talk. There is a relationship that goes back for a long time. I even travelled in old Len Tuit’s bus on the hard bench seats, all the way from Alice Springs with those kids one holiday. They were remarkable. The parents were remarkable; that they sent those little kids away to boarding school to have an education. Those are the adults now who are at Borroloola speaking up for their people. Yes, education is so important, but have we not had a shift? In those days, education meant such a lot to those people that they were willing to do that.
We went through that decline of children attending schools. I believe that we have a real decline now and, if the Chief Minister wants to improve the level of literacy and numeracy in our schools, she really has to tackle the truancy problem. She really has to get the kids going to school. The member for Macdonnell and her brother were also boarders. When I went to Papunya, it was amazing to see him. They have all grown up. It just proves how quickly time goes by. They benefited from that education, and from the fact that their parents thought education was important. That is the message that we have not got to the Aboriginal parents today. That is one of the messages this government should be saying really strongly and clearly. I believe we need a strong program to get the kids back into school because, far too often, it is too easy to say: ‘Okay, they are in town for business, or they are over here, they have travelled somewhere else’. We always make excuses. We should not be making excuses anymore; we should be doing something about it.
I want to say that I was not making political mileage out of the Borroloola people. I do not need their vote. I did it because I believe they should have some representation in this parliament, and because I admire them, I love their area. I only wish I could go back there to go fishing and swimming again, but I probably would not swim anymore. I can tell some really funny stories about the days there. That is what is wonderful about it.
It is also interesting that this statement talks about local government and the reform. Yes, I was Minister for Local Government and I did set the reform agenda, and we had high hopes that we were going to do all the things the minister says here. However, we were going to do it on a voluntary basis. We had a little success, but it did not work. For too long, mistakes have been made in the bush; there has been too much mismanagement. I can only say if this works then great, let us get it done. We need to fix it up. We have had far too many failures. However, I wonder how much the government will achieve if there is not the cooperation there. If you are just going to say to them: ‘Righto, July 2008, this is it, you must be under this new regime of shires’.
It was hard enough to get a few people doing it voluntary; it is a hard sell to make it compulsory. I wonder whether you will get the people’s hearts and minds into this new era of local government by forcing their hand. You have to talk to some of the Victorians to know what Jeff Kennett did and how he did it overnight, and how some of those communities still feel badly done by. I guess it is interesting that history repeats itself. I do say to the Chief Minister and the minister concerned, I hope it works, because you are right; we have to get a better management procedure out there in the bush. We have to do better and we cannot always keep blaming the people who are out there.
We need to concentrate on training …
Mr McAdam: Who is blaming the people out there, member for Braitling?
Mrs BRAHAM: We need to keep on training. Some of the local government management courses no longer exist. We should be making sure they are back there in our learning institutions because, if we eventually want to make sure that it is the people out there that are taking most of the responsibility, then they need to have the skills to do it.
When you talked about housing, I had asked the question of the Treasurer not long ago about how much is taken from grants by the department when they issue contracts for housing. I know the Treasurer spoke to me and said they are still looking at that because it is a cost he was not sure of. I believe it is important to know, and I wonder whether the minister could perhaps clarify for me when he says that Territory Housing will work in partnership with indigenous housing organisations to manage delivery and maintenance in the bush. Are we going to cream off the cost of those departments to operate this, or will we see the majority of that money going into housing? If we did a bit of an audit of what is happening at the moment we might find …
Mr McAdam: They are just like the CLP when they creamed 54% off the top of Commonwealth government grants.
Mrs BRAHAM: My question to you is what are you going to do? It is so easy to say: ‘Well, the CLP took this much off’. Come on! Let us go forward. Let us talk about what you are going to take off. That is my question to you and I still do not have that answer. There is no point in just looking backwards and always criticising. You only have to look at the Leader of the Opposition. If you want to go down that road all the time, go there but, for goodness sake, let us start looking ahead.
I noticed you also talked about the design of houses. How many times have we talked about this, I will never know. You talk about prefab homes, and I wonder whether that is a good idea. I hope you do your homework because there has been a lot of criticism about the use of demountables that the federal minister has talked about. Will they be of a style that will suit the living needs of Aboriginal people? It is true that the suburban three-bedroom brick homes that were built a long time ago were completely inappropriate. How many times have we talked about designing a home to suit the needs of the people who are going to use it, I do not know. I wonder whether prefab homes will stand the test of time. It is worthwhile having a go, but let us keep it in mind that we should be making sure as we go along that it is going to be a long-term benefit to the community, not just a very short-term one. That is always the risk you take whenever you start something like this.
You talked about new police stations on communities. That is great - simple as that. It is long overdue. We expect our ACPOs to do so much. They are expected to do more and more, and they do a huge job. It is to their credit that so many of them have stuck at that job for so long. I do not know how long the longest-serving ACPO is, but it must be well over 20 years now. It would be interesting to know, to reward them for the long service they have given. They are a credit. If you get more police stations around the communities, it would give a feeling of security to people. When we are talking about lifestyle on communities - and I do not want to harp on the downside of communities - it is really important that this government does put its money into making a better environment for people to live in, and making sure that there is a future; that we talk about jobs and training, and it is not just rhetoric - that we do something in a positive and constructive manner to make it happen. Far too often, there is a lot of rhetoric.
I know contractors who say as part of their contract they are supposed to employ X number of Aboriginal labourers from the local community. Far too often, they sign them up and find that it just does not work. They either do not want to work; they do not, perhaps, have the same work ethic as the contractor who goes out there. I know contractors often go out and work 10, 11 hours a day because they do not want to spend all that time out in the bush communities. They like to get the job done quickly and then move back into town to another job. I am well aware there is a huge amount of work out there in communities, and the contractors appreciate that. However, they say it is really hard to get Aboriginal workers to stick with them and to stay there and actually take the benefits of training.
Let us not just have another talkfest; let us actually put things in place that we know are going to happen. Let us make sure that we are offering the right courses. I used to think the horticultural courses offered at the gaol were fantastic. The inmates were allowed to have their own garden and they grew all sorts of vegetables. What really chuffed me to see was that they also grew flowers. It was just a sign that they loved the beauty of it. Unfortunately, I believe that the course is no longer available at Correctional Service in Alice Springs. What a great opportunity for Correctional Services to provide training when they have a captive audience. Then, rather than just send them out the door back to their community, follow them through so that, when they do go back there is a job there and they can actually put those skills they have received into practise. That would be great.
It is probably good that the Chief Minister has made this statement. There was a feeling from the people who were in the gallery that she was not talking to them. There was a feeling of: ‘Why won’t she meet with us?’ There is a feeling, perhaps, that the indigenous portfolio should be given to another member of this government. I do not think that is unreasonable. You have just had a Cabinet reshuffle, and many people are adjusting to their roles. I understand that you are going to say: ‘Well, this indigenous portfolio is across government’. However, if it is attracting so much criticism, why continue with it? What are you winning by saying: ‘This is the Minister for Indigenous Affairs’, full stop? If you are getting all this criticism - as I said the other day, the people from Irrkerlantye were up there saying: ‘Are these all Labor people here?’ Why continue with it? Why not say to the communities: ‘We hear what you are saying. We recognise that. You really do not think this is a good person to be your minister; and we are going to appoint someone who perhaps can take it on and who will respect and listen to you and talk to you in the way that you can relate to’.
The Chief Minister needs to understand that, while she is getting such criticism, she should rethink what she is doing because it is not helping this government in any way that we have this criticism continuing. It is not just from me or the opposition; it is out there in the community. That it is an important thing to recognise and to acknowledge.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I am always supportive of things that will make a better life for people on communities. I will always help if I can in any way. I do get a lot of feedback. I do have a lot of friends in the Centre. I am only too happy to try to give government the feedback to make it a better proposition in the long run. No one wants them to fail. No one wants any of their projects to fail. What we want is success. We have to concentrate on the positive. Let me say, Chief Minister, give us a report card in 12 months time. Let us see how far you have gone and what you have done.
Mr HENDERSON (Employment, Education and Training): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement on indigenous affairs in the parliament this evening.
I am pleased to be following the member for Braitling. I always believe the member for Braitling makes genuine comments when she talks about wanting to see improved outcomes on remote communities. We do not always see eye to eye on things, but I believe we see eye to eye on a lot of things. It was good to hear a substantial and informed contribution tonight, as opposed to the vengeful and hysterical rantings of the Leader of the Opposition who did not put one constructive suggestion or policy position. Heaven help us in the event that she ever does become Chief Minister of the Northern Territory; it would not lead to an improvement for Aboriginal people who are over 30% of our population.
I, with the Chief Minister, am very proud to be part of a team of 19 in the parliament, including six indigenous people, of the Northern Territory. It has been a sea change in representation in the Assembly. At last, we have a parliament that truly represents the demographic make-up of people in the Northern Territory. Given the huge disadvantage that Aboriginal people continue to suffer today in so many ways, there will be issues about how we deal with them. Those issues are debated with absolute conviction and passion. As a team, we are totally committed to improving opportunities and outcomes for indigenous people. Any debate is inside the margins of priorities within a limited capacity. We are seeing a huge sea change in our communities.
This commitment we are talking about tonight stands alongside what I really hope is also going to be a significant change in commitment from the Commonwealth government, given that the Chief Minister managed to get from COAG and the Prime Minister of this country a commitment to a long-term 20-year plan to see the tide of indigenous disadvantage turned around throughout Australia.
It is staggering that, in the year 2006, a nation as wealthy as this great country of ours - wealthy not only in financial wealth but in spirit, commitment, tenacity and goodwill - that we still have the first Australians living in such disadvantage. Really, it is all about a matter of degrees in the change. I just hope that the Commonwealth government, in accepting our Chief Minister’s submission to COAG, realises that a long-term generational change is required from the Commonwealth government and all of the states over 20 years to improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal Australians. I hope that the Commonwealth government can commit the resources on behalf of the Australian people - and let us remember that the Commonwealth government is there on behalf of the Australian people - to see the change. They have the capacity, they have enormous budget surpluses. I believe the generosity of spirit and goodwill of the Australian people would support the Commonwealth government in committing to that long-term change.
If you are not in politics to be the eternal optimist about change for good and better, then you should not be in politics. Despite political differences between the Labor Party and the federal government, I am hoping, for the good of indigenous people across our great country, that the Commonwealth will seize the generosity of spirit from Australians to make that commitment. We will continue to work constructively with them to see them do that.
We have had many debates in the seven years that I have been in this parliament about indigenous housing and the deficit in the housing need across the Territory. Going back to self-government in 1978, goodness knows how many debates have occurred on indigenous housing. However, the difference between this debate and all those preceding debates over the years is that this is the first time that any government in the history of the Northern Territory has committed so substantively out of its own resources to additional housing in the bush. That is a fact. Any student of history who looks at the history of indigenous housing will see that. We should not be afraid of history because people are going to look back at our government’s term in office - however long that is going to last - and examine the history of this government.
The truth is that, in the 27 years of the previous governments in the Territory, they did not put anything into indigenous housing. At self-government, the Commonwealth retained responsibility for indigenous housing and previous governments in the Territory took the policy view - and you cannot criticise the policy purists for it - that it was the Commonwealth government’s responsibility to finance indigenous housing and, therefore, it was not the responsibility of previous CLP governments to put any money in it at all.
When we came to government, we, for the first time, started putting money into indigenous housing. We have tried to work, through various housing ministers, to achieve additional commitments from the Commonwealth government to a small degree. In this term of government, we have been working hard in trying to determine and find the funding to make a significant contribution to improving the backlog of indigenous housing in the bush, and to create opportunities for training and employment for indigenous people.
A $100m commitment over the next five years is, in an historic and financial sense, a huge commitment. It is not only a commitment, but we really believe it an investment that is going to make a difference. As the Leader of the Opposition did say – which is probably about the only thing in her speech with which I agreed – it is not going to fix the problem. We know that it is not going to fix the problem. Only the Commonwealth government has the financial capacity to meet that $1.2bn backlog of housing need in our remote communities. The Territory government does not have that financial capacity, and the policy responsibility for meeting that backlog does still lie with the Commonwealth government.
Through the Overarching Agreement on Indigenous Affairs and the housing schedule that sits alongside that agreement, and the lead and the commitment that this government is taking and announcing here today, I hope, we will see leverage from the Commonwealth to at least match our commitment. I certainly think they should be doubling it - but at least match it, because an extra $20m a year from the Commonwealth out of a $13bn to $15bn surplus, is a drop in the bucket. Costello would not miss it. It really is a drop in the bucket when you are looking at such huge surpluses in the forward estimates to continue for many years, given the strength of the Australian economy. The reality is, if the Commonwealth did match it and we had $40m a year on top of the money that is already committed, we would probably, in the capacity in our workforce, be flat out spending that. You could not fix the $1bn backlog in five years because there is just not the capacity to deliver on the ground. However, it would show indigenous people that governments were serious.
It is a significant commitment, and I pay tribute to the Chief Minister tonight for pursuing this so solidly as an issue for this term of government, and also to the member for Barkly, as the new Minister for Housing. I believe all of us here, irrespective of politics - I know I do - play the game pretty hard and in a confrontational way, but the member for Barkly has a quiet and resolute determination to make a difference in his term as Minister for Housing. If anybody can pull this off, the member for Barkly can, as the minister who will have carriage of this particular project.
Our commitment, and his commitment, is that this is not just welfare housing - housing that people are entitled to - it is about creating opportunities for training and ongoing employment for people in our regions, in the bush, not only in the effort in constructing those houses, but also in the ongoing maintenance of them. He is absolutely determined, as we all are on this side of the House, to see that this money is not just presented as welfare housing; that this money has to leverage training and employment outcomes for people in the bush - real money, not just CDEP money with a bit of top-up. Real training, real jobs, and real money in an ongoing sense. I agree with the member for Braitling, it is not going to be easy. It is not going to be easy. All of the issues and challenges, my colleagues will speak about that.
However, just because it is not going to be easy does not mean that we should not have the determination and the resolution to push and push until we get those outcomes. We are certainly failing indigenous people if we do not keep pushing and pushing and pushing. I make my commitment here as Minister for Employment, Education and Training, that this is an absolute priority for me. I believe we can get, out of government expenditure - not only in this housing allocation, but through our procurement systems, our capital works programs, and our road maintenance programs. We all know that there are jobs out in the bush with very real money to pay very real wages. We have to use all of the levers at our disposal, along with the Commonwealth, to really focus on getting those outcomes. As I said before, if anybody can make a significant change here, it is the member for Barkly, because he is resolute. I am looking forward to working with him, as we all are.
The other elements of the package - including local government model and reform, again, for the member for Braitling - are not going to be easy. We all know on this side of the House that that ain’t going to be easy! However, it has to be done. We cannot continue with any hope of having so many small councils dotted around the Northern Territory, with no capacity at all to make any difference in their communities and - as my colleague, the member for Barkly said - no certainty about their financial futures.
On the matter of the risk management audit, the numbers the Chief Minister talked about in respect of the assessment of 56 councils were that 50% of those councils were high risk or dysfunctional. In the last six months, 22 of those councils have advertised or readvertised for a chief executive. We just cannot keep running around in ever decreasing circles like the hamster in the mill, chasing our tails to very poor outcomes in local government. The challenge for the government is to take on a leadership role. There have been many attempts at this before, and we have all seen them. It is all about leadership and demonstrating to people that there is a benefit in going down this path. The benefit is going to be a capacity for ongoing revenue flows, and to increase those revenue flows to delivery better services to people in our regional and remote communities.
That is the challenge for the government: to demonstrate that this will make a difference and lead to better service delivery in the bush. I believe that we can do that. Our MLAs who represent those electorates are going to be a very large part of that leadership effort in demonstrating to people that this change will lead to improved service delivery.
Regarding who can carry it off in a leadership model, I believe my colleague, the member for Barkly, can. He has a pretty big job over the next three years. He is respected, he is seen to be a man of honour and integrity, and he has all of our support. He has announced the broad parameters of this policy shift at the recent LGANT meeting, and he came away from that very buoyed up regarding the response that he received …
Mrs Braham: He would make a great Minister for Indigenous Affairs.
Mr HENDERSON: Good luck to him in the carriage of that change.
I have spoken about housing. In my portfolio of education, there is the expansion of secondary education in the bush. That is absolutely vital to the ongoing future for indigenous people. I suppose, as the new Education minister whose formal education ceased at the age of 16 years of age, I see this as very black and white. Unless those kids can leave our school system at least at the national benchmark level in literacy and numeracy, they have no choices that they can make in life. As Australians, that is unacceptable. We have to do everything we can to make sure those kids do leave our education system being able to read and write, to enable them to exercise choices that my kids will be able to make. All we can do as parents, as a society, and as a government, is to give our kids the skills to equip them for the society in which they live, and to allow those kids to make the best of their lives and to exercise some choices. It is as simple as that.
The expansion of secondary education in the bush, actually providing education where people live, in a context where they have the support from their families and communities wherever possible, is a huge challenge. The results that we have achieved thus far in our first term are the 25 students, which is a very small number given the number of students that should be graduating with a Year 12 NTCE certificate, but it is a start. It just goes to show that if you actually take the first steps, then you can get change. I will continue the good work that my colleague, the former minister, the member for Nhulunbuy, did. I do not think I will ever be able to stand in here with his professional passion for education, but I will certainly be able to stand here with a parent’s passion for education and the importance of expanding that secondary education in the bush, and also improving the outcomes that we are getting from our primary education in the bush. It is not good enough. The figures that are in the annual report are not good enough. We have the schools out there; we have the teachers out there. We have to get those kids into school and get better outcomes from those schools in the bush. That is the challenge but one we will continue to work on.
The approaches to alcohol: we all know how destructive grog is but, again, local solutions for local communities. I will not go through the figures again, but Groote Eylandt gives us all a huge amount of hope in showing that there is a way forward. What has happened on Groote Eylandt is nothing short of astounding. Compared to the first time I visited Groote Eylandt six or so years ago to just recently when we had Community Cabinet over there, it was a totally different place. That is what happens when the community comes to grips with alcohol. I would like to spend a couple of minutes talking about police stations in the bush ...
Ms LAWRIE (Family and Community Services): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as to allow the minister time to conclude his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr HENDERSON: Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker. I thank the House for allowing me to continue. I will be brief.
The provision of new police stations in the bush is something that needs to be done. I was Police minister for very nearly four years and now my colleague, the member for Johnston, is the current Police minister. I do not think any Police minister will say that he has enough police officers. Regarding the maintenance of law and order and providing safe communities, we do need additional infrastructure in the bush. The challenge is going to be - and I wish my colleague well in the challenge - working with the Commonwealth government to achieve a non-politicised approach to this very important task.
I have to say that I think there was a lot of politics around the federal minister’s announcement of $40m for additional police stations across Australia at the summit that I and the members for Karama and Arafura attended in Canberra a few months ago. The funding is over a number of years. The minister did state at that meeting that he wanted to conduct an audit of police forces across Australia. As a result of those audits, he and the Commonwealth government would make decisions about where they placed those police stations. I politely but firmly pointed out to him that the best person to ask where those police stations should be placed are the Police Commissioners of Australia and, in the Territory, our Police Commissioner. They are the experts in determining where the resources are required based on population, the logistics in delivering police services, the distances between police stations, the crime levels in various communities, and the safety issues.
The Commonwealth minister flying in with a political agenda is not going to lead to the best long-term outcomes. I argued hard that we have a bipartisan approach in the reference for such an audit because, wherever the Commonwealth might decide that it has a few dollars to put into bricks and mortar, the Territory government is going to be left for the next 50 years with the ongoing recurrent costs of staffing those facilities. Therefore, if the federal minister is genuine about getting improved law and order and community safety outcomes from his $40m, we will get a percentage of that. We will be lucky to get a third, but if we do, that is welcome. I ask again that he actually works with us and listens to our Police Commissioner - a person for whom I have the highest regard as a person and a professional police officer - about where they should go. If he does, he will have the best outcome, but if he is going to fly in here with a political agenda, it will, sadly, be an opportunity lost.
Again, I congratulate the Chief Minister on this statement. It is visionary. I am certain that in the context of indigenous housing history, people will be able to look back at this day and see that this was the day that things started to change in the bush, not only in meeting the housing need, but also the training and the employment deficit in the bush. I commend the Chief Minister on her statement.
Ms LAWRIE (Family and Community Services): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I speak tonight as the Minister for Family and Community Services, the Minister for Planning and Lands, and the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. The significance of this indigenous statement by the Chief Minister is quite incredible in each of those portfolios, so I will be going across all of them. I am absolutely delighted with the initiatives that the Chief Minister has announced.
I recall when the national spotlight first fell on the Territory with the very tragic issue of child abuse, there was a lot of hysteria. A lot of comments were being made off the cuff by a lot of people. I was driving into work one morning listening to ABC radio, and there was an interview with Professor Fiona Stanley, who is an eminent expert on the welfare of children in Australia and a former Australian of the Year. She provided a very sensible discourse, at the time, on the quite hysterical debate. I will never forget her saying that unless you deal with the issue of overcrowding in housing, you cannot deal with the issue of child abuse. She made the point - to me, an obvious point and one I shouted at the radio several mornings in a row during that debate because everyone was just talking on bizarre tangents - that you cannot protect children when they are living in a house with 17 and upwards people.
Where there is such a degree of overcrowding, of course children are neglected and are very vulnerable and at risk of abuse. Why are they neglected? They are neglected because, in a logistical sense, how can you cook a good breakfast, get the kids off to school in the morning, get them home in the afternoon, take care of them in the way that we would expect as parents, cook them a good hearty meal, get them a good night’s sleep, when there are so many people in the house you logistically cannot cook for that many people. If you were trying to cook something in the kitchen, you would be feeding beyond your means in the household. Where there are so many people per room trying to sleep, the kids are not going to get a good night’s sleep.
The whole issue is of the poor nutrition, the lack of sleep, the inability to attend school - the legitimate issues that exist in our indigenous communities and that are confronted daily by families - and the wrenching circumstances of the parents who are trying to meet these often insurmountable odds of delivering a healthy and appropriate upbringing for their children. Obviously, they are dealing with the hard end of that, which is drunken behaviour of people in the community. If some of those drunks happen to come to their house because that is where there is some floor space, that is where they are going to sleep because, culturally, the occupants are required to allow them to sleep there because they are a relative and, in fact, they know their children are at risk.
I will never forget, as the member for Karama, being told of a camp of some people in the long grass just near the electorate. I was alerted to this by a friend of mine who said: ‘There are some people who are living in the long grass out the back there. They have some kids, and the girls are getting about age eight and they are starting to be at risk because there is a drinkers’ camp nearby and they are starting to look at those young girls’. I had no idea previously that there were this group of people in the long grass, because I do not spend my hours combing through the scrub on the outskirts of my electorate. They took me down to where the family was. I worked tirelessly to get that group of children, and the grandparents who were caring for them, and a couple of aunties, into housing. It really brought home in a very stark and very real way that the living circumstances of people - absolutely their environment - leads to whether or not children are at risk.
An individual’s capacity to dictate the environment is largely dictated by whether or not they have shelter, and adequate shelter; that is, whether the shelter provides the circumstances whereby they can ensure the wellbeing, the nurturing and the safety of their children. Fundamental to everything this government needs to do in improving the life and wellbeing of indigenous Territorians into our regional and remote communities, and our capacity to deliver on any of those ambitions and efforts we are making, is to improve the housing.
The Leader of the Opposition lives in an absolute fantasy land, glibly accepts the mistruths of Canberra and her mates in Canberra, when she ran a line at Question Time today about: ‘You are getting all these hundreds and millions of dollars from the federal government in housing. You are not spending it - you are only spending $4m of your own’.
Our current Minister for Housing has had and won that argument with the federal minister over exactly how much we get and how much we spend. What is not arguable is the unmet need: the $1bn, the 4000 homes that are required to meet the needs of Territorians. Inherently in being Territorians, they are Australians and they have an entitlement. As the Chief Minister said very clearly, they have an entitlement to the federal government dollar. For a government that has a $5bn budget, to commit $100m additional to start to make significant inroads in the unmet housing need for indigenous Territorians, is one of those seminal days in government where you say: ‘Oh, my God, there is a fundamental commitment here, $100m additional to the effort we are already making, to say we cannot tolerate Territorians living in the circumstances in which they live’. Underpinning all of that is their need for shelter, their need for a home, and their need for a home where it is not overcrowded.
Do not be under any illusion, opposition; this would not and could not have happened around the Cabinet table - where we are competing all the time for the Territory dollar, where we have enormous unmet need right across our portfolios - if the Chief Minister was not the Minister for Indigenous Policy. That is the significance of having your leader take leadership and responsibility - and it is a huge responsibility, a responsibility most of us could not bear because of the extreme unmet need we have in the Territory. However, the Chief Minister stands up, stands tall and says: ‘I will absolutely take that responsibility on and I will not shirk it because there does need to be a whole-of-government approach’. As she has said, it is the responsibility of every minister, of every member of government, to meet the needs of indigenous Territorians. She is the leader in that effort and, as Chief Minister, she can ensure that each of us are brought to account for undertaking the work we must do to turn the life of many Territorians around, but also drive home the essential funding and resources that are required to deliver the effort.
In that she has a great support, the member for Barkly, who is the Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Indigenous Policy, has some critical areas, as we have heard through this statement, in delivering significant change in the bush. Housing, of course, as I have just mentioned, is fundamental to improving people’s lives, along with the local government reforms that the member for Barkly, through his role as Minister for Local Government, has been articulating: the framework of change, bringing in a framework of shires and looking at the capacity for our communities to deliver real services - services of the standard most people would elsewhere in Australia are critical.
We have a great combination there in the Chief Minister taking absolute leadership on Indigenous Policy supported, I might say by all of her colleagues - by every single colleague - contrary to the fantasy of the Leader of the Opposition. She is ably supported by a minister who, fundamentally, has critical areas of carriage, which is Housing and Local Government. The reforms we are seeing being driven through by the member for Barkly with those ministerial responsibilities, are absolute sea changes for the way we will see the remote areas of the Territory into the future. It will not happen overnight; it will not happen in the first five years. However, there is a strong foundation and pathway being built that this government is pursuing to improve the lives of indigenous Territorians - one that it would be impossible to break open into the future and tear down.
Coupled with that, as we have heard in the debate, along with the importance of education and of the delivery of health services is the importance of housing. If you go anywhere in the bush they say: ‘Can you fix our road? We really need to be able to get to our community on a road that is passable’. My responsibility, having inherited the portfolios of Planning and Infrastructure from my very capable colleague, the member for Johnston, is to look at everything and anything we can do under the existing Commonwealth and Territory government agreements to improve the delivery of better roads for the Territory.
I have already attended a ministerial council meeting last Friday where I eyeballed Jim Lloyd, the junior minister. I eyeballed the senior minister for Transport who is the Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, and said: ‘I want another meeting with you. I want to discuss how we improve our roads in the Territory because the Commonwealth has absolute responsibility’. Just as it has a responsibility in the delivery of housing, it has a responsibility in the delivery of road funding. They should accept this responsibly, and say: ‘We will walk down that path with you and we recognise that we have the means, we have a $15bn surplus’. There is an absolute opportunity there for the Commonwealth to dramatically change the landscape of the Territory, to dramatically improve the lives of Territorians. Mark Vaile is a man of the country. He is a man of the National Party, the leader of the National Party. If they do not understand the economic opportunity through regional development, you wonder who will. Certainly, the Liberals do not. They have shown that; they have shown they govern for the urban centres and for the city. They are interested in what the polls say about Sydney and Melbourne. They are interested in their political expediency. I have great faith and hope that the National leader, the Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, will engage with the Territory around additional funding for our roads because our roads are primary producer roads; they are the beef roads. With the drought down south, as tragic as it is, it gives the Territory an opportunity to become more of a primary producer for Australia.
The opportunities that exist in tourism for our indigenous communities are abundant because we know that people come to Australia for the indigenous experience. We know that people from the southern states travel to the Territory for the indigenous experience. Quite aside from the absolute responsibility that we have as government to provide safe and adequate services to our constituents, roads, as a means of travel to get there, are fundamental to that. There are a very good economic reasons why the Commonwealth could spend some of its $15bn surplus to improve our roads.
The Territory government recognises that we have to do our bit. We are doing our bit. We have increased the roads budget by $15m. We are spending $130m per anum now to improve our roads. We have a lot of ground to make up; we have a significant unmet need. Only 23% of our roads are sealed. We cannot do it without the additional investment from the Commonwealth. Just as we are calling for the additional investment from the Commonwealth in housing, they need to come to the table regarding our roads infrastructure. We are spending the highest amount per taxpayer in the nation on improving our roads. We are doing this in a strategic way.
As I have said, tourism has enormous potential for regional economic growth. The Mereenie Loop, as an example, is not just a tourist road as we know; it is a significant service corridor out to a lot of communities. This government has allocated $23.5m to date to upgrade the Mereenie Loop. Again, the Outback Highway is not just a tourist road; it is an important tourist road but also a core service corridor to many communities in the service corridor from a territory to a state, which has been allocated $7.4m. I congratulate the Commonwealth for recognising the importance of the Victoria Highway with $50m. We went to the Commonwealth and said: ‘Let us work together on the Port Keats road’. There is a significant gas project coming onshore there. There is a real opportunity to change the social dysfunction of Wadeye by being able to provide the appropriate service routes, the industry and economic development for that township and that region. We have a submission to the Commonwealth for a $10m project on a 50:50 basis. This is the big picture, but there are so many little ones. With our beef roads, the government has not shirked our responsibility to ensure that our primary producers are catered for. We have put significant dollars into our beef roads - millions of dollars that just were not being spent previously.
Importantly, as you have heard in the debate, these economic drivers are not useful if they do not provide local training and local jobs. My agency of Planning and Infrastructure ensures that our roads contracts have built into them training and employment for our indigenous communities in the surrounding areas of the roads. Not only do we have the indigenous content provisions in relation to employment, we are including it in relation to training on specific and relevant projects. Let us take the Mereenie Loop as an example of that, where locals from Ntaria have been involved in the construction project and have gone on to earn certificates in civil construction - the training, the qualifications. This is not what we call ‘gammon jobs’, the CEDP with top-up that the Commonwealth in the past has relied on, these are real training, real certificates providing real qualifications so that there can be an ongoing employment opportunity for these indigenous Territorians.
It is just not on the roads that my agency has a dedicated effort in training and employment. Critically important to this is the Indigenous Infrastructure Unit. The unit delivers the Territory’s indigenous housing program, which is a three-year rolling program that delivers both new housing and major renovations. Importantly, it is delivering jobs and skills for our regional Territorians through the construction training project. To date, 29 houses and 39 renovations have been completed this financial year so far. Next year’s program is a busy one with major activity to include $1.5m for the Dhimurru regional council housing construction; $3.2m for new housing in Maningrida; $3.2m for new housing at Gunbalanya; and $2.2m on the Tiwi Islands. The commitment to funding is matched by the commitment to delivering jobs and skills for our regional indigenous Territorians through our construction training project, which is absolutely essential in turning around the social and economic disadvantage that has existed in the Territory for decades.
This year, our training program will provide training to 40 trainees across nine communities. As I said, matched with these economic drivers need to be the social drivers for change. Standing stark and foremost in the effort made by the government in changing indigenous policy and embracing the needs that we have, right up there has to be the nation’s first legislation on petrol sniffing, the way we tackle our volatile substance abuse. I have spoken and delivered a statement in the Assembly on that. I want to thank again the government for having the courage and the commitment, the support of the Chief Minister and other ministers, for delivering what was innovative legislation. It had not existed before and it was significant that the whole of the government, with the support of the Chief Minister, was prepared to get behind innovative legislation.
On the ground, it is having an effect. We are hearing that, with a combination of the roll-out of Opal non-sniffable fuel, with the volatile substance abuse legislation giving the police the powers to seize petrol, and giving police, community workers, health workers and others the power to get compulsory treatment orders, we are changing the dysfunction that previously existed in communities as a result of petrol sniffing …
Dr BURNS: Mr Acting Speaker, I move an extension of time subject to Standing Order 77 to enable the minister to conclude her remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Ms LAWRIE: I thank my colleague, the Minister for Health.
In conclusion, there has been a lot of talk about indigenous affairs. There have been a lot of theories and a lot of different people putting a variety of expertise and knowledge, but what is often overlooked in this debate is democracy. Democracy has resulted in the election of six indigenous members of government. The indigenous communities of the Territory elected them because they believed they were the best people to represent them. We recently had democracy on show with the Stuart by-election. The Leader of the Opposition got out on a hustings. It was her opportunity to approach indigenous affairs and put her policies to the indigenous people of the electorate of Stuart. What was the democratic result of that? What did the indigenous people of the Territory say to the policies of the CLP compared with the policies of the government led by the Chief Minister? A 67% two party preferred vote. That, by any stretch, is an absolute glowing endorsement of the new member for Stuart. It is an endorsement of the Martin Labor government. It is an endorsement of the Martin Labor government’s approach to indigenous affairs. It is an absolute slap in the face to the farcical policies of the CLP who follow and trot out the lines from Canberra for political expediency without any real understanding and depth of care about the unmet needs of indigenous Territorians. The people of Stuart had their democratic say and they spoke loudly about whose policies they have faith in and support.
In closing, $100m to provide additional housing will go some way towards meeting the unmet need. It is an important day in government. I thank the Chief Minister for her statement, for the commitment and leadership she has shown in delivering significant, enormous change in indigenous policy in just five years. The 20-year plan for which she showed leadership and won support at COAG, against all odds, must be congratulated. The weasel words from the Leader of the Opposition stand in stark contrast to the significant leadership from the Chief Minister.
This statement makes this a great day for the Territory. The plans that are laid down are significant for the Territory. I was born and raised here; I intend to live my life here. My dream is that the commitment that is shown by this government delivers a better way and standard of living and all the opportunities that I enjoyed as a child are opportunities that will be enjoyed by every indigenous child in the Territory.
Congratulations to the Chief Minister, the Minister for Local Government and Housing and to the Martin Labor government for having the strength and commitment to deliver real results in the bush.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I welcome the Chief Minister’s statement, although I was a bit surprised when it turned up at 9.50 this morning. Considering that I have a whole heap of statements sitting on my desk that have not been completed yet – transport, resource development, tourism, chronic disease and, I think, economic development - there are heaps of things still to happen. Unfortunately, here we are on Thursday, the last day of the sittings, and we have not completed all those things.
Be that as it may, the Chief Minister has made a statement on indigenous affairs and, naturally, one would recognise that this is a most important issue in the Northern Territory. With the percentage of indigenous people continuing to rise in the Northern Territory, they make up a considerable section of our population.
I will go through a few issues that I still believe are vitally important if Aboriginal people are to take their proper role in society with everybody else in the Northern Territory. Full employment is the key. Unfortunately, even though the minister just mentioned that there have been lots of theories put forward, the issue of full employment is not a theory, it is a fact, because we used to have it. We used to have full employment on Aboriginal communities. There was full employment when missions were around. Admittedly, pay was low and people got their food. However, even after the missions pulled out - and I have said that a few times - when I was at Bathurst Island, when there were wages being paid through the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, we had full employment. The sad thing was that when the unemployment benefits were introduced, unfortunately, that destroyed that concept.
The Chief Minister and other ministers have spoken about how people are getting real jobs in tourism, civil works and mining, and that is good. Mining and civil works do not always continue forever. In the numbers of people who are employed compared to those unemployed, I include the CDEP people as unemployed - not in a detrimental way, but because I think those CDEP people should be receiving full wages at normal rates. We have to have work of all kinds, and I still believe the federal government has a key role to play in funding remote communities with enough finance to give everybody who wants a job a job. That does not mean people will not get child allowance, pension allowances or sick benefits, but it is saying, for all those people who can work, we will give you a job.
I sometimes quote the Marshall Plan in America which, to be accurate, is probably not exactly the same thing. What America did - and it did help a lot of Afro-American people – was provide employment, otherwise these people were on the streets with no money and no skills. Even though I am not saying that we do exactly what the Marshall Plan was about, the philosophy behind the Marshall Plan was to create employment, which was a good concept. I believe governments do have roles.
To digress a bit, my argument about the Sundowner Caravan Park is not that what is happening is illegal - the owner has the right to do exactly what he is doing - but the government has a role outside of that legal framework to help people. I argue that the government should help the people of Sundowner Caravan Park by doing what I have asked for: swap a block of land.
I say to the federal government, and the Northern Territory government, to a minor extent: yes, there are people out there, and yes, you might say they are uneconomic communities, but you have a responsibility to provide full-time jobs for Aboriginal people on remote communities. Once they have full-time work, people can advance; people have some dignity. That is what is not happening. Why are people getting so tied up in substance abuse? Why do we have sexual abuse? Why do we have houses that are smashed up? We do not have full employment on communities. Unfortunately, that is a major problem.
We also have very high cost of living in these communities. If you buy a lettuce or an apple out in the bush, they are a lot dearer than they are in town. People do not have a lot of money. Therefore, there is a real need for governments - from Mr Mal Brough who has said a lot of things, some good, some bad, but he certainly got people thinking about the issues that are out there in the bush - to create full employment.
I say that from experience when I worked on Bathurst Island. I had 107 people working on the council. We were mowing lawns, fixing fences, keeping the airstrip in good nick, burying the rubbish, undertaking soil erosion mitigation on the beach, and we had a nursery going. We found work for people, and you can find work for people.
Education is improving in some areas and other areas, as the member for Blain said, are still a disgrace. There are still a lot of kids out there who cannot read and write well enough to get a job. However, you cannot have one without the other.
I have spoken about the number of Aboriginal people in prisons, and the number of people in prisons overall is not mentioned here. I believe we have to have plans to make sure Aboriginal people do not go back into gaol. It is no good having programs - and I welcome what the minister for Justice was talking about - for Aboriginal people, for instance, in crocodile handling, if they go back to a community and there is not a crocodile in sight. That is not much good. The other thing is that if there is no work for those people, then they will get into the same problems as they have been all the time. It has to be a bigger package than just employment; there have to be processes in prison that will be useful when they go back to their own community knowing that they can get a job, not knowing they can sit down and just get into trouble again. There needs to be education in our prisons for those people who have missed out on an education in their own community. That is the key emphasis.
We need other programs which can help people take control of their lives. I have said before that, on my visit to the United States, I saw two prisons at which there was what they call a therapeutic community. They help people with drug problems, and people with self-control - especially if they had domestic violence problems - with anger management. They work on helping these people. They get the family involved. They get them employment outside of the prison when those people go back to the outside world. They only have 20% recidivism in those type of communities where, in the Northern Territory, as the minister said today, we have 40% to 50% recidivism in our large prison. Many of those would be Aboriginal people because we have the highest percentage of Aboriginal people in prison in Australia. That is an issue that was not touched on in this statement, but is a very important issue.
The other issue that the Chief Minister spoke about is housing. I have spoken many times about this. If you were just to do some rough figures, if a house at the present time cost anywhere between $350 000 to $500 000 to put on the ground in a remote community, sadly, the $100m package will not go far. I know the Minister for Housing is looking at these issues, but I bring to the House’s attention that there is a fabricator at the Aboriginal Development Foundation shed on the Stuart Highway at Holtze at the 11 Mile. The Minister for Health was there and he saw a product which was relatively cheap. The owner of the factory, John Waldmann, is making wall panels 600 mm X 3 m high. They are slightly hollowed out, cyclone proof and easy to erect. You can put them up any way you want to and you can build a house out of them. They are ideal for Aboriginal communities. You might need someone who has skills in putting up houses, to make sure the house is square and the doors are in the right place but, basically, that is an ideal way of building cheap houses. They are solid houses, they are cyclone proof, and they can be made in any configuration people want. There is a package that I believe has possibilities. John actually won one of the rounds of the ABC Inventors program for his product. It costs $150 per panel, from memory. You do not need to be Einstein to know that you could build a house a lot cheaper than $350 000 if you only have to buy panels 600 mm wide for $150. There is a solution. It is not only a solution for Aboriginal people, it is a solution for many other, non-Aboriginal people who find housing very expensive today, especially if you live further away from Darwin; it gets more and more costly. I am sure the minister will have other things to say on that as well.
The Chief Minister raised the issue of local government. I had a briefing with the Minister for Local Government’s department the other day. I will not say too much on this at the moment, but I do believe that a major statement to the House will be important so that we can put input into these issues. The Minister for Family and Community Services spoke about democracy. There are a couple of issues with local government that have to be clear.
There is local government democracy or local government governance, which is about the delivery of roads, rubbish and reserves - those kind of basic things that are essential for human life and the right of every person in any community, black or white, it does not matter. Then there is traditional governance; that is the people who own the land, naturally, have the right to say how their land is used. Those things have been blurred too much. We have to be clear that traditional ownership is about the land and what happens on the land. However, when you come to fixing the poles or picking up the rubbish, it is not really a traditional thing. It is a local government thing and has to be delivered fairly to all people - old and young, no matter what tribe or skin group. With debate about developing shires or whatever, we have to make sure that those fundamental differences are understood because, up until now, sometimes that has been hard to fathom. I can understand why Aboriginal people, at times, may feel that those two systems clash. It is important to make sure that people understand there is a distinction because, no matter where you are in Australia, you have a right to have your rubbish removed or put in a dump, and for a road to be looked after. They are just basic rights. That is an area that, when we debate local government, we should examine further.
There are the issues, for instance, of having shires where there are pastoral properties. You might have small towns and the predominance might be Aboriginal communities. How is that going to work? Some people will be paying rates, some people will be paying service amounts. You will have wards, from what I understand. There are some real issues that need to be worked out clearly. There is a chance for the community to come together, both non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal, because what councils will do - or what they should do - is not distinguish between who is in it because they are providing essential services. It is not to do with traditional ownership or pastoral ownership; it is in the provision of essential services. I see it as an opportunity where it may bring people together, and that is important when you are looking at local government.
I would like to speak a little more on education but, at the moment, I will say that it is still a long way below par. If we are to get real employment for Aboriginal people - if Aboriginal people are going to become doctors or dentists or surveyors or engineers - they need to have real education. They need to study physics, mathematics and chemistry. They are the subjects that will lead them on to be able to advance their peoples.
Of course, there are people doing secondary education but we need a lot more. We have really only just got a drop in the bucket. I am not bragging here, but I look at where my children were brought up: Bathurst Island, Daly River and Howard Springs. My daughter has now been offered a job in Canberra with the Department of Education, Science and Training. They have asked her to leave Perth where she has only been for a short time because of her experience and ability. As an Aboriginal person who really came from the bush – well, she was born at Royal Darwin Hospital; spent her life at Daly River and Bathurst Island and back to Daly River - she has done well for herself. It can be done.
I have said before - and I am not trying to be paternalistic or whatever - I am proud that Aboriginal people are in this parliament. It is a great attribute. I do not always agree with what people say, but that is why we are here. That does not matter, that is why we are here. We show the rest of Australia that Aboriginal people can do it equally with anyone else. I say I am proud of the Aboriginal people in this community and it is great that we do have you amongst us and giving your point of view.
I return to the problem of alcohol. The government has a long way to go and has to make some harsh decisions because alcohol does not just affect Aboriginal people, it affects non-Aboriginal people. In the non-Aboriginal society, it is a popular; it is a big macho thing. Companies make a lot of money out of alcohol. You only have to go to the footy when the Bulldogs are playing Port Adelaide. I sell hamburgers with Southern Districts, and I walk around and see the amount of full strength alcohol that is sold at Marrara. It is quite incredible how much alcohol is consumed at the football. People might say: ‘That is what you go to footy for’, but I am not so sure. Are we promoting the sport to promote the alcohol? I go to watch the footy. Other people go to have a pretty good time drinking. You have to go there yourself to see it.
Traeger Park in Alice Springs, in my understanding, only sells light beer. Football in Katherine does not sell beer at all. The Northern Territory Football League sells full strength beer; Cougar and Melbourne Bitter. I watched people walk up to the portable bar at the southern side of the ground, and I saw no light beer being sold. I deliberately watched to see what was being served. I am also interested to know whether people were told they could not have any more because they had too much alcohol. That is just one example of the dominance of our breweries in Territory society. I am not a wowser. I admit I do not drink; I do not have a problem with drinking. It is a hot climate and everyone enjoys a drink after a hard day’s work, but there is no doubt that there is an over-emphasis on the connection between alcohol and sport. It always amazes me how we stopped advertising cigarettes because they were bad for your health. How much worse is the over-consumption of alcohol when it comes to domestic violence, car accidents or violence in general?
The police will tell you, 70% or 80% of our offences are alcohol related. We have some hard decisions to make on alcohol. We are trying to help Aboriginal people, but we have to look at this issue in a more holistic way. You cannot just say that Aboriginal people have problems with alcohol; I know a lot of white people who have problems with alcohol.
I go to football club AGMs, to meetings, and I can tell you, there is a lot of alcohol consumed. Many clubs rely on alcohol for their very existence. It would be good to see that a program where clubs could say: ‘We are going to reduce alcohol and the government will give us a replacement amount of funds to encourage us to do that’.
The Katherine Football League is a classic example. I gather the numbers of people who turn up at the football dropped off remarkably because they do not sell alcohol at the football. It would be good if the government said: ‘We will give you a grant of $10 000 or whatever to make up for the loss you have from loss of alcohol sales’. There are other programs we should look at.
Alcohol - even though we have other problems like marijuana and petrol sniffing - remains a key problem in our community and in Aboriginal communities. Visitors might not know that I looked after 30 Aboriginal boys at Daly River in the 1970s. They were boys from the cattle stations. Half of those boys died under the age of 21. They would have been my age. I was only 19 looking after all these boys who were 14, 15, 16. Here I am at 56 and most of the kids are dead today. Half of them, I know, died under the age of 21 - all attributable to alcohol, whether it was murder, a car accident, swimming across a river to a pub and taken by a crocodile. It has had an effect on my thinking about alcohol.
This is something that the government has to pursue and pursue evenly. It has to look at society as a whole, the role of the liquor industry in general, and at advertising. It needs to make sure that it deals with this issue fairly for all the people who are affected by it.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister for her statement. Obviously, a statement on indigenous affairs covers a huge range of issues. I hope I have added something to the debate, and I look forward to the Chief Minister’s response.
Ms ANDERSON (Macdonnell): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the statement on indigenous affairs brought to this House by the Chief Minister, the Minister for Indigenous Policy. I welcome the government’s commitment of an additional $100m over five years for remote housing. This expenditure will provide a significant boost to the regional economy and, in combination with other elements of the package covering local government, housing, education, alcohol and community safety, will enhance the quality of life for residents of our remote communities.
This government recognises that successful housing requires good design, robust building, good maintenance support services and, most importantly, a healthy community and lifestyle that has strong culture, good education, and confronts social problems such as unemployment and alcohol abuse.
Addressing these issues is the first phase of the government’s 20-year plan to improve the social and economic status of Aboriginal Territorians. This is an important objective, and achieving this goal will benefit all Territorians. In economic terms, the benefits flow from Aboriginal people in a large and stable section of the Northern Territory with high population growth and a population that is, on average, younger than non-indigenous people. Aboriginal people spend their money locally, so increases in their income benefit local businesses. If the increases in indigenous income is sustained, this will, ultimately, expand the domestic consumer market, helping to overcome a current structural weakness in the Northern Territory’s economy.
These reforms are also necessary to prevent health and justice needs overwhelming the budget because, in a sense, health and justice pick up the tab for inadequacies in other sectors. The underlying determinates of health are social and economic. Poor levels of educational achievement, overcrowded houses, substandard environmental health conditions and high levels of unemployment are the main drivers of the relatively poor health status, so the first steps of the 20-year plan the Chief Minister has announced today are well targeted at the key priority areas.
The extra $100m over five years for remote housing is the fist significant increase in indigenous housing funding in over a decade. I am pleased that this funding will not become bogged down, waiting and dependent on the Australian government for a matching grant. However, having said that, I urge the Commonwealth to join with the Territory to address the huge need for housing in the Northern Territory.
This government’s attitude to indigenous issues is radically different from that of the CLP government, in power for 27 years and never veering from a policy of opposition to all indigenous organisation, land rights and expressions of sovereignty. They were 27 years of pure neglect in the areas of housing, advancing people to move forward towards economic development, education and health. If you do not invest in a society or a community, you are going to have the results that we see today. The pressure is being put on this government to do things in five years that the CLP did not do in 27 years of pure neglect.
The Martin Labor government is willing to walk hand in hand with indigenous people in health, education, housing and alcohol reform. I am one of the six indigenous members of the Labor government, and very proud to be. In the 2001 election, and again in the Stuart by-election, Aboriginal people have shown an endorsement of the Clare Martin Labor government.
Aboriginal people have always said that there needs to be a restructure and reform in local government. I remember when I was at Papunya, I worked on some form of reform which is similar to what the minister is suggesting, and it was called the Wangka Wilurrara model. It was to do with the people who live to the west of Alice Springs - it was a shire. We spoke about it for three or four years. We are happy, because it brings us as a clan, as a people who belong to a tribe - the Pintubi Luritja tribe - together as one people again. With the building of communities under the assimilation policies and in starting up new outstations, all we have created is a population of 120 here and 320 over there and 80 here. Yet, as a clan, we belong to the whole of that region. It is bringing us, as a people, back together again.
We of the Western Desert, the Luritja Pintubi, would like to say to the Chief Minister and the Minister for Local Government that this is something that we, as a people and as a clan, have worked towards. We want to see those changes for better services. We want to make sure that our communities get one accounting service, one auditing company. We want to make sure that we get real services on the ground so that there is sharing of machinery. You have communities within 100 km of each other having two graders, two backhoes, two trucks, but we cannot share it between those two communities. Yet, we can have a regional road strategy, a regional health strategy, and a regional education strategy.
We are a people who are very mobile. We can travel between Western Australia and South Australia within a week. There has to be a system where you bring those people together and, because of the mobility of indigenous people, there has to be some form of structure that can pick up people while they are travelling. You need to pick up children because of education. You need to pick up people because of health. While you have a shire, the health department or the health clinics can work together to make sure that those people are picked up between communities, and children are picked up between communities as they are travelling for ceremonies or for sorry business, or just going to visit family.
I am honoured to be part of the Clare Martin Labor government, a government that has a vision to do things that other governments have failed to do. This is a government, with the leadership of the Chief Minister, saying to Aboriginal people: ‘I, as the Chief Minister, and we, as the government, will move indigenous people forward together as Territorians’. That is something that we all want to see, and we should have seen that 27 years ago, but we did not. I lived on an Aboriginal community for that 27 years under the CLP, where we were absolutely neglected. It will be on record where we came in and asked the Commonwealth Grants Commission on many occasions: ‘What is the CLP government doing with our money that they get from the Commonwealth? We do not see anything out there in education, health, roads and housing for our people’.
As I said earlier, when you do not invest, you will get the results that you have today. If we, as a government, did not invest in the Territory as a whole in tourism, education and health, we would not be able to advertise the Territory in other states or outside of this country and say: ‘Please come to the Territory, we have all these beautiful parks, we have these things happening. We have Kakadu, we have Ayers Rock’. If you do not invest, then those people cannot come here. That is the same thing that has happened to indigenous people in remote Aboriginal communities; the lack of investment by the CLP government. The Opposition Leader can stand there and condemn the Chief Minister as much as she likes, but the Chief Minister is a person who has guts and is willing to drive Territorians together towards the light on the hill: ‘Please come with us, you are part of the Territory. We want to make sure that we move you as part of the Territory. We want to make sure that we educate you as Territorians. We want to make sure that you are healthy like every Territorian’.
In the past, we were isolated and the results that you are seeing today that we are starting to fix up, is what you have done. You can say as much as you like: ‘You cannot keep going back to the past and 27 years’. It has been an absolute shambles; it has been 27 years of pure neglect. Do you expect 27 years of neglect to be fixed in five? No, it is impossible. The Chief Minister has quite clearly stated in this House and in the media that it is not an easy task. If Aboriginal affairs were so easy, why has the Commonwealth not fixed indigenous affairs many years ago? You have to walk the walk and talk the talk with Aboriginal people, and this government has shown through its leadership that it is willing to move all Territorians forward to good health, good education, good infrastructure and good roads.
I want to go on to something that the member for Nelson said, where he referred to real education and real jobs. If you have a look at Aboriginal communities, apart from being a doctor or a nurse, principal or teachers inside schools or a policeman inside a police station, there are no real jobs. The reforms that the Minister for Local Government is talking about with regional roads, regional housing gangs to go around and build the houses and repair the houses, are the real jobs that we are looking for. This government has taken leadership in offering that to indigenous people in remote Aboriginal communities. The Martin Labor government has been forthcoming in saying to Aboriginal people: ‘We want to have partnerships with you. We want to make sure that you come with us, that you walk with us to achieve good economic advantage for your communities, and that you be included in determining health, education, housing and good roads’. That is the leadership we want to see and this government has taken the initiative.
Being one of the six indigenous members of this government I stand proud and honoured, as I said before, to be part of this team and part of this government under the leadership of Clare Martin. Why is it that the Opposition Leader continuously attacks the Chief Minister on indigenous issues when her government failed, for 27 years, to do anything for indigenous people? This government in all forms, in all their portfolios of infrastructure, health and Aboriginal affairs, mines and energy, sports and recreation, is moving and advancing Aboriginal people.
However, this is not just a job for the government. We all have to understand and realise that we, as a people, have to come forward and build this partnership and the foundation with the government as well. Things can only change if we are willing to change and if we can say to the government that we will work with you to improve our standards. Things cannot be done and changed if Aboriginal people do not want it to be changed. That mind set also has to change, and that change is coming through good education policies from this government.
You have heard the Education minister speak today about the outcomes in education. You have heard the Health minister speak today about the outcomes in health. You have heard the Local Government minister talk about the things that are going to move Aboriginal people forward. You have heard the Minister for Family and Community Services talk about the things the family and community sector is doing to protect our children, to talk about better avenues of embracing Aboriginal children.
I, as one of the Aboriginal members of this government, am absolutely appalled at the Opposition Leader continuously asking the six indigenous members of this government to question the leadership and the portfolio that Clare Martin holds. The six indigenous members of this government support Clare Martin holding the Aboriginal affairs portfolio 100%. I believe that the media needs to stop running to the Opposition Leader. We stood up on many occasions and supported the Chief Minister without the Chief Minister or any members of this government putting pressure on us, to say that we support the Chief Minister wholly and solely. I commend the Chief Minister’s statement to this House.
Debate adjourned.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Mr Acting Speaker, tonight I speak on our government’s decision to allow the expansion of Xstrata’s McArthur River Mine. It is a decision that I have greeted with respect towards my colleagues for the many difficult and controversial aspects of the decision, not just for the mines minister, Chris Natt, but also the environment minister, Marion Scrymgour, and local member for Borroloola and Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Indigenous Policy, Elliot McAdam.
Tonight, I speak for the voices of my people, Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Mara and Gudanji peoples. I share with this House the spiritual aspect of the indigenous people’s protest against our government’s decision. The Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Mara and Gudanji peoples sit in the gallery here tonight. They sit here to support me in the struggles that I face, not only as the member for Arnhem, but also in my responsibilities as a traditional owner, recognised and accepted by my own people.
The indigenous people of the Gulf have travelled here from Borroloola to protest the expansion of this mine on the steps of Parliament House this week. They have done so with great dignity. It is important to me to share with the parliament the meaning behind the distinguished and dignified protest. I could not, in all good conscience, not do so for our people have lived in the region for thousands and thousands of years and struggled for the strong recognition of land rights in the Gulf - rights that were hard won after 30 years, and only handed back four months ago; rights that were fought for by people who have long since passed and who no longer walk this earth, but live through the hearts of their descendants.
My people travelled the 1000 km to have their voices and their songs heard outside this parliament, the place that we all know as the House of law. My people have brought with them the laws and songs that have been sung for thousands of years. These songs have been passed down, telling the rainbow serpent Kujika the song lines of the McArthur River. The people of Groote Eylandt and Numbulwar in my electorate of Arnhem share the Kurdardaku Kujika, the brolga song, with the Borroloola region.
Our peoples are connected through those song lines and have been for centuries. So important are these songs that the families from the Gulf have travelled here to the parliament. For the first time in the history of our people, they sat outside and sang in a different land, in the land of the Larrakia - not in the land of the Garrwa, Gudanji, Mara or Yanyuwa; they sing here, on the land of the Larrakia outside this parliament, the lawmakers.
Tonight, I am conveying their feelings to the parliament. Every day this week, my grandfather, Gordon Lansen, and my brother Harry Lansen, have sung the Kujika of the rainbow serpent and how it rests in the McArthur River where the diversion is to take place. They are worried the rainbow serpent will now be cut. Every day, my brother, Phillip Timothy, has spoken strongly with my sisters, Selina Timothy, Marlene Karkadoo, Kathy Roberts, Clara Thimpson, Sadie Miller and my mothers, Ade Friday, Maisie and Miriam Charlie, Michelle Connolly and Chloe, my grandmothers Amy Friday, Jemima Miller, Diana Norman, Hazel Shadforth and Una Harvey, and my aunty, Mavis Timothy, have sung these songs. Every day they have sat outside of this parliament singing, hoping and praying that the spirituality of our people, and the importance of that spirit and relationship to country, would be respected here in this House of law.
We in this Assembly must reciprocate such genuine respect given to us by the indigenous people of the Gulf, by not just listening to their story but in understanding their concerns, for these songs are songs about the river and country surrounding the McArthur River Mine, one of the world’s largest lead and zinc deposits. This Kujika sung this week expresses the deep concern the indigenous people of the Gulf region have, not only for the waters of the McArthur, but also the rivers that flow into it, the Carrington and the Crooked Rivers - the rivers that flow out to the sea of the Yanyuwa to The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Their concerns expand far wider than the Gulf country - concerns about water and how water is life. The indigenous people who are here in this parliament are troubled by the water crises they see right across Australia. Australia is looking to the north to resolve a growing water crisis in our eastern and southern states, yet, my people are very worried at the potential risk to one of our greatest waterways here in the Northern Territory. They do not understand what they see as a contradiction. The Murray/Darling has become so dried up the farmers are looking to the north for help. The Prime Minister says to the whole of the country that we are facing a water crisis, reminding all Australians that we must look at our usage of water. The Prime Minister, at the same time, urges our government to do something to our waterways - something that is affecting the very heart of the people who sit in the galleries here today, and who have sat in the galleries here every day, wanting to remind us to stir our consciences and make us think that water is life.
How is it that our brothers and sisters in the southern states are struggling so deeply with the water? I think of the Wilton and the Roper in my seat of Arnhem, and I wonder about the Daly and the Katherine and the Elizabeth - about all our rivers. It is a worry that all indigenous people have for country, for land.
I cannot stress enough to this House the spiritual and cultural significance of why the Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Mara and Gudanji peoples have travelled here asking us - pleading with us - to listen to them. As a Yanyuwa woman, I believe strongly in those same things. I say to my countrymen of all the four clans: I support you, I understand and I respect your right to be heard. I stand with you in your concerns about the development of the traditional lands of our people.
I would be failing in my duty to not only my people but also to the people of Arnhem Land whose culture is strong and whose song lines mix with the Yanyuwa, the Garrwa, the Mara and the Gudanji, and who would say to me: ‘How can you represent us if you cannot represent you own people?’ That is why I speak here tonight, so my colleagues will understand and see the struggles, not only from an economic point of view but from a social, environmental, spiritual and cultural points of view. Understand that it has been a long journey for these old people. What they ask is your respect - they have shown you every single day. The traditional owners feel as though they have been left on the sidelines. I ask all the members of this House: what have you done this week to talk to them, sit with them, to ask them what troubles them? Are they so insignificant? Can you not ask them why they have travelled so far?
They do not want the river diverted, and I stand here in this House and relay this message to my colleagues. The water crisis is such that it disturbs greatly the indigenous people of the Gulf region. While I acknowledge the difficulty as a government in making the decisions for the Mines minister, the Environment minister, and the local member, I respect the difficulties of your decision and I ask you to respect the difficulty of mine.
Though the traditional owners do not want the river moved and they worry for the river, they have always said that they are not against mining. There is a great tradition in the Labor Party to look after the battlers. My people here today are the battlers. Let them be heard and listened to. I also ask that Xstrata Zinc’s Chief Executive Officer, Santiago Zaldumbide, meet with the traditional owners. I ask that the Commonwealth Environment minister, Senator Campbell, meet with them and listen to the traditional owners and their representatives, and to allow time for the negotiation. Listen to the traditional owners; they do not want the river moved.
My people are a strong people who have great pride and resilience. They sit here in the gallery to remind the members in this Assembly of what is really important. They bring their message that water is life, through their songs and displayed in the T-shirts that they wear. As the wheels of government chug along and issues are debated across the floor of this House, the indigenous people of the Gulf region now know that you now know how important water is; that no amount of money can ever compensate for the lack of it.
Mr VATSKALIS (Casuarina): Mr Acting Speaker, on 16 September a good friend, constituent and loyal supporter, Mr Frank Upton, passed away. Frankie, as we all knew him, was one of a kind, and everybody who met Frank loved him. He often visited my electorate office to have a chat or to organise morning teas at the Masonic Tiwi Gardens Senior Village so I could meet with seniors and assist with any concerns they may have.
His illness and the speed he deteriorated took everybody surprise. He was always fit and healthy with an amazing appetite, particularly for cakes and pastries. The casino breakfast was a particular favourite of his.
Frank was born in Bendigo on 21 September 1928. He came to the Northern Territory with wife, Maureen, in 1982. When Frank came to the Territory, he rang his family in Melbourne and said: ‘We lived in Melbourne for 15 years and we knew 50 people. We have been in Batchelor for five minutes and we know 500 people, so we are staying here’. They initially settled in Batchelor for about seven years and then moved to Darwin. They chose Batchelor because this is where they first camped when they visited the Territory on holidays. Frank had a variety of jobs in Batchelor including working for the Batchelor College. He was also very active in the Catholic Church and taught religion in schools.
When they moved to Darwin, Frank and Maureen were on-site caretakers and managers for St Vinnies in Stuart Park. They both loved living in the Territory. Frank loved food. He once described the food he had on his trip on the QEII in 2003: 14 different types of eggs and he had a different sort every day. Frank would never let the truth get in the way of a good story. He was in his element on this cruise, swapping stories with the other millionaires.
Frank and Maureen were together for 52 years sharing their special time, drinking two long neck beers after work each day and talking together no matter what had to be done around the house. After retirement, they both enjoyed an amazing four or five months driving to great places like Cape York. Frank was very proud of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and their kittens no matter how small.
The children passed this information to me:
Frank’s proudest day was qualifying for the old age pension with all its benefits. As the children told me:
Frank loved politics and could not get enough of it in the media. Politics was his hobby, and the fact he once stuffed envelopes for both the CLP and the ALP during one election did not bother him. He loved and enjoyed politics, and I understand a copy of The Weekend Australian was put in his coffin when he died so he had something to read on the way.
Frank put his money where his mouth was when it came to religion. It was his hobby, and working for the church gave him a lot of satisfaction. It also helped him come to terms with his own mortality. His wish was that everyone think of his passing as moving to a new address, adding that he had done that a few times in his life - moved on and not kept in contact with people but he still thought of them and they still thought of him. It does not get much better than that, and Frank died never once wavering from the belief that he was really going to enjoy his next move.
His children Glenn, Lee and Keith, said Frank was always a family orientated man and was keen to trace his family tree, even visiting Irish ancestors in an effort to fill in missing dates and places. They were forever grateful to their Dad for being a wonderful father, and they join together with their mother, Maureen, to send Frank this message: ‘We love you, we respect you. There is no way you were average in any aspect of your long and happy life’. From me and my electorate officer, Debbie, a very short message to Frank: we will all miss you, Frank.
On another matter, I received a letter the other day in my electorate office. I will quote it because it is wonderful:
Honeylyn continues to say that she would like a small donation so that she can buy presents for the kids or, if I would prefer to give some presents so she can give them to the kids. One thing I can say is Santa is alive and well, Honeylyn, and what you are doing is admirable and wonderful. I want to assure you that I will make a donation - not a small one - for you to buy these presents to provide for the kids at the hospital so that on Christmas morning, Santa will have been to Royal Darwin Hospital.
Mr NATT (Drysdale): Mr Acting Speaker, tonight I acknowledge a gentleman who has been part of the furniture in the Mines and Energy Division for some years. Unfortunately, Subhash Chandra has decided to retire after 26 wonderful years with the department. Subhash, 61 years of age, and his wife, June, have decided to move to Brisbane to be closer to their family.
With a background in physics, Subhash has been the Director of Energy Policy and Renewable Energy, part of a small team, in the Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries and Mines for the past 20 years. During the part five or six years alone, Subhash and his team have supported almost 400 renewable energy projects in the Northern Territory, particularly in remote areas; notably Hermannsburg and Lajamanu.
Subhash has also been involved in the Territory’s current Alice Springs solar city bid, and he has played an integral role in trying to get that up with the federal government. The Renewable Energy Rebate program provides cash rebates of up to 50% to off-grid power users to replace diesel generation with renewable energy such as solar and wind energy. All off-grid users, including pastoral stations, indigenous communities and roadhouses, are eligible to apply for these rebates.
Subhash holds a Doctorate in Physics from the Queens University in Canada and was part of a renewable energy team that carried out a number of research and development projects on solar and wind power in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek in the 1980s and 1990s. He is President of the Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society Northern Territory Branch, and he organised the national conferences in Darwin in 1992 and 1996.
Subhash was born and brought up in northern India. He moved to Australia in 1973. He worked in the Physics Department of the University of Newcastle before moving to Darwin in September 1980 when the Mines and Energy Division was formed. For the first five years, he worked as a nuclear fuel cycle technologist, examining opportunities in that area, including the possible establishment of low-level radioactive nuclear waste.
Subhash is a former Northern Territory champion badminton player, and was the driving force behind the establishment of the Northern Territory Badminton Association with which he has enjoyed a 25-year involvement. I understand he is very hard to beat. He also helped coordinate the World Solar Car Challenge in its early years, and has been Chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Mental Health.
Subhash has always been a supporter and driver of renewable energy initiatives. Although a quiet achiever, he has been an innovative individual who has seen renewable energy progress to a point where Australia and the world are moving in the right direction; that is, away from the atmospheric pollutant energy systems.
Subhash, you and your expertise will be greatly missed in the Territory. I sincerely hope, on behalf of my office and the staff of my department, you enjoy great times in your retirement with June and your family.
Ms MARTIN (Fannie Bay): Mr Acting Speaker, last Friday I attended this year’s Northern Territory Literary Awards, which were held in Parliament House, and had the pleasure of, once again, presenting the Chief Minister’s Northern Territory History Book Award.
The Literary Awards are in their 22nd year and they are as popular as ever. This year, they attracted 261 entries, which gives an idea of the literary talent we have in the Territory. The highlight of the evening was presenting the 2006 Chief Minister’s Northern Territory History Book Award. It is a relatively new award, only in its third year, and entries must meet two key criteria: the books must be published during the previous year - in this case, 2005 - and they must deal with our history here in the Territory.
The inaugural winner in 2004 was David Bridgman for Acclimatisation, a book about the history of Top End architecture. Last year, John Mulvaney won the award for Paddy Cahill of Oenpelli, which looks at the life and times of the former Protector of Aborigines, Paddy Cahill. They are two great books and two worthy winners.
Nine entries were received this year and the judges whittled them down to four finalists. They were: Southport, Northern Territory, 1869 to 2002 by Marge Duminski, a book about one of the Territory’s first towns; Paint Me Black: Memories of Croker Island and Other Journeys by Claire Henty-Geber, which is her life story; People of Victoria River Region: An Album, by Pearl Ogden, about the people of the Victoria River region; and Frontier Justice: A History of the Gulf Country to 1900, by Tony Roberts, a book that brings a fresh perspective to the Gulf region. That was a competitive field, but the winner this year was Tony Roberts. He was very keen to be in Darwin for the awards, but living at Bega, his home town, he was caught up in the fires around at that time. He could not leave; he was fighting the fires. Congratulations to Tony and our other three finalists; they have all made a significant contribution to our history.
A special thanks to the history book judges, Kym Muller, Michael Loos and Linda Marchesani. I also thank everyone involved in organising the literary awards, especially the Director of the Northern Territory Library, Jo McGill and Assistant Director, Ann Ritchie, and their team at the library: Melissa Reiter, Christa Murphy, Jenny Salt, Danielle Chisholm and Louise Paynter. Thank you also to the NT Literary Awards Committee, Ann Ritchie, Susan Cameron, Sarah White, Prof Mary Ann Bin-Sallik, Dr David Mearns, Andrea McKey, Barbara Hickey, Maurice O’Riordan, Robin Hempel, Jenny Salt and Lisa Sullivan. Congratulations also on a job well done to the NT Literary Award judges: Barbara Lemke, Stephen Gray, Carmel Williams, Constance Bathgate and Vivienne Hayward. Last, but not least, to the sponsors: Dymocks Booksellers, Kath Manzie Estate and Charles Darwin University - many thanks.
On 23 September, the Speaker and I had the pleasure of attending BassintheDust in Alice Springs. It is a great event and one that keeps getting bigger and better each year. There were 11 hours of non-stop music and three huge Australian acts, End of Fashion, Pete Murray and the Living End. Unfortunately, the Hilltop Hoods were booked in but did not make it, but they have promised to come to Alice Springs and play a free concert later this year. By all reports, End of Fashion and Pete Murray both played great sets and kept the crowd entertained. The headline act of the day was Living End, and they did not disappoint. Their set was energetic and exciting, including some very tricky work by the double bass player, who somehow managed to balance on the side of the double bass, while playing it.
BassintheDust is not just for well-known Australian bands; it is a great event to showcase local bands like Sweet Surrender, Night’s Plague, Zenith - who played at this year’s BassintheGrass in Darwin - and new Alice Springs band, the Moxie. I introduced the Moxie, and they received a rousing reception. Declan Furber-Gillick, Tom Snowdon, Bill Guerin and Jack Talbot are four local Alice Springs boys, and they played a great mix of covers and original songs. They are currently recording their first album, and I am sure they are destined for great success in the future. Congratulations to each of the bands and their performances; they did Alice Springs proud.
BassintheDust has become a great success story. The people of Alice Springs have got right behind the event. Last year, 1500 people attended. This year, the total attendance shot up to 2300. That is a great result. There were not just young faces in the crowd; there were rockers of all ages dancing along to the music. Probably the feature of the time that I was there - I was there for about an hour-and-a-half - was Madam Speaker in the mosh pit. Just try to picture that. She did well ...
Mr Wood: Yes, I heard about that.
A member: Skinhead.
Ms MARTIN: Yes, it is still being talked about in Alice Springs. It was a spectacular site. It was while the Moxie were playing, and they were fantastic. They are a young Alice Springs band. I know most of their parents, which makes me feel incredibly old. Their music is terrific. I really think that if they hang in there they have a great future. They probably have a bit of pressure from parents to go and do something professional, but I say, hang in, guys, you have a great music career.
A big thank you to NT Major Events for organising and running a great event. The record numbers are testament to their hard work.
Thanks must also go to Kelsey Rodda and Kylie Bell from Alice Springs who started the petition to keep BassintheDust at Anzac Oval. Following last year’s event, Alice Springs Town Council had plans to move the event to another location. Kelsey and Kylie collected over 400 signatures and, thankfully - and I do thank the council very sincerely – they took heed of this overwhelming support for BassintheDust to stay at Anzac Oval, and changed their mind. Thank you, every single member of council. Everyone who attended, and all the parents doing the drop-off and pick-up duties on the day, recognised that Anzac Oval is the best location for such an event.
I am delighted we were able to provide such a fantastic event for the people of Alice Springs. I look forward to attending an even bigger and better BassintheDust next year. Let us hope there are no more problems with some of the big bands missing their planes from Perth.
Stuart Park Primary School, in my electorate of Fannie Bay, celebrated its 40th anniversary at a special event on 29 August 2006. The night started with school captains, Sani Raqiyawa, Sally Harding, Bernadette O’Sullivan and Bradley Button, welcoming all the guests. As local member, I was delighted that in attendance that night was the former Education minister - Syd was there. School Council Chair, Ian O’Reilly, was the MC for the night and welcomed everyone, including representatives from the Department of Employment, Education and Training; local historian Peter Forrest; Kerry Sacilotto, the member for Port Darwin, an ex-Stuart Park Primary School student; and Barbara Gabel, the wife of the school’s building contractor. The links continue with the Gabel’s grandchildren currently attending the school.
There were some very interesting presentations. Jenny Darben, who was Jenny Sutton, spoke about her experience at the school when it first opened in 1966, and Dorothy Green, an ex-Stuart Park Primary parent, then talked about fundraising efforts in those first years of the school’s life. Fundraising is never easy, and it was not easy then either. Wally Mauger spoke about his experiences as a teacher at Stuart Park Primary in the early 1970s, and Peter Forrest talked about the history of Stuart Park itself. Peter told the audience how the need for another primary school in Stuart Park grew as the suburb developed as a residential area in the late 1950s. When the school opened for students 40 years ago, there were 320 students and 12 staff. Actually, due to a very heavy Wet Season, the school was not quite ready for the start of the year, so classes were based at the Adult Education Block at Frog’s Hollow. They were not there long. Staff and students moved into the new school building at Stuart Park in March.
There was plenty more entertainment, with the school choir and singing group singing We Are One, followed by Greek dancing and a magnificent Chinese lion dance. The performances were especially chosen to reflect the school’s strong relationships with the Hearing Impaired Unit, the Greek community, and the Chinese community. The groups were well supported by the teachers: Raz de Jongh, Michelle William, Sylvia Siskamanis, as well as the Chung Wah Society and Ashlee and Matthew Chin.
A huge cake, in the shape of Stuart Park Primary School’s logo, was cut by the ex-Education minister, minister Stirling, Principal, Bernie Bree, Poppy Melas, an ex-student, and Maria, Nomiki and Strati Melas, the children of Poppy and George Melas. Past students Nick and Ben Williams, Paul Peng, Victor Jong, Aiden Symons, Charles Wong, Ben Cann and Owen Samuels then took care of the sausage sizzle.
When minister Stirling was asked how the evening went he simply said: ‘Good school, going well’. I could not agree more. Congratulations to all students, staff, parents, the school council, and everyone involved in this joyous event.
Finally, on 13 August 2006, I was delighted to attend Sculpture in the Park at Brown’s Mart, and announce the winner of the 2006 Paspaley People’s Choice Award.
Sculpture in the Park is a wonderful event. It takes art out into the public arena to the people and allows them to engage and interact with the works. This was the 6th Sculpture in the Park and it has been getting more and more popular with locals, as well as visitors to the Top End. More than 2500 people strolled through Civic Park during the eight-day exhibition. There were a record number of entries this year - 28 in all - including artists like Sarah Body, Adrienne Kneebone, Ivor Cole, John Hazeldine and Zeb Olsen. There were also entries from the Women Behind Bars Art Group at Darwin Prison, as well as Aboriginal works from the Tiwi Art Centre. Our schools were well represented with entries from Dripstone, Palmerston and Darwin High Schools and the Henbury School.
All the works were very different, using a wide range of material like Helen Peake’s cast glass stones, Katrina Tyler’s mirrors and glass beads, and Glynis Lee’s PVC piping. There was also fibre work, metalwork, papier-mch and various other recycled materials.
The sculpture that resonated most with the public and the winner of the People’s Choice Awards was Rozzie George’s Tree Cosy, which uses a variety of knitted garments to tell its story. Rozzie has been a part of the Darwin art scene for the past 25 years, and I take this opportunity to congratulate her on taking out the award.
The success of this event is due to the dedication and hard work of a great many people. To the trustees of Brown’s Mart, to Brown’s Mart Community Arts and 24HR Art, and to the Darwin Fringe, many thanks. A big thanks to Talitha Kennedy. She is an inspiration and her vision and commitment to the event is appreciated by us all. My congratulations, of course, to the real stars, the artists.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Speaker, I would like to talk about two policemen who, I believe, have done something very special in the rural area. People might have heard there has been a problem with graffiti and some break-ins at the Humpty Doo Shopping Centre. It has been causing quite a few problems with locals, with people using Woolworths Humpty Doo, and with local businesses. They have been quite upset. Of their own volition, two young police - Bill and Matty, I will call them - when they were off duty, went and spoke to some of the young lads who had been causing this problem and convinced them, in a nice way, that if they were to gain respect from the community they could, perhaps, come down and clean up some of their graffiti, wash some of the windows, and clean out the supermarket area.
That is exactly what happened. About three weeks ago, I went to the supermarket. I had a tip off - if you want to talk about it in police language - that something was going to happen there. Sure enough, Bill and Matty had four young blokes painting out the graffiti, washing down the walkways around the supermarket and washing windows in shopfronts. I thought that some really encouraging things came out of that. I should not forget the Koolpinyah Fire Brigade, the volunteer fire brigade, also assisted. They brought their truck down so that they could use the pump and hose to wash down the verandahs.
What I thought was great about it was that these two police had given up their own spare time and gone to the supermarket, got some paint and rollers and trays, and were helping. They were not just standing around saying to these young blokes: ‘Just paint, clean it up’; they were working with these young blokes. That was important. What they were trying to do was, on one hand, tell these young people that they had done something that upset the local community and, on the other hand, saying: ‘Take some responsibility for your actions and we will help you do something positive’. That is what they were showing.
I thank the Koolpinyah Volunteer Fire Brigade and Bill and Matty and Sue. I had better mention Sue. Sue, I think, might be connected with Bill. She was there helping with the drinks and also helping wash down some of the walls with a broom. There were a couple of other people there whose names I cannot remember. All of these people were taking part in a community effort to help these young boys. As much as I think there is a certain amount of cynicism from people - and I understand that - what the police are showing is that they are not just a law enforcement body; they are a body of people which does have concerns for the future of our youth. Yes, they will lock them up or arrest them if they cause trouble, but they are saying: ‘Look, they are young. They probably have some issues in life we do not know much about. They may need a bit of a kick up the pants, but there is also the possibility that we can channel those slightly enthusiastic energies in the right direction’.
That is what these police have done; it is a wonderful thing. I do hope that some of these young fellas might take up painting or join the local volunteer fire brigade. They might put some of their experience from the weekend into practice, and channel the skills that they have – sometimes used in the wrong way – into something positive. It may give them a good job in the future.
I want to mention two other things. I went to Perth recently, at plenty of expense to myself, to an alternative energy transport conference. I do not intend to talk much about it today because I will raise it on General Business Day. It is something the government should have attended. I know the Acting Speaker was interested, although he discovered fairly late that it was on. It would have been good for some representatives from the government to have attended because it dealt with real issues about future fuels for running our transport industries, our trucks and our government fleet and buses, and it covered a whole range of possible fuels that could be used to run those vehicles. However, I will go into that at another time because there is too much information to give you in an adjournment debate.
Finally, the Masters Games are coming up. I know it has been mentioned before. I hope I meet as many politicians in Alice Springs as possible. I am very glad that the ex-Minister for Health, Peter Toyne, is not in my age bracket because, even without my bung knee, there is no way I could catch him. He is a fast man when it comes to running, which shows how he won the Stawell Gift. It shows that he has kept up his fitness, even with the huge workload he had over 10 years. He is a very good athlete.
I will be looking to meet all the locals from the rural area. The softball team is going down. I think there might be some raggedy remnants of a cricket team heading off in that direction. I know the Litchfield Bowls Club is going down because I am playing with them - sort of - singles and doubles. I am also trying to run but, due to a slight cricketing accident, that may not occur. I wish everyone well who is attending the Masters Games. It is a great concept. It is great for Alice Springs and the Territory and it gives and opportunity for older people to keep enjoying the thing they enjoy in life; that is, competitive sport.
Ms LAWRIE (Karama): Mr Acting Speaker, 2006 has been a big year for carers in the Territory, with the introduction of the carer’s concession card and the Carers Recognition Act. There is one group of carers that is often forgotten and that is our young carers - people under 25 who care for their family and friends.
On 31 August and 1 September, a group of young carers from the Territory attended the Second National Young Carers Summit at Seaworld Nara on the Gold Coast. I want to take the opportunity to acknowledge those young carers and, indeed, all the young people who, in addition to the pressures of school and work and other responsibilities, take on the role of carer.
The young people who attended the summit were Joshua Foti, Owen Strathie-Murray, Andy Lee, Alana Michell, Erelia Willoughby, Veronica Pierik, Shyne Brenton, Samantha Penny, Heather Mahoney, Sandra Hintz, Bianca Stevens and Donnella Arnold. I also want to mention Kyle Hennig from Gove who, unfortunately, broke both his arms 10 days before the summit and was unable to attend. The young people who attended the summit where assisted in their preparation and participation by staff from Carers NT, Meghan Williams, Mary Gazzola and Ruth Woods.
Discussions at the summit included access to respite, ways to reach hidden carers, and access to government payments and services. Young carers also shared stories and experiences, and took part in creative workshops, including musical jam sessions and theatre sports. It is great that young carers get to have a say on how the care system works. That is the spirit of our Carers Recognition Act. I look forward to seeing the report of the conference and how it can inform what we are doing to support young carers in the Northern Territory, because, like pretty well every carer, young carers do not choose to become carers, often they are born into being carers with an older sibling or a parent who has a disability, yet, they are absolutely inspirational in the role of caring they provide. I congratulate Carers NT and our young carers for participating in this national summit. I hope that each of them got a lot out of it, made some friends, enjoyed themselves, and had a few moments of respite at Sea World.
I would like to put on the record this evening my acknowledgement of the fine work done by Malak and Karama Neighbourhood Watch. This is a group that is truly volunteer based. They join Neighbourhood Watch because they care about their suburb. They care about Karama and Malak. They are local residents who want to ensure that there is a role for residents in playing a crime prevention role within our community. We have had some really lovely people come through Neighbourhood Watch. I have seen them become emboldened over their participation in this volunteer-based group. I want to acknowledge the work of Leigh Kariko from Malak. He and his wife, Barbara, are absolutely committed to the work of Neighbourhood Watch. In the efforts they undertake, they do so being in the midst of growing their very young family. They have three young children; the latest is just a baby. Despite the pressures of being a young family on a single income, they give their time and work tirelessly for the advancement of Neighbourhood Watch in Malak. Congratulations to Lee; he could not do it without the fantastic support of Barbara.
In Karama, I would like to acknowledge the fine work done by Kerry Behm. Kerry is a chef by trade. She does not come armed with the skills of crime prevention and the nuances of crime prevention. However, she is someone who stepped into the role of area coordinator after Ted Dunstan resigned due to the need to attend hospital interstate - which did not end up eventuating, but that was Ted’s reason in the first instance for stepping down. We all looked around, and Kerry was the one who was strong and capable to step up into that important role of area coordinator. It has been a tumultuous ride for Kerry in that role, but she has taken it on with gusto.
She has befriended the young ratbags of Karama, the kids who are often on the street at nights, the teenagers who are out there mingling and mixing it with their mates, riding their pushbikes around. Kerry has made an effort and befriended those young men. Kerry talks to me about what the young kids want and what they are looking for. She has a real passion to work with them in the community, so that they show our community respect and, as a community, we recognise their needs. Congratulations to Kerry. Rather than pigeonholing the kids, as is often easier to do, she has chosen a path of working with them and, in doing so, she is showing real leadership in our community.
I know she worked tirelessly on a project proposal that she put to the Neighbourhood Watch Board to look at the role of youth in our community, and what sorts of efforts can be made to improve the way the federal and Territory governments and Darwin City Council address their needs. I am hopeful to hear back from the Neighbourhood Watch Board on the success of that project proposal. I know it was fully endorsed by the Karama and Malak Neighbourhood Watch group of resident volunteers. I thank Kerry for the effort she put into getting that proposal put together, and putting it to the local Neighbourhood Watch, which was endorsed and has now gone on to the board. I look forward to Ken Mildren and the other board members, who have come from a volunteer base, to embracing the locally grown proposal.
We have had some really nice changes in the community. We have had Eagle Boys Pizza open their doors at Karama. In talking to the franchise owner and operator, Keith, the day after his opening day, I had reports that it was quite a frenetic opening, with huge crowds attending to get pizzas at a discount price. I spoke to Keith the following day and I said: ‘Keith, I heard you were inundated’. He smiled and said: ‘That is a bit of an understatement’. He said he tried to close his doors of the pizza shop at 10 pm. He said a local policeman was knocking on the door at 10.20 pm begging for a pizza. I said: ‘I hope you gave him one, because the police do a great job out there’. He smiled and said of course he did. I really do like the community-minded perspective of that business owner because he has stuck right into the local community. He has his place in Donaldson Court and he is getting to know the locals and very much embracing his role as a business operator in the Karama community. That is one of the things that I really like about the Karama Shopping Centre because, all the traders there, whether it is Lyndal at the hairdressers, Pat at Brumbies, the chemist, or Coles - and we have James Frazer there now as the manager of Coles; Darwin born and raised, whose father, Ian Fraser, is a very well-known former alderman at the Darwin City Council - they are local people, passionate about Darwin and their little place in Darwin at the Karama Shopping Centre.
It is great to see that shopping centre go from strength to strength. We have the shade structures going up in the car park at the moment, and that is going to be fantastic for the onset of the Wet, where you can park and not get soaking wet getting out of your car. I congratulate the La Pira family and Joondana Investments for putting their investment into their shopping centre to continue to improve it.
At Malak, there have been a lot of non-government organisations move into the Malak Shopping Centre. I congratulate Henry Yap and the Yap family for the work they do in ensuring that they are looking at affordable leases for those non-government organisations who, we know, often do not have a significant amount of money behind them. I hope that the place at Malak that Manjimap Choice has found in the basement car park, through some very nominal rents from Henry Yap, goes from strength to strength because the directors of Munjimpa Choice - Michael Mullins, Paula Arnol, Mark Motlop, John McLean - have a great deal of knowledge, energy and insight into the needs of the youth in the area. I congratulate them as, within the first week of opening the premises at Malak shops, they had both the African and indigenous kids involved in very positive physical activities that included one-on-one mentoring and self-esteem work. It really has improved the friendship between the local African and indigenous kids there who were, of course, as you have seen in the media, undergoing some tension. Those tensions were natural; the suburb was changing very much.
We were going from strength to strength in our multicultural make-up in the suburb, and the African community has grown in significant numbers in recent years in Karama and Malak. Many of us embrace the move of the Africans into our community. They are hard-working, capable, humble, gentle people who come from enormous struggles and are looking forward to enjoying a peaceful life here in Darwin. It has been my pleasure and privilege to work with the African community for many years now. They have enhanced our community in so many ways taking up tough jobs - often jobs that people shirk and do not want to do. It is great to see quite a few of them becoming taxi drivers. We have had success. I had a conversation regarding the opportunity of some of them becoming bus drivers. We have had our first African bus driver with others to follow. They are a community who are out there taking on often pretty tough jobs with significant shift work hours involved. Their kids, I have to say, have fitted into our local school community magnificently.
I know my children count amongst their best friends a couple of the African kids at Holy Family School. I am absolutely enriched by the sense of humour that those young African kids have. They have a fantastic love and zest for life and their sense of humour. They absolutely rejoice and embrace living in our peaceful and prosperous society in Darwin. Congratulations to those local people who make the extra effort to ensure that we are a harmonious community out in Karama.
I know the Leader of the Opposition likes to think that we are torn with strife and are a community riven, and that there are significant issues there. I guess that is an outsider’s perspective but, from an insider’s perspective - someone who lives in the community and spends their days mixing with the community strongly - it could not be further from what the Leader of the Opposition likes to paint. It is a very harmonious community. The last school holidays is a really good example of just how effective, if you have proactive policing such as the mobile police station you can be in making great inroads into ensuring the harmonious nature of the community.
That is not to say that we are living in Utopia. That is not to say that there are not families with significant disadvantage within that suburb. Certainly getting around door-to-door, the conditions and the clear disadvantage that some families have are very evident. There is not, amongst our public housing fraternity, any great wealth. They are battlers, absolute battlers, struggling through the difficulty of life. Yet, right next door, you will see a young family who have bought their first home and are climbing the social ladder of success through sheer hard work.
We have what I call the silver circle, the area of Mullamulla Circuit, where there are magnificent homes, beautiful courts with great homes, and quite a lot of very successful business people living. That also goes to significant sections of Malak where we are seeing fantastic house price increases right across that area of Malak which is great. That has a flow-on effect to Karama as well. Houses are going at really good prices now. Of course, that is an additional wealth for the pockets of Territorians.
I will reiterate I congratulation the work done by Karama Neighbourhood Watch, and the work done by the traders and the owners at both Karama and Malak Shopping Centre who really embrace and rejoice in the great community we have there. I feel very privileged to be the local representative, and my commitment is to continue to work with the community to ensure that the services they seek are delivered as best they can be delivered. I look forward to the development of the family hub opposite Karama Shopping Centre. That will certainly be a very nice finishing off to the suburb. It is a significant section of vacant land in the suburb, and it gives a feeling that we are not quite finished. I am looking forward to the establishment of a family hub there, because I know there is a commitment to co-locate Family Services, which will improve access to services in an area of significant disadvantage for our public housing tenants. We are on a bus route from Palmerston, so it is a very useful location.
A society is only as good as the people who put the effort in at the local level, and I feel very privileged to be a part of a very vibrant, multicultural, diverse society in Karama and Malak, which is going from strength to strength through sheer hard work and effort from the local residents.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Acting Speaker, tonight I would like to raise four issues. I will do them quickly.
The first is regarding Territory Housing rents for people who are in these housing units. I would rather not mention the person’s name in full, but her first name is Phyllis and she lives in one of the units at 9 Aneura Place in Sadadeen in Alice Springs. This lady is on a fixed income, on welfare payments - I think she is on a Disability Support Pension. As of 21 July 2006, her disability pension provides her with about $499.70 per fortnight to live on. While her disability pension is fairly static, her Territory Housing rent has gone up every 12 months. I believe that she first moved into the unit in about July 2003 when she was paying something in the order of $50 a week, but every 12 months her rent has increased. In July 2004, she went up to $53 and, by July 2005, it was $54 and, in July 2006, it has gone up to $57.
It is not that she minds paying rent but, being on a fixed income, it is obviously hard for her to stretch her income if the rent keeps on moving and her disability pension does not. She has compared her rental payments with those of her friends and neighbours who are in a similar situation, and says that her friends who are in the same position as she is had not incurred any rent increase at all. She wonders why her situation keeps changing. She has tried to get an answer from Territory Housing in Alice Springs for quite a few months now and has not been able to. I ask the minister if he could kindly commence an investigation into this matter and provide to me or to Phyllis an explanation of why her rent has gone up when the rest of her friends’ rent has not.
Another matter I want to raise tonight is about Power and Water in Alice Springs. Last week, I spoke about a water outage when there was a burst pipe and an electronic gauge that had malfunctioned and not given any indication to the monitors that a major water tank serving the western side of town had run dry. That tank also supplied the CBD, so you can imagine the CBD and the western side of Alice Springs having no water for well on six to eight hours, if not longer.
Obviously, there is an issue with ageing infrastructure that the government needs to address. Power and Water can only do as much as it can do within the resources that it has. It is important for government to ensure that Power and Water has the resources to deal with all the issues that occur from time to time. Having infrastructure breaking down because of age rather than accident is just not acceptable.
Unfortunately, after the water outage last week that affected a big part of the town for almost a day, this morning when people woke, there was no power. There was no power at 8 am this morning. It affected the western, eastern and northern parts of town. That is a major slice of Alice Springs. Sure, the central business district was okay. They had power, the hospital had power, but the suburbs in the Larapinta, Braitling and Old East Side areas did not have power, albeit that a power failure was only for 10 minutes. No one would know that it was only for 10 minutes. In the middle of preparation to go to work, for all I know, some could be just coming out of the shower, hair all wet and going to dry the hair in the bathroom, and there was no power. Fortunately, the power came back in 10 minutes.
For such a large part of Alice Springs to be without power, there had to be some major problem. I have not been able to chase down the real cause of it. I hope Power and Water, by now, has sorted out what the problem was and provided the minister with a flash advisory today. I look forward to the minister at least advising the opposition what the cause of that power blackout was.
Power and Water has 12 days left before the end of this month when it promised it would fix up the noise and emissions from the Ron Goodin Power Station in Alice Springs. I had a phone call today from a constituent who says that she can now see a very high chimney being constructed, which appears to be facing her home. I do not know whether that is part of the rectification measures or the baffles for the noise that comes out of Ron Goodin station. Until construction is completed and testing is done, we are not going to be able to tell whether the remedial efforts are going to work. I am going to see the constituent when I return to Alice Springs and I will talk to her about it and find out what she knows about the matter. I have not been able to see for myself, of course; we have been in parliament for the last two weeks in Darwin. However, there is a worry amongst the people living around the power station that the remedial works will not work. Again, I seek the minister’s and Power and Water’s chief executive officer’s assurance that, if things do not come right, that they will immediately take steps to shift the turbines to the Brewer Estate where the noise that is emitted by the turbines will not be of any nuisance to anybody there. Twelve days is not a long time to go for the construction of baffles and the testing. It is something that will be waiting to see what happens.
Today, I received a fax in my office in Alice Springs, which was sent to me here. It is a letter written with the logos of the Australian Nursing Federation and the AMA. It is an open letter, so I assume it will be a letter that will be printed in the NT News over the next day or so, or perhaps next week. It is written as follows, and I will read it in total:
It is signed jointly by the secretary of the ANF Northern Territory and the President of the AMA Northern Territory.
That is a very serious letter - a very serious letter - written by two of the leading organisations relating to health care in the Northern Territory; being the Australian Nursing Federation Northern Territory and the Australian Medical Association Northern Territory. They have so little regard for the officers your Health department has provided to negotiate with them for their respective organisations, that they were moved to write such a scathing letter to the minister, which will be published in newspapers, expressing their great disappointment and disgust with the way things have been conducted.
The minister said: ‘We are doing so well in Health. We are putting so much effort into improvement. We are retaining our staff. We have so many more doctors and so many nurses in the Northern Territory’. Obviously, something is seriously flawed if the minister says one thing, and the professional bodies are saying: ‘The system you put together to negotiate with us is seriously flawed’.
If there is a lack of leadership, it is important for the government to get its head around it and address the issue of the OCPE, as well as the senior staff in the Department of Health who are negotiating with the two bodies. I look forward to a response from the minister so that we can know what the government has done to ensure that health staff, nurses and doctors, are being looked after.
In the closing minutes, I have a pleasant duty. I am going to talk about Mr Eric Sultan. Eric Sultan is a man of great stature in Alice Springs. He is of Aboriginal and Afghan decent. He traces his Afghan ancestry back to the people who drove the camel trains from Oodnadatta to Alice Springs. Eric is a man of Islam and has had a strong connection with the religion and the Islamic community in Alice Springs. He would be one of the strongest proponents of the Islam religion and, through his significant efforts and drive, lobbying governments of both persuasions, he has achieved the establishment of a mosque in Alice Springs, which serves the people of Islamic faith very well.
Several times a year, the mosque has open days and invites people from across the Alice Springs community to attend, learn about Islam, understand that Islam, as it is practiced in Alice Springs and the Northern Territory, is very much a moderate religion that fits in with our community standards.
Eric Sultan won the Charles See Kee Individual Award for Multicultural Activities. He was here in Darwin, in Parliament House, to receive the award, and was congratulated by the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. I was with him at the moment of his presentation. As usual, with Eric, ever modest as he is, felt very embarrassed by the award he received, and that it was for everyone who has been involved with him and helped him to do the things he has done for the Islamic community in Alice Springs. I congratulate him.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
MINISTERIAL REPORTS
Stepping Stones for Tourism Program
Stepping Stones for Tourism Program
Mr HENDERSON (Tourism): Mr Acting Speaker, I report to the House on an important new program that is being rolled out through the Territory to assist indigenous individuals, businesses and communities wanting to get involved in tourism. It is called Stepping Stones for Tourism. The Stepping Stones program is gaining increasing recognition nationally as the pre-eminent tool for assisting indigenous people interested in starting tourism businesses. It is a program that the Northern Territory has taken a lead in developing.
The Stepping Stones program is designed around 10 footprints. Each footprint represents an important step in the planning of an emerging tourism business or project. The success of the program that I will illustrate in a moment comes from the fact that each of these 10 steps can be easily understood and has a proven record to work across age, literacy, and language differences. It is simple, yet powerful. With a little work, these 10 steps can be built up into a business plan or proposal document to help win further support and investment.
Let me give a few examples of Stepping Stones in action. In Kakadu National Park, Stepping Stones was used to explore ideas for new tourism products. One of those has become Murdudjurl the family-owned business that runs cultural tours and a safari camp used by Billy Can Tours.
In the Centre just north of Alice Springs, the Lynch family at Black Tank has found the Stepping Stones program immensely helpful. Already experienced in running cross-cultural awareness programs, they have their own vision for starting up a tourism business. As Veronica Lynch said: ‘We want to focus on our family and get most of our families working and not just sitting down on CDEP’.
Here in the Top End, a group of Yolngu women at Bawaka south of Nhulunbuy are using Stepping Stones to help plan a tourism program especially for groups of women travellers.
Recently, we have heard how the Gurindji people are wanting to tell their story to visitors. They are also using Stepping Stones as their planning tool to develop their Gurindji Heritage and Visitor Centre. These are just a few of the indigenous tourism measures that Stepping Stones is assisting.
As members will be aware, there has been much talk about the future viability of Aboriginal communities, as well as the need to find meaningful work and economic activity on Aboriginal land. It can be talked about easily, but making real progress is about doing the hard work, sitting down and working through the options and helping people realistically understand what is involved. Stepping Stones is a practical tool that aims to achieve that.
Under the guidance of the Northern Territory’s indigenous tourism strategy, the Tourism Development Unit of Tourism NT is leading the way to see Stepping Stones used for a myriad of business ideas that are emerging. Many people are just starting to think about tourism. Some come with specific ideas which have real potential; other ideas can be poorly formed or unrealistic. Other groups want to help in entering discussions with potential partners. It is hard to service this demand.
Tourism NT’s undertaking at the moment is to support those who help themselves. Of course, this is not just about individual businesses. Traditional owners of those Territory parks that are coming under joint management arrangements will be sitting on boards making key decisions about tourism in these areas. Stepping Stones is also going to be used as a key planning tool to help better integrate tourism planning into the new directions for the parks. Indeed, the Stepping Stones program has already been used at Rainbow Valley to help traditional owners plan for the sustainable use of an important Territory tourism asset. What is important about Stepping Stones is that it encourages those involved to take charge, to formulate their ideas clearly, and maintain strong ownership of plans they have developed themselves.
Stepping Stones has been developed because it has been recognised that enterprise developments and mentoring approaches sometimes are not sufficient on their own for developing indigenous tourism. People also need time and space to discuss what tourism means in relation to aspirations for land, culture and family relationships. The development of stronger futures for indigenous people in tourism is fundamentally important for indigenous economic and social development in the Territory as a whole, and this program is an important part of our platform to invest in the future.
Stepping Stones for Tourism has been rolled out in the Territory through a partnership between Tourism NT, Charles Darwin University and the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism. The partnership has involved the training of facilitators to conduct programs throughout the Territory.
I commend this program as an excellent example of research addressing urgent and practical needs of the issues we are currently facing. I would like to note, for the record, the national leadership that the Territory has shown in this area. I look forward to report to this House in the future on progress we are making in indigenous tourism development.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Mr Acting Speaker, what a fiery caucus meeting it must have been yesterday. This government and the Chief Minister have been well and truly under the pump when it comes to indigenous affairs. She now has six indigenous members of this parliament. Everyone knows they are cranky with her. Everyone knows that they are talking, leaking documents, and so on. That is why, miraculously, at 9.30 this morning, an indigenous policy statement arrived.
It must have been a lovely meeting yesterday when the indigenous members and others on their side - and we reckon we have the sides pretty much worked out, remembering that the member for Wanguri, demoted recently by the Chief Minister, and the member for Millner, the famous memo member for Millner, were at the footy together. Thanks for that, member for Stuart. There is a theory floating around that the member for Wanguri wants to stay very friendly with the member for Millner. He probably helped him write the memo. This is part of the member for Wanguri’s leadership bid. Isn’t it astounding that we have this statement on indigenous tourism when the Chief Minister is at pains constantly to talk about mainstreaming. She does it in the case of women: ‘No need to have specific women’s stuff because they are all Territorians’ and when things get tricky with indigenous stuff: ‘Oh, they are all Territorians, we do not need anything specific’. One wonders what the Office of Indigenous Policy does; that is the question on everyone’s lips. It remains unanswered.
Notwithstanding the very good things that people in tourism - indigenous or not – do, we welcome any initiative in the Territory because tourism is so important to us. The importance of tourism is one thing, but the importance for all Territorians to watch the manoeuvring of the member for Wanguri and his six Aboriginal members of parliament cannot be underestimated either. We note the sudden burst from the blocks on indigenous matters. We look forward to debating this issue because the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory has nowhere to go.
The member for Millner was humiliated and had to do a grovelling apology. Everyone knows he just did not mean it. No doubt the member for Wanguri is stirring him up all the way along. Yesterday’s caucus meeting must have been fantastic. They would have said to the Chief Minister: ‘You have to talk about indigenous stuff. Let us restore what little credibility we had’. What a laugh!
Members interjecting.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON (Tourism): Mr Acting Speaker, I do not know whether it was a full moon last night, but it is going to be an interesting day today ...
Ms Carney: Don’t you want her job? Yes, you do!
Mr HENDERSON: The contribution that the Leader of the Opposition has just made goes to show what a sad, pathetic little runt that the once great Country Liberal Party now is. One of the greatest things that occurred at the last election in the Northern Territory is that this House is now representative of the people of the Northern Territory. To have more indigenous members of parliament than members in the opposition is a great testament to this party and our representation of the people across our great Northern Territory.
Batten Road Land Release
Ms LAWRIE (Planning and Lands): Mr Acting Speaker, the Northern Territory’s diverse multicultural community is an important part of our great Territory. Multiculturalism is something we should all be very proud of. The Martin government has backed multicultural Territorians with increased funding through our generous grants program run through the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
In 2006-07, the government is spending $2.25m on multicultural affairs in the Territory. Now we are going one step further by making serviced land blocks available to not-for-profit community organisations and incorporated groups such as migrant groups.
Late last month, the Department of Planning and Infrastructure advertised tenders for a project to create and service six blocks for community use inclusive of a cul-de-sac and construction of a full water main. The release of Stage 1 of Section 445, Hundred of Bagot, will create a five-lot subdivision for community use on the southern side of Batten Road in Marrara.
The Territory government periodically releases serviced land in Darwin to accommodate requirements for community organisations. With little Crown land left available in the northern suburbs, we saw it was desirable to locate community activities in one area so they do not adversely impact on residential areas.
As most members in the House will be aware, Batten Road is currently the home of community halls for some of our multicultural groups: the Kalymnian Brotherhood, Cyprus community, Portuguese-Timorese, the Filipino-Australia Association, to name a few. It makes good sense for the land released to also be developed by other multicultural groups. In anticipation of this subdivision, several blocks are already under application and will be considered through due process.
I am pleased to inform the House the Thai Theravada group will use one of the blocks to build a temple and residence for its monks. Balai Indonesia has also expressed interest in establishing a community hall for the Indonesian community on another block.
I am pleased to say that the Thai Theravada are already successfully fundraising to build their temple and their monks’ residence. The group estimate that their project will cost $1m to build over three stages. It is always heartening to hear of community groups that use their own resources to build and maintain their premises. The Thai Theravadas have the full support of the Thai government in this project. I have met on several occasions with the outgoing Thai Ambassador. The monks are already resident in Darwin and the Thais are already praying, through the Theravada style of Buddhism, with the monks who are here.
The tender for this land release closed yesterday after the normal four-week submission period. The department is currently assessing the tenders, as per due process. I look forward, over the coming weeks, to being able to announce the successful tenderer to lay the headworks that will see an important land release of blocks on Batten Road for multicultural groups to expand in the Territory.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Acting Speaker, I am not sure whether this is a report from the minister for Lands or Minister for Multicultural Affairs. If it is minister for Lands, then I am glad she is continuing to release land. Hopefully, the land will be cheap enough for community groups that are hard pressed to fundraise, and the land is going to provided as government’s contribution to multicultural communities building their local club facilities. That will be a very good thing if it continues the very good work that the Country Liberal Party has done in support of the multicultural communities in Darwin and the rest of the Territory for many years.
The work that the multicultural communities in Darwin promotes the ambience in Darwin that is unique, when you compare what other towns and cities across the country have to show. When people come to Darwin, the first thing they say to me when they get off the plane is: ‘The first thing we noticed is the smell of Darwin; it smells so Asian, so very different to the rest of Australia’. I believe that is the unique part of Darwin, that we are close to Asia and we have the same, not only in weather and environment, but also in the people environment. If the government can continue to support multicultural communities with cheap, not free, land to build their club premises, that would be a good step forward.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the minister for her announcement of opening up some land in my electorate; that is wonderful to know. It is good that the government is providing land for community groups; that is an important role of government. I have a couple of question I would like to ask. What is the government’s intention for the future of Batten Road? For a number of years, I heard there was a move to join Abala Road, where the Marrara football stadium and other sporting activities are held, with Batten Road as an alternative means to exit what is normally a very difficult place to exit, especially when there are interstate football matches occurring. The other thing is that, whilst it is good to hear that the government is giving land to community groups, I once again say you can also do something similar for the people of the Sundown Caravan Park.
Ms LAWRIE (Planning and Lands): Mr Acting Speaker, I thank members opposite for their contribution. Certainly, the land will be affordable, shadow minister, for the multicultural groups. In the example of the Thai Theravada, the Chief Minister announced a land grant; that is, it is a government contribution to their aspirations. We are not charging them for sale of that land; it was done as a land grant. I cannot say what will be the case for future applications. They will each be dealt with on their merits. However, the Chief Minister’s announcement to the Thai Theravadas was very warmly received by the Thai community. I note that the Cambodian and Laotian communities will also benefit from this project, because the Theravada is their style of worship as well.
Regarding the link of Batten Road to Abala Road, there are no plans to provide that link. There are very good reasons why it would not be suitable to provide the link. I am happy to provide you with a briefing on that. The alternative means of exiting from the Marrara Sporting Precinct is on the government record. We will be building a road to create a new exit, if you like, down the Italian Club side of the Marrara precinct, and that is on our forward works program.
Royal Darwin Hospital –
National Trauma Centre
National Trauma Centre
Dr BURNS (Health): Mr Acting Speaker, when we came to government in 2001 we had a commitment to provide health services for all Territorians. Since that time, we have been responsible for a 64% increase in health funding. This commitment was recognised by the federal government in March this year, when they signed off on funding for their 2004 promise to set up a National Trauma Centre in the Northern Territory. This followed intensive negotiations by the Northern Territory government to ensure that Canberra’s promise benefits all Territorians.
The decision to establish the trauma centre at RDH recognises its world-class reputation as a facility capable of dealing with large-scale critical incidents. RDH was chosen following its involvement in the treatment of the victims of the first Bali bombings. Since then, RDH has also been involved in other regional disasters and mass traumas, such as the second Bali bombing and the unrest in East Timor earlier this year.
The funding agreement we negotiated with the federal government covers a multitude of items, including clinical support and support staff, capital equipment purchase, and capital works. It will provide an expanded capacity in the Burns Unit, enhanced accident and emergency facilities, upgrading of operating theatres, emergency stocks of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, incident-ready X-ray and imaging services, and aeromedical retrieval readiness. An agreement will be forged with another centre to provide opportunities in disaster response training and support for RDH during an emergency. The funding will also be used to train health professionals across the Northern Territory in disaster response and trauma management. Royal Darwin Hospital has already been raising its trauma capacity by recruiting an anaesthetist, a maxillofacial surgeon, a trauma surgeon, an emergency physician and a plastic surgeon.
Earlier this year, I announced progress with the appointment of two key positions at RDH National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre. Dr Frank Plani from South Africa has been named as the Chair of Trauma Medicine. Dr Plani was a senior specialist surgeon and deputy head of the Johannesburg Hospital Trauma Unit, and a senior lecturer in surgery at the University of Witwatersrand. He was also a trauma surgeon at Milpark Hospital, Johannesburg, and Director of the trauma unit at Union Hospital, Alberton. Dr Plani worked in Italy and Zimbabwe before moving to Johannesburg in 1984. He has been involved in developing programs in advanced trauma life support, definitive surgery of trauma care, and national trauma management.
The second position is Associate Professor of Disaster Response and Preparedness, which will be taken up by Dr David Cooper from New South Wales. Dr Cooper is a specialist emergency physician and Fellow of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. He is currently the Director of the New South Wales Health Counter Disaster Unit and State Medical Controller. Dr Cooper is a senior lecturer in emergency management at Charles Sturt University, and also heads the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific at the University of Sydney. He was previously the Acting General Manager/Medical Director of the Ambulance Service of New South Wales. Dr Cooper has been involved in national policy development and initiatives such as the Australian Mass Casualty Burn Disaster Plan. He was also involved in both Bali bombing incidents at an operational level.
Dr Cooper will take up his appointment next month, while Dr Plani is expected to commence early next year. Both doctors are eminently qualified and bring a wealth of national and international experience to the Territory hospital network.
We have an excellent record in recruitment and retention of doctors in the Territory, with over 96% of our hospital doctor positions filled, despite national and international shortages. We have also increased the number of medical specialists by 9.73 FTE, or approximately 10% over the 2005-06 financial year.
On behalf of this House, I am pleased to welcome Drs Cooper and Plani to the Territory team. I am confident their expertise will be invaluable as we continue to establish the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Acting Speaker, I join the minister in welcoming our two new specialists to the Northern Territory. I hope that they will also share some of their expertise down the track in Alice Springs where, I am sure, many of the specialists would value contact with them and to share in their knowledge and skills.
It is good to see the establishment of the disaster centre at the Royal Darwin Hospital. Obviously, we need to be able to respond to the disasters that seem to be occurring more and more frequently in our region.
However, isn’t it good, though, that the Country Liberal Party, the member for Solomon, David Tollner, and the Country Liberal Party Senator for the Northern Territory, Nigel Scullion, are working so hard to deliver dollars to the Northern Territory to ensure that this government, so unable to manage the budget, gets extra funding to get better facilities? The federal government, only this year, according to your annual report, has provided you with something like $40m extra money. Are you not glad that you have CLP members of federal parliament getting money for you? I hope, minister, that you will actually go to the federal members and thank them for their effort, and do that without being churlish about the whole thing. Go out there, thank them for their efforts, because they have delivered for the Northern Territory where you cannot. Look at it – your oncology services is another one. The federal members have been able to deliver the service for you. You should be thankful that they have done that. Go out there and say thank you to them.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Speaker, I note the minister said when he started his statement how wonderful the record on health spending by this government was in the Northern Territory and how you had negotiated this package with the federal government. However, minister, you have withdrawn funding from Farrar. Your argument is that the Commonwealth government should fund Farrar. CLP members say it is your role. You have still withdrawn the funds. Minister, I simply would like to ask the question: considering that you have funded it for the last five years, what negotiations have you held with the Commonwealth government to keep that after-hours bulk billing clinic open? Have you attempted, in any way, to make sure there could be funding before you decided to close it?
Dr BURNS (Health): Mr Acting Speaker, starting with the member for Nelson, funding has not been withdrawn. In fact, there has been doubling of funding for community health services in the Palmerston region.
As I have said in the House before, the provision of bulk billing GP and after-hours services is a Commonwealth responsibility. I have written to minister Abbott on this issue. I did try to meet with him when I was in Canberra for the Police Memorial a couple of weeks ago. He was not available, but I will be looking to meet with minister Abbott to put forward the case that one of his round-the-clock Medicare grants should be going to Palmerston.
On the issue which the member for Greatorex has raised, firstly, I welcome his bipartisan approach to welcoming the two new eminent appointees who are coming to the Territory. However, regarding the rest of it, let me put on the record that we will work cooperatively with the Commonwealth, but we will ensure that the Territory’s interests are well safeguarded in that. Of course, we thank the Commonwealth, but we should always remember that Royal Darwin Hospital copped the brunt of the first Bali bombings. I suspect the Commonwealth government looked at that and said this is a good place to invest.
Reports noted pursuant to standing orders.
LEGAL PROFESSION BILL
(Serial 75)
(Serial 75)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr STIRLING (Justice and Attorney-General): Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of the bill is to provide for the implementation in the Northern Territory of model national legal profession legislation. This model legislation was developed by the Standing Committees of Attorneys-General (SCAG) to achieve nationally consistent regulation of legal practice. Every state and territory has enacted, or will in due course enact, similar legislation to the Northern Territory.
The new legislation will make it easier for lawyers to practice across state and territory borders by removing current regulatory differences between jurisdictions. The legislation is also designed to reduce regulatory overlap. The result will be the elimination of inefficient business practices. This will serve the interests of lawyers, their clients, and regulatory bodies.
The bill, based on the model bill provisions, provides for: a uniform standard for law degrees and practical legal training, and Australia-wide recognition of those qualifications; uniform rules dealing with trust accounts and fidelity funds; uniform definitions of misconduct which will prevent lawyers who have been struck off or penalised in one jurisdiction from simply moving to another jurisdiction to practice law; standardised requirements for disclosing information on legal costs for clients, ensuring both clients and lawyers will have the same understanding of their rights and obligations regardless of where they live or practice in Australia; and a nationally uniform system governing the entitlement of foreign lawyers to practice the law of their home country in Australia.
The model bill originated from a 2001 SCAG decision to develop model laws to facilitate legal practice across state and territory jurisdictions. SCAG has worked closely with the Law Council of Australia in developing the model bill, and these model provisions form the bulk of the provisions of this bill. It is pleasing to note that the Law Society Northern Territory has been an active participant in the development of the national model bill, and has also given invaluable support in developing the provisions dealing with local issues. I wish to record the government’s appreciation to the Law Society for the substantial contribution it has made to this project.
The model bill includes a set of core uniform provisions that jurisdictions have agreed are to be enacted word-for-word in each of the jurisdictions. These are the provisions necessary to ensure that the same rules apply to most day-to-day activities of persons practising law, and there are common and consistent outcomes for activities that may be the subject of regulation by two or more states or territories.
This bill contains nearly all of the core uniform provisions. The main exceptions are two trust account provisions, which are to be contained in the Northern Territory Regulations.
Additionally, this bill contains core non-uniform provisions for which there is agreement to enact provisions adopting the principles contained in them. Jurisdictions have not committed to word-for-word enactment of them, but have agreed to enact provisions that have the same meaning. This bill contains all of these provisions and, as a general rule, adopts the wording in the model.
Finally, the model bill contains suggested or non-core clauses for most of the other standard areas covered by legal profession legislation; for example, laws relating to the processes used by courts to admit persons to the profession. Again, for most cases, this bill adopts the suggested wording.
It is anticipated that this legislation will commence operation in March or April 2007, when the regulatory and other authorities affected by the amendments have had time to establish the required new processes and procedures. Some provisions - for example the trust account provisions and the costs provisions - will not commence until a later time. The purpose of this delay is to give legal practitioners the necessary time to become familiar with the new legislation and implement any new procedures or practices that will be necessary.
I now turn to some of the key provisions of the bill. Members will be interested to note the bill runs to some 400 pages with almost 800 clauses, making it by far the largest item of legislation introduced in the Northern Territory. Members will, therefore, be pleased to hear that I propose to give only a brief overview of each major part.
Chapter 1 of the bill deals with preliminary matters, including definitions. There are some changes to terms used in the current act, developed to facilitate national practice. The main point is that once a person is admitted to practice, they become an Australian lawyer and, when they obtain a practicing certificate, they become an Australian legal practitioner.
Chapter 2 deals with the general requirements for engaging in legal practice. Part 2.1 - in particular clause 18 - reserves legal work and titles for Australian legal practitioners. This reservation protects the public and clients by ensuring that legal work is carried out only by people properly qualified to do so. This part ensures that there is a textually uniform prohibition across Australia stopping unqualified people from engaging in legal practice or representing that they are entitled to engage in legal practice.
A significant change from current practice, and one I am very pleased to be implementing, is that the executive is completely removed from the appointment of persons as Queen’s Counsel or Senior Counsel. Clause 21 provides that such appointments will, in future, be made by the Chief Justice under the Rules of the Supreme Court.
Part 2.2 sets out the process and requirements for admitting people to the legal profession. This part is designed to work with similar provisions in other jurisdictions to ensure equivalent qualifications and training requirements are recognised throughout Australia. This part also ensures that only applicants with appropriate academic and practical qualifications, and who are fit and proper persons, can be admitted to the legal profession.
Clause 31 is a new provision that provides that a person may apply to the Admission Board for an early determination of their suitability. This allows someone who has something in their past that might affect their eligibility to find out if it would prevent them from being admitted before they spend years completing a law degree. Otherwise, Part 2.2 is similar to equivalent provisions in the current act.
Part 2.3 of the bill establishes the processes for granting and renewing practising certificates. In the Northern Territory, practising certificates are issued by the Law Society. Practising certificates ensure that those lawyers wishing to practice are covered by appropriate insurance and the fidelity fund. Practising certificates also provide an easy mechanism for taking disciplinary action, including, if necessary, suspending or revoking a practitioner’s right to practice.
A person admitted as a lawyer in any Australian jurisdiction will be able to apply for a practising certificate in any jurisdiction. A lawyer must apply for a practising certificate in the jurisdiction where they principally engage in legal practice. The bill contains detailed rules for working out where that place is.
Division 5 of Part 2.3 sets out the process for amending, suspending or cancelling a local practising certificate. This can occur when the practitioner is no longer a fit and proper person to hold the certificate, no longer has appropriate insurance or fails to pay a contribution, or where the practitioner breaches a condition of his or her certificate.
Division 6 of Part 2.3 deals with show cause events. Legal practitioners who become bankrupt or are convicted of a serious offence or tax offence are required to provide details about this to the Law Society. They must explain why, despite the show cause event, that they are a fit and proper person to hold a practising certificate. This division ensures Northern Territory regulatory bodies can take swift action against practitioners who fall into these categories.
Division 7 of Part 2.3 deals with immediate suspension of a local practising certificate if it is in the public interests.
Division 8 of Part 2.3 deals with the conditions on local practising certificates. These can be imposed by the Law Society or are imposed by the act. They include requirements to: undertake continuing legal, educational or an academic training course; to undertake a period of supervised practice; and limiting the type of practice that can be undertaken by the legal practitioner.
Clause 71 provides that conditions can be imposed on a practising certificate if a legal practitioner has been charged with an offence but the charge has not been decided.
Division 9 of Part 2.3 deals with interstate practitioners practising in the Northern Territory and, in general terms, puts such persons on a similar footing to local practitioners.
Division 10 of Part 2.3 deals with miscellaneous matters, including appeals from decisions of the Law Society.
Part 2.4 deals with suitability reports. This part provides that the Admission Board and the Law Society may obtain police and health reports on applicants for admission or for practising certificates.
Part 2.5 sets out inter-jurisdictional provisions regarding admission and practising certificates. This part provides for notification action to be taken by courts and other authorities in relation to admissions and practising certificates.
Clause 107 provides that local lawyers must notify the Registrar of the Supreme Court if their name is removed from an interstate roll. They must also give notice if certain orders are made interstate, or if any foreign regulatory action is taken against them. The local regulatory bodies must take action when they receive such a notice. If a lawyer is removed from an interstate roll, the Registrar must also remove the practitioner’s name from the local roll and the Law Society must cancel their practising certificate unless there is a court order to the contrary.
Part 2.6 adopts the national model provisions relating to incorporated legal practices and multidisciplinary partnerships. The objective of this part is to ensure that clients’ rights are protected and that professional obligations on legal practitioners are not affected by the business structures they operate within. In general terms, these provisions are the same as in the current legislation.
I note, in particular, Part 2.7, which deals with legal practice by foreign lawyers. These provisions will allow registration in one jurisdiction to be recognised in other jurisdictions. These provisions are similar to the existing provisions in Part 12 of the Legal Practitioners Act.
Another important component of the bill is Part 2.8, which deals with complying community legal centres. This part is similar to the present provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act. It requires community legal centres to comply with certain provisions allowing them to supply legal services. Community legal centres provide an essential service in the Australian legal system and for the Northern Territory community. They deserve adequate legislative support and a regulatory framework that is clear, easy to follow, and which focuses on their particular needs. The bill meets these criteria and the relevant provisions, first devised in this form in the Northern Territory, are now the basis for similar provisions in other jurisdictions such as Victoria.
Chapter 3 deals with the conduct of legal practice.
Part 3.1 sets out requirements and procedures for legal practitioner trust accounts and is crucial to the uniform legal profession scheme. Currently, different trust account requirements operate in each jurisdiction. One of the aims of the model laws project is to set similar trust account requirements in all jurisdictions to reduce compliance costs. Part 3.1 generally requires that all trust money received by a legal practice in the Northern Territory be put into a Northern Territory trust account. The Law Society can enter into protocols with authorities in other jurisdictions to determine where trust funds were received. This overcomes difficulties that may arise where there are jurisdictional issues, for example, where the client is in a different state or the firm has offices in different jurisdictions.
Division 2 of Part 3.1 sets out the requirements for trust accounts and trust money. New concepts for the Northern Territory are ‘controlled money’ and ‘transit money’. Other provisions deal with protection of trust monies, prohibition on intermixing, prohibition on deficiencies, reporting irregularities, keeping records, and prohibition on receiving trust money under false names.
Division 3 of Part 3.1 deals with investigations and external examinations of law practices. These provisions replace the provisions of the current act that deal with audits. The Law Society may appoint an investigator to a law practice, and the investigator may investigate a particular allegation or matter, or investigate trust accounts on a general or regular basis. The Law Society can accredit people to be external examiners to examine the records of a trust account. A law practice must have its trust account examined by an external examiner at least once a year. The external examinations ensure that trust accounts are kept in accordance with the law, and also assist the Law Society in identifying any discrepancies in the account.
Division 4 has provisions relating to authorised deposit-taking institutions or ADIs; that is, banks. The effect of this division is that interest on practitioners’ trust accounts will be paid to the fidelity fund. This will result in a major simplification for law practices in relation to the way they handle trust monies. They will no longer be required to expend time and money in arranging for the lodging of a specified portion of their trust monies with a regulatory authority. However, the bill retains the capacity for regulations to be made so as to provide for statutory deposits. At this time, it is not intended that any such regulations will be made.
Part 3.2 re-enacts the existing Part XA of the Legal Practitioners Act dealing with advertising legal services for personal injury claims.
Part 3.3 deals with costs, disclosure and assessment. Presently, cost disclosure and review requirements differ throughout Australia. They can be located in legislation or professional associations’ practice rules. Inconsistencies in costs disclosure requirements cause practical difficulties. For example, a disclosure complying with the requirements of one jurisdiction may not meet the requirements of another. This means two or more separate costs disclosures may be required for the one matter. Uniformity will ensure that consumers receive a single set of costs information. The model bill provisions relating to legal costs ensure there are the same requirements in relation to costs disclosure and similar principles for costs assessment, but with each jurisdiction retaining its own structures and processes for cost assessment.
Division 3 of Part 3.3 deals with costs disclosure. Generally, the Northern Territory provisions will apply if a client first instructs the law practice in the matter in the Northern Territory. When the client first instructs the practice, the law practice must give the client a costs disclosure statement. This includes an estimate of the total costs, an estimate of the amount the client will be able to recover, and how the costs can be assessed.
Clause 306 provides for certain exceptions from the requirement to disclose. These include: where estimated fees are under $1500; where a client who has already received a disclosure notice from the firm has waived further disclosure; and where the client is another practitioner, a public company, the Crown, a liquidator, or where services are provided as a result of tender. As a general rule, a client will not be required to pay legal costs in respect to matters that are not being disclosed unless the costs have been assessed under Division 8 of Part 3.3. In addition to the disclosure statement, a law practice can enter into a costs agreement with the client under Division 5 of Part 3.3. The costs agreement is a binding, written contract detailing how costs will be charged and billed. A costs agreement may be enforced as a contract and can be reviewed under this part. The agreement may be set aside if the agreement is not fair, just or reasonable.
Division 7 of Part 3.3 deals with mediation of costs disputes. Under the act, arrangements can be made for mediation, including informal advice if there is a dispute over costs. Costs billed by a law practice and costs payable by a third party payer can be assessed under Division 8 of Part 3.3. When assessing the bill, a cost assessor must consider certain criteria including whether the legal work was necessary, carried out in a reasonable manner, and whether the fees charged were fair and reasonable.
Part 3.4 provides that a law practice must have approved professional indemnity insurance. The Law Society can arrange for a scheme to provide professional indemnity insurance. The part also provides for exemptions. In general terms, these provisions seek to retain the current requirements in the Legal Practioners Act and the Legal Practitions Professional Indemnity Insurance Regulations.
Part 3.5 deals with fidelity cover. Fidelity funds meet claims by consumers who have suffered financial loss due to a legal practitioner’s dishonest default in failing to pay or deliver money, or through a fraudulent dealing with trust property. The model provisions will ensure greater consistency across Australia, ensuring consumer rights to compensation do not differ between jurisdictions. However, each jurisdiction will retain its own fidelity fund and will set its own cap on claims. These caps are set having regard to the capacity of a particular fidelity fund to meet claims. Presently, the Northern Territory cap per claim event for defalcations by a single practioner is $50 000. This is expected to be increased after consultation involving the legal profession, government and the Funds Management Committee.
Division 2 of Part 3.5 establishes the Northern Territory Fidelity Fund. This fund will take over the existing fidelity fund and will replace the existing multiplicity of trust account funds, fidelity fund and public purpose fund. The fund will be managed by the Funds Management Committee. The committee is to be constituted by the CEO and President of the Law Society, a representative from both Northern Territory Treasury and the Department of Justice, and another person representing the interests of consumers.
Clause 387 provides that the minister responsible for the act can direct the committee in relation to prudential management of the fund. This will include matters such as obtaining actuarial advice in relation to the fund.
Clause 388 provides that the minister can make determinations providing for funding of the regulatory bodies for their costs and expenses in administering this act. This includes the Law Society, Admission Board, Disciplinary Tribunal, Funds Management Committee and the Statutory Supervisor. The Funds Management Committee will be required to advise the minister in relation to the costs and expenses at least once each year.
Clause 388 also provides that the minister can direct that funds be made available to community legal centres and for public purposes. However, the minister, in making these directions, is subject to rules and the regulations and must have regard for the recommendations of the Funds Management Committee. The Law Society is also entitled to income that is at least equal to the income received from practising certificate fees. These provisions are designed to ensure that the fund is managed so that there will always be sufficient monies to meet the prime purpose of the fund; namely, that of compensating clients in respect to defalcations committed by legal practitioners.
The regulations will ensure that it is only excess monies that may be used for administrative and other purposes. At the same time, these provisions recognise that it is a valid use of the fidelity fund monies that they be available to ensure the legislation is properly administered. The model for this legislation is the Agent’s Licensing Act under which, for a long time, there has been a proper balancing of various fund purposes.
Part 3.6 essentially replicates the existing Part VIIA of the Legal Practitioners Act which regulates a practitioner’s ability to carry on a mortgage practice or managed investment scheme.
Chapter 4 adopts the national model provisions relating to complaints and discipline and will achieve greater uniformity in standards applied by regulators and courts across Australia. They will also ensure that the rights afforded to complainants and lawyers are broadly compatible across jurisdictions. Chapter 4 also facilitates the mutual recognition of disciplinary action, cooperation between regulators, and the exchange of information concerning complaints.
There are a number of key concepts in Chapter 4. Professional misconduct is defined. It means conduct that involves a substantial or consistent failure to reach or maintain a reasonable standard of competence or diligence occurring in the practice of law. Unsatisfactory professional conduct is the lesser disciplinary offence and is defined as conduct occurring in connection with the practice of law that falls short of the standard of competence and diligence that a member of the public is entitled to expect from a reasonably competent legal practitioner. Certain types of conduct are capable of being unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct, and these include serious offences, tax offences, and offences involving dishonesty.
Part 4.4 sets out the provisions relating to complaints to the Law Society about legal practitioners. The Law Society can conduct a preliminary assessment and may dismiss the complaint; consumer disputes can be mediated - complaints must otherwise be investigated by the Law Society. After investigation, the complaint must either be dismissed, the practitioner fined or reprimanded, or proceedings must be started in the Disciplinary Tribunal.
Part 4.8 provides for immediate suspension of a practising certificate under some circumstances.
Part 4.10 provides for appeals to the Supreme Court against Law Society decisions under this Chapter.
Part 4.11 deals with proceedings in the Disciplinary Tribunal. The tribunal must conduct a hearing into each allegation, and such hearings will generally be open to the public. The tribunal can make various orders upon a finding of professional misconduct or unsatisfactory professional conduct. These include: removal from the roll; cancellation or suspension of a practising certificate; imposition of conditions; public reprimand; payment of a fine; or order that practise be supervised. An appeal against an order is to the Supreme Court.
Part 4.12 provides that, with the consent of the parties, a compensation order can be made by the Law Society or the tribunal.
Part 4.13 provides for publicising disciplinary action by creating a Register of Disciplinary Action by the Law Society. The register is to be available on the Law Society’s Internet site. There are some exceptions in the case of disciplinary action; for example, unsatisfactory conduct caused by a practitioner’s ill health.
Part 4.14 allows the Law Society to enter into protocols with other jurisdictions for investigating and dealing with conduct that appears to have occurred in more than one jurisdiction.
Chapter 5 provides for intervention in the business and professional affairs of legal practices, in certain circumstances, in order to protect the interests of the general public and clients of the legal practice.
External interveners can be appointed in a range of circumstances, including where the practitioner has died, ceased to be a legal practitioner, become insolvent under administration, or is in prison. The Law Society may appoint a supervisor of trust money for a law practice where there are issues relating to the practice’s trust account.
Part 5.4 allows the Law Society to appoint a manger to take over professional and operational responsibility for the practice. For instance, where the principal is sick or cannot otherwise run the practice, the manager is responsible for carrying on the law practice. The manager may transact any urgent business, operate the trust account, accept instructions from clients, and wind up the affairs of the practice.
Chapter 6 sets out the powers that can be exercised by auditors, investigators, external examinations and investigation of complaints, under the other provisions of the bill. The provisions deal with issues such as giving access to documents and information, requiring cooperation, making copies of documents, entry and search of premises and, in some circumstances, search warrants.
Some provisions of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act are applied in the case of incorporated legal practices.
Chapter 7 deals with the constitution, appointment, and functions of the Law Society, Admission Board, Legal Practitioners Funds Management Committee, Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, and Statutory Supervisor. These provisions are generally the same as in the current Legal Practitioners Act.
The important new position is that of the Statutory Supervisor. This position, which is to be held by the Solicitor-General, takes on various roles currently performed by the Attorney-General. The purpose of the change is to remove the Attorney-General as much as possible from day-to-day administrative and disciplinary issues. However, there remains the need to have some person who, independent of the day-to-day operations of the legal profession, can review certain actions of the Law Society. If necessary, this person must also be able to act as an intermediary between clients and the Law Society as a regulator.
Under Chapter 8, the Law Society will continue to be able to make professional conduct rules in relation to legal practice.
Chapter 9 deals with miscellaneous matters and contains provisions which have general application to the bill.
Chapter 10 deals with repeals and transitional matters. In general terms, the transitional provisions are designed to ensure that the law that applied prior to commencement does not have any different application because of this legislation.
The Law Society Public Purposes Trust Act is to be repealed. The effect of that repeal is that the Public Purposes Trust will no longer be regulated by legislation. The Law Society Council, as trustee of the trust, is considering winding up the trust with the monies to be paid into the fidelity fund. The result will be that the monies will be managed by the Funds Management Committee. Arrangements will be put in place so that Public Purposes Trust monies will still be available for public purposes as per the Trust Deed contained in the schedule to the Law Society Public Purposes Trust Act.
The bill is a very important piece of legislation. It is the culmination of many years work and cooperation between the governments of each state and territory in Australia, the Commonwealth government and the legal profession. Not least, it reflects the hard work and significant intellectual contribution over many years of Northern Territory Department of Justice officers. It also reflects the increasing influence of the legal profession and the legal system on all aspects of modern society. By adopting a national model provision, the Territory government is helping to achieve nationally consistent regulation of the legal profession. This will benefit practitioners and consumers alike, through clear accountability and cost processes and streamlined accounting requirements.
Mr Acting Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members and I table a copy of the explanatory statement.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the debate be adjourned on the biggest bill the Northern Territory has ever seen. I believe there are some representatives from the Law Society up there - my long vision is not as good as it should be. Yes, there are. Welcome. This is a long-awaited moment for pretty much everyone with even a passing interest in the legal profession in the Northern Territory and, indeed, this country.
Debate adjourned.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Territory Tourism Moving Forward
Territory Tourism Moving Forward
Mr HENDERSON (Tourism): Mr Acting Speaker, it is my great pleasure today to update the House on the health of the tourism industry and outline key priorities for moving forward. Firstly, I am thrilled to, once again, be Minister for Tourism.
Tourism is integral to the economic growth and prosperity of the Northern Territory, and contributes around 5% of the Territory’s gross state product. Tourism visitors inject over $1.5bn into the Territory economy, and tourism accounts for more than 14 000 jobs, directly and indirectly. Tourism also generates flow-on benefits for the rest of the economy. For every $1m invested in the Northern Territory tourism industry, an additional $1.1m of output is created in other industries.
Whilst much work has already been done, as the new Minister for Tourism, I am excited about building on the solid foundations and momentum achieved by the former Minister for Tourism, the Chief Minister. The government is committed to growing Territory tourism, and we have demonstrated this by increasing Tourism NT’s annual base funding by $10m on a permanent basis. These funds will allow us to: continue our successful destination marketing campaigns; boost our international marketing activity and presence; further develop our online capability; maintain a dedicated focus on indigenous tourism development; continue to market aviation services; attract more conferences; and support new tourism ventures. That is good news for the future of Territory tourism and ensures that tourism is properly resourced and will remain competitive into the future.
All indications suggest that it has been an excellent peak season for tourism, despite the slow start brought about by Cyclone Monica. Results of recent national and international visitor surveys indicate positive growth in holiday visitors to the Northern Territory, particularly from the domestic market, and USA and European marketplaces. In fact, domestically, the Northern Territory is outperforming all other states and territories which, collectively, experienced a downward trend in interstate holiday visitor nights. This increase in both interstate and international holiday visitation indicates that Tourism NT’s brand and marketing campaigns are hitting the mark.
The national visitor survey for the year ending June 2006, which provides information on domestic visitor travel, shows that compared to the year ending June 2005, interstate holiday visitation to the Territory increased by 7.6% to 341 000 visitors. This is the highest estimated year ending June interstate holiday visitation reported since data collection commenced in 1999. Interstate holiday nights to the Territory also increased by 7.3% to 2 600 000 nights, whilst the average length of stay remains stable at 7.8 nights.
The international visitor survey for the year ended June 2006 also shows positive signs for the tourism industry, indicating international holiday visitation to the Territory increased by 9% to 335 600 visitors compared to a 2.1% decrease experienced nationally. The survey also showed international holiday nights increased by 3% for the year. However, the average length of stay in the Territory and holiday expenditure both fell slightly.
Whilst we are, obviously, very pleased with the results, the warning bells nationally are being noted; that is, Australia as a country is currently experiencing a decline in both the international and national markets. We have been able to increase our market share and we are working hard to maintain that in what, I might add, is a highly competitive market. We are doing this by using our money innovatively and creatively to maximise our return on investment. It is important to grow awareness of the Territory as a unique holiday destination but, more important, to convert that interest into visitation and sales of Territory tourism products.
I acknowledge the efforts of my Chief Executive of Tourism, Maree Tetlow, and her team for their persistent and clever work in keeping one step ahead of our competitors. This government will not become complacent. Maintaining our good progress will be a challenge, but we will monitor the situation closely and put in place strategies that will ensure Territory tourism remains strong and resilient from market fluctuations.
Many operators are reporting strong bookings through to November, with numbers expected, as usual, to drop as we approach the new year. I am determined to look at ways of extending the shoulder season and encourage more domestic and international visitors to this part of the world. This is a key priority for me as the new Tourism Minister.
Shoulder seasons provide the greatest opportunity for growth, and the opportunity is certainly there to bring more people here. There is plenty of accommodation and many tourist attractions are still open for business. One initiative in this regard is Territory Discoveries’ NT on Sale campaign which has been running for four weeks now. Territory Discoveries is the government’s commercial wholesaling arm. The objective of this tactical campaign is to stimulate bookings and drive visitation beyond our traditional peak tourism period. The beneficiary will be the Territory tourism operators whose businesses start to slow at this time. Although running only since 1 September 2006, to date we have already had bookings in excess of $600 000 and initial campaigning sales are 76.3% up compared to the same period last year.
$27m of Tourism NT’s current budget is allocated to holiday marketing activity, with another $1m to business tourism. I am pleased to say that we have been able to direct more dollars to marketing as a result of Tourism NT’s $10m increased annual budget allocation. To extend the season beyond October, we will continue to work with regional tourism associations and run campaign activities under the Share Our Story banner. Involvement from regional tourism associations is pivotal in ensuring our intra-Territory marketing is focused and our messages are consistent. I am looking forward to working in partnership with them to achieve our aims.
Marketing the Territory as a tourism destination is only one element to building and maintaining a sustainable and prosperous tourism industry. Equally important is the capacity to deliver on visitor expectations through the provision of infrastructure, products and services. There is also a strong need to strengthen our competitive edge. This is paramount, particularly operating in a global environment that is challenged by an ongoing rationalisation within the aviation sector, and the consequential impacts on consumer confidence as a result of war, terrorism and disease.
Attracting tourism investment is also a key focus of the Territory government. Investor confidence in tourism appears solid, with over $157m and $59m to be invested in Darwin and Alice Springs respectively. This will result in a mix of refurbishing and/or building new hotels and serviced apartments, delivering additional rooms, building new cabin, budget and luxury tented accommodation, as well as campground facilities.
Only last month, I attended the reopening of the Aurora Alice Springs Resort following a $2m upgrade and refurbishment of hotel reception facilities and rooms along the Todd River front. I commend Ian Drummond on his foresight and commitment by investing in the future of Central Australia’s tourism industry.
Other examples of private sector tourism investment which will have a major impact on our economy include:
the proposed Desert Oaks Wilderness Lodge being built by Australian Pacific Touring in partnership with Kings Creek Station. The lodge will feature 10 four-star deluxe tented cabins located on a special remote section of the station amongst desert oaks. It is expected to be open for business in 2007;
Gilligan’s Backpacker Resort being built in Gap Road, Alice Springs, at an estimated cost of $35m. This significant development replacing the former Melanka Lodge, will incorporate a four-star hotel and five-star backpacker accommodation;
another major development for Alice Springs is the All Suite Apartments to be managed by a well-known national chain. This will built on South Terrace, overlooking the Todd River;
the recent announcement of the sale of Mirambeena Tourism Resort to the TOGA Group demonstrates TOGA’s ongoing commitment to Darwin and their confidence in its future. This will be their second property interest after the Medina Apartments to be built as part of the Darwin waterfront development; and
the luxury chain, Peppers Retreats, Resorts and Hotels, announced Seven Spirit Bay as their first Northern Territory property to be added to their suite of luxury properties around Australia. It will be known as Peppers Seven Spirit Bay.
These examples of strong investor confidence are encouraging, but not enough for long-term sustainability - ongoing investment is what is needed. This is particularly important for regional areas of the Territory in order to stimulate economic growth and provide jobs for Territorians. With almost 800 000 holidaymakers visiting the Territory during 2005 spending over $1.5bn whilst here, and with visitor numbers forecast to grow at a conservative average annual rate of 2.6%, the time to act is now.
Tourism has the potential to be the mainstay of the Territory’s economy. Its competitive advantage lies in its natural and cultural assets. We need to leverage this advantage and develop new or enhance existing tourism product, particularly indigenous tourism product, to meet the growing consumer demand for culture and nature-based experiences.
The Territory is rich with natural assets that are predominantly on indigenous-owned land or within jointly managed national parks. In short, indigenous Territorians are the major shareholders of the Territory’s best natural assets. We need them to actively engage with tourism opportunities. This is integral to the success of achieving status as a leading nature and culture tourism destination, and to the growth and success of the Territory tourism industry as a whole. The Territory is seen worldwide as a destination to learn more about a fascinating culture and we need to capitalise on this, but at a pace suitable to all stakeholders. We need to ensure that it is achieved with the full support and wishes of our indigenous Territorians.
I had an opportunity last month to speak at the Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference in Alice Springs. What a fantastic forum this was, and will continue to be for building and strengthening indigenous tourism across Australia. This conference reconfirmed to me as the new Minister for Tourism that developing this sector is all about our indigenous people creating a sustainable economic future for themselves by tapping into the demand from holiday visitors for genuine indigenous cultural experiences.
I am determined to continue with the government’s support for indigenous communities and individuals who have a desire to develop these experiences and get things moving. I am keen to continue the dialogue and work with land councils, Aboriginal associations and indigenous communities to help them identify and develop product. It is these partnerships that drive our indigenous tourism strategy. I am strongly committed to supporting indigenous Territorians in their desire to create a brighter future for communities and children.
The government’s indigenous tourism strategy is important. It sets out a path for achieving a sustainable indigenous tourism industry in the Territory. This strategy recognises that indigenous tourism enterprises can only be sustainable if the community wants these projects and are aware of the work involved in getting them up and running.
I acknowledge the efforts of the Indigenous Tourism Development Unit within Tourism NT. This unit consists of four dedicated staff, led by their manager, who work tirelessly with indigenous communities and individuals across the Territory in assisting them get their products off the ground. In the last 18 months, we have seen five new indigenous tourism ventures start up across the Territory, and I am told that we can expect another five to open their doors by June next year. It is as a result of Tourism NT’s $10m increased annual budget allocation that we can continue to maintain a dedicated focus on indigenous tourism development.
Gunya Titjikala, south of Alice Springs, is a shining example of how a remote community, together with a joint partner, can develop a top quality tourism product on their land. There are luxury tents overlooking the desert, the type of product that appeals to the high yielding, spirited traveller, supplemented by guided bush tucker and hunting tours. It truly is an authentic indigenous cultural experience. Looking at the successful business model of Gunya, it is without reservation that I can say there is significant potential for indigenous people to embrace the tourism sector. It is a natural mix, one which will see more and more people demanding genuine indigenous cultural experiences.
My commitment to tourism will see immediate focus on encouraging sustainable indigenous tourism products around the Red Centre Way, within the Daly River region and Groote Eylandt. I congratulate the Anindilyakwa Land Council on the construction of the Dugong Beach Resort at Second Beach, Alyangula, an $18m development scheduled to open in July 2007.
The dedication and hard work needed, however, should not be underestimated. A complex path lies ahead and there is much to do. However, it is achievable, and Anangu Waai in Uluru is a perfect example of that. A wholly-owned indigenous product offering cultural tours, bush tucker walks and talks, it employs people from nearby communities and has won several Australian and international tourism awards. It is recognised as the most successful Australian indigenous tourism product, a shining example for all. Anangu Waai, which incorporates Anangu Tours and Uluru Camel Tours at the Rock, have expanded their business through the purchase of Frontier Camel Tours, Milky Way Caf and, most recently, Desert Tours and Transfers - all in Alice Springs.
It is all about real jobs and real opportunities for indigenous Territorians and, as Minister for Tourism, I make a personal commitment to keep the momentum up. I recognise that Australian indigenous culture is a fundamental asset for our tourism industry. Indeed, tourism is one of the few industries that can provide tangible benefits for Aboriginal people within both urban and remote Australia.
Another fundamental component, critical to tourism growth in the Territory, is the development of our aviation capacity. This is especially so for international air access, not only in the number of seats available, but competitive pricing and scheduling. Attracting airlines is a complex business, one which is particularly challenging, given that the Territory’s small population does not readily align with the airlines’ commercial imperatives. The challenge ahead remains: convincing airlines to consider services to small population-based destinations with a vibrant tourism industry such as ours. The $10m increased annual budget allocation to tourism will enable us to maximise opportunities to market new and existing airline services.
I share concerns expressed by members of the community about the increasing number of Jetstar services replacing traditional Qantas routes. There has been quite a bit of speculation on the topic; however, I encourage us all to focus on the benefits: the daily services and increases in seat capacity. In saying that, I make a commitment to continue to work with Qantas to bring other benefits to the Territory; for example, reduced fares into Darwin from our long haul markets in the United Kingdom and Europe. I want to ensure that the Territory is not disadvantaged in any way as a potential first port of arrival in Australia. I have raised my concerns with Mr Geoff Dixon, CEO of the Qantas Group. We will continue to work with Qantas to resolve these concerns.
We must also look for and realise opportunities to work with both mainstream and low-cost airline carriers in overseas markets to promote Darwin as the first point of entry on an Australian holiday. Given the success of the direct charter flights into Central Australia from Japan which, since the first charter flight touched down in 2003, has delivered more than 3500 Japanese travellers to Central Australia, we will continue with these charters and look forward to expanding offerings into the Top End. The Japanese market continues to grow in importance for the Northern Territory, and these charters provide a boost for the tourism industry, drive economic growth and keep the Territory moving ahead.
Tiger Airways, the dominant and very successful low-cost carrier in the Asian region, commenced services between Darwin and Singapore on 19 December last year, bringing an additional 720 international seats per week into Darwin. With their connections in 13 other ports throughout Asia, they provide the greatest opportunity to promote Darwin as the low-cost gateway to Australia, and to increase visitors to the Territory from nearby Asian markets. Tiger Airways also provide an excellent alternative means of travel to the Territory for the budget conscious European market. This is especially important for the Territory’s backpacker sector, as it provides another avenue to encourage working holidaymakers to come to Darwin as their first port of entry for their Australian holiday experience.
We will continue to work with Tiger Airways to leverage visitation from the Asian marketplace, with further marketing campaigns in Singapore, Thailand and China. Whilst other tourist destinations are targeting the mass Chinese travel market, we are taking a more considered and targeted approach to this market, and will continue to identify new methods to target the high-yielding segments of this market. Whilst this may take longer to result in significant visitation, it does allow time for the Territory industry to develop the products and services to deal with the market and improve its profitability.
Given the rise of the Internet as an information gathering and travel booking tool by consumers, increased efforts will be made to ensure industry operators respond to this trend and build their e-marketing capacity. We know that 75% of our spirited travellers use the Internet when planning a holiday, and that, of the 700 million adult Internet users globally, approximately 10% are accessing the Internet on a regular basis specifically for travel and planning purposes. Our online tourism strategy will also be refined and strengthened to ensure the Territory maintains its competitive position amongst similar destinations. Work is also under way to improve Territory Discoveries’ online capabilities and provide consumers with more options in the future.
It is the $10m increased annual budget allocation to tourism that will enable us to bolster our online capability. As Minister for Tourism, I am delighted with our achievements in redeveloping the consumer website, travelnt.com. It incorporates the use of Google maps, a new online mapping solution, a first for any Australian destination website. The site also features a host of new functions to make navigation and searching easier. Visitors to the site can search through over 1100 listings for Territory tourism operators. Since the launch in mid-August, the site has received over 135 000 visits. This redevelopment positions Tourism NT as a leading destination marketer that is responsive to global trends.
There is more to come, and I am excited about planned upgrades over the next 12 to 18 months. The site will be translated into key foreign languages, including German, Italian, French, simplified Chinese and Japanese. It will feature a new look and a more experience-based content, including multimedia and video, greater functionality, better search capabilities, and improved menu and user-friendly navigation tools. The redevelopment of this award winning site will improve travelnt.com’s capacity to capture people’s awareness and encourage them to visit the Territory; that is, convert people’s interest into actual visitation. It is initiatives such as this that will see the Territory keep pace with consumer trends and expectations.
Another area where we are keeping pace is the highly competitive business tourism market. The $10m increased annual budget allocation to tourism will enable us to continue our efforts to attract more conferences in the business tourism market. During the last financial year, Tourism NT bid for, and won, 41 business events for the Territory. These events will take place between 2006 and 2008, and will be held in Alice Springs, Darwin and several regional areas across the Northern Territory. It is estimated that these events will inject over $7.6m into the local economy. Even more exciting, negotiations are under way for another 45 events through to 2010. Things are certainly looking bright for the business tourism section.
However, we cannot slow down. Increasing global competition, where rival destinations are offering cash incentives to secure business events, means the Territory must be clever in challenging our rivals. We can achieve this by using the Territory’s uniqueness and value for money experiences to gain a competitive edge. It is through this that we will be able to elicit emotional responses from the business tourism market and drive them to action to choose the Territory as their business event destination. We will focus on securing the types of business events that offer the greatest return on investment, given our current aviation and business tourism infrastructure capacity.
We will also focus on raising awareness within the local tourism industry about the benefits and expectations of the business tourism market and the long-term commitment required in securing business that may not be realised for up to three years. This is particularly important for the Top End, given the scheduled opening of the Darwin convention centre in 2008.
The Territory government’s $144m investment in the waterfront precinct and convention centre will provide a major boost to tourism in the region, and help make Darwin, absolutely, a destination in its own right. The Chief Minister was only down at the waterfront last week to see the convention centre take shape as giant steel beams were lifted into place.
Tourism delivers economic and social benefits through wealth generation and job creation, and it is the key driver of regional developments. In order to articulate the visions, strategies and priorities for the Territory’s tourism industry for the next five years, we will work over the next 12 months to develop a strategic plan to guide sustainable tourism growth. We will work closely with industry to ensure that the plan highlights critical areas for attention, significant change or ongoing support, especially in regard to infrastructure and investment. I am keen to expand our tourism products in the Territory and build new business and employment opportunities.
The strategic plan will also rely heavily on input from our Tourism Advisory Board, which is, in my opinion, one of the best tourism boards in Australia. The board, chaired by Grant Hunt, has the right balance between local knowledge and outside experience, and has a great combination of skills that I am confident can provide me with the best advice for building the tourism industry into the future.
The signs for the tourism industry are very positive, but there is still more to do to move Territory tourism ahead. I am pleased to be taking on this portfolio, and I look forward to building on the excellent foundations and progress made to date. As the new Minister for Tourism, I reinforce my commitment to building a strong, sustainable tourism industry, one which will deliver real economic and social benefits for all Territorians.
Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the minister for making this statement; it is timely. Of course, tourism is very important. How pleasant it is to hear from the member for Wanguri. Since his demotion, we have heard so little from him, so it is good to hear his dulcet tones. I note with great interest that he said he was pleased to be Tourism Minister. I do not think so. After the ministerial reshuffle six or seven weeks ago, he would have gone home feeling none too pleased.
I remember when the Chief Minister gave herself the portfolio of Tourism - I think she was minister No 4. There was the member for Nhulunbuy first, then I think there was a member for Wanguri, then the member for Johnston, and then it was the member for Fannie Bay. The timing was interesting with that too, because it was not too far away from the Territory election. Of course, tourism is a really people friendly, people intensive - if you like – portfolio. You go to lots of functions - I was shadow minister for a while - and you meet a lot of people. For the Chief Minister, no doubt - although her tactics are increasingly being called into question these days by her own colleagues - the tactic, obviously, at the time was to get the Chief Minister out and about so that she could cultivate as many votes as possible.
Regarding the next election, although it is several years away, I will make this prediction: that the Chief Minister will hold the portfolio of Tourism at the next election, and the Chief Minister at that time will be the member for Wanguri. I have said before that I want the member for Fannie Bay’s job as well, and I look forward to the member for Wanguri being the next Chief Minister so that he can continue to act in the role of Tourism Minister. I hope, for the sake of the industry, that this term of parliament we do not go through as many Tourism Ministers as we did in the last term. Every time we stood up, we wondered who was going to be the next person on their feet. Good on you, member for Wanguri, hang on to it, as I am sure you will - and I am sure you would be very keen to hang on to it in the same way that the Chief Minister would be equally keen to hang on to her present job.
Turning to some of the matters in the statement, there are a number of matters contained therein. Some, of course, do not require comment, but some do. The minister will be aware, as any member of parliament and anyone involved in the tourism industry is, of speculation that Qantas may pull out of the Territory. I have spoken to John Cason from Qantas and others repeatedly about this. It is a concern. The minister will know the Qantas office in Alice Springs is closed. John Cason told me why that was. In this day and age with increasing bookings on the Internet, on the one hand, you can understand why that is. On the other, no one likes to see any company, whether they are national icon or not, close their office in regional centres such as Alice Springs. Therefore, although the minister said that he had spoken or made a representation to Geoff Dixon, one wonders how vigorously this government has pursued it. I ask him very genuinely to do whatever he can to ensure that Qantas stays in the Territory.
Of course, the oft used expression is that the Territory is the ‘nt’ in Qantas. I think that Paul Everingham coined that phrase about 20 years ago. There are all sorts of stories about what Everingham used to say in the event that Qantas ever thought about pulling out of the Territory. There was a joke going around that Qantas would change its name to just be Qaas or something like that, because the NT would be removed. We, as Territorians, should put that argument to all and sundry every time we hear a whisper about Qantas because we are the ‘nt’ in Qantas.
I would like to hear more from the minister on that. Territorians, one and all, would appreciate an assurance that this government will fight tooth and nail to ensure that Qantas stays in the Territory. Perhaps, in his reply, he could advise what is being done by the commonly referred to aviation ambassador - it has another title, but Peter Roberts the aviation person. One wonders what is being done in that very formal sense to ensure that Qantas stays in the Territory.
I note that the minister talked about business tourism, with all the talk of the convention centre, tour group numbers, and the waterfront, it is obvious that the Territory has a huge stake in the Darwin and Alice Springs convention centres. The critical factor, however, will be to ensure that other Australians and international visitors can get to the Territory - yet another reason why we should encourage Qantas to stay here.
I note that the minister referred to business tourism. What he did not say was that in figures recently released - I think on 13 October 2006 by Tourism Research Australia - business travel in the Territory had gone down by 17% in the year ending 2006. Business tourism down 17% is very significant. I ask the minister, in his reply, to comment why that was not included and why there was not specific action to address it. I wonder what might have been the causes of that decline. Of course, Qantas changing the make-up of its service in the Territory and removing business class from some of its flights is an issue that directly links into business tourism. I do not, for a moment, suggest that business tourism is down because there are no business class seats but, for many, that will be regarded as a factor. It is important that, if we are as the Territory selling ourselves as a sophisticated jurisdiction, we would naturally expect people to fly here business class. I do not stress that overly strongly, but it is certainly something I would like government to keep a very close eye on and, to the extent that it is possible to improve matters, I ask on behalf of any Territorian that government do what it can.
Intrastate travel: the minister, similarly – based on the Tourism Research Australia figures released on 13 October - did not refer to a significant and probably alarming development: a decline in intrastate visitations. That is down year ending 2006 by 22%. A 22% reduction in intrastate visitors is significant. Similarly, the overnight trips is down by 5% - not an enormous number, but down in any event.
I think the minister said in his statement - it may have been in reference to business tourism but it is an interesting comment anyway. He rattled off the good things that were being done and said we cannot slow down. I suggest to him that, based on the 17% reduction in business tourism, the 5% reduction in overnight trips of Territorians elsewhere in the Territory, and the 22% reduction in Territorians visiting elsewhere in the Territory, does not support the statement ‘we cannot slow down’. Rather, it suggests he should speed up matters because, if those figures continue, they will have a reasonably significant impact.
I note that this minister, like his opponent, the Chief Minister, touched upon indigenous tourism. His efforts in that regard cannot, in any way, be regarded as anywhere near as desperate as those of the current Chief Minister. However, he talked about indigenous tourism. The federal government’s contribution or efforts in indigenous tourism should not be forgotten, although it is the way in which this government works that clearly demonstrates that they always conveniently forget to refer to it. The federal government is actually doing some quite good stuff in tourism generally, as well as indigenous tourism.
One federal program, for instance, is the Business Ready program for indigenous tourism. The Business Ready program aims to address key barriers to the successful development of indigenous tourism businesses; namely, the lack of management, business and strategic planning skills. Mentors have been placed throughout communities and are working with indigenous groups to encourage sustainable and successful business opportunities through tourism. That is a great initiative and I am sure one that the aspiring Chief Minister would support.
One sure way of encouraging the indigenous tourism industry is through crocodile hunting safaris. On this front, the CLP has been well and truly in front. Be it in Canberra or the Territory, the CLP has been the loudest voice of dissent, calling for the federal minister for Environment to reconsider his decision not to allow controlled crocodile hunting in the Territory. The numbers of crocodiles in our waters have been increasing since bans on hunting were introduced in the early 1970s. We are seeing more crocodiles than ever being removed from our harbour, and with five deaths being recorded in four years, clearly, there is no entrenched fear of people, in particular areas at least. Safari hunting would allow for a different form of employment to appear in remote Aboriginal communities, one I would have thought would be a particularly attractive proposition to indigenous members of the government.
Just like the sounds of silence emanating from the government on airlines - and this government has had a pretty poor history with airlines. I do not have the figures in front of me but, last time I looked, the airline access to the Territory has declined under this government.
I ask the minister in his reply to give an indication as to what his position is in relation to crocodile harvesting and hunting. I may be mistaken and, if I am I apologise, but I cannot recall the minister coming out publicly and stating his position. This may well be an opportunity for him to do so, just for the sake of the Parliamentary Record. I suggest that this government must look outside the traditional backpacker markets for continued growth and value adding to our tourism potential.
An example of this government’s failure to seize real opportunity was the Chief Minister’s knee-jerk reaction to Senator Nigel Scullion’s proposal to revisit a Cannonball Run-style event in the Territory. Senator Scullion has put an idea on the table that does have some merit or, at the very least, should be investigated. Yet, the minute the current Chief Minister found out about it, as usual, she shot from the blocks and put her foot in it and said: ‘No, no, no, we cannot possibly have it’. We know that she did not even ask her colleagues. Maybe that is another reason why they are so unspeakably unhappy with her. A detailed analysis and assessment is what the Chief Minister should have committed to, instead of dismissing it outright. Her immediate dismissal of the concept suggests that this is yet another demonstration of how she makes things up on the run - and one need only refer to her performance in the indigenous areas portfolio for further evidence of the fact that she does that. It is a Cannonball Run-style proposal, potentially another massive money spinner for the Territory, and it was extremely disappointing that the Chief Minister, with the member for Wanguri hot on her heels, knocked it on the head before she spoke to her colleagues, let alone other Territorians. It smacks of arrogance.
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Visitors
Visitors
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Can I just halt you there, Leader of the Opposition. I advise honourable members of the presence in the gallery of Year 9 students from Nightcliff High School, accompanied by Lucy Murrel. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to our visitors.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Ms CARNEY: Mr Acting Speaker, for the benefit of the young people who have joined us today, we are not so much debating, but are talking about the importance of tourism in the Northern Territory, something I am sure many of you will be interested in - perhaps some of your friends and family work in the industry. Tourism is, indeed, a critical part of life for all of us here in the Territory.
I had said that one of the unfortunate aspects of what the minister was talking about before, was that he did not talk about the fact that there are some troubling trends in the Northern Territory in tourism.
Intrastate - which meant Territorians visiting from one place in the Territory and going to another - has fallen at the financial year ending 2006 by 22%, which is fairly significant. If you live in Darwin, you might want to go to Alice Springs; similarly, your Year 9 counterparts in Alice Springs might want to travel to Darwin. One asks, as one is entitled to do - as any Territorian is entitled to do - how government can assist people travelling more throughout the Northern Territory? I say that for the benefit of those who have recently joined us, Mr Acting Speaker.
Returning to where I was, there are a number of matters that would have been considered. We were talking about the Cannonball Run, the Cannonball Run-style of event. That might be of interest, member for Blain, to young Territorians. Many of them will not be old enough to remember the original Cannonball Run, but Senator Nigel Scullion, that sensational Senator for the Northern Territory - that fantastic CLP Senator, Nigel Scullion, living legend himself - came out only a couple of months ago and he wanted right thinking Territorians to give a little thought to the possibility of a Cannonball Run-style of event. Although not the current Chief Minister - and this is by way of an aside, I admit - the current Minister for Tourism actually wants the Chief Minister’s job. He would have been really unhappy when, after the CLP Senator Nigel Scullion said: ‘As mature individuals that we are, let us all talk about the possibility of a Cannonball Run’, the Chief Minister did not even talk to her colleagues, the Tourism Minister, or anyone else for that matter - she just knocked it on the head. That is why so many of her colleagues are really unhappy with the Chief Minister at the moment. If you stay around the parliament long enough, you will be able to pick up the full extent of their unhappiness.
I will tell you what: people should really keep their eye on the member for Wanguri. I cannot mention his name, but he is a big bloke. He sits over there. He is the Tourism Minister and he wants the member for Fannie Bay’s - I cannot mention her name, but you will know her, she is pretty famous - job. I look forward to hearing from him, because I might invite him - for the purposes of putting it on the Parliamentary Record - to state his position; whether he wants the Chief Minister’s job. That is okay, because I want the Chief Minister’s job too, being the Opposition Leader. I know …
Ms Lawrie: You will not get it!
Ms CARNEY: I may never get it, member for Karama, but that is okay, because the member for Wanguri is prepared to do just about anything to get it. In fact, the member for Wanguri - there he is, so how interesting for them.
In any event, I look forward to the most interesting race in the Northern Territory, which is the race between the member for Wanguri and the member for Fannie Bay. In any event, the young people there, I am sure, would be very interested in hearing from the Chief Minister - sorry, current Minister for Tourism - about the Cannonball Run.
A Cannonball Run-style event can have the advantage of bringing in massive income for the Northern Territory. When we are looking at declines in interstate visitations by 22%, in overnight trips by 5%, and in business tourism to the Territory, year ending 2006, down 17%, you have to get really smart as a government - any government, it does not matter what side they bat for - and they have to think, how they can pick up these figures and, not just steady the ship, but do better than other jurisdictions, given that tourism is so vitally important to all of us in the Territory.
By way of an illustration, millions of Americans have been able to experience Kakadu National Park live via a webcam that was beamed on to the big screens at New York city’s famous Grand Central Station. That was a clever idea; it was fantastic. Why should we not, as Territorians, flog our wares to international visitors? The fact that United States citizens were beamed live Kakadu National Park at Grand Central Station is the sort of innovation and creative thinking that needs to continue and be stepped up if we are to preserve our fundamentally important tourism industry.
The 24-hour real-time webcam has been developed by Tourism Australia, with the support of Tourism NT, Kakadu National Park, and the traditional owners of Kakadu. These cooperative programs must continue between all levels of tourism enterprises because the rewards are worth the efforts. By launching the Kakadu webcam in New York city’s busy Grand Central Station, millions of the city’s commuters were exposed to what Australia’s nature experiences have to offer via the big screens located in the terminal. It is important to recognise that, in an environment such as New York city, the appeal of nature-based experiences with international visitors is a jewel in the crown of the Northern Territory, and innovative marketing campaigns such as that at Grand Central Station need to be further developed in cooperation between all stakeholders, including Tourism Australia, Tourism NT, and local and indigenous tourism providers.
Tourism today is competing for the consumer dollar. More Australians are buying plasma TVs, heading overseas, or holidaying instead of camping in a national park - or certainly in the Territory - seeing other parts of our great Northern Territory. There is, clearly, a need for some finetuning. I take this opportunity of congratulating everyone at the Northern Territory Tourist Commission. They are very hard-working, creative and a dedicated group of people. With strong leadership - and by that I mean leadership from government and the man who thinks he has so much of it, the aspiring Chief Minister, the member for Wanguri - tourism can do even better in the Northern Territory.
However, in order for it to do better, we need to not only learn from our current successes, but also from those areas where we have failed. We need to prepare ourselves for increased visitor numbers and focus on developing sustainable tourism. If you look at places such as Alice Springs with the enormous infrastructure problems they have - there was a federal government White Paper a couple of years ago, a very extensive review of Australia’s tourism industry, when Joe Hockey was the minister. Actuaries were employed to project how many tourists were going to come to Australia. The main market was, from memory, China. I cannot remember the figures off the top of my head. However, they projected that some 10 million people from China would come to Australia.
If you look at a place such as Alice Springs - and I am not suggesting for a moment that 10 million people are going to rock up at Alice Springs - there is a limit to how many tourists can be accommodated in that town. We only have a certain number of rooms and campsites for a night; therefore, there does need to be a very long-term analysis of how we in the Territory are going to cope with tourism. If you look at Tennant Creek, for instance - and I am sure the member for Barkly would agree – it needs all the help it can get. We have to be creative again in tourism opportunities in Tennant Creek. Katherine tends to be up and down. No one can help the flooding, of course, but all of us would be aware that, after the last Katherine flood, other Australians who might have previously been thinking about moving or holidaying there decided - and I hear this from people in Katherine – to go somewhere else.
The regions are particularly important, and I am pleased the Minister for Regional Development is here. The work involved needs to be from departments such as his working closely with tourism. I do not know what side that minister is on in the leadership stakes, but I ask him, regardless of who he is barracking for in the leadership competition, to put whatever differences he may have to one side and work constructively with the member for Wanguri.
The long-term sustainability and development of the tourism industry is critical. There is too much riding on tourism in the Territory for a slack approach. I know the Minister for Tourism is an ambitious fellow, so I am sure he will be trying his best. I do believe that. It is critical that he tries his best as he needs, in the next few months, to impress his colleagues like he has never impressed them before. I am sure he will be pulling out all stops to show them that he is leadership material just as the ad used to say.
With those comments, thank you, minister - aspiring Chief Minister - for bringing this statement on today. I very much look forward to hearing from other members of government, in particular the Minister for Regional Development, to hear what they have to say about doing what we can for areas such as Tennant Creek and Katherine, and whether the government has given any consideration to the impact of tourism in Alice Springs as well.
Ms Lawrie interjecting.
Ms CARNEY: I can hear mumblings from the member for Karama. Word is that a deal has been done with the members for Wanguri and Karama whereby she has been promised the position of Deputy Leader provided that the member for Wanguri gets the top job.
Dr Burns: You swap all the time over there.
Ms CARNEY: When you are in an opposition of four, you are pretty much bulletproof, so you cannot …
Members interjecting.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order!
Ms CARNEY: It does not matter, I kid you not. Am I relaxed? Absolutely. Are you guys relaxed? No, not at all. We look forward to the entertainment you are providing. Thank you for it very much, indeed. I cannot wait to come back for the next sittings where I can watch your body language all over again. You are a sight to behold.
Debate suspended.
VISITORS
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: I advise honourable members of the presence in the gallery of the Parliament House Public Tours program visitors. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to our visitors.
Members: Hear, hear!
GENERAL BUSINESS DAY
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Mr Acting Speaker, on behalf of the Chief Minister, I nominate Wednesday, 29 November 2006, as the next day on which precedence will be given to General Business, pursuant to Standing Order 93.
SPECIAL ADJOURNMENT
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the Assembly at its rising adjourn until Tuesday, 28 November 2006 at 10 am or such other time and/or date as may be set by Madam Speaker pursuant to Sessional Order.
Motion agreed to.
TABLED PAPER
Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report 2005-06
Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report 2005-06
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Mr Acting Speaker, I table the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report 2005-06.
MOTION
Note Paper - Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report 2005-06
Note Paper - Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report 2005-06
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Mr Acting Speaker, in accordance with section 9 of the Financial Management Act, I am pleased to table the 2005-06 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report. The fiscal statement forms part of the 2005-06 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report and presents the Territory’s fiscal performance for that year. The report satisfies the requirements of the final fiscal results report set out in the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act. In addition, the unaudited section provides a summary of the key financial performance of agencies and government business divisions for 2005-06.
The highlights of the 2005-06 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report are: a general government cash surplus of $40m, a $108m improvement on the original 2005-06 budget and the fourth consecutive cash surplus; a general government accrual nett operating surplus of $27m, the first such surplus since the introduction of accrual accounting in 2002-03; significant underlying growth of 11% in general government own source revenue due to an increase in business activity and confidence; significant capital spending of $477m on the Territory’s infrastructure, an increase of 15% on 2004-05; a significant reduction in nett debt for the non-financial public sector to $1594m, $149m below the high of $1743m recorded back in 2001-02; and when measured as a percentage to revenue, both nett debt at 48%, and nett debt plus employee liabilities at 112% are again the lowest since the introduction of accrual accounting.
Turning to detail for the outcome for the 2005-06 financial year. In the 2006-07 budget, this government revised the 2005-06 cash target to reflect the change in timing of the investment in the Darwin waterfront development. The 2005-06 outcome of a $40m cash surplus is $108m higher than budgeted in May 2005, and $87m higher than the revised estimate published in the May 2006 budget. This is now the fourth year in succession that a cash surplus has been recorded, indicating that achieving a balanced outcome in 2008-09 remains achievable.
The $108m cash improvement since budget time was the result of the $237m increase in operating receipts being only partially offset by increased nett spending of $129m. The $237m increase in operating receipts were predominately due to: $21m additional GST revenue following a small increase in the national GST pool available for distribution; increases in taxation revenue of $81m, about two-thirds of which are the result of one-off stamp duty receipts, and one-third due to increased economic activity; $80m increase in specific purpose payments from the Australian government, largely the result of the finalisation or renegotiation of agreements, predominately for education and health related grants; and transfer of responsibility for indigenous housing from the Indigenous Housing Authority of the Northern Territory to the Northern Territory government resulting in additional revenue of $39m.
Payments were $129m higher due to: an additional $56m expenditure relating to the increase in specific purpose payments from the Australian government; indigenous housing expenditure, associated with the transfer of responsibility to the Territory, $23m; new and expanded initiatives across government of $18m; one-off legal settlements costs of $17m; other non-discretionary costs across a range of agencies of $37m; and lower nett capital spending of $22m, largely as a result of the timing of payments for the Darwin waterfront development.
Capital investment plays a central role in the government’s budget strategy as it is essential for the delivery of government services and contributes to the economic development of the Territory. In 2005-06, capital spending, including Territory Housing and Power and Water Corporation, increased by $63m from 2004-05. This increased expenditure predominantly relates to improved education infrastructure, strategic transport-related projects, and the bringing forward of $25m of capital grants for sporting and cultural facilities.
I turn to the 2005-06 accrual outcome. The operating surplus of $27m is the first operating surplus since the introduction of accrual accounting. This result would have been even better without the effect of the reassessment of the superannuation liability that occurred in 2004-05 and flowed through to 2005-06 and future years. This increase largely accounts for the variation in the cash and accrual outcomes since May 2005. The fiscal balance deficit of $51m was a $34m improvement on the May 2005 budget, and $78m on the May 2006 revised estimate. This was predominantly a result of the improved operating result and the change in timing of capital spending.
Both the improved nett operating balance and the fiscal balance outcomes suggest that this government’s fiscal target of a balance by 2012-13 remain achievable. This is despite substantial capital investment over the next couple of years in projects such as the Darwin waterfront development. While the general government sector is the appropriate sector to focus on for the operating and cash flow statements, the non-financial public sector is the focus for analysis of the balance sheet; that is, the Territory’s assets and liabilities.
I turn now to the balance sheet outcomes for the non-financial public sector. Nett debt of $1594m in 2005-06 has reduced by $62m since 2004-05, and is now at its lowest level since the high point of $1743m in 2001-02. When measured as a percentage to revenue, the 2005-06 outcome of 48% represents a 6% reduction on the 54% recorded in 2004-05, and a 19% reduction on 2001-02 levels. This reduction in nett debt incorporates the effect of the Territory raising a nett provision of $16m against investments held in the railway in the event that they cannot be recovered. This provision has increased nett debt and reduced nett worth by $16m, but has had no effect on general government outcomes. The raising of the provision is in line with actions taken by all other investors, and will be the subject of ongoing review.
Unlike other accrual measures, nett debt plus employee liabilities is affected by the upward movement in the Territory’s superannuation liability that occurred in 2004-05 and has flowed into 2005-06. Despite this, nett debt plus employee liability for 2005-06 was $3753m, a decrease on the 2004-05 outcome of $24m. When measured as a percentage of total revenue, the 2005-06 outcome of 112% represents a significant reduction on the 134% recorded at 30 June 2002. This improvement demonstrates the government’s target of nett debt and employee liabilities to revenue to fall is being achieved and is testament to the fiscal responsibility of this government.
The Territory’s nett worth has also continued to improve. Nett worth is $260m higher than 2004-05 as a result of continued upward movement in the valuation of the Territory’s asset base, and improved cash outcomes. The Auditor-General has issued his usual two-part audit opinion on the financial statement, with the technical qualifications still existing in relation to compliance with Australian Accounting Standards, as has been the case since 1999. The Territory continues to comply with the Uniform Presentation Framework requirements rather than Australian Accounting Standards. Work is now advanced nationally to merge Uniform Presentation Framework and Australian Accounting Standards, with the likelihood that the new merged formats will be applied from 2008-09. Until then, that technical qualification will remain.
In addition, this year, the Auditor-General has also issued a qualified opinion on the carrying value of certain utility assets contained in the books of Power and Water Corporation. As the Power and Water Corporation is consolidated into the whole-of-government numbers, this qualification has flowed through to the whole-of-government financial statement. This qualification is fairly technical in nature and surrounds the methodology used by the corporation in valuing its asset base under new International Financial Reporting Standards. The corporation will be reviewing its methodology in 2006-07 in order to align more closely with these new reporting standards.
Before completing, there are two technical accounting issues that I wish to bring to the House’s attention. The first is that, from 1 July 2005, all Australian governments adopted the Australian equivalent of International Financial Reporting Standards in accordance with AIFRS requirements. The 2004-05 outcomes presented in this year’s report has been restated to provide a comparable base with 2005-06. The restated 2004-05 results represent minimal change to the operating result and no change on the cash outcome to those numbers tabled in October 2005. There are, however, some changes in valuation methodology for certain assets and superannuation liabilities recorded on the balance sheet, resulting in an improvement in nett worth of $112m at 30 June 2005.
The other change is the treatment of certain tied funds from the Australian government, where those funds will not be committed in the year they are received. As a result, in 2005-06, around $60m of special purpose payments predominantly related to national highways and the trauma centre will now be recognised as revenue in the year the expenditure actually occurs.
In conclusion, Mr Acting Speaker, 2005-06 represents an extremely positive outcome. The Territory has continued its trend towards achieving the medium-term fiscal objectives and targets as set out in the fiscal strategy. The cash outcome of a $40m surplus in 2005-06 is the fourth year in succession a surplus has been recorded, largely accounting for the significant improvement in nett debt and nett debt plus employee liability. The accrual operating result is in surplus for the first time, and the fiscal balance is an improvement on both the May 2005 and May 2006 estimates. Nett worth continues to improve as a result of continued infrastructure spending and the upward revision in the valuation of the Territory’s asset base.
The 2005-06 outcome shows that this government is committed to managing the Territory’s finances responsibly, while maintaining an appropriate balance between community needs, the needs of the Territory economy and maintaining a sound fiscal position.
Mr Acting Speaker, I move the Assembly take note of the report. I seek leave to continue my remarks at a later hour.
Leave granted.
Debate adjourned.
MOTION
Note statement - Territory Tourism
Moving Forward
Continued from earlier this day.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Mr Acting Speaker, it is with much delight I speak to the statement on tourism and commend the Minister for Tourism on his contribution today. I was very sad just - what was it? - a couple of months ago, to relinquish, in a way, the Tourism portfolio because it is one that, for nearly three years, I enjoyed very much. I am sure that it is in excellent hands now.
Tourism for the Territory is our second biggest contributor to the economy; it is a very important industry. The Opposition Leader implied, in a way, that the minister has been demoted by having Tourism. There are many tourism operators in the Territory who would find that an extremely offensive statement; to say that to have carriage of an industry that directly or indirectly employs 15% of our population is not significant, is the Opposition Leader not understanding the importance of tourism in our economy, and the importance of tourism in building in our economy.
Opportunities in tourism for development in regional and remote areas are absolutely significant to our future. It is an interesting portfolio, because not only is it tough, it also has a lot of delight within it. There is a lot of really exciting, challenging things to be done in tourism. However, it is a tough industry; there is no doubt about it. The last five years has seen the nature of tourism, in itself, change quite dramatically by the fact that we had 11 September, and we have budget airlines now. Before, quite reliably - say five to 10 years ago – people would book a holiday six months in advance. Now, we have travellers who will book a holiday with three hours notice. It is very hard for the industry to actually make assessments of their forward bookings, their forward revenues, when the shape and the style of the industry has changed so much.
We are not rejecting the fact that there are budget airlines. Virgin Blue Airlines has its happy hour every day and it is always worth checking because there can be some incredibly competitive fares there. The same with the other budget airlines. Therefore, if there is an opportunity, you have to grab it and go. However, it makes it very hard for our tourism industry.
The fact that, over the last three years, we have seen a significant pick-up is a real tribute to our industry and the fact that they have worked closely with government to see a significant turnaround in the numbers coming to the Territory, staying longer times in the Territory and, importantly, spending their dollars here and enjoying it, has really seen a turnaround in both the Territory’s economy and the viability of the tourism industry.
The fact is that our economic wellbeing is very much tied up with the health of the tourism sector. The confidence we are seeing at the moment within the industry is very reassuring and an indication that we have well and truly moved on from the global downturn at the start of the decade. However, you cannot put that behind you; you just have to work in a very different environment, as we are here in 2006 and moving to the future.
There have been a number of things that really have assisted in changing where we are in tourism. The fact that this government put the single biggest ever injection of funding into tourism is something that we are proud of. We responded to the industry. We needed to pick up our marketing effort and we did that, initially, with the funding of $27.5m and have continued that now into the future. Regarding our spend per capita on tourism, it is very high, but this is a very important industry for the Territory and we make no apology about that. When you look at the way we have been able to market - how and where we have marketed - we have certainly seen a pick-up in the numbers of travellers coming to the Territory. I am proud of the fact we have been able to reap those dividends, partly because of that significant injection of funds into tourism. For a start, those additional funds which, as I said are ongoing, have allowed us to look carefully at the way we market the Territory. It has allowed us to do the hard work to get the strategies right.
Tourism undertook extensive research to find out who visitors to the Territory are, and what kind of unique and cultural experiences they wanted from what the Territory has to offer. It allowed Tourism NT the opportunity to sharpen the competitive edge through a refreshed brand; one that clearly indicates what sets the Territory apart from its competitors. There is no doubt about it: we are unique in Australia. However, there are other very competitive parts of Australia from where we have to attract visitors.
When you look at, for example, Chinese tourists, growing numbers are coming to Australia, but the first thing that attracts them is not wide open spaces, it is the big capital cities. They are travelling down the east coast. We have to recognise that, for some travellers, going to the Gold Coast or Sydney is seen as far more attractive than coming to the Territory. A lot of work is happening in China to make sure there is a greater awareness of wide open spaces here and our unique natural and cultural attractions.
When I was in China a couple of times talking about tourism, I sat down the first time with a group of wholesalers in Shanghai. It was three years ago and they were not very familiar with the Territory. We had the brochures, and were having lunch and talking about what the Territory had to offer. The Sounds of Silence dinner at Uluru captivated them. Shanghai has very few days on which you can actually see the sun, and there is this thick grey-yellow cover over the city and surrounding areas, and the fact that you can sit under the stars in the darkness and see the wonderful sky array was absolutely captivating for them. If we can market those things well in China - and we now have a representative there doing a great job; Joseph Xi - then we can secure a growing number of Chinese travellers.
The other thing the wholesalers loved were the jumping crocodiles. We tend to take them for granted, but the idea that you would be on a boat on a river and have crocodiles jump out of the water was enormously attractive to the Chinese market. They know about crocodiles …
Mr Henderson: Theirs don’t jump.
Ms MARTIN: Ours are larger, to be fair. This experience in the Top End was of great attraction to them.
We are targeting, much more effectively, the travellers who want to come to the Territory. We have to compete hard against those who want to go to large capital cities, or to the theme parks on the Gold Coast. We have identified our spirited travellers, a group of people who seek journeys rather than holidays, and those who want to learn from their travel experiences. This is the detail of marketing that we have done in investigating our market; that they want to go home feeling different about themselves, having had a substantial experience rather than a retail one.
Story telling was seen as the best way of connecting with these knowledge-hungry travellers and, therefore, the tag line of Share Our Story was the result. I know, initially, when we put it to the market, there were those who were a bit cynical - some quite loudly cynical. Every Territorian has a story to tell and that story could be told at the base of Uluru, or by someone sitting in a pub and talking about the big fish that got away. Territorians are natural story tellers and the tag line of Share Our Story was the result. It has paid off. It is fair to say that all the detailed work and repositioning of the Territory in the market has paid off.
Our destination marketing has also been very successful. We Share Our Story now through promotion of six key destinations: Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Uluru, and that includes the Katherine and Barkly regions. The first round of campaigns has been very well received.
As you have heard from the Minister for Tourism, Aboriginal tourism is and will remain one of our top priorities despite - and I was clearly taken aback by this - the Opposition Leader letting forth on this sudden discovery of Aboriginal tourism. I do not know where she has been over the last few years, in the times that we have come into this House and talked about - acclaimed - new Aboriginal businesses in tourism and talked about, at length, the work that tourism was doing and how proud we are of it. It is not just us we are proud of. It is not about government, it is about Aboriginal communities grasping opportunities that are there and making sustainable jobs and enterprises from a growing industry for the Territory. Great work has been done, and I really pay tribute to those in Tourism NT. With those additional dollars that we have put into tourism, there is now a much greater capacity to look at tourism development work.
The Stepping Stones program the minister was talking about this morning is a key component of that. Tourism NT has people who are very effective at sitting down with communities and working them through the detail of setting up a business, what it means to be in tourism, the demands of that, and how we can support them to get there. We have seen the three new businesses in Kakadu, and businesses in the Centre and the Barkly region, and we will continue to do that work. Not every business that gets up and going is going to survive - this is tough. I believe that we have seen a real growth in the interest in Aboriginal communities for establishing those business.
One great example, and one that I have talked about many times, is the Red Centre Way in Central Australia and the opportunities there. At Hermannsburg, the Ntaria community and its surrounding communities have a wonderful opportunity to gain long-lasting economic benefits and sustainable jobs from increased tourism activity. There is no doubt that the traditional owners and community members all around that area really have a strong desire to develop tourism products. They come from a beautiful part of the world. Whether you are talking Areyonga or Ntaria and communities along that Red Centre Way, there are great opportunities that are still really undeveloped.
Our task is to work with these communities and help them in achieving their goals, and that is what we have done. It is what we will continue to do in the future. I am also really pleased at what has happened in Kakadu. A lot of work went into Kakadu, and I pay tribute to John Morse and John King, who sat down with the traditional owners in Kakadu and those on the board of management and worked through a lot of issues that had impeded the growth of tourism in the area. They came out with an agreed document, a way forward for developing tourism in Kakadu.
A lot of trust has been established, especially when you see how enterprises like Hawk Dreaming, the Kakadu Cultural Camp, and Patonga Homestead have been set up. With support from Tourism NT and that regional economic support from DBERD, it is terrific to see the success of ventures like that. They really have been triggered by the work that was done, co-funded by the federal government and ourselves, to tackle some of the outstanding issues in Kakadu, particularly with traditional owners and the impact of tourism. We have come through that and, so, people like Mandy Muir, and Freddie and Jen Hunter, have embraced the opportunity. It is going to be tough for a while. I know with the Kakadu Cultural Camp it is not going to be easy, but they have a great product - so has Mandy Muir - and I believe the opportunities are there. We will continue to support them through various agencies to make viable businesses. We will see more developments like these in years to come, and I take this opportunity to congratulate all those who are playing a part, particularly in transforming Kakadu.
It has also been very satisfying to see Alice Springs tourism strengthen and grow. The $1.2m Destination Alice Springs campaign was the first of our destination campaigns to be rolled out under the Share Our Story tag. It centred on the region’s compelling points of difference, which are its outback adventure, its desert landscape, with Aboriginal art and craft, history and heritage. It has been successful. It is tough in Alice Springs at the moment. The last few months have been good for tourism. The Masters Games starting on Saturday will see the usual impact of visitors, which is certainly a boost to the local economy.
Tourism is fundamental to the future of Alice Springs, and we will continue to work right across all areas of Alice Springs, particularly in focusing on getting better outcomes of alcohol abuse, changing town camps to being part of suburban Alice Springs, and growing jobs, particularly for Aboriginal people. All that will contribute to a better success in tourism. There is no doubt, of all parts of the Territory, tourism needs to work in Alice Springs for the future viability of that community.
The launch of Taking the Next Steps Action Plan, which is Alice Springs-based, was very important and it provided a unified approach to new product development in the region. The action plan has been jointly implemented by Tourism NT, CATIA, the Alice Springs Council, and other parts of government.
There are some exciting initiatives under way, such as the world heritage listing for MacDonnell Ranges - that will take time, but we have started the work to do that - and the promotion of Alice Springs as a leading destination for Aboriginal art and craft. It is probably the strongest area in the Territory for art and craft. All you have to do is go to the Desert Mob exhibition and just see that strength leaping off the walls. The success of the Desert Mob marketplace the day before the opening of Desert Mob, has again indicated the strength of Aboriginal art and craft. I commend the member for Macdonnell for her piece this year in the Desert Mob - very fine work and you put the rest of us to shame with your artistic talent.
I will also look back on the changes we have made to Tourism NT. When I took on the job, it was the Tourist Commission. We have seen a change in the functioning from a tourist commission to Tourism NT. I believe that our efforts to take a whole-of-government approach to tourism is vital for the long-term success of the industry. We have a great new Tourism Advisory Board under the chairmanship of Grant Hunt.
As I said in Question Time, there has been a lot achieved, but there is a lot more to do in tourism. It is in the very capable hands of the new Minister for Tourism who is having a second turn at it, so it is not new to him at all. I know that he will do an outstanding job and enjoy the challenges. There are a lot of people I will take this opportunity to thank for working so effectively for the last three years in tourism, and they will continue to do that. I would like to thank them for my time as Tourism Minister: the CEO, Maree Tetlow, for the work she has done; it has been terrific. It is difficult to single somebody, but I would like to thank everybody in Tourism, but make particular mention of the woman who has this marketing right on track, and that is Rita Harding. She has done a great job. Also, in tourism development, John Coleman, who is out there working with communities, making sure that we can support the development of tourism businesses - new businesses in regional and remote parts of the Territory.
I also thank the RTAs. They are a wonderful mob, our Regional Tourist Associations. Some of them give it to you between the eyeballs from time to time, which is great. It is a viable and very volatile industry and people need to speak their mind. When you are talking about people who speak their mind you have to put Sylvia Wolf at the top of that, the Tourism Top End Chair – she is fantastic. Her contribution is enormous. Occasionally, you have to duck as she fires things at you - so be warned, minister. Also I appreciate the work of General Manager Tony Clemetson; in CATIA, we have Lynne Peterkin who has been Chair, and done a very effective job there, with Craig Catchlove; in Barkly Tourism, Richard Dodd, and John Stafford for his work - he has now moved on; and in Katherine, there is Gary Higgins and Shelley Davis, who are a very energetic team.
Mr Acting Speaker, the tourism industry is a wonderful industry to work with. As I said, they can be very forthcoming. They can certainly tell you exactly as it is. Over the last few years, there has been a good relationship established between this government and our tourism industry. As I said, we have done a lot, but there is a lot to do.
Mr McADAM (Central Australia): Mr Acting Speaker, I support minister Henderson’s statement on tourism. I have previously spoken in this House about the crucial role that regional development will play for the future of Central Australia. Today, I wish specifically to focus on tourism as one of the most important industries for the economic future for people living in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and, of course, all the remote communities surrounding that particular region.
Tourism is an industry that offers great promise and prosperity for indigenous and non-indigenous people. It is one of the singular most important industries of Central Australia upon which genuine equitable partnerships can be built and sustained. Evidence suggests that tourists are drawn to the Centre primarily to experience the magnificent landscape and the indigenous cultural diversity of that region. It is within this context that many significant companies have made and will continue to make their mark. Sahara Outback Tours, Wallace Rockhole Tourist Park, Gunya Tourism at Titjikala, Alice Wanderer, Keringke Arts Centre, Tanamart Tours and Desart, to name but a few, are forging partnerships that provide significant, mutual, social and economic benefits. These partnerships add to the ever increasing diversity of visitor experiences on offer in Central Australia. Tourism spending in Central Australia for financial 2005-06 equated to $631m, an increase on the 2004-05 figures.
I also wish to make mention of the impact that tourism is having on the Barkly Tablelands. Tourism expenditure increased from $34m in 2004-05 to approximately $40m in 2005-06, attributable to a massive increase in domestic tourism expenditure, but offset by a decrease in the international visitor expenditure.
Current visitor spending represents a small portion of the potential revenue that tourism offers the Centre. Central Australian visitor numbers, including Uluru and Barkly, climbed to above the one million mark in 2005-06. Last financial year, about 317 000 people visited the Petermann Region including Uluru and Kings Canyon, the vast majority of these people being international visitors. Alice Springs, on the other hand, attracts about 250 000 visitors per year, two-thirds being from within Australia. The anticipated growth rate represents enormous potential for both indigenous and non-indigenous people.
Already, businesses have capitalised on the draw of Uluru. There are many different grades of accommodation provided by Voyages which includes catering for backpackers, the self-drive, the camper-type holidaymaker, the five-star unique experience of Longitude 131, and everyone in between. This diversity of accommodation has assured that Uluru and Kata Tjuta will continue to be a world-class visitor experience.
Other entrepreneurs have equally benefited from development opportunities presented by Uluru. Notably, Anangu Tours continues to provide the unique cultural experience that so many visitors to the Centre wish to have. They continue to receive the national and international accolades that they so richly deserve.
Whilst we were at Yulara the other day visiting the Mutitjulu Community, the member for Macdonnell, the Chief Minister and I had the opportunity to meet with managers from Voyages. It is fair to say that there is a very sincere commitment on behalf of Voyages to include the community at Mutitjulu in future developments of Uluru as a tourist destination but, not only that, to provide jobs. It is certainly something on which we, as a government, should work very hard. I know the local member for Macdonnell will provide that very important role in liaising between Voyages and the indigenous community. There are so many wonderful opportunities there and it can be a real employment creation in giving those people an equitable input into the tourist resort.
We cannot rest on our laurels, as I have said previously. That is why this government has committed to sealing the Red Centre Way to develop much stronger connections between Uluru and Alice Springs. The Red Centre Way, or Mereenie Loop as it is known, was recently voted by Australia Travel magazine as being the top 10 tourist drives in Australia. By sealing the Red Centre Way, we will open up the area to, potentially, hundreds of thousands of more visits and open up opportunities for hundreds, if not thousands, of indigenous and non-indigenous people along the route. Already, communities like Areyonga and Ntaria have commenced planning to market their communities to increased numbers of passing tourists. Wallace Rockhole is doing likewise. The opportunities and potential for tourism enterprises for genuine partnership and shared prosperity along the Red Centre Way are boundless and only limited by people’s imagination.
Parks and Wildlife are planning to enhance the visitor experience through the provision of improved facilities and an interpretive centre. This government has committed approximately $4m to achieve this, stretching from Alice Springs along the West MacDonnell Ranges. Prior to the last election, the Chief Minister outlined her government’s vision for the listing of the West MacDonnell Ranges as a World Heritage area. Connecting the existing World Heritage listed Uluru Kata Tjuta and the West MacDonnell Ranges for the world-class tourist drive, and supported through development of the region as Australia’s first national landscape, is visionary and exciting. It will provide visitors to the Centre with a compelling reason to remain in the region to visit both Uluru and Alice Springs, and to immerse themselves in 40 000 years of indigenous culture along the way.
In other areas of Central Australia, the burgeoning cultural tourism industry is taking shape. Gunya Titjikala has had great success in attracting visitors looking for an exclusive experience. They have developed a partnership with ANH Alice Springs Helicopters to enhance the experience via helicopter transfers from Alice Springs to Titjikala. The Rainbow Valley area and Black Tank are other communities that have undertaken the Stepping Stones process, facilitated by Tourism NT, to strategically plan their move into the tourism industry.
Alice Springs visitation increased by approximately 7% in 2005-06 following a 9% increase in the previous financial year. This government’s commitment to the tourism industry through increased funding for tourism marketing has been a boon to Alice Springs. The Destination Alice Springs campaign, together with the Share Our Story branding, contributed to a marked improvement in travel intention, particularly amongst spirited travellers. This marketing is assisting to maintain the trend of increased visitation to Alice Springs. While a lot has been achieved, there is still a great deal more to do, including the focus on the aim of continually improving visitor expenditure.
Earlier this year, the Chief Minister released a research report on heritage tourism. Among its findings was the significant role that heritage tourism plays in the economy of Alice Springs, accounting for 10% of current visitor expenditure. The report included an action report that provides tourist operators with practical ways to make the most of our heritage by improving, for example, interpretative media to enhance the visitors’ experience. In doing so, it encourages visitors to stay longer and to spend more money in the community.
This week, we are seeing a great example of the benefits of business tourism to Alice Springs. The Australian Pipeline Industry Association is holding its 38th National Conference at the Convention Centre in Alice Springs, and has brought together over 350 delegates, as well as their partners and 47 children. While primarily here to exchange professional knowledge and ideas, importantly, these visitors from all over Australia will spend four days immersing themselves in Alice Springs tourism attractions. Visitors will be spending their money and assisting with the creation of jobs for people in Alice Springs. I applaud the Australian Pipeline Industry Association for their family-friendly attitude, and commend this approach to other organisations looking to hold their conferences in Alice Springs.
In my home town of Tennant Creek, the Barkly Regional Tourist Association has made great strides in promoting the region. Attractions like the Devil’s Marbles, Nyinkka Nyunyu, the world-class indigenous cultural interpretive centre, the Davenport Ranges, the Battery Hill Mining Centre and Newcastle Waters, offer tourists an unique perspective of life in the Barkly Tablelands. As I have previously stated, overall visitor expenditure increased to the Barkly in 2005-06, but against a weakening of visitor numbers and bed nights.
The Barkly offers tourists a fantastic range of attractions, but it is important that tourism operators continue to work together to maximise the length of stay in the region, the potential tourism spend and, naturally, their own viability. Continual refreshing of the visitor experience is a necessity. The new Social History Museum at Battery Hill and the pilot performance of traditional dance to be staged at Nyinkka Nyunyu on 31 October are two such examples. The dance performance will draw dancers from all over the Territory and will involve a cultural and experimental exchange with more advanced traditional dance groups. It aims to provide a platform for enhanced visitor experience through regular performances at Nyinkka Nyunyu in the future.
A new initiative is to encourage more four-wheel drive enthusiasts to the region. This initiative is enhanced by clever use of new media technology and strategies to entice visitors to immerse themselves in the Barkly lifestyle. This initiative will provide opportunities to enhance that most valuable of tourist experiences, the joy of meeting locals.
Ideas such as these encapsulate the Barkly Regional Tourism Plan 2006-08, due for release in the near future. I am personally confident that the Barkly Regional Tourist Association, which recently appointed Kate Foran, will provide inspirational leadership. I have known Kate for a long time, and she has a unique way of being able to get things done. I am absolutely confident that she will engage with everyone in the Barkly area, the businesses and local indigenous communities, and help grow that particular tourism market. I will say something else about Kate, which is important, and is an indication of her vision. She recognises that indigenous people within that community and region play a very important role, not only in the context of present social and economic outcomes, but in their cultural, spiritual and traditional links to the region, as they do right across the Northern Territory. Kate is very passionate about engaging indigenous people into the whole tourism industry and economy. Tennant Creek is ideally placed, and I wish Kate the very best in that particular project.
I pay tribute to Craig Catchlove from CATIA, who I had the pleasure of having lunch with a couple of days ago. Again, Craig is a very passionate person and has a vision for tourism in Alice Springs and the Centralian region. He is ably backed up by a very supportive and committed board. It is people such as Kate and Craig who are the future in how we grow tourism forward.
There are other things I want to say, more so as the local member for Barkly. I was at Borroloola a few months ago when the Chief Minister launched the Gulf Regional Tourist Plan. This is an important document in providing a way forward in respect of that region. Over the last two to three years, there is no doubt that the Borroloola region, from the Queensland border to Borroloola, is increasingly being recognised as the jewel in the crown of tourism potential, right throughout the Northern Territory. It must be remembered that it is the second largest recreational fishing area outside Darwin, and there is great capacity to enhance and grow that industry by the traditional owners of that region.
Batten Point, an area which adjoins King Ash Bay, has a lot of potential should the traditional owners consider developing that. King Ash Bay itself draws literally thousands of people on a regular basis into that particular region. I do know that there is a lot of interest regarding Batten Point being a possible low impact-type camping ecotourism facility. I am absolutely certain that, should they choose to go down that path, then this government will be very keen to provide whatever support and assistance it could.
This is equally so for Robinson River, otherwise known as the Mungoorbarda. That is on the Highway 1. It is a very unique, special, and beautiful place, not far off the major highway. Increasingly, more and more tourists are traversing that highway, although they would agree with me when I say that we have a lot more work to do, though, in fixing up the road between Borroloola and Mungoorbarda. Over time, I know that we will do what we can to address that However, the point I wish to make is that Robinson River, or Mungoorbarda, also has immense capacity to become a major tourist destination, particularly in regards to people who wish to fish at ecotourism-type enterprises.
Bauhinia Downs is another one which is not far from Heartbreak Hotel. Heartbreak Hotel itself is a very interesting place; the name would indicate that automatically. The point is that it is a stepping off point to places like the Bauhinia Downs and the Lost City. Over time, I have absolutely no doubt that more and more people will wish to travel throughout that particular region to Heartbreak and places like Bauhinia Downs, the Lost City, Vesteys Springs which is on McArthur River pastoral lease - perhaps McArthur River Mine should start talking to the traditional owners. It is a great big waterhole. Locals know about it, but the tourists do not know about it. It is a great opportunity to add one other attraction to that particular region. Maybe MRM can give it some thought.
Elliott which, again, is in my electorate - and I have spoken about this before – has the Longreach Waterhole. It is an excellent opportunity for local people to get involved in tourism, providing jobs. It is a waterhole 15 km, 16 km, maybe 20 km to the west of Elliott. It is a permanent waterhole. The bird life there is absolutely magnificent. I do know that the community has talked about this in the past, but I encourage them to do what they can over the next few years because it will provide a real focus in economic development and, more importantly, it adds to the whole Stuart Highway experience by being able to drop in there and to spend a few peaceful days.
Other areas which I mentioned before in this House but I will mention again because they are worth mentioning, is at Policeman’s Waterhole in the Davenport Ranges …
Mr NATT: Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I move that the member’s time be extended under Standing Order 77 in order that he may conclude his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr McADAM: The destination that I have just referred to, Policeman’s Waterhole which is in the Davenport Ranges, is also a permanent waterhole. It is part of a four-wheel drive venture, turning off just north of Barrow Creek out to places like Murray Downs pastoral property and then, of course, into Policeman’s Waterhole. It is, without a doubt, one of the best four-wheel drive experiences that you will ever get anywhere in Australia. It really does test your driving ability but, at the same time, subjects you to some of the most beautiful countryside, culminating in a few days at Policeman’s Waterhole.
The other important point here is that Epenarra, an indigenous community not too far away from there on the route back into Tennant Creek, also has a lot of potential to be able to link in by developing tourism enterprises, adding to that experience which so many people want to have. They want to, quite genuinely, understand and engage with indigenous people in a very mature and new way in communities like Epenarra and, of course, Kurrundi Station which is also on that route. What I am saying is that we really do have some wonderful tourist destinations in the Barkly area. It is not something that you can flick your finger at and, all of a sudden, they are there, but, over time, it is something which we can build on.
Whilst I am talking about the region, I pay a tribute to all the roadhouses up and down the Stuart Highway, but none more so than the ones in my electorate, starting from Barrow Creek, Wauchope, Tennant Creek, Three Ways, Dunmara and the Highway Inn. They are often the point of contact for tourists where tourists can actually experience the outback. I pay tribute to the owners of Three Ways who developed it as a tourist information centre in partnership with the Northern Territory government tourist people. It is a great addition. I know Bob at Wauchope also had a grant to renovate his place. The people at Dunmara - Gary Green - also has a grant and he is going to build on his snake and lizard collection which is providing people with an opportunity to look up close at what a snake looks like, I suppose, as opposed to all the road kill on the road.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, as you can see, there is plenty going on in Central Australia in the tourism industry with plenty to be optimistic about. Before I conclude, there is one place I did want to mention which was mentioned in the House yesterday; that is, the marine park proposal of the Edward Pellew Group of Islands. Again, I believe it is one of those great opportunities to work with the traditional owners, the people there, the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory government, to develop a world-class marine park. It is something which will provide real opportunities for people to be able to showcase their culture.
In conclusion, there is plenty going on in Central Australia. As the minister, I share this with the members from Central Australia who also play an important role in supporting tourism; it is in great shape. There is more that we can do and I am certain that all the members on this side of the House will work hard to support sustainable tourism development, create environments for opportunities for people across all regions.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I wish the new minister, minister Henderson, well for his second stewardship of this portfolio. All the very best and we look forward to working with him on behalf of Centralians and all people out there in the bush.
Ms ANDERSON (Macdonnell): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I support the statement on the health of Territory tourism brought to this House by the Minister for Tourism. Central Australia contains some of Australia’s most iconic images that draw international and national tourists in large numbers. Tourism is the region’s key economic driver, so it is good news that visitor numbers in Central Australia continued to rise this year.
In Central Australia, total visitors increased by 1%, with interstate and international visitors up by 8% and 6%, respectively, for the financial year ended June 2006, compared to June 2005. In Alice Springs, total visitors increased by 7%, including a 3% increase in interstate visitors for the financial year ended June 2006 compared to June 2005. This is an excellent performance in an environment where the numbers of interstate and international holidaymakers to other states and territories were in decline.
Every year, thousands of local and overseas tourists head to Central Australia to visit spectacular national attractions. Uluru Kata Tjuta has been at the forefront for this type of tourism experience, but now a diverse range of new tourism adventures and opportunities are emerging, backed up by sound economic and grassroots planning.
The Central Land Council and Tourism NT are cooperating to assist local communities to strengthen existing tourism ventures and develop and improve traditional landowners’ capacity to manage existing new tourism projects. A memorandum of understanding between the two agencies has placed a Tourism Development Officer into the CLC Land Management Unit to help improve indigenous participation in the tourism industry, maximising the delivery of jobs, and creating economic growth for indigenous landowners and the Territory has a whole.
As a result, What is Tourism? and Stepping Stones workshops that involve grassroots consultation, training assessment and negotiation process, have been run at many communities. These are being run at communities in subregional level to draw out good ideas, let community members know what to expect from running a tourism venture, and what makes it feasible from a social, economic and business level, and establish trial runs. Tourism is very new to indigenous people, so the Territory government has taken a very good initiative in educating indigenous people in remote Aboriginal communities to have pathways into tourism.
A key focus for these workshops has been in the region of the Red Centre Way, formerly known as the Mereenie Loop Road. Areyonga community, whose members have been keen participants in What is Tourism? and the Stepping Stones workshop are in the process of developing a cultural experience package for tourists. They are undertaking thorough planning to ensure the success of the enterprise, recognising that the enterprise will only be sustainable if people want these projects and are aware of the workloads.
Across at Ntaria, the campgrounds are fully operational and five cabins have been erected, with three available for short-term rental. The signage has been greatly improved along the tourist strip and tourist information areas have been erected. The tourist information area will provide a central point for visitors to Hermannsburg to obtain information about sights of significance, history, information on cultural activities, and road conditions. For people residing on the outstations between Ntaria and Areyonga, the Tjuwanpa Outstation Resource Centre has helped provided the Tjuwanpa Ranger program, which experienced difficulties in 2005.
To restart the program in 2006 Tjuwanpa provided a troop carrier and funded the Ranger Coordinator Positions for six months to restore momentum. The Tjuwanpa Ranger group worked in the nearby Finke Gorge and West MacDonnell National Park, and are involved in a range of park management activities with Parks and Wildlife Services such as fencing, infrastructure development, fauna surveys, fire management, and weed control. The ranger program will also explore the potential for contract work and tourism opportunities.
Wallace Rockhole community has catered for tourists for many years and they see tourism as an important part of the community’s development. They have made significant efforts to develop the community area for the tourist market and they like the economic spin-offs. They like having tourists around at Wallace because, when the tourists shop at Wallace Rockhole shop, the money actually stays there. Wallace Rockhole is very appreciative of tourists visiting.
Other developments in this region includes a multi-gender ablution block at Glen Helen Resort, two camping areas on the Larapinta Trail and the proposed Desert Oaks Wilderness Lodge that is to be built by APT in partnership with Kings Creek Station.
Tourism NT is supporting these Red Centre Way developments, not only working with stakeholders and industry to develop new products, signage and camping grounds as discussed, but also by achieving recognition of the Red Centre Way as Australia’s first national landscape, which will see the region included in the Australian Government’s Top 20 Landscapes and marketed internationally by Tourism Australia. Branding and marketing the Red Centre Way is included in the Destination Alice Springs marketing campaigns for the self-drive and fly-drive markets research to inform private and public investment decisions in tourism infrastructure along the Red Centre Way.
Many Aboriginal people are keen to see tourism developments go ahead for the economic and employment prospects it can provide. Tourism NT is working with indigenous people to develop opportunities for tourism growth and employment. In addition to the work undertaken by the Tourism NT office outposted to work with the Central Land Council, Tourism NT has funded campground infrastructure at Docker River, Oak Valley and Harts Range – all in my electorate; invested in development projects at Watarrka, Palm Valley, Rainbow Valley, Chambers Pillar National Park and Black Tank community; and is working with Lhere Artepe to develop signage at the Alice Springs Airport and the railway station.
Atitjere (Harts Range) community are looking at tourism as a central part of their future development. Given the increasing traffic along the Outback Way, the community’s vision involves providing tours and service to tourists, with an emphasis on interpreting some of the historical features of the region. The community believes such ventures will bring income and employment. Community members suggest that tourist traffic in the area is already increasing, and they have established an art centre to sell their art work to passing tourists. This latter development has been established by the women of the Atitjere, Eagle Beak and Irrerlirre. The communities along the Outback Way are also looking at opportunities for servicing travellers. Ideas include providing tourists with access to cultural information, and to show them historical features on their land.
The Plenty Highway region is rich in gems, dinosaur remains, mining and pastoral history and, with the development of the Outback Way as the major east-west route through the centre of Australia, there is real potential to further develop sustainable tourism enterprises that will increase the employment of Aboriginal people.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tourism is one of the mainstays of the Central Australian economy and, as the minister said, its competitive advantage lies in its natural and cultural assets. This government is leveraging this advantage through the enhancement of existing tourism products and the development of new ones that will meet market demand and provide a sustainable economic future for indigenous people. As the minister said, tourism is one of the few industries that can provide tangible benefits to Aboriginal people in remote Australia. I welcome the minister’s determination to continue supporting indigenous communities and individuals in their desire to create a brighter future.
Debate adjourned.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Indigenous Policy
Indigenous Policy
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, last week we welcomed the sixth Aboriginal member of government to this parliament. Almost one-third of our parliamentary members are now Aboriginal, and our party is truly representative of the Aboriginal electorate in ways never achieved in Australian history. This is something we can be proud of - and on this side we are.
The Aboriginal MLAs bring valuable experience, skills and knowledge to the task of government areas like public administration, housing, community development, health and local government. It also says a lot about the faith that Aboriginal Territorians have in the Australian Labor Party and how important that Aboriginal constituency is to our party. Getting Aboriginal affairs right is a huge challenge, but one I believe we can achieve together.
At the last sittings, I spoke of our determination to secure a national long-term commitment to improving the wellbeing of Australian Aboriginals. The commitment is vital because any meaningful change will require all Australians and government working together over a long period of time, and it will ensure our efforts are not derailed by partisan politics in the future.
I am pleased to report that COAG has accepted our argument and has set up a committee to consider a proposal for a generational plan in early next year, 2007. The plan will provide a framework for action, but there is much more to do in the meantime. We are committed to implementing our detailed plan, released in early 2006, which covers all areas of Aboriginal development in communities across the Territory.
Today, I want to outline a significant package of measures that will improve economic and social outcomes for Aboriginal Territorians, and provide a significant boost to our regional economy.
The centrepiece of this package is an extra $100m investment in remote housing over the next five years - an investment that will make a real impact. Other elements of the package are: a new local government model that will improve governance and service delivery; Territory Housing to work in partnership with existing indigenous housing organisations to manage delivery and maintenance in the bush; the continued expansion of secondary education in the bush; further roll-out of innovative approaches to alcohol; and the provision of new police stations in remote locations to improve community safety - working in that area specifically with the Commonwealth.
These measures are specific initiatives to address immediate needs - needs that will improve the social and economic status of Aboriginal Territorians. They will be incorporated into our agenda for action and the COAG generational plan. Let me talk in more detail about these measures.
Local government in remote areas of the Territory is, typically, made up of a large number of small isolated organisations taking on too much with too little. Expectations of local government across Australia continue to grow, and it will become increasingly difficult for small poorly-resourced councils to meet the administrative governance and service delivery expectations of their communities.
In March this year, the Department of Local Government, Housing and Sport conducted a risk assessment of 56 councils; that is, the 30 community government councils, the 23 association councils and the three ORAC councils. The risk assessment classified 50% of the councils as either high risk or dysfunctional. In the last six months, 22 councils - 38% of all community government and association councils - have advertised or readvertised for a chief executive, and eight of those chief executive positions have again been advertised within the last 12 months. In other words, we are still seeing high numbers of newly-recruited CEOs resigning within a year.
In the last six months, the department has been required to make 17 major interventions into the affairs of councils due to financial administrative and/or governance irregularities. These interventions include four show cause notices to chief executives, involving allegations of serious financial mismanagement. The problem is, basically, one of scale. There are insufficient funds at the local level to attract the best people for skilled positions, particularly in management. That means those currently involved on councils are spending much of their time at meetings with government officials and others, instead of focusing on the standard of service delivery in their community.
We have been addressing this problem through the gradual introduction of regional authorities. There have been improvements, but the changes have been slow, so we have decided to take action. I advise the House that, as a major reform of local government - the biggest reform since self-government - we intend moving to a shire system in the bush, with municipal councils remaining unchanged. We will have fewer local government bodies, and that means that these new organisations will be strong, deliver good services, and exhibit good governance.
The new system will lead to real local jobs, better services for core local government responsibilities, and better use of plant and equipment meaning better roads. Larger and more robust organisations will provide stable administration with higher quality management, opportunities for more local jobs and training, and have more money spent on services instead of administration. Further details of the new local government model will be presented to this House in the near future.
We are all aware of the unmet demand for housing in the bush. When last measured, it was $1.2bn and rising because of increasing population pressure. Under the Bilateral Agreement on Housing, the Australian government agreed to use the Northern Territory to deliver its national Aboriginal health strategy which is worth around $22m from 2006. That money brings the Territory pooled program to around $69m, and about two-thirds of it goes to new construction, with the rest going to management, repairs and maintenance. It is obvious that this will hardly keep up with the growing demand from an increasing population, let alone make inroads to the backlog - a backlog that has been growing for decades. Greater effort and new approaches are required.
Construction and maintenance is provided by indigenous community housing organisations. These organisations have the same pressures associated with economies of scale as with local government and, indeed, are often a department of a small local government council. Many have fewer than 100 houses to manage, and this is a benchmark that national research shows lacks efficiency and effectiveness. We need to look at problems with rent collection, adequate housing maintenance to protect the asset, and transparency in the allocation of housing. As well, we need to address the spiralling costs of remote housing and ensure that we have got the size and standards right to deliver the lowest whole-of-life cost of providing a good housing service.
I now move to the core commitment of this package. We will commit $100m over five years, over and above current programs for new housing in regional and remote areas. I am proud to say that this is by far the biggest commitment to Aboriginal housing by any Territory government. The Territory’s $100m commitment is not dependent on matching grants from the Australian government, although I am sure they will be keen to join us and we would certainly welcome additional effort from the Commonwealth to support this housing package.
Currently, under the Bilateral Agreement on Housing, both Territory and Australian government programs are delivered as one to provide consistent policy application and economies of scale. I truly hope that our $100m on the table will see further commitments both from the Australian government and from individual owner/occupiers as well as the private sector. We are determined that this investment in our local communities produces real, local jobs.
As part of this $100m initiative, we will review house designs to ensure they are appropriate, look at new construction techniques to support local employment and address costs, investigate establishment of factories to fabricate prefabricated houses in regional centres, and deliver this program through a small number of long-term contracts to get best value and ensure local training and employment outcomes.
This $100m construction program will be carried out in partnership with local building teams where they exist, with the potential to create new local building teams where they do not. We have a strong expectation that local building teams will develop and flourish under the new local government model when it is in place, but we are not waiting for that to occur.
We see housing as the key to improving the lifestyle and wellbeing of Aboriginal Territorians. Better housing leads to better health, better education outcomes for kids, and the removal of many of the stresses that lead to domestic violence. As well, by linking housing to jobs we reinforce the importance of work for a healthy and sustainable future.
To support this significant increase in housing funding, Territory Housing will assume responsibility for our existing remote housing programs as well as the new funding. This is a move that will bring economies of scale and consistency and professionalism to the management of housing in the bush. While much good work has been done over many years by indigenous community housing organisations, there is a need to raise standards in some areas. This will be done by Territory Housing in partnership with these organisations on the ground. Territory Housing will bring improved systems for rental collection, housing maintenance and waiting list management – key issues that the Australian government sees as barriers to future investment. We will also be looking at ways to lower the cost of housing including the possibility of encouraging the setting up of factories in regional centres to prefabricate housing elements.
Underpinning these changes is our provision of secondary education in remote areas. Education is the key to how most of us live our lives. It gives us opportunities and options in life. Unfortunately, for many Aboriginal Territorians those opportunities and options are not available. Over a number of decades we have seen literacy and numeracy outcomes get worse rather than better in some places. There is still much to do but we have begun the change. It is this government that has delivered secondary education in the bush for the first time in the history of the Territory. We have invested an extra $15.84m over four years in the bush to ensure Aboriginal people are better able to access a quality secondary education.
When we came to office in 2001, no student had ever graduated from a bush school in the Territory. That changed in 2003 when Rhonda Rankin, Lianna Brown and Meshach Paddy graduated through Year 12 in the Kalkarindji community. The following year, another six students graduated and, in 2005, the number of graduates increased to 25 including seven from Wadeye. This year, the number is set to rise to 30. Secondary school sites in our remote communities have been expanded in Kalkarindji in 2002, Maningrida and Galiwinku in 2003, at Wadeye in 2004 and Yirrkala in 2005.
The Department of Employment, Education and Training is now looking to further expand secondary education delivery in the bush. The focus is on Ramingining, Borroloola, Yuendumu and Ngukurr. Each of these sites, once consolidated, will work closely with some of their neighbouring schools to provide secondary education. The number of remote indigenous primary students achieving MAP benchmark has improved off a very low base since 2001, and that is due to the efforts of our schools and the communities themselves.
We are also looking to implement a community engagement strategy. The aim is to get government and the communities working together to get better educational results in their schools and ensure more young Aboriginal people finish school and move into employment.
We are all aware of the twin evils of violence and alcohol abuse that plague so many of our communities. Research shows that there are marked differences in alcohol consumption between indigenous and non-indigenous people. As a proportion of each population, fewer Aboriginal people drink alcohol than the non-Aboriginal population. It is unfortunate that, of those Aboriginal people who do drink, many do so at harmful levels. There have been concerted efforts over many years by various community action groups and Aboriginal organisations seeking the introduction of measures aimed at reducing alcohol abuse. We want to support Aboriginal people who are working hard to overcome these issues.
In regard to alcohol, we have worked with communities and the Licensing Commission to develop innovative alcohol control measures such as the permit system on Groote Eylandt. This model has seen significant improvements in alcohol-related crime like assaults and break-ins. Some of the early results, after a year of the new restrictions on Groote, include reductions in drink driving, which were down 80% from the previous year, aggravated assaults down 75% from 2002-03, and a reduction in absenteeism of Aboriginal workers at the GEMCO mine, down from just over 7% to 2.4%. The result is a healthier and happier community, and our challenge now is to consolidate and improve those reductions.
Other models are being examined in Nhulunbuy and Alice Springs, as well as in smaller towns. It is a matter of getting the right fit for the right community. However, the common link, the common aim, is to cut down the over-consumption of alcohol which will, in turn, give communities the breathing space to develop stronger and deeper strategies down the track. The culture of drinking excessive amounts needs to change, but communities need to be stable and well governed in order to achieve that goal. We will work with communities to help them do this.
The latest alcohol restrictions came into action on 1 October in Alice Springs. It means that cheap high alcohol content products, such as cask wine and port, are not available until 6 pm and, then, only in limited quantities. It also means that licensees have to take more responsibility and their staff need to have further training in the responsible sale of alcohol. To reinforce this, all takeaway outlets will need to have surveillance equipment that can be accessed by the Licensing Commission to check compliance.
Current levels of alcohol-related violence and community dysfunction are unacceptable. Alcohol courts became operational on 5 July this year in Alice Springs and in Darwin. These courts deal with people who have committed alcohol-related offences, and determine appropriate penalties including rehabilitation and prohibition orders. These are not soft options. Each offender is case managed by professional clinicians who address the causes of the offending behaviour, not just the symptoms. The Minister for Racing, Gaming and Licensing will be informing parliament of other strategies the government has implemented right across the Territory to continue to minimise the harm from alcohol.
Personal and community safety is imperative if we are to address issues such as health, education and employment in our communities. We are committed to helping Aboriginal people build safe communities by tackling the real causes of crime and violence, boosting frontline community policing, and ensuring the justice system meets the need of communities. In conjunction with other jurisdictions, we have agreed with the Australian government on the need to provide more resources for policing in remote areas. We will be negotiating with them to provide a number of new police stations. The Australian government will provide the capital and we will pick up the ongoing costs. This funding will come from the $130m committed by the Australian government at June’s inter-governmental summit to discuss violence and abuse in Aboriginal communities. We expect the first of these stations to be announced in the near future.
The Australian Police Ministers Council has set up the National Indigenous Violence and Child Abuse Intelligence Task Force. This task force, established this year, comprises staff drawn from the Australian Crime Commission and seconded officers from state and territory police forces and the Australian Federal Police. A forward element of the task force has been established in Alice Springs to support the collection of information and intelligence in relation to drugs, alcohol, pornography and fraud in Central Australia.
It is also intended that a joint strike team be set up to respond to linkages between substance misuse and violence. It is proposed that two AFP members be located in Darwin, potentially co-located with the child abuse task force. The government’s policies and programs to improve community safety have been set out in Building Safe Communities, a framework for crime prevention and community safety strategy. Under the safer community strategy, rates of sexual assaults have decreased over the past five years, but in this area there is much more to do.
The introduction of initiatives such as the Violent Crime Reduction Strategy has also seen the reporting of violent and domestic crime by victims increase – a rise of 18% in assault offences reported over the past five years. In June, the FACS Police Child Abuse Task Force was announced, which represents a new level of collaboration between FACS and police to investigate the most serious cases of child sexual assault and physical abuse.
The establishment of an independent board of inquiry into the protection of Aboriginal children from sexual abuse is another significant government initiative. Pat Anderson and Rex Wild QC were appointed as co-chairs of this inquiry on 8 August 2006 to look into ways to better protect children from sexual abuse and make communities safer. The board of inquiry is due to report to me by the end of April next year, and I look forward to receiving their recommendations on how better to address these issues.
Today I have announced significant initiatives that, together, form a package that will be a big contribution to improving the condition of Aboriginal Territorians. The $100m for housing is a huge increase in our contribution and one that we hope will attract similar contribution from the Australian government. We are underpinning that investment by directing Territory Housing to take its systems and expertise and work with community housing organisations to deliver better maintenance and management of houses. We have announced the biggest reform of local government the Territory has seen, with the aim of strengthening service delivery and employment outcomes for Territorians in the bush. We are committed to continuing the expansion of secondary schooling in the bush to ensure young Aboriginal people have the skills to engage fully in the economy. We are continuing to work with communities to roll out innovative approaches to managing alcohol and its effects to minimise the damage it causes. We are working with the Australian government on a range of measures to improve public safety, including a number of new police stations.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I am sure you will agree that this is a valuable package that will be welcomed by all Territorians as an investment in our common future. I know that all government members believe that, together, we can make a real difference to the lives of all Territorians. The package I have outline today will help make a real difference to Aboriginal Territorians.
Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, this statement is curious in a number of respects. It is the first time in my five years, from memory, that we have received a statement dropped off at 9.30 am. Usually, of course, they are dropped off sometime between …
Mr Stirling: Sometimes! We never used to get them at all.
Ms CARNEY: … 6 pm and 8 pm, but not today. It must have been a ripper of a caucus meeting yesterday, because the pressure was, no doubt on. Someone must have said: ‘I know, we will get the Chief Minister to do a statement. She has had a bit of hammering. Because you have had a terrible couple of weeks, we will see if we can get her to finish strongly and we will provide this statement’. That is why it was still warm when it was dropped off - still hot off the photocopier. I gather that the spinners upstairs have told someone at the Centralian Advocate today: ‘Oh no, we have been working on this for a very long time’. What nonsense! You may well have plucked a figure of $20m out of the air and tried to workshop that for a while, but you have not been working on this for a long time. There is no one around - not even relatively new journalists at the Centralian Advocate - who will believe you on that front. So many things to say.
In February this year, the member for Barkly said that $180m was needed for indigenous affairs - $180m a year. Yet, the Chief Minister today - probably last night, or yesterday afternoon - would have thought: ‘Oh well, what is a figure? $20 sounds good. $100m over five years’. The member for Barkly is saying $180m and the Chief Minister is saying $20m. They are so fractured they cannot even speak to each other and see how much is a fair thing. We have $20m from the Chief Minister and $180m from the member for Barkly.
Over and above that, we have this nonsense about contacting Mal Brough and saying: ‘Oh, Mal, we know you are really into indigenous affairs now, and we are trying to be really good with it too, can we have some more money?’ Quite rightly, Mal Brough has said: ‘You were given $94.6m by the Commonwealth Grants Commission, you have about $98m by way of other federal grants, and you have not spent the Commonwealth Grants Commission money’. That is only $4.7m as indicated in Question Time today.
Mr Stirling: That is not true and you know it.
Ms CARNEY: Well, member for Nhulunbuy, tell us how it is not true! Is it the case that the opposition and other Territorians cannot rely on your documents? The documents you tabled are from your publication so, if the figures are crook, it is your problem. We can but rely on what you give us, Treasurer.
The Chief Minister and her little friends - I know she does not have many these days, but a couple of friends - knocked together this statement in an effort to finish the week strongly because, after all, Labor Party members pride themselves on being good on indigenous issues. However, the reason they are so fractured at the moment is that they know the Chief Minister does not care, cannot be bothered, and would much rather be seen down at the waterfront development with her little hard hat on, and the little jacket - often it is the orange one but, sometimes, it is the green one. That is where she can, inevitably, be found.
It is not just me saying this. Who can forget Paul Toohey’s article in The Bulletin dated 24 May 2006? I know Paul but I would never have described him as a CLP sort of a guy. He wrote an article which, I guess, the member for Millner has pinned up on his noticeboard. I will extract a couple of things to illustrate why it is that what the Chief Minister has said today, firstly, cannot be believed but, most importantly, the reasons for her doing it cannot possibly be taken seriously. Paul Toohey said of the Chief Minister:
- All she had was a deep ABC radio and television trained voice from her days as a Darwin broadcaster. It sounded convincing, but nothing she said had any weight.
If the subject veered away from oil and gas, she stumbled and stammered. She was at it again last week, caught short, desperately trying to bluff her way out of the responsibility she has so patently shirked on indigenous affairs.
Using the old CLP trick of blaming Canberra. Mr Toohey went on:
Who, in the Northern Territory, would know she actually holds the Indigenous Affairs portfolio? Very few because Martin, carefully, deliberately, refuses to deal with Aborigines, let alone say the word.
It might sound hateful to say it, but it has been a pleasure to watch Martin squirm ... She has comprehensively, and deliberately, failed to represent Aborigines of the north. She has been caught out. She has failed her four …
… Aboriginal parliamentary colleagues and she has failed her entire Aboriginal constituency. She has no vision for the people who make up nearly a third of the Territory’s population.
That was just Paul Toohey. Members will remember, I am sure, that the Chief Minister was pretty much bagged by this nation’s media after the Nanette Roger’s interview. It is very interesting that the media awards are going to be held on Saturday night. Who is going to be there? None other than Tony Jones from Lateline. It is timely - is it not? - that Tony Jones from Lateline, with the interview the Chief Minister referred to as iconic - I have never referred to the interview as iconic although the Chief Minister said I did. She obviously thinks it is iconic and, I suppose, upon reflection that is a view that some people would share. I know it was a profoundly important interview because it has changed Aboriginal politics in this country. The fact we have such energy from the federal government on indigenous affairs speaks volumes.
The fact that this government is continually playing catch-up - as Paul Toohey said, she has been caught out. She has been barely able to say the word ‘Aborigine’ until all of this. Remember? After May 15, she could not get her act together. She had the hissy fit with the media which was, of course, captured on film which was good, and she was under a great deal of pressure. Then, on 21 June, we had the second Lateline interview about Mutitjulu, and what a disgrace the Chief Minister has been in that respect.
A week or so ago, we learnt that the Chief Minister knew all about what was happening at Mutitjulu and did not say anything. She simply said to Territorians and Australians that she was deeply shocked - one of her Academy Award wining performances – by what she had heard. Rubbish! She told an absolute untruth because she knew all about it. She has since been caught out again, and tried desperately to blame one individual, Greg Andrews. From memory, there were five or six people interviewed on Lateline. She has not said that Mantatjara Wilson is a liar. She has not said that Jane Lloyd is a liar. Jane Lloyd, of course, serves as Chair on the government’s Domestic and Family Violence Council which advises, or used to advise, the Chief Minister, but now advises one of her offsiders. It was rude and illogical for the Chief Minister to target just one individual; she did not call the others liars. She tried, as usual, to deflect attention, blaming one person. She was caught out.
One wonders whether her ministerial colleagues knew about this memo in November 2004 that was going around. One wonders whether, after the second Lateline interview on 21 June, they went to the Chief Minister and said: ‘This was shocking. Did you know about this?’ Maybe they did. Maybe the Chief Minister said: ‘No, I did not know about that’. Anyway, let us go forward. Next day, 22 June, under the pump extensively, the Chief Minister says: ‘I am going to announce an inquiry’. Of course, she could do that because it meant she did not need to talk about these patently foreign concepts to her like domestic violence and sexual abuse in indigenous communities. She is not good at this stuff; she does not get it. I stand by those comments everyday of the week. She called an inquiry. She did not have to talk about these issues for another six months. She got Mick Palmer, announcing: ‘Former Police Commissioner does high level inquiries’, then had the audacity to go on ABC a month or so later when people were starting to ask what was happening with the inquiry - that is, what was happening with the political opportunistic inquiry that she announced.
She went on radio and did not give any indication that Mick Palmer was about to pull the pin when she knew, not unlike the Mutitjulu memo - she knew about that and pretended she knew nothing about it and was shocked after the Lateline interview. She misled us when it came to being on ABC radio talking to Julia Christensen; did not give any indication that she knew Mick Palmer was about to pull the pin. Then she appointed Rex Wild QC who, whilst he has a name as a prosector by dint of him having been the Director of Public Prosecutions, has never run an inquiry, does not have the investigative experience that someone like Mick Palmer did, and was too close to the existing system, a part of which an inquiry would presumably look at because it must; that is, the reporting, prosecuting and so on of children who have been sexually abused.
Jane Lloyd was critical of that appointment. I do not think that was picked up in a Territory paper. I cannot help but wonder why that was. It was reported in The Age newspaper, I think, in Melbourne. Jane Lloyd, me and several other people had been critical of Rex Wild’s appointment, and I stand by that. The Chief Minister just does not get it; she cannot even get the inquiry right.
Then, what happened next? Little Stewart O’Connell, best man at the member for Millner’s wedding, wrote an article in June in the National Indigenous Times which contained a number of offensive references asserting that the offender in the Yarralin case – you will remember the 55-year-old man who beat the 14-year-old girl with a boomerang before he had anal sex with her - was a bloke who did that, according to Mr O’Connell, because he was and, I quote ‘struggling with change’. Mr O’Connell also said that it was indigenous men who were suffering more than anyone else in this country.
There were a number of other references. He indicated that the women were, basically, bringing it upon themselves. I am paraphrasing that one, but it was not far from the mark. He made a number of other references in relation to the Yarralin offender. He said that he was not a man from whom the community should have been protected. What is the position of Mr O’Connell? Hmm, he would be the policy officer on the child sexual abuse inquiry. Is that appropriate? I do not think so. It is an outrage that anyone with views like that should be anywhere near an inquiry like that. Therefore, the inquiry has a number of deficiencies. Notwithstanding, I know very well some people are working very hard to put in submissions - and good on them. If there is anything that is going to come out of this then we should encourage people to participate.
However, the buck stops with the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister is not taking any responsibility and thinks that O’Connell is just fine and dandy in that role. The report, because of the muck up with Mick Palmer, will be given to her in April, and we all know what is going to happen. There is going to be nice photo opportunities, lots of clicking cameras; Rex and Pat will hand over the report, handshake, big report, and then the Chief Minister is going to say: ‘There are a lot of recommendations in this report and we are not going to shy away from making the tough decisions. We are not going to shy away from making the tough decisions, and we will look at all of these recommendations very closely’.
One wonders how brave some of the recommendations are going to be, given the views so obviously held by Mr O’Connell. One wonders how seriously the Chief Minister takes this issue. I know her colleagues are wondering about it, as they should.
On that point, I refer to an article in The Australian on 19 June, and I will quote it:
- … The Australian has been told that disaffection among the government’s indigenous MPs is growing. Others accuse Martin of disregarding unions and Aboriginal people - Labor’s long-term supporters in the Northern Territory.
Some insiders are questioning why, blessed with such a massive parliamentary majority, the Martin government seems reluctant to think big and make tough, bold decisions.
Sean Bowden, president of an outer Darwin branch of the ALP and a local lawyer with close links to Aboriginal land councils and unions, says Martin’s second term has been a disappointment: ‘No plan, no vision’.
Bowden says the Chief Minister needs to return to the more inclusive style she showed five years ago.
He says Martin has fallen captive to a few senior bureaucrats and second-rate advisors from the southern states.
‘These people have injected a conservatism and timidness into the government’, he says. ‘The failure of Aboriginal policy is the best example’.
It is not just the opposition who is saying this or even just some of the people in your own caucus; it is well-respected journalists in well-respected publications: Paul Toohey from The Bulletin; Ashleigh Wilson from The Australian who, I should add, has been nominated for a Walkley Award - we congratulate him and wish him the best - as has Nicholas Rothwell. In fact, I understand that the Lateline program has been nominated or nominated itself …
Mr Stirling: And what a disgrace to the Walkley Awards – what an absolute disgrace …
Ms CARNEY: Shame on you …
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms CARNEY: Yell all you like …
Mr ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Nhulunbuy! Order, order! There will be order in the House, please! Member for Nhulunbuy, please refrain from doing that.
Ms CARNEY: Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker. When you have such credible people like those who have been nominated for Walkley Awards, you have to take them seriously ...
Ms Scrymgour: You are a sad individual.
Mr Natt: You are a sad case.
Ms CARNEY: I know this hurts. I know that you are all hurting.
I know that the members for Millner and Wanguri went to the footy together, went to the AFL grand final, did a bit of bonding, did a bit of plotting. The member for Millner is not a guy who has, in the normal course of events, a great deal of credibility. What does he do? He was not even in the Territory around the Rogers interview time, 15 May. He was out of the Territory. He came back and wrote the memo - and you wonder whether the member for Wanguri helped him with it, but I digress. The memo is done - reportedly leaked by the member for Macdonnell - that says hatred in the Aboriginal community. What a memo! It will go down in history as an all-time classic political memo. It was leaked brilliantly to the National Indigenous Times - again, a publication that you lot like to quote when you like.
I am happy to quote The Bulletin, The Australian, the National Indigenous Times and there are more. The file upstairs is about that thick, I reckon, full of learned writings from just about everyone ...
Mr Bonson: Richard Lim for leader!
Ms CARNEY: The member for Millner will be delighted to know that his memo is right on the top of the file, and we even have it pinned up on our noticeboard. The memo was written. The member for Millner was not even here, and he was so disgusted with the way the Chief Minister conducted herself, he was compelled to write the memo which someone else leaked.
It is not just the opposition. It is not just The Bulletin, The Australian, the National Indigenous Times, or the member for Millner. In fact, it is not even just some of the more rusted on Labor voters, many of whom are my friends. I saw them for all of the years in opposition pining away, hoping like hell that the CLP would lose government so that the great freedom fighters, the Northern Territory Branch of the Australian Labor Party, would come in and fix up everything. Yet, under the leadership of this Chief Minister, as Paul Toohey wrote:
- All she had was a deep ABC radio and television trained voice from her days as a Darwin broadcaster. It sounded convincing, but nothing she said had any weight.
If the subject veered away from oil and gas, she stumbled and stammered. She was at it again last week, caught short, desperately trying to bluff her way out of the responsibility she has so patently shirked on indigenous affairs.
Is that a damning indictment? I think so. Is it any wonder that the ABC reported the other day that if the six indigenous members got together, were a bit nice to us, a bit nice to the Independents, things could become really interesting?
I encourage you to work with your conscience and get rid of the Chief Minister as Indigenous Affairs Minister. I do not need to spend too much time on your future as Chief Minister, because I know the member for Wanguri is taking care of that one for me, and I wish him well in that regard. I am at one with him because we both want her job. I suspect the member for Wanguri is going to beat me to it, but it is going to be an interesting battle in any event.
Why can we not take this statement seriously? Because the Chief Minister does not even take it seriously. This statement lobbed in our office at 9.30 am this morning - never been done before, never seen it before. This was still warm from the photocopying because of your caucus meeting yesterday, wherein many of you said: ‘Come on, Chief Minister, everyone – everyone, our rusted old Labor supporters - are saying you are bad at it, move over’. But no, the Chief Minister, with her usual dictatorial and authoritative style said: ‘We will finish strongly. We have had a shocking two weeks, in fact, things have been pretty poor since 15 May so we will do this statement on indigenous affairs’, so she can latch on to the bandwagon of some of those people who are saying she should stay - and I know only about three of them, however - so she can finish strongly and say: ‘I am the Minister for Indigenous Affairs’.
How irresponsible is the Chief Minister, when she had the ministerial reshuffle about seven weeks ago, when she demoted her threat, the member for Wanguri. We miss him. We miss him in the media, and I am sure some Territorians are just crying themselves to sleep because they are no longer seeing the member for Wanguri. She dispensed with him. She shuffled pretty much everyone. However, what did she hang on to? This is a sign of her arrogance: she clung on to Indigenous Affairs. The thing that she is worst at by any measure, she hung on to. If that is not blinding arrogance, I do not know what is. That is why so many of her colleagues are so cranky - and they have been cranky pretty much since 15 May.
In relation to some of the specifics of the statement - what a laugh in so many respects it is. I am obliged to draw the member for Barkly’s attention to the third paragraph on the first page. This is a ministerial statement on Indigenous Affairs and the Chief Minister did not write this, obviously, but someone wrote it. On the fact that Labor has so many indigenous members, it says: ‘This is something we can all be proud of, and on this side of the House we are’.
Last week, on 10 October, the member for Barkly got very cranky because I referred previously in a debate on regional development to the need for indigenous members of this parliament to step up to the plate. You have a wonderful opportunity, you have a fantastic majority, you have money coming in from everywhere and, yet, you still fail your core constituency, and I believe that is a disgrace. I was calling on the indigenous members …
Ms Scrymgour: What for speaking out, because you and every other loony out there wants us to speak out.
Ms CARNEY: … to get stuck in. Then the member for Barkly said: ‘However, I note the Leader of the Opposition continues to refer to Aboriginal members on this side of the House. She refers to Karl Hampton as being an Aboriginal person’. The member for Barkly was so indignant that I dared to do that and, yet, on page 1, paragraph 3: ‘their Aboriginality is something about which they can all be proud’. How do you want it? Which way do you want to play it, member for Barkly? Can we not say that you are indigenous members and you do sometimes and not others? I do not know, perhaps we can have a chat about that later on. Anyway, I am only on the first page.
Already, you must have been having so many disagreements with the Chief Minister in relation to housing. You said you need $180m a year; the Chief Minister, in this very statement, said $20m should do it. The Chief Minister said we can all be proud of the fact that you are indigenous members - and you should be. I really mean that; you should be damn proud. That is a fantastic achievement. However, then, the member for Barkly said: ‘Oh, please do not talk to us about being indigenous members’. Well, you cannot have it both ways! However, it indicates the amount and the level of division on your side. You and the chief are not getting along well, and everyone knows that ...
Mr Bonson: Oh, all 19 of us! Get off your high horse.
Ms CARNEY: The member for Millner still, while he referred to the hatred …
Members interjecting.
Ms CARNEY: … while he referred to the hatred in the indigenous community, he must be …
Members interjecting.
Ms CARNEY: … he must have been good at his job …
Members interjecting.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order!
Ms CARNEY: Thank you, Mr Acting Speaker. The Chief Minister, in this statement, just cannot be taken seriously. Let us have a look at a couple of things. She does her usual ‘Kumbaya, let us hug trees’ statements, and then she talks about, on page 2, how pleased she was to report at COAG that ‘COAG has accepted our argument and has set up a committee to consider a proposal for a generational plan in early 2007’. When was the summit? That would have been 25 May 2006 or thereabouts. The summit the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory refused to go to - and didn’t she cop some flack for that, and she deserved every bit of it! Then, in the lead-up to COAG, she said: ‘I am not going to summit, that is for other people to do, but I have COAG in a couple of weeks after that. That is when all of the Chief Ministers and Premiers get together with the PM and that is my place’.
Then, as the lead-up to COAG, they reckon that this issue got about 50 seconds or something, I think. The big 20-year plan got about 50 seconds or thereabouts at COAG. Of course, COAG was going to say: ‘Okay, you have a plan, let us rip into it’. The plan, as has been exposed in this statement; whereas the Chief Minister has said it is a 20-year plan, let us do the figures. The Chief Minister announced a funding boost of $20m a year. That is about 50 houses, on her own calculations. She has also said that the Territory is about 4000 houses short. Therefore, the 20-year plan has been stretched, remarkably, to a plan of 160 years. The 50 seconds that this priority issue got at COAG - and the Territory Chief Minister must be regarded as the worst advocate for any state or territory the people there have ever seen – for the 20-year plan that is really taking 160 years. No wonder that so many of the members of the caucus are angry - and they should be.
The Chief Minister went on to talk about housing. Of course, the federal minister, Mal Brough, issued a very good media release today in which he said that he rejected the Chief Minister’s call in this statement to match the Territory’s funding. He said: ‘Rather than match it, we would prefer the Territory to spend it because we gave you $95.6m or $94.6 and you have not actually spent it yet. Do you think you could possibly do that and then we can have another chat?’
There is another issue underlying the housing one; that is, if you mob want to keep building houses that are going to be trashed then, even if you were given to spending your $95m instead of just $4.7m of it, you would do something about law and order and dysfunction in the communities so that you would not spend the hard-earned dollars of the Australian taxpayer by just building houses. There are no answers on that front in this statement.
Of course, when we are talking about indigenous issues and divisions in the Australia Labor Party, let us think about a debate that has occurred in the last couple of months - land rights. We have the Labor president in the Territory, Warren Snowdon, being very unhappy and the member for Arafura being downright unhappy, yet, the Chief Minister just keeps sailing through saying: ‘No, it is all okay because I really like it. I know I have let you all down, but I am, after all, the Chief Minister’. A bit of bad luck there. Is it any wonder that the member for Wanguri is rapidly rallying his troops?
In relation to law and order, I note that the Chief Minister has referred to doing some work with the Australian government. Was it the police station at Mutitjulu that the Territory government forgot - deliberately in my view - to tell the feds about? They injected more than half the money or thereabouts and this government, in its complete arrogance, decided to have an opening and the feds found out about it late in the piece. You can bag the feds all you like, but they are the ones putting their hands in their pocket giving the money and you are just saying: ‘Please, we are such victims, can you keep giving it to us? We might spend a little of it – say, $4.7m on housing - but we have these other projects. As your funding is not tied we are under no obligation to do what you want us to do with it, or what the Commonwealth Grants Commission want us to do with it; we will spend it on something else’. There is that word ‘waterfront’ once again.
In any event, regarding public safety, the Chief Minister has failed - has always failed, and will always fail - as long as she hangs on to this portfolio. She fails the Aboriginal children and women in the Northern Territory. She just does not get it. She does not think that violence is as extensive as the evidence suggests. She would rather have on the board of inquiry into this issue a man who holds views that are offensive to every thinking Australian. In fact, the Chief Minister even said in the parliament she did not share his views. And why would she? Because they are offensive. Even in the politically charged climate in which we find ourselves, she could not possibly say in the parliament that she thought everything he said was spot on, and it was not.
I wonder if the Chief Minister actually reads her e-mails? The Parliamentary Library Service sends stuff through. I commend to her the United Nations General Assembly report, issued 13 October or thereabouts, in which it says:
- None of us can look children in the eye, if we continue to approve or condone any form of violence against them.
That sentence should be thoroughly understood by the Chief Minister. She has a bloke on the board of inquiry who holds offensive views, that condone levels of violence and sanctions it. She thinks he is all right. The Chief Minister is in a mess. You people need to step up to the plate. You need to get rid of her. I know her days are numbered as Chief Minister, because Hendo is looking after that, but please get rid of her as Indigenous Affairs Minister.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, your time has expired.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Mr Acting Speaker, I support the Chief Minister and her statement on initiatives in indigenous affairs. Today, the Chief Minister and this government will be judged into the future on what is a landmark decision, and will be one of the key decisions that go a long way to overcoming indigenous disadvantage.
Before I go on with the balance of my speech, I want to pick up some of the drivel put on the record by the member for Araluen. She again raised the furphy that this government, somehow, did not spend money on indigenous housing. Nothing could be further from the truth. What she relies on - and this has previously been brought to the federal government’s attention and ignored largely by them, and also brought to the attention of the Commonwealth Grants Commission. In 2004-05, there is no doubt there were expenditure classification errors in the 2004-05 Commonwealth Grants Commission report on state revenue sharing relativities. Those errors on their own, of course, fuelled perceptions that the Northern Territory government was underfunding indigenous housing in the Northern Territory.
They were subsequently corrected in the Commonwealth Grants Commission’s 2006 update. In that report, it shows that the Territory’s expenditure on indigenous housing is on par with its assessed amount. The government demonstrated clearly that it invested $90m in 2004-05 on housing for indigenous citizens. That does not suit the member for Araluen, the Sean Bowdens of the world or those critics out there who say that this government keeps money from its proper expenditure channels into indigenous areas. However, of course, the truth will never perturb the conscience and mind of those such as the member for Araluen and others of her ilk, because they just want to ignore that - as do some of Minister Brough’s advisors choose to ignore the truth in front of them - and continue to run a myth that this government does not spend its dollars on indigenous housing.
Once these errors are out there, they are enormously difficult to correct, particularly when you have commentary - deliberately malicious commentary – claiming: ‘This is what this report says’. That is what the 2004-05 report says, and she should have the 2006 update report stamped on her forehead so she does not get it wrong into the future.
In relation to Lateline – and she is fond of going to this. She reminded me, unfortunately, that Lateline and Tony Jones are up for a Walkley Award. Nothing could be more disgraceful in Australian journalism. The fact that this program has been nominated undermines the Walkley Awards. The Walkley Awards are one of the most prized awards in journalism in Australia. Guess what they are for? They are for ethics in journalism. They are for truth and integrity and honesty in journalism. Yet, we have this grub of a program - I watched this program and I had tears in my eyes when I listened to this old lady saying some of the things that had happened at Mutitjulu. It was much later after the event that I found out this old lady had not lived in Mutitjulu for seven years, and was portrayed on that program as having spoken about events that occurred that week, the week before, or in the weeks and days, or weeks and months previously. She had not lived there for seven years. The doctor had not lived there or worked there for four years. Did that stop Tony Jones? Did that stop Lateline? We all know about the infamous Greg Andrews. What a lying little grub he is. What a lying little grub Greg Andrews is. He sat there, shaded out – do not put the light on, do not let the dawn light on his face because he, as we all know, is a staffer to minister Brough.
There can be no bigger beat-up than having an old woman who has not lived there for seven years, a doctor who has not lived and worked there for four years, and a staffer from the federal minister’s office intent on creating as much mayhem as he can in this area. They put all of these lies together, presented them as fact that this all occurred in the days and weeks and months prior - ran this drivel out. I sat there and, listening to that old lady, I had tears in my eyes. However, little did I know what a pack of lies and innuendo had been drawn together to present, as fact, something that was far from the truth. To hear and learn that ABC Lateline and Tony Jones are up for a Walkley Award just beggars belief. Just to be nominated demeans the Walkley Awards. You would not want one! You would not want a Walkley if Lateline and Tony Jones have been nominated for it.
There is stigma against Lateline, a program that used to enjoy strong support from the community because of its ethics and its integrity. Lateline ought (1) sack Tony Jones and apologise for the lies that they have run out or, (2) be removed from the air because it no longer enjoys any integrity or reputation for honest reporting in the community. That is sad because it was once a wonderful program. This charade of a program also paints the ABC, overall, in a very unfortunate light. That is sad because I am a great supporter - a lifelong supporter - and continue to be a strong and great supporter and friend of the ABC. It hurts me that a program like this, based on lies, fuelled and fed by the likes of the malicious rumourmongering of the member for Araluen, can be held up against the ABC until such time as they come out and say: ‘We actually got this wrong’.
Members would be aware that Treasury recently investigated the levels of expenditure of the Territory government on indigenous purposes across the board. I have reported to the House today, and the Chief Minister touched on it in her statement, the outcome of that which showed the Northern Territory government spends around 49.7% of its total budget on indigenous purposes. It shows that this government outspends, in revenue, by about $175m per year. The total amount of revenue received for indigenous purposes is around 43% of total revenues. What that report showed was that indigenous people are high users of government services. There is no secret around that, because we know the levels of ill health, the presentations in the legal system, and an increasing number, in a positive way, of indigenous students in the education system.
The report confirmed one thing quite starkly: the level of indigenous disadvantage is not being moved substantially, despite that high level of expenditure. That means we need a higher level of funds to address the issues of indigenous disadvantage, and that means we must get greater level of support from the Commonwealth. They have just produced around a $15bn surplus. However, we do not go to the Commonwealth government asking for more money without showing some determination of our own intent. The $100m housing initiative announced today, along with every other element of this package, shows the strength of that determination to break the back of indigenous poverty and disadvantage. That is the message that this government will be taking to Canberra: ‘We are putting our commitment on the table, now we need to see some of yours’.
The Martin government has a strong record in tackling indigenous disadvantage. Since coming to office in 2001, we increased health funding by 64%, much of that aimed at improving the underlying health condition of people in the bush and providing adequate hospital services to meet those needs. We have also increased indigenous education and training expenditure. Most importantly, we made indigenous education the core business of the agency. In 2001, prior to us coming to government, indigenous education was a little side issue in a separate division within the agency, tucked away there: ‘Yes, we have a little division on indigenous education’. No one cared too much about it; it certainly was not a priority. Well, today it is a major focus of every person within the Department of Employment, Education and Training.
We produced the Indigenous Education Plan that breaks new ground nationally in its focus for indigenous education. I outlined in August last year - and as the new minister told parliament last week - getting indigenous children to school remains a critical priority. That is why we are embarking on a series of contracts with 15 communities across the Territory, aimed at outlining the education responsibilities and their obligations of both community and government. Those contracts will be historic firsts right across this country for any government, and they are well under way. I look forward to supporting my colleague in the House when they are brought forward.
Education is the key to opportunity; it opens up an individual’s knowledge of the options they have available to them and the opportunity to participate in those options. For example, those seven students at Wadeye now have opportunities that their older brothers and sisters simply did not have - to go into further training, to go directly into the labour market, or to go on to tertiary education. The delivery of education to the bush prior to us coming to government, if you are kind, you might say it was patchy but, at its worst, it was absolutely, deliberately and criminally neglected by our predecessors over many years. It is an unforgivable fact of life that it took until 2003 before an indigenous student graduated in their own community to the level of Northern Territory Certificate of Education. I am proud this government put in place the conditions that allowed that to happen. I am disgusted that it took so long before it happened. Today, those first three students have grown to seven in 2004, 24 in 2005 and, hopefully, between 30 and 35 in 2006. Small steps, but large gains for all of our community.
I am proud that this government reversed policies in the education area that could only be seen as institutionalising disadvantage. For example, until this government made it compulsory, it was not mandatory for students to even sit the MAP test. That meant students who have not obtained a literacy or numeracy level that was standard or reasonable did not have to sit the test in case they brought the level of results down across the board. That is unforgivable: ‘They might lower our results across the board, we will not let them sit that test’. We stopped that, and we put an end to the outrageous policy of not providing proper secondary education out bush.
We implemented the policy that stopped schools from turning students away once they reached 13 on the grounds they did not have the capacity to teach those students beyond the primary years. Now, if a student presents at a school, he or she must get a desk and a place to learn, and be linked to educational opportunity programs - not difficult. Why could it not have happened before? I wonder why it could not have happened before?
We also introduced a world-class distance education plan and provider. Through our emphasis on training programs, we have achieved a lift in indigenous apprentice and trainee rates - 23% of all of our trainees and apprentices are indigenous. We have also successfully lifted the rate of indigenous employment in the public sector, and today it stands around 1000 or 6% of the public sector. All of this reflects this government’s desire, not only to overcome indigenous disadvantage, but to entrench indigenous people into the mainstream economy and the outstanding economic outcomes that are being achieved in the Territory.
Government has also played an active role in combating crime on communities. The crime prevention, Community Harmony, the alcohol policy staff we have across government have been pushing back on the issues of crime, antisocial behaviour and substance abuse, particularly alcohol in the communities across the Territory. Nothing can be more stark than the early outcomes of the Groote Eylandt alcohol trials. Members who have been around will remember the difficulties the communities of Groote faced across the 1980s and 1990s. The evidence, to date, resulting from the trials of those alcohol restrictions, show there are massive drops in crime, violence towards women, and failure to turn up to work. The fact that they are in the workforce at all in the numbers that they are is also a credit, of course, to the success of this program over the last 15 months. If you ever needed any evidence that the root of many of our problems in these communities lies with the issue of alcohol, we certainly have it now. I am aware it is early days, but it is encouraging to see these outcomes. It speaks volumes for the determination of the people themselves, including the Anindilyakwa Land Council, which has been a driving force behind these reforms.
Results from Tiwi trials also show reduced community problems with the move simply from heavy to medium strength beer. I am proud the government is front and centre in supporting the community efforts to overcome crime and, most particularly, alcohol abuse. We will continue to do that. It is clear that the government has played a determined role, through the key agencies of health and education, in tackling indigenous disadvantage, and I believe the results are slowly starting to emerge. We can see incremental improvements in graduates from the secondary system. There are positive stories on alcohol reduction. There are positive stories on the overall health of indigenous Territorians. We now take the next steps.
The announcement by the Chief Minister today of $100m in housing adds impetus to this government’s determination to resolve the overcrowding in houses and all of the subsequent social problems that stem from that. We had the criticism from the Leader of the Opposition who said: ‘Well, it is going to take 160 years’. I wonder if that is the attitude that her predecessors had to secondary education for indigenous kids in the bush? I wonder if that was the same attitude and why they never went there? Listening to her today, it sounds like the same mental approach of: ‘It is all too hard; we will not worry about it. It is going to take 160 years. We have better things to do with that extra $100m than put it into indigenous housing because we are simply never going to get there’. You give up. You wring your hands, you walk away and you give up. You condemn a generation-and-a-half of indigenous people in the bush to not having (1) decent housing, and (2) even access to education. For whatever the Country Liberal Party achieved in the Northern Territory over 26-and-a-bit years - and their achievements were significant - the one big shame game against them is their failure to adequately deliver education to the indigenous remote communities. We are wearing that today as a government, and our community is continuing to wear that social cost of their negligence - their criminal negligence - in ignoring those needs for those years.
I stand shoulder to shoulder with the Chief Minister when she says that overcrowding is at the basis of many social problems. We both know the problem is larger than this. However, $100m does start the long process of building more housing out bush. It will have a significant employment and training spin-off, and it will go a way towards resolving what I have always considered an iniquitous situation for local recruits. This, the police post program, and the other programs mentioned by the Chief Minister, should be acknowledged by the Commonwealth and, together, we should work together to overcome these issues.
I have been minister now for over five years. I have dealt with a variety of Commonwealth ministers. I was always encouraged in dealings with ministers like Helen Coonan, the stand out; and Brendan Nelson. You could talk sense with them, you could work with them, you could achieve great reform with them. Cooperative federalism has an enormous amount to recommend it, and I urge our federal ministers to heed it. These matters do not need to be the subject of continual and evermore graphic headlines. We actually need to resolve the problems, not talk them up.
I am hopeful that with today’s initiative along with the others we have seen over the last five years, we can convince the Prime Minister and his Cabinet of the seriousness of this government to get the job done and leave the politics behind. After all, the Territory is heading into a phase in its development when the cultural and ethnic mix of our community will be unlike any other in Australia - and our schools reflect that today. We cannot have one part of that community left out on the side. We must be there achieving for the common good. The federal government can make a real difference by working with us. That difference can happen much more quickly than it is now. That is what we are elected to achieve. I am proud of this government’s push to get that job done.
That is an appeal to the Commonwealth to work cooperatively with us on these issues. I also make the same appeal to members opposite. It ill behoves the Leader of the Opposition to come in here and, with some relish, outline how a program based on lies and deceit such as Tony Jones and the Lateline show on Mutitjulu, can even be nominated for a Walkley Award. That is hurtful to me as an all time - and I always will be - greatest and strongest supporter of the ABC. That support within me - that natural, lifelong support - for the ABC is seriously challenged.
I will tell you the difference. When a politician or a minister makes a mistake anywhere in Australia, they are out there the next day. They are out there in front of the cameras, the media, the print news, the radio and everyone else. When they make a mistake as grave and as serious as putting together a hotchpotch of lies deliberately engineered to manipulate the worst possible outcome that they could, where is the accountability on the Australian media? Where is the accountability? Where is Media Watch? Where are the rest of the media outlets? I pay credit to the Northern Territory News. I do pay credit to the Northern Territory News because they were on to this and they said this was a fabrication - and they told the truth, and credit to them.
It is a pity papers like The Australian did not ’fess up too and get on the back of Tony Jones because, until such time as Jones leaves, Lateline is wiped from the airwaves, or they come out and say: ‘We got it wrong’, the whole of the ABC, sadly, is tarnished with these grubby lies and the deceit that Tony Jones so proudly sits behind. My final word is I think it is an absolute disgrace that he is invited here for the media awards on Saturday night because, as much as the nomination of his program devalues and undermines the creditability of what ought be the highly prized and ethical award - the Walkley Award - so also is the evening on Saturday night in the Northern Territory press awards by having such a grub in their midst.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Mr Acting Speaker, I thank and fully support the Chief Minister for her statement delivered today; not least for the major announcement she has made on such a critical area such as housing for indigenous Territorians.
In responding to the Chief Minister, I would like to focus on the ambitions and hopes of Aboriginal people in the Territory. I am not just talking about the here and now, not just for this moment talking here in parliament, and not just for the current electoral cycle, but for the long term. In saying this, I am telling members of this Assembly that I am sick of the cheap advice, and the slick promises, and short-term-ism. I am sick of people telling Aboriginal Territorians what is good for them.
Let me make things perfectly clear. I have been around politics for around 20 years in local government, land council, and the health sector for the most part and, for the last five years, in parliament. If I have not learnt anything over that time, I have learnt that Aboriginal Territorians will get nowhere without resources, and unless we start taking things seriously and plan those resources for the long term.
That is why into politics: to work, not just for the warm and fuzzy feel of the short-term fix, but for the long haul. That is why I fully support the announcement by the Chief Minister early this year that the Labor government is working towards plans in indigenous affairs that takes us out 20 years. It is why, on this day, I welcome the Chief Minister’s statement with its particular emphasis on housing. It is also why I join with the Chief Minister in saying there is much work yet to be done.
It is about being in for the long haul, because Aboriginal Territorians know there is no slick answer or magic wand. It will take time and, at times, it will take and be a painful struggle to turn our circumstances around. As I mentioned, I spent a number of years in health, initially as a public servant and, then later, in the community-controlled Aboriginal health sector. Although Congress in Alice is over 30 years old, the expansion of the community-controlled sector did not really get under way until the 1980s. It was not until the establishment of AMSANT in the 1990s that we saw a Territory-wide community-controlled focus in health.
Assisted by the then federal minister, Labor Health minister, Carmen Lawrence, and then federal Coalition Health minister, Michael Wooldridge, at the federal level, there was an expansion of resources available to the sector for that period, as well as a more sustained focus from politicians in the Territory. That came later with the CLP then minister for Health, Steve Dunham.
In the last few years, it would appear that we are finally turning the corner in some key areas such as chronic disease management, for example. However, it took a significant amount of time and significantly expanded resources. It took long-term planning and sustained activity. Above all, it took Aboriginal Territorians to assert themselves and put forward their knowledge, skills and experience. It also took changes in the culture of government towards looking to sustained action for long-term outcomes. It was a process that rejected short-term-ism, and the scramble for the mirage of a quick fix. It was a process that acknowledged the immense problems that we face and the hard work required to achieve sustainable results in the long term. It was a lesson to us all, one that I brought with me into parliament. In the current context, it is a lesson that informs my personal position. I believe it is a position shared by my fellow Aboriginal parliamentarians. I am here for the long haul, and I support the government of which I am a part because it is a government that is working for generational change and advancement.
I can think of no better example in this than the approach of the Martin Labor government to secondary education in the bush. When I tell people down south or when I am just having discussions with them - including Aboriginal people - that until 2002 there had not been a single kid graduate from a bush community, the shock is palpable. They are astonished. I will be straight about it. When I heard about those first three young people from Kalkarindji - and one stayed with me in Katherine at the time that I ran the Katherine Health Board and when I heard of her graduation from Year 12, I cried. At last, three young Aboriginal kids for one of the richest countries in the world had the opportunity to get through high school while living in their own community.
As the Chief Minister pointed out, those numbers are steadily growing as those opportunities are steadily expanding. Where else in Australia would you expect such emotion over the simple graduation of three students? I will tell you: a Northern Territory where, for decades, around a quarter of the population was denied very simple, very basic, benefits such as health, housing and education - a fact that the Leader of the Opposition still does not like hearing thrown back: a Northern Territory where it will became normal to allow a quarter of the population to form a permanent underclass. That is the kind of Northern Territory my colleagues on this side of the House are dedicated to consigning it to history.
I will say that being an Aboriginal member of parliament is different and, at times, very difficult. It is true that we face obligations and demands from extended family and relationships because of the desperate poverty of so many of our people. These relationships are often mediated through personal and community tragedies. These, in turn, may very often extend to distant relations across wide geographic areas. I am not saying that makes Aboriginal politicians better or worse than my non-Aboriginal colleagues, just different, with different kinds of life experiences. However, those differences do not prevent me, nor my brothers and sisters here, from working as effective politicians, effective party members or, indeed, effective Cabinet ministers. Yet, too often, these differences are turned into stereotypes.
For example, it is assumed by many that Aboriginal politicians must break rank and publicly declare with our party, parliamentary colleagues or leader, just because we are Aboriginal when issues that affect Aboriginal people come up. We are constantly being set up as some sort of oppositional black caucus on every short-term issue of the day. These set-ups are being used as a cheap political or journalistic gimmick as a no-win situation. When the Leader of the Opposition or a journalist demands we break ranks and we do not, we are branded as stooges or dupes. For some reason, the stereotyping that is being promoted suggests that, somehow, Aboriginal people are not allowed to work in solidarity with their colleagues and are not allowed unity of purpose and action.
The flip side of this is that our non-Aboriginal colleagues are assumed to not pay attention to our experiences, our knowledge, and our concerns and to be in opposition to Aboriginal Territorians’ interests. Both stereotypes are utter nonsense. I will not use the term ‘racist’ because I do not think it is helpful or useful in this context; however, I do reject the stereotyping of Aboriginal politicians that seems to be so much the bread and butter of the political discourse in the Territory of late. I am sick of the number of times journalists and many others demand that I be available to talk on ministerial matters that properly belong to another ministerial portfolio just because Aboriginal issues may be involved.
Why is it that Aboriginal ministers of the Crown, in this situation, seem to be obligated to break Westminster conventions on the way Cabinet operates? The same interrogators would not demand comment of the Police minister on the Heritage Act, or demand that the Treasurer is obliged to answer questions on the Local Government Act. This type of stereotyping leads to double standards being applied to Aboriginal politicians that are completely unwarranted and unjustified. I am sick of the times when some two-bit nobody of an opposition politician demands the resignation of the Chief Minister as Minister for Indigenous Affairs, and that her Aboriginal colleagues plot for her removal, then brands us as puppets if we do not. This is from an opposition party that, on the one single occasion they preselected an Aboriginal person to a winnable seat, they promptly dumped him.
Apart from that, there was the posturing of a Northern Land Council functionary, accusing Aboriginal members of parliament of being a waste of time and being gagged on an issue in which he and his organisation have been very deafening in its silence, and the lack of attendance at public meetings. We are not myalls. We are not just sitting around under a tree waiting to be activated by our betters. We are dedicated to the future for our kids and grandkids, and we are in it for the long haul.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, the Chief Minister has today outlined signposts on a long road. It is a road on which I dearly hope the federal government will join us with substantial complementary resourcing, especially in the area of housing. The recognition by this government of the need for a long-term approach to indigenous affairs in the Northern Territory began on 19 August 2001. We have stabilised debt and strengthened the economy. We have dramatically increased resources in health and education. We are now commencing on the road to tackling one of the biggest challenges: housing. We have discarded the deals of the ‘snake oil merchants’ plying us with quick fixes. We are in it for the long haul. That is what it is all about. I fully support the Chief Minister’s statement.
Mr McADAM (Local Government): Mr Acting Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement regarding indigenous policy. I intend to specifically address some of the initiatives under my portfolio areas that have impacted upon the lives of indigenous Territorians. The Chief Minister has articulated a clear policy vision for indigenous affairs in the Northern Territory.
The Leader of the Opposition, the member for Araluen, had that same opportunity to place on record her credentials, her vision, as an alternative Chief Minister. She failed miserably - she failed. There can be no better description. As a member of this House, you come into this place because you believe in what you are doing. There is no doubt today that we witnessed possibly one of the most shameful responses to a statement of real vision. She had the opportunity to place on record her responses and her commitment to the indigenous people of the Northern Territory but, more importantly, to the people of the Northern Territory. Again, I honestly believe that she has no credentials whatsoever in the context of being an alternative Chief Minister, or in even being part of the Territory.
The Chief Minister’s statement reflects this government’s commitment to improving key social economic indicators for indigenous Territorians for the long term. This government understands that the social and economic challenges that we face with indigenous communities cannot be dealt with in isolation to one another. Issues around law and order, health services and healthy houses, governance, passive welfare, employment and economic development, and education and training require a holistic commitment and hard work over the long term. That is what the Chief Minister has set out here today.
The Chief Minister’s statement builds on the work done to date across government: a strong and sustainable social housing system; a strategic approach to housing in the bush in close partnership with the Commonwealth government; significant investment in education so that people in the bush can better access secondary education; improvements in health services in key areas including life expectancy and infant mortality rates; and the introduction of support of initiatives to more effectively manage alcohol abuse and reduce violence. I commend the Chief Minister’s work towards a generational plan with COAG. This government is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of indigenous Territorians in need. By bringing the energy of these initiatives together and the whole-of-government policy approaches to indigenous affairs, I believe this Labor government can make that difference.
Housing is the most logical intervention point for government. It is the most critical for improving health, education and safety outcomes for indigenous Territorians. This is especially true in remote communities where the current shortfall for housing is estimated at around $1.2bn. The case for a long-term approach, a 20-year plan, has never been stronger. Unfortunately, we are dealing with decades of CLP neglect and underfunding exacerbated by the fast-growing population in many of our remote communities.
The plan will be realised through a transformation of indigenous housing from welfare housing to a strong mix of social community and public housing, private rental housing, and private ownership. As I have said on many occasions, a housing mix akin to the rest of Australia is what we need to develop in the bush. The 20-year plan will target private sector investment in housing and it will involve partnerships between government Aboriginal organisations and private investors. That may also include, very clearly, indigenous royalty associations.
The July workshop on indigenous housing which was convened by the Northern Territory Indigenous Advisory Board, has created a lot of interest amongst the construction and building industry, architects, housing service providers and other stakeholders. I acknowledge and pay tribute to the board members: Mr Michael Berto, the Chair; Patricia Brahim, the Deputy Chair; Mr W Tilmouth; Ursula Raymond; Tony Jack; Suzanne Bozic; and Sarah Butterworth.
We are working with organisations to make the best use of new building techniques and technologies. In the next few weeks, I will announce the details of a new innovative initiative concerning low-cost housing solutions. Key elements of this initiative will be creating training and apprenticeship opportunities for indigenous people in the bush and creating sustainability through economies of scale and getting more housing for the indigenous housing dollar. I will continue to work closely with all the sectors within the industry to progress these important changes.
As the Chief Minister has stated, the centrepiece of the government’s package is the $100m investment in remote housing over a five-year period. This is new money. It is over and above our current program for housing in the bush. It is a real commitment by the Martin Labor government to respond in a very creative way to provide better housing outcomes. Accordingly, I invite minister Brough to engage the Northern Territory government in a very mature way, to work together in a partnership in addressing some of these very critical housing problems in the bush.
The Chief Minister highlighted the use of five-year contracts which provide a time frame that is conducive to real employment and training outcomes. Training opportunities and skills transfer to local people will be incorporated into the building contracts. The work will be carried out in collaboration with existing local building teams and indigenous community housing organisations, which will have an opportunity to expand their operations and increase local employment.
This government’s approach to housing is based on the same principles as our approach to health, safety and education. We recognise indigenous people have a right to the same standards, expectations and opportunities as every other person in the Territory. This is an important hurdle for everyone’s thinking around the issue of indigenous housing. Irrespective of where a Territorian lives, this government’s vision is to bring the quality of construction and maintenance in line with a single standard for social housing across the Territory.
Territory Housing, the landlord for government, is a key driver for this vision. The organisation is well placed to meet the challenges to improve housing in the bush, and is already working to meet the housing needs of indigenous people in urban centres. A total of 33% of public tenancies are indigenous households; 50% of people on the wait list are indigenous. Territory Housing is working better to assist indigenous clients through the employment of community liaison officers and life skills and tenancy support programs.
I recently visited one of our excellent senior villages in Darwin where I met with the residents over a cup of tea. One of the points they made has stuck with me. One particular gentleman asked: ‘Our senior accommodation is very good but what can we do for people out in the regions or out in the bush?’ Under the public housing framework, which is set to be expanded into the bush, public housing, social housing and the opportunity to enter home ownership will be available to all Territorians. Territory Housing will bring first-rate housing management systems, rent collection, repairs and maintenance, waitlist management and support to viable Indigenous Community Housing Organisations in the regions.
Under the 20-year plan, Territory Housing will assume responsibility for existing remote housing programs and new funding. To be clear, existing programs will continue under current arrangements. As a government business division, Territory Housing will drive for efficiencies and economies of scale on the strength of its commercial acumen.
In a recent article in The Australian, Mike Steketee suggests that the Territory government spends around $70m on indigenous housing and that we are shirking our responsibility. He would be right. In the words of Mr Steketee: we would not be pulling our weight. However, his calculations were wrong. In 2004-05, the Northern Territory government invested $90m in housing for the benefit of indigenous citizens. Of the $142m spent on housing in 2005-05 by Territory Housing, the Department of Local Government, Housing and Sport, and IHANT, $90.751m was for the benefit of indigenous people across the Territory.
No one can say that this government is shirking its responsibilities for indigenous affairs. This government is making significant structural changes to how housing is delivered across the Territory. We are increasing investment in housing in the bush, and we are doing so with clear strategic imperatives for employment and economic growth, and to reduce overcrowding. The time has come for the Commonwealth government to step up with more dollars for indigenous housing and, as I mentioned previously, to develop and work in a very professional way in a partnership which is going to get some real long-term benefit for those people out in the communities.
As I recently announced, the Martin Labor government is considering what is needed to make councils outside the major urban centres more effective and sustainable. It needs to be acknowledged that there are problems with local government in remote areas. There are, however, excellent initiatives that have taken place in the last year to improve administrative governance and service delivery arrangements in local government. To name just a few of the initiatives: the recent coming together of the Katherine Town Council and the Binjari Community Council; the strategic planning work presently being undertaken by the Tiwi Island Local Government Council; the support provided by the Darwin City Council to the Tiwi Local Government Council, and for its innovative work with other associations around Darwin; the work of the Palmerston City Council with the community in the Palmerston Indigenous Village; the great effort of Nyirranggulung in being nominated as a finalist at this year’s Reconciliation Australia’s Governance Awards; and the involvement of the Alice Springs Town Council, Tangentyere Council, Lhere Artepe, the Australian government, and the Northern Territory in the whole-of-government strategy to improve the livelihoods of people living in what we once called town camps in Alice Springs.
I want to make particular mention of this last point. Last month, I formed the Alice Springs Town Camp Implementation Committee, headed up by Mr Barry Chambers, a highly-respected former senior NT public servant. This committee has begun the challenging task of implementing the recommendations of the Alice Springs Town Camp Task Force. With representation, as I mentioned previously, from the Alice Springs Town Council, Tangentyere, Lhere Artepe, the Australian government, the Northern Territory government, the police, the Chief Minister’s Department, and Local Government and Housing, this committee has been an outstanding example of a range of government and non-government agencies working together for the benefit of all, most noticeably, the residents - those people who live in the town camps and, indeed, the broader Alice Springs community.
These fine achievements continue, though, to be overshadowed by the overall systematic problems we face. As the Chief Minister indicated, my department has recently conducted a risk assessment of 56 councils, which classified 50% of the councils as either high risk or dysfunctional. In the last six months, 22 councils - that is, 38% of all community government and association councils - have advertised or readvertised for a chief executive. Eight chief executive positions have been readvertised within the last 12 months. In other words, we are still seeing high numbers of newly-recruited CEOs resigning within a year.
In the last six months, the department has been required to make 17 major interventions into the affairs of council due to financial, administrative and/or governance irregularities. These interventions include four show cause notices to chief executives involving allegations of serious financial mismanagement. This is also a stark reminder that there are serious structural problems in the present system of local government in the bush and this government is determined to confront these difficult issues.
At the same time, it is clear the Australian government has an agenda for change in relation to bush communities which could see the removal of direct funding to small communities. We need a system of local government in the Territory that can not only survive these changes but can actually take advantage of them for the benefit of people in the bush. It is time to provide some long-term certainty about the future of rural and remote communities and the types of services they could expect as citizens of the Northern Territory.
Government has agreed to a far-reaching reform program to address these issues, particularly in relation to local government in rural and remote areas. This fundamental reform of local government is intended to create certainty and stability through strong regional local governance that will have a similar capacity to that of municipal councils. These regional shires will need to have robust business and management systems to deliver efficient and effective services, and a governance framework which ensures that everyone is represented through effective community planning processes, strong leadership and community engagement.
The Chief Minister has said commitment to improving the wellbeing of Aboriginal Australians will require all tiers of government working together. We need to ensure that local government is strong and well resourced and has the expertise to fully play its part in achieving meaningful change. A local government advisory board with an independent chairperson will be established and report directly to me as Minister for Local Government. This advisory board is to be established as an immediate priority, and I will be shortly calling for expressions of interest from relevant stakeholders.
The issues that government, in conjunction with the advisory board, will be taking into consideration establishing a new system of municipal and regional shire councils will include: that communities of interest and geographic cohesion be considered in the establishment of a regional shire; the identification and prioritisation of core local government services; what could constitute adequate, equitable and appropriate delivery of services and provision of facilities and, the ability to mandate minimum standards and service levels so that remote community residents can expect and demand a better service; the type of representative decision-making and planning arrangements that will be required at both the community and shire level; the potential for resource sharing and cooperative arrangements among shires and municipalities in the administrative regions of the Northern Territory; the need for a comprehensive indigenous employment and business development strategy in every community across the Territory; the need for ongoing cooperation and agreement between the three spheres of government; the extent to which legislation can be amended to clarify and improve the functions, powers and responsibilities of local government; the need for orderly transitional and implementation arrangements; and, most importantly, the long-term sustainability and viability of communities within regional shires established under the framework.
It is government’s aim to strengthen and improve the livelihoods of people in remote communities. We need to ensure that all communities will be better off under the new arrangements, and that we engender and maintain an appropriate sense of identity in each community. Four key components of our strategy are: a local government framework of municipal and regional shires across the entire Northern Territory …
Mr BONSON: Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the member be granted an extension of time under Standing Order 77 to complete his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr McADAM: … municipal and regional shires working together through regional plans and agreements; an absolute commitment to delivering fair standards of core local government services to all communities; and integrated planning between the three levels of government to deliver better services in the bush.
Very briefly, I will move onto two other areas within my portfolio responsibilities. The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority is a statutory authority established under the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989. As far as I understand, the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority is unique in Australia and no other jurisdiction has an agency that plays a similar role. For over 20 years, all places that are sacred, or otherwise of significance according to Aboriginal tradition, have been protected under the Commonwealth Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. All sacred sites are given global protection.
The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority plays a principal role of protection of sacred sites in the Northern Territory. They achieve this by: consulting with custodians and proponents of work to reach mutually acceptable agreements; issuing authority certificates setting out the conditions under which the proposed works may proceed; receiving an evaluation request for the registration of sites; maintaining a register of sacred sites and making it available for public inspection; prosecuting offences against the act; and convening, reviewing, and reporting on matters arising from any appeal against the decision to action of the authority. The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority’s role has two purposes. Firstly, it ensures the protection of sacred sites and, secondly, it increases certainty for economic development. Work of the authority has also increased appreciation within the community of the value of Aboriginal sacred sites and the traditional interest in sacred sites.
The authority meets on a regular basis with various industry groups - the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association, Seafood Council, and Mineral Council of the Northern Territory - and it has regular meetings with the respective land councils across the Northern Territory. The mere existence of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority in the Territory is a reflection of the significance afforded to indigenous people and indigenous policy in the Northern Territory. It is possible, contrary to the protestations of some, for economic development to co-exist with treating indigenous people and culture with respect. The AAPA is such an example of how government can provide a meaningful mechanism by which a modern economy and traditional values of the indigenous people can co-exist.
The final matter that I wish to address is in the area of the Department of Corporate and Information Services. They provide a range of centralised services to government as a whole. At least two of these services - the outsourced ICT and base grade recruitment - has been provided in such a way to maximise outcomes for indigenous Territorians. In 2005-06, DCIS engaged Fujitsu for a new desktop held desk contract for government agencies. This new desktop contract has an industry development component which will provide for improved maintenance and service of IT equipment in remote communities - both for government agencies and the indigenous communities. By leveraging the government’s ICT investment, the new contract will provide for more timely services to communities at no additional cost to the community. This will help minimise the effect of one of the barriers to the uptake of ICT in remote communities, and costly and lengthy delays in servicing and repairing ICT equipment. This can only benefit businesses in these remote communities.
In 2005-06, training and employment programs continued this contribution to the personal and professional development of the Northern Territory public service. The Northern Territory public service new apprenticeship program entered into the third and final year for the Northern Territory government’s Job Plan, building the Northern Territory workforce public sector training initiative to employ an additional 200 apprentices. The program has seen significant success in meeting targets, including increasing employment training opportunities, by commencing over 360 new apprentices. The program has provided a range of qualifications from business information technology to horticulture, the aquaculture industry, conservation and land management, health support services, dental assistants, printing and graphics, automotive, tourism, laboratory skills and community development.
Over the past few years, the total intake of apprentices to the NT public service has increased from 53 in 2003 to 119 in 2004, to 123 in 2005, and to 127 in 2006, demonstrating this government’s overall commitment to training. The number of indigenous apprentices employed by the Northern Territory public service, likewise experienced a dramatic increase from six in 2003 to 56 in 2004, 45 in 2005 and 31 in 2006. The national indigenous cadetship program has run alongside the intake of apprentices in the Northern Territory public service and also has increased from eight in 2003 to 20 in 2006. Indigenous employment strategies are the result of a successful collaboration between agencies and the Northern Territory government. These figures represent a real increase in the level of employment for training being offered to indigenous Territorians.
Mr Acting Speaker, in conclusion, I applaud the Chief Minister for her vision, for her indigenous policy that she announced here today. It is a vision that includes the belief that the social and economic determinants of indigenous people can be substantially approved. I support the Chief Minister’s statement and say, as an indigenous member of this House, I am very proud to be associated with the Martin Labor government. I am very proud to be a Territorian and I am very proud to be an Australian. If we start thinking any other way, then we get caught up with the claptrap, the bile, the vitriol, the vindictiveness, lack of vision, and the lack of leadership of people like the member for Araluen.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Acting Speaker, I have to admit I was nearly going to call attention to the state of the House so that I at least have an audience to talk to. I am pleased that we have managed to drum up a bit of business.
The criticism that has been aimed at the Chief Minister is the fact that the timing of this statement was lousy. We have had two weeks of sittings where the program has been very light on legislation and, by the looks of, it still will be in the next sittings. We have had two ministerial statements every day and, then, suddenly this morning we had this statement from the Chief Minister on indigenous affairs after a fair amount of criticism. All I can say to the Chief Minister is that your timing is lousy. If you really did not want criticism for this you would have put this out much earlier. It is even worse when you say things like this in your statement:
- It also says a lot about the faith that Aboriginal Territorians have in the Australian Labor Party and how important that Aboriginal constituency is to our party.
That is a blatant grab for the Aboriginal vote. Perhaps that is necessary because the Chief Minister can see that she has received a lot of criticism in many areas. Let us not pretend it is not there, because it is and whether you like it or not, too bad; that is what is happening. I take criticism that government members throw at me, that the CLP in the past have done so ...
Dr Burns: We never do that.
Mr Kiely: No, I have never criticised you.
Mrs BRAHAM: Let me just read from here now that you have said that. The Minister for Housing in fact, in one of his statements, was having a go at me and said:
- … you are … party to this - you sold off … of Territory Housing stock from 1995 to 2001.
What he did not do in making that statement, which was a bland statement, was tell the whole story. Yes, I was Minister for Housing. Yes, we did sell a lot of stock, but that was because we had a change in policy. To get a Housing Commission home, it was income tested, so it reduced the number of people who could apply for a house. There were lots of tenants within those homes who had lived there for many years, considered them to be their homes, and they were given the opportunity to purchase them. With the money that was gathered from all those purchases, the government was then able to embark upon the complexes they built, such as the seniors complexes. I opened the one in Dick Ward Drive. Let us face it, those complexes are great. Also, we started the Kurringal demolition and update. I am sure the Chief Minister would be pleased about that because we used to have so many complaints. Therefore, even though it looked as though we were selling a lot of public housing, there was a reason. There were benefits for the people who lived in them for a long time. Of course, home ownership increased within the Territory and there were funds to do other things.
It is easy to criticise. If the Aboriginal members of this government feel as though they are being picked on and targeted, then it is simple: speak up. It is as simple as that. I speak up. I can take the criticism, and I have in the past, but there is no reason why I should not have my say. I cannot see that a government like this, that has so many members, would not allow one of the members to be forthright and honest in their personal opinion, even allowing for the fact that there is a party position as well.
The timing is lousy. Indigenous members should not feel so precious about what has happened; it is all part of the political game. For instance, just the other day the member for Arafura had a go at me about walking the political side of the Borroloola people who were here. Perhaps, if she knew the background I have with those people she might have understood the relationship that was there. In the 1960s and early 1970s, I travelled extensively to Borroloola and Bing Bong and the Wearyan River - camped there, fished there, swam there, met the people. I taught many of those young children who travelled to Alice Springs to board at St Phillip’s College - it was not a school then - and at St Mary’s. They were often little tackers who did that.
I was chuffed yesterday when one of the mothers came up to me and said: ‘I am …’ - I will not mention her name - ‘You taught my daughters at Ross Park’. Another young man came up to me and gave me a big hug. I was staggered to see him. He said to me: ‘How is Michelle?’ He would have been in school with Michelle in Year 3. He has four kids, Michelle has one, and we had a great talk. There is a relationship that goes back for a long time. I even travelled in old Len Tuit’s bus on the hard bench seats, all the way from Alice Springs with those kids one holiday. They were remarkable. The parents were remarkable; that they sent those little kids away to boarding school to have an education. Those are the adults now who are at Borroloola speaking up for their people. Yes, education is so important, but have we not had a shift? In those days, education meant such a lot to those people that they were willing to do that.
We went through that decline of children attending schools. I believe that we have a real decline now and, if the Chief Minister wants to improve the level of literacy and numeracy in our schools, she really has to tackle the truancy problem. She really has to get the kids going to school. The member for Macdonnell and her brother were also boarders. When I went to Papunya, it was amazing to see him. They have all grown up. It just proves how quickly time goes by. They benefited from that education, and from the fact that their parents thought education was important. That is the message that we have not got to the Aboriginal parents today. That is one of the messages this government should be saying really strongly and clearly. I believe we need a strong program to get the kids back into school because, far too often, it is too easy to say: ‘Okay, they are in town for business, or they are over here, they have travelled somewhere else’. We always make excuses. We should not be making excuses anymore; we should be doing something about it.
I want to say that I was not making political mileage out of the Borroloola people. I do not need their vote. I did it because I believe they should have some representation in this parliament, and because I admire them, I love their area. I only wish I could go back there to go fishing and swimming again, but I probably would not swim anymore. I can tell some really funny stories about the days there. That is what is wonderful about it.
It is also interesting that this statement talks about local government and the reform. Yes, I was Minister for Local Government and I did set the reform agenda, and we had high hopes that we were going to do all the things the minister says here. However, we were going to do it on a voluntary basis. We had a little success, but it did not work. For too long, mistakes have been made in the bush; there has been too much mismanagement. I can only say if this works then great, let us get it done. We need to fix it up. We have had far too many failures. However, I wonder how much the government will achieve if there is not the cooperation there. If you are just going to say to them: ‘Righto, July 2008, this is it, you must be under this new regime of shires’.
It was hard enough to get a few people doing it voluntary; it is a hard sell to make it compulsory. I wonder whether you will get the people’s hearts and minds into this new era of local government by forcing their hand. You have to talk to some of the Victorians to know what Jeff Kennett did and how he did it overnight, and how some of those communities still feel badly done by. I guess it is interesting that history repeats itself. I do say to the Chief Minister and the minister concerned, I hope it works, because you are right; we have to get a better management procedure out there in the bush. We have to do better and we cannot always keep blaming the people who are out there.
We need to concentrate on training …
Mr McAdam: Who is blaming the people out there, member for Braitling?
Mrs BRAHAM: We need to keep on training. Some of the local government management courses no longer exist. We should be making sure they are back there in our learning institutions because, if we eventually want to make sure that it is the people out there that are taking most of the responsibility, then they need to have the skills to do it.
When you talked about housing, I had asked the question of the Treasurer not long ago about how much is taken from grants by the department when they issue contracts for housing. I know the Treasurer spoke to me and said they are still looking at that because it is a cost he was not sure of. I believe it is important to know, and I wonder whether the minister could perhaps clarify for me when he says that Territory Housing will work in partnership with indigenous housing organisations to manage delivery and maintenance in the bush. Are we going to cream off the cost of those departments to operate this, or will we see the majority of that money going into housing? If we did a bit of an audit of what is happening at the moment we might find …
Mr McAdam: They are just like the CLP when they creamed 54% off the top of Commonwealth government grants.
Mrs BRAHAM: My question to you is what are you going to do? It is so easy to say: ‘Well, the CLP took this much off’. Come on! Let us go forward. Let us talk about what you are going to take off. That is my question to you and I still do not have that answer. There is no point in just looking backwards and always criticising. You only have to look at the Leader of the Opposition. If you want to go down that road all the time, go there but, for goodness sake, let us start looking ahead.
I noticed you also talked about the design of houses. How many times have we talked about this, I will never know. You talk about prefab homes, and I wonder whether that is a good idea. I hope you do your homework because there has been a lot of criticism about the use of demountables that the federal minister has talked about. Will they be of a style that will suit the living needs of Aboriginal people? It is true that the suburban three-bedroom brick homes that were built a long time ago were completely inappropriate. How many times have we talked about designing a home to suit the needs of the people who are going to use it, I do not know. I wonder whether prefab homes will stand the test of time. It is worthwhile having a go, but let us keep it in mind that we should be making sure as we go along that it is going to be a long-term benefit to the community, not just a very short-term one. That is always the risk you take whenever you start something like this.
You talked about new police stations on communities. That is great - simple as that. It is long overdue. We expect our ACPOs to do so much. They are expected to do more and more, and they do a huge job. It is to their credit that so many of them have stuck at that job for so long. I do not know how long the longest-serving ACPO is, but it must be well over 20 years now. It would be interesting to know, to reward them for the long service they have given. They are a credit. If you get more police stations around the communities, it would give a feeling of security to people. When we are talking about lifestyle on communities - and I do not want to harp on the downside of communities - it is really important that this government does put its money into making a better environment for people to live in, and making sure that there is a future; that we talk about jobs and training, and it is not just rhetoric - that we do something in a positive and constructive manner to make it happen. Far too often, there is a lot of rhetoric.
I know contractors who say as part of their contract they are supposed to employ X number of Aboriginal labourers from the local community. Far too often, they sign them up and find that it just does not work. They either do not want to work; they do not, perhaps, have the same work ethic as the contractor who goes out there. I know contractors often go out and work 10, 11 hours a day because they do not want to spend all that time out in the bush communities. They like to get the job done quickly and then move back into town to another job. I am well aware there is a huge amount of work out there in communities, and the contractors appreciate that. However, they say it is really hard to get Aboriginal workers to stick with them and to stay there and actually take the benefits of training.
Let us not just have another talkfest; let us actually put things in place that we know are going to happen. Let us make sure that we are offering the right courses. I used to think the horticultural courses offered at the gaol were fantastic. The inmates were allowed to have their own garden and they grew all sorts of vegetables. What really chuffed me to see was that they also grew flowers. It was just a sign that they loved the beauty of it. Unfortunately, I believe that the course is no longer available at Correctional Service in Alice Springs. What a great opportunity for Correctional Services to provide training when they have a captive audience. Then, rather than just send them out the door back to their community, follow them through so that, when they do go back there is a job there and they can actually put those skills they have received into practise. That would be great.
It is probably good that the Chief Minister has made this statement. There was a feeling from the people who were in the gallery that she was not talking to them. There was a feeling of: ‘Why won’t she meet with us?’ There is a feeling, perhaps, that the indigenous portfolio should be given to another member of this government. I do not think that is unreasonable. You have just had a Cabinet reshuffle, and many people are adjusting to their roles. I understand that you are going to say: ‘Well, this indigenous portfolio is across government’. However, if it is attracting so much criticism, why continue with it? What are you winning by saying: ‘This is the Minister for Indigenous Affairs’, full stop? If you are getting all this criticism - as I said the other day, the people from Irrkerlantye were up there saying: ‘Are these all Labor people here?’ Why continue with it? Why not say to the communities: ‘We hear what you are saying. We recognise that. You really do not think this is a good person to be your minister; and we are going to appoint someone who perhaps can take it on and who will respect and listen to you and talk to you in the way that you can relate to’.
The Chief Minister needs to understand that, while she is getting such criticism, she should rethink what she is doing because it is not helping this government in any way that we have this criticism continuing. It is not just from me or the opposition; it is out there in the community. That it is an important thing to recognise and to acknowledge.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I am always supportive of things that will make a better life for people on communities. I will always help if I can in any way. I do get a lot of feedback. I do have a lot of friends in the Centre. I am only too happy to try to give government the feedback to make it a better proposition in the long run. No one wants them to fail. No one wants any of their projects to fail. What we want is success. We have to concentrate on the positive. Let me say, Chief Minister, give us a report card in 12 months time. Let us see how far you have gone and what you have done.
Mr HENDERSON (Employment, Education and Training): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement on indigenous affairs in the parliament this evening.
I am pleased to be following the member for Braitling. I always believe the member for Braitling makes genuine comments when she talks about wanting to see improved outcomes on remote communities. We do not always see eye to eye on things, but I believe we see eye to eye on a lot of things. It was good to hear a substantial and informed contribution tonight, as opposed to the vengeful and hysterical rantings of the Leader of the Opposition who did not put one constructive suggestion or policy position. Heaven help us in the event that she ever does become Chief Minister of the Northern Territory; it would not lead to an improvement for Aboriginal people who are over 30% of our population.
I, with the Chief Minister, am very proud to be part of a team of 19 in the parliament, including six indigenous people, of the Northern Territory. It has been a sea change in representation in the Assembly. At last, we have a parliament that truly represents the demographic make-up of people in the Northern Territory. Given the huge disadvantage that Aboriginal people continue to suffer today in so many ways, there will be issues about how we deal with them. Those issues are debated with absolute conviction and passion. As a team, we are totally committed to improving opportunities and outcomes for indigenous people. Any debate is inside the margins of priorities within a limited capacity. We are seeing a huge sea change in our communities.
This commitment we are talking about tonight stands alongside what I really hope is also going to be a significant change in commitment from the Commonwealth government, given that the Chief Minister managed to get from COAG and the Prime Minister of this country a commitment to a long-term 20-year plan to see the tide of indigenous disadvantage turned around throughout Australia.
It is staggering that, in the year 2006, a nation as wealthy as this great country of ours - wealthy not only in financial wealth but in spirit, commitment, tenacity and goodwill - that we still have the first Australians living in such disadvantage. Really, it is all about a matter of degrees in the change. I just hope that the Commonwealth government, in accepting our Chief Minister’s submission to COAG, realises that a long-term generational change is required from the Commonwealth government and all of the states over 20 years to improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal Australians. I hope that the Commonwealth government can commit the resources on behalf of the Australian people - and let us remember that the Commonwealth government is there on behalf of the Australian people - to see the change. They have the capacity, they have enormous budget surpluses. I believe the generosity of spirit and goodwill of the Australian people would support the Commonwealth government in committing to that long-term change.
If you are not in politics to be the eternal optimist about change for good and better, then you should not be in politics. Despite political differences between the Labor Party and the federal government, I am hoping, for the good of indigenous people across our great country, that the Commonwealth will seize the generosity of spirit from Australians to make that commitment. We will continue to work constructively with them to see them do that.
We have had many debates in the seven years that I have been in this parliament about indigenous housing and the deficit in the housing need across the Territory. Going back to self-government in 1978, goodness knows how many debates have occurred on indigenous housing. However, the difference between this debate and all those preceding debates over the years is that this is the first time that any government in the history of the Northern Territory has committed so substantively out of its own resources to additional housing in the bush. That is a fact. Any student of history who looks at the history of indigenous housing will see that. We should not be afraid of history because people are going to look back at our government’s term in office - however long that is going to last - and examine the history of this government.
The truth is that, in the 27 years of the previous governments in the Territory, they did not put anything into indigenous housing. At self-government, the Commonwealth retained responsibility for indigenous housing and previous governments in the Territory took the policy view - and you cannot criticise the policy purists for it - that it was the Commonwealth government’s responsibility to finance indigenous housing and, therefore, it was not the responsibility of previous CLP governments to put any money in it at all.
When we came to government, we, for the first time, started putting money into indigenous housing. We have tried to work, through various housing ministers, to achieve additional commitments from the Commonwealth government to a small degree. In this term of government, we have been working hard in trying to determine and find the funding to make a significant contribution to improving the backlog of indigenous housing in the bush, and to create opportunities for training and employment for indigenous people.
A $100m commitment over the next five years is, in an historic and financial sense, a huge commitment. It is not only a commitment, but we really believe it an investment that is going to make a difference. As the Leader of the Opposition did say – which is probably about the only thing in her speech with which I agreed – it is not going to fix the problem. We know that it is not going to fix the problem. Only the Commonwealth government has the financial capacity to meet that $1.2bn backlog of housing need in our remote communities. The Territory government does not have that financial capacity, and the policy responsibility for meeting that backlog does still lie with the Commonwealth government.
Through the Overarching Agreement on Indigenous Affairs and the housing schedule that sits alongside that agreement, and the lead and the commitment that this government is taking and announcing here today, I hope, we will see leverage from the Commonwealth to at least match our commitment. I certainly think they should be doubling it - but at least match it, because an extra $20m a year from the Commonwealth out of a $13bn to $15bn surplus, is a drop in the bucket. Costello would not miss it. It really is a drop in the bucket when you are looking at such huge surpluses in the forward estimates to continue for many years, given the strength of the Australian economy. The reality is, if the Commonwealth did match it and we had $40m a year on top of the money that is already committed, we would probably, in the capacity in our workforce, be flat out spending that. You could not fix the $1bn backlog in five years because there is just not the capacity to deliver on the ground. However, it would show indigenous people that governments were serious.
It is a significant commitment, and I pay tribute to the Chief Minister tonight for pursuing this so solidly as an issue for this term of government, and also to the member for Barkly, as the new Minister for Housing. I believe all of us here, irrespective of politics - I know I do - play the game pretty hard and in a confrontational way, but the member for Barkly has a quiet and resolute determination to make a difference in his term as Minister for Housing. If anybody can pull this off, the member for Barkly can, as the minister who will have carriage of this particular project.
Our commitment, and his commitment, is that this is not just welfare housing - housing that people are entitled to - it is about creating opportunities for training and ongoing employment for people in our regions, in the bush, not only in the effort in constructing those houses, but also in the ongoing maintenance of them. He is absolutely determined, as we all are on this side of the House, to see that this money is not just presented as welfare housing; that this money has to leverage training and employment outcomes for people in the bush - real money, not just CDEP money with a bit of top-up. Real training, real jobs, and real money in an ongoing sense. I agree with the member for Braitling, it is not going to be easy. It is not going to be easy. All of the issues and challenges, my colleagues will speak about that.
However, just because it is not going to be easy does not mean that we should not have the determination and the resolution to push and push until we get those outcomes. We are certainly failing indigenous people if we do not keep pushing and pushing and pushing. I make my commitment here as Minister for Employment, Education and Training, that this is an absolute priority for me. I believe we can get, out of government expenditure - not only in this housing allocation, but through our procurement systems, our capital works programs, and our road maintenance programs. We all know that there are jobs out in the bush with very real money to pay very real wages. We have to use all of the levers at our disposal, along with the Commonwealth, to really focus on getting those outcomes. As I said before, if anybody can make a significant change here, it is the member for Barkly, because he is resolute. I am looking forward to working with him, as we all are.
The other elements of the package - including local government model and reform, again, for the member for Braitling - are not going to be easy. We all know on this side of the House that that ain’t going to be easy! However, it has to be done. We cannot continue with any hope of having so many small councils dotted around the Northern Territory, with no capacity at all to make any difference in their communities and - as my colleague, the member for Barkly said - no certainty about their financial futures.
On the matter of the risk management audit, the numbers the Chief Minister talked about in respect of the assessment of 56 councils were that 50% of those councils were high risk or dysfunctional. In the last six months, 22 of those councils have advertised or readvertised for a chief executive. We just cannot keep running around in ever decreasing circles like the hamster in the mill, chasing our tails to very poor outcomes in local government. The challenge for the government is to take on a leadership role. There have been many attempts at this before, and we have all seen them. It is all about leadership and demonstrating to people that there is a benefit in going down this path. The benefit is going to be a capacity for ongoing revenue flows, and to increase those revenue flows to delivery better services to people in our regional and remote communities.
That is the challenge for the government: to demonstrate that this will make a difference and lead to better service delivery in the bush. I believe that we can do that. Our MLAs who represent those electorates are going to be a very large part of that leadership effort in demonstrating to people that this change will lead to improved service delivery.
Regarding who can carry it off in a leadership model, I believe my colleague, the member for Barkly, can. He has a pretty big job over the next three years. He is respected, he is seen to be a man of honour and integrity, and he has all of our support. He has announced the broad parameters of this policy shift at the recent LGANT meeting, and he came away from that very buoyed up regarding the response that he received …
Mrs Braham: He would make a great Minister for Indigenous Affairs.
Mr HENDERSON: Good luck to him in the carriage of that change.
I have spoken about housing. In my portfolio of education, there is the expansion of secondary education in the bush. That is absolutely vital to the ongoing future for indigenous people. I suppose, as the new Education minister whose formal education ceased at the age of 16 years of age, I see this as very black and white. Unless those kids can leave our school system at least at the national benchmark level in literacy and numeracy, they have no choices that they can make in life. As Australians, that is unacceptable. We have to do everything we can to make sure those kids do leave our education system being able to read and write, to enable them to exercise choices that my kids will be able to make. All we can do as parents, as a society, and as a government, is to give our kids the skills to equip them for the society in which they live, and to allow those kids to make the best of their lives and to exercise some choices. It is as simple as that.
The expansion of secondary education in the bush, actually providing education where people live, in a context where they have the support from their families and communities wherever possible, is a huge challenge. The results that we have achieved thus far in our first term are the 25 students, which is a very small number given the number of students that should be graduating with a Year 12 NTCE certificate, but it is a start. It just goes to show that if you actually take the first steps, then you can get change. I will continue the good work that my colleague, the former minister, the member for Nhulunbuy, did. I do not think I will ever be able to stand in here with his professional passion for education, but I will certainly be able to stand here with a parent’s passion for education and the importance of expanding that secondary education in the bush, and also improving the outcomes that we are getting from our primary education in the bush. It is not good enough. The figures that are in the annual report are not good enough. We have the schools out there; we have the teachers out there. We have to get those kids into school and get better outcomes from those schools in the bush. That is the challenge but one we will continue to work on.
The approaches to alcohol: we all know how destructive grog is but, again, local solutions for local communities. I will not go through the figures again, but Groote Eylandt gives us all a huge amount of hope in showing that there is a way forward. What has happened on Groote Eylandt is nothing short of astounding. Compared to the first time I visited Groote Eylandt six or so years ago to just recently when we had Community Cabinet over there, it was a totally different place. That is what happens when the community comes to grips with alcohol. I would like to spend a couple of minutes talking about police stations in the bush ...
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Suspension of Standing Orders
Ms LAWRIE (Family and Community Services): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as to allow the minister time to conclude his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
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Mr HENDERSON: Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker. I thank the House for allowing me to continue. I will be brief.
The provision of new police stations in the bush is something that needs to be done. I was Police minister for very nearly four years and now my colleague, the member for Johnston, is the current Police minister. I do not think any Police minister will say that he has enough police officers. Regarding the maintenance of law and order and providing safe communities, we do need additional infrastructure in the bush. The challenge is going to be - and I wish my colleague well in the challenge - working with the Commonwealth government to achieve a non-politicised approach to this very important task.
I have to say that I think there was a lot of politics around the federal minister’s announcement of $40m for additional police stations across Australia at the summit that I and the members for Karama and Arafura attended in Canberra a few months ago. The funding is over a number of years. The minister did state at that meeting that he wanted to conduct an audit of police forces across Australia. As a result of those audits, he and the Commonwealth government would make decisions about where they placed those police stations. I politely but firmly pointed out to him that the best person to ask where those police stations should be placed are the Police Commissioners of Australia and, in the Territory, our Police Commissioner. They are the experts in determining where the resources are required based on population, the logistics in delivering police services, the distances between police stations, the crime levels in various communities, and the safety issues.
The Commonwealth minister flying in with a political agenda is not going to lead to the best long-term outcomes. I argued hard that we have a bipartisan approach in the reference for such an audit because, wherever the Commonwealth might decide that it has a few dollars to put into bricks and mortar, the Territory government is going to be left for the next 50 years with the ongoing recurrent costs of staffing those facilities. Therefore, if the federal minister is genuine about getting improved law and order and community safety outcomes from his $40m, we will get a percentage of that. We will be lucky to get a third, but if we do, that is welcome. I ask again that he actually works with us and listens to our Police Commissioner - a person for whom I have the highest regard as a person and a professional police officer - about where they should go. If he does, he will have the best outcome, but if he is going to fly in here with a political agenda, it will, sadly, be an opportunity lost.
Again, I congratulate the Chief Minister on this statement. It is visionary. I am certain that in the context of indigenous housing history, people will be able to look back at this day and see that this was the day that things started to change in the bush, not only in meeting the housing need, but also the training and the employment deficit in the bush. I commend the Chief Minister on her statement.
Ms LAWRIE (Family and Community Services): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I speak tonight as the Minister for Family and Community Services, the Minister for Planning and Lands, and the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. The significance of this indigenous statement by the Chief Minister is quite incredible in each of those portfolios, so I will be going across all of them. I am absolutely delighted with the initiatives that the Chief Minister has announced.
I recall when the national spotlight first fell on the Territory with the very tragic issue of child abuse, there was a lot of hysteria. A lot of comments were being made off the cuff by a lot of people. I was driving into work one morning listening to ABC radio, and there was an interview with Professor Fiona Stanley, who is an eminent expert on the welfare of children in Australia and a former Australian of the Year. She provided a very sensible discourse, at the time, on the quite hysterical debate. I will never forget her saying that unless you deal with the issue of overcrowding in housing, you cannot deal with the issue of child abuse. She made the point - to me, an obvious point and one I shouted at the radio several mornings in a row during that debate because everyone was just talking on bizarre tangents - that you cannot protect children when they are living in a house with 17 and upwards people.
Where there is such a degree of overcrowding, of course children are neglected and are very vulnerable and at risk of abuse. Why are they neglected? They are neglected because, in a logistical sense, how can you cook a good breakfast, get the kids off to school in the morning, get them home in the afternoon, take care of them in the way that we would expect as parents, cook them a good hearty meal, get them a good night’s sleep, when there are so many people in the house you logistically cannot cook for that many people. If you were trying to cook something in the kitchen, you would be feeding beyond your means in the household. Where there are so many people per room trying to sleep, the kids are not going to get a good night’s sleep.
The whole issue is of the poor nutrition, the lack of sleep, the inability to attend school - the legitimate issues that exist in our indigenous communities and that are confronted daily by families - and the wrenching circumstances of the parents who are trying to meet these often insurmountable odds of delivering a healthy and appropriate upbringing for their children. Obviously, they are dealing with the hard end of that, which is drunken behaviour of people in the community. If some of those drunks happen to come to their house because that is where there is some floor space, that is where they are going to sleep because, culturally, the occupants are required to allow them to sleep there because they are a relative and, in fact, they know their children are at risk.
I will never forget, as the member for Karama, being told of a camp of some people in the long grass just near the electorate. I was alerted to this by a friend of mine who said: ‘There are some people who are living in the long grass out the back there. They have some kids, and the girls are getting about age eight and they are starting to be at risk because there is a drinkers’ camp nearby and they are starting to look at those young girls’. I had no idea previously that there were this group of people in the long grass, because I do not spend my hours combing through the scrub on the outskirts of my electorate. They took me down to where the family was. I worked tirelessly to get that group of children, and the grandparents who were caring for them, and a couple of aunties, into housing. It really brought home in a very stark and very real way that the living circumstances of people - absolutely their environment - leads to whether or not children are at risk.
An individual’s capacity to dictate the environment is largely dictated by whether or not they have shelter, and adequate shelter; that is, whether the shelter provides the circumstances whereby they can ensure the wellbeing, the nurturing and the safety of their children. Fundamental to everything this government needs to do in improving the life and wellbeing of indigenous Territorians into our regional and remote communities, and our capacity to deliver on any of those ambitions and efforts we are making, is to improve the housing.
The Leader of the Opposition lives in an absolute fantasy land, glibly accepts the mistruths of Canberra and her mates in Canberra, when she ran a line at Question Time today about: ‘You are getting all these hundreds and millions of dollars from the federal government in housing. You are not spending it - you are only spending $4m of your own’.
Our current Minister for Housing has had and won that argument with the federal minister over exactly how much we get and how much we spend. What is not arguable is the unmet need: the $1bn, the 4000 homes that are required to meet the needs of Territorians. Inherently in being Territorians, they are Australians and they have an entitlement. As the Chief Minister said very clearly, they have an entitlement to the federal government dollar. For a government that has a $5bn budget, to commit $100m additional to start to make significant inroads in the unmet housing need for indigenous Territorians, is one of those seminal days in government where you say: ‘Oh, my God, there is a fundamental commitment here, $100m additional to the effort we are already making, to say we cannot tolerate Territorians living in the circumstances in which they live’. Underpinning all of that is their need for shelter, their need for a home, and their need for a home where it is not overcrowded.
Do not be under any illusion, opposition; this would not and could not have happened around the Cabinet table - where we are competing all the time for the Territory dollar, where we have enormous unmet need right across our portfolios - if the Chief Minister was not the Minister for Indigenous Policy. That is the significance of having your leader take leadership and responsibility - and it is a huge responsibility, a responsibility most of us could not bear because of the extreme unmet need we have in the Territory. However, the Chief Minister stands up, stands tall and says: ‘I will absolutely take that responsibility on and I will not shirk it because there does need to be a whole-of-government approach’. As she has said, it is the responsibility of every minister, of every member of government, to meet the needs of indigenous Territorians. She is the leader in that effort and, as Chief Minister, she can ensure that each of us are brought to account for undertaking the work we must do to turn the life of many Territorians around, but also drive home the essential funding and resources that are required to deliver the effort.
In that she has a great support, the member for Barkly, who is the Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Indigenous Policy, has some critical areas, as we have heard through this statement, in delivering significant change in the bush. Housing, of course, as I have just mentioned, is fundamental to improving people’s lives, along with the local government reforms that the member for Barkly, through his role as Minister for Local Government, has been articulating: the framework of change, bringing in a framework of shires and looking at the capacity for our communities to deliver real services - services of the standard most people would elsewhere in Australia are critical.
We have a great combination there in the Chief Minister taking absolute leadership on Indigenous Policy supported, I might say by all of her colleagues - by every single colleague - contrary to the fantasy of the Leader of the Opposition. She is ably supported by a minister who, fundamentally, has critical areas of carriage, which is Housing and Local Government. The reforms we are seeing being driven through by the member for Barkly with those ministerial responsibilities, are absolute sea changes for the way we will see the remote areas of the Territory into the future. It will not happen overnight; it will not happen in the first five years. However, there is a strong foundation and pathway being built that this government is pursuing to improve the lives of indigenous Territorians - one that it would be impossible to break open into the future and tear down.
Coupled with that, as we have heard in the debate, along with the importance of education and of the delivery of health services is the importance of housing. If you go anywhere in the bush they say: ‘Can you fix our road? We really need to be able to get to our community on a road that is passable’. My responsibility, having inherited the portfolios of Planning and Infrastructure from my very capable colleague, the member for Johnston, is to look at everything and anything we can do under the existing Commonwealth and Territory government agreements to improve the delivery of better roads for the Territory.
I have already attended a ministerial council meeting last Friday where I eyeballed Jim Lloyd, the junior minister. I eyeballed the senior minister for Transport who is the Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, and said: ‘I want another meeting with you. I want to discuss how we improve our roads in the Territory because the Commonwealth has absolute responsibility’. Just as it has a responsibility in the delivery of housing, it has a responsibility in the delivery of road funding. They should accept this responsibly, and say: ‘We will walk down that path with you and we recognise that we have the means, we have a $15bn surplus’. There is an absolute opportunity there for the Commonwealth to dramatically change the landscape of the Territory, to dramatically improve the lives of Territorians. Mark Vaile is a man of the country. He is a man of the National Party, the leader of the National Party. If they do not understand the economic opportunity through regional development, you wonder who will. Certainly, the Liberals do not. They have shown that; they have shown they govern for the urban centres and for the city. They are interested in what the polls say about Sydney and Melbourne. They are interested in their political expediency. I have great faith and hope that the National leader, the Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, will engage with the Territory around additional funding for our roads because our roads are primary producer roads; they are the beef roads. With the drought down south, as tragic as it is, it gives the Territory an opportunity to become more of a primary producer for Australia.
The opportunities that exist in tourism for our indigenous communities are abundant because we know that people come to Australia for the indigenous experience. We know that people from the southern states travel to the Territory for the indigenous experience. Quite aside from the absolute responsibility that we have as government to provide safe and adequate services to our constituents, roads, as a means of travel to get there, are fundamental to that. There are a very good economic reasons why the Commonwealth could spend some of its $15bn surplus to improve our roads.
The Territory government recognises that we have to do our bit. We are doing our bit. We have increased the roads budget by $15m. We are spending $130m per anum now to improve our roads. We have a lot of ground to make up; we have a significant unmet need. Only 23% of our roads are sealed. We cannot do it without the additional investment from the Commonwealth. Just as we are calling for the additional investment from the Commonwealth in housing, they need to come to the table regarding our roads infrastructure. We are spending the highest amount per taxpayer in the nation on improving our roads. We are doing this in a strategic way.
As I have said, tourism has enormous potential for regional economic growth. The Mereenie Loop, as an example, is not just a tourist road as we know; it is a significant service corridor out to a lot of communities. This government has allocated $23.5m to date to upgrade the Mereenie Loop. Again, the Outback Highway is not just a tourist road; it is an important tourist road but also a core service corridor to many communities in the service corridor from a territory to a state, which has been allocated $7.4m. I congratulate the Commonwealth for recognising the importance of the Victoria Highway with $50m. We went to the Commonwealth and said: ‘Let us work together on the Port Keats road’. There is a significant gas project coming onshore there. There is a real opportunity to change the social dysfunction of Wadeye by being able to provide the appropriate service routes, the industry and economic development for that township and that region. We have a submission to the Commonwealth for a $10m project on a 50:50 basis. This is the big picture, but there are so many little ones. With our beef roads, the government has not shirked our responsibility to ensure that our primary producers are catered for. We have put significant dollars into our beef roads - millions of dollars that just were not being spent previously.
Importantly, as you have heard in the debate, these economic drivers are not useful if they do not provide local training and local jobs. My agency of Planning and Infrastructure ensures that our roads contracts have built into them training and employment for our indigenous communities in the surrounding areas of the roads. Not only do we have the indigenous content provisions in relation to employment, we are including it in relation to training on specific and relevant projects. Let us take the Mereenie Loop as an example of that, where locals from Ntaria have been involved in the construction project and have gone on to earn certificates in civil construction - the training, the qualifications. This is not what we call ‘gammon jobs’, the CEDP with top-up that the Commonwealth in the past has relied on, these are real training, real certificates providing real qualifications so that there can be an ongoing employment opportunity for these indigenous Territorians.
It is just not on the roads that my agency has a dedicated effort in training and employment. Critically important to this is the Indigenous Infrastructure Unit. The unit delivers the Territory’s indigenous housing program, which is a three-year rolling program that delivers both new housing and major renovations. Importantly, it is delivering jobs and skills for our regional Territorians through the construction training project. To date, 29 houses and 39 renovations have been completed this financial year so far. Next year’s program is a busy one with major activity to include $1.5m for the Dhimurru regional council housing construction; $3.2m for new housing in Maningrida; $3.2m for new housing at Gunbalanya; and $2.2m on the Tiwi Islands. The commitment to funding is matched by the commitment to delivering jobs and skills for our regional indigenous Territorians through our construction training project, which is absolutely essential in turning around the social and economic disadvantage that has existed in the Territory for decades.
This year, our training program will provide training to 40 trainees across nine communities. As I said, matched with these economic drivers need to be the social drivers for change. Standing stark and foremost in the effort made by the government in changing indigenous policy and embracing the needs that we have, right up there has to be the nation’s first legislation on petrol sniffing, the way we tackle our volatile substance abuse. I have spoken and delivered a statement in the Assembly on that. I want to thank again the government for having the courage and the commitment, the support of the Chief Minister and other ministers, for delivering what was innovative legislation. It had not existed before and it was significant that the whole of the government, with the support of the Chief Minister, was prepared to get behind innovative legislation.
On the ground, it is having an effect. We are hearing that, with a combination of the roll-out of Opal non-sniffable fuel, with the volatile substance abuse legislation giving the police the powers to seize petrol, and giving police, community workers, health workers and others the power to get compulsory treatment orders, we are changing the dysfunction that previously existed in communities as a result of petrol sniffing …
Dr BURNS: Mr Acting Speaker, I move an extension of time subject to Standing Order 77 to enable the minister to conclude her remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Ms LAWRIE: I thank my colleague, the Minister for Health.
In conclusion, there has been a lot of talk about indigenous affairs. There have been a lot of theories and a lot of different people putting a variety of expertise and knowledge, but what is often overlooked in this debate is democracy. Democracy has resulted in the election of six indigenous members of government. The indigenous communities of the Territory elected them because they believed they were the best people to represent them. We recently had democracy on show with the Stuart by-election. The Leader of the Opposition got out on a hustings. It was her opportunity to approach indigenous affairs and put her policies to the indigenous people of the electorate of Stuart. What was the democratic result of that? What did the indigenous people of the Territory say to the policies of the CLP compared with the policies of the government led by the Chief Minister? A 67% two party preferred vote. That, by any stretch, is an absolute glowing endorsement of the new member for Stuart. It is an endorsement of the Martin Labor government. It is an endorsement of the Martin Labor government’s approach to indigenous affairs. It is an absolute slap in the face to the farcical policies of the CLP who follow and trot out the lines from Canberra for political expediency without any real understanding and depth of care about the unmet needs of indigenous Territorians. The people of Stuart had their democratic say and they spoke loudly about whose policies they have faith in and support.
In closing, $100m to provide additional housing will go some way towards meeting the unmet need. It is an important day in government. I thank the Chief Minister for her statement, for the commitment and leadership she has shown in delivering significant, enormous change in indigenous policy in just five years. The 20-year plan for which she showed leadership and won support at COAG, against all odds, must be congratulated. The weasel words from the Leader of the Opposition stand in stark contrast to the significant leadership from the Chief Minister.
This statement makes this a great day for the Territory. The plans that are laid down are significant for the Territory. I was born and raised here; I intend to live my life here. My dream is that the commitment that is shown by this government delivers a better way and standard of living and all the opportunities that I enjoyed as a child are opportunities that will be enjoyed by every indigenous child in the Territory.
Congratulations to the Chief Minister, the Minister for Local Government and Housing and to the Martin Labor government for having the strength and commitment to deliver real results in the bush.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I welcome the Chief Minister’s statement, although I was a bit surprised when it turned up at 9.50 this morning. Considering that I have a whole heap of statements sitting on my desk that have not been completed yet – transport, resource development, tourism, chronic disease and, I think, economic development - there are heaps of things still to happen. Unfortunately, here we are on Thursday, the last day of the sittings, and we have not completed all those things.
Be that as it may, the Chief Minister has made a statement on indigenous affairs and, naturally, one would recognise that this is a most important issue in the Northern Territory. With the percentage of indigenous people continuing to rise in the Northern Territory, they make up a considerable section of our population.
I will go through a few issues that I still believe are vitally important if Aboriginal people are to take their proper role in society with everybody else in the Northern Territory. Full employment is the key. Unfortunately, even though the minister just mentioned that there have been lots of theories put forward, the issue of full employment is not a theory, it is a fact, because we used to have it. We used to have full employment on Aboriginal communities. There was full employment when missions were around. Admittedly, pay was low and people got their food. However, even after the missions pulled out - and I have said that a few times - when I was at Bathurst Island, when there were wages being paid through the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, we had full employment. The sad thing was that when the unemployment benefits were introduced, unfortunately, that destroyed that concept.
The Chief Minister and other ministers have spoken about how people are getting real jobs in tourism, civil works and mining, and that is good. Mining and civil works do not always continue forever. In the numbers of people who are employed compared to those unemployed, I include the CDEP people as unemployed - not in a detrimental way, but because I think those CDEP people should be receiving full wages at normal rates. We have to have work of all kinds, and I still believe the federal government has a key role to play in funding remote communities with enough finance to give everybody who wants a job a job. That does not mean people will not get child allowance, pension allowances or sick benefits, but it is saying, for all those people who can work, we will give you a job.
I sometimes quote the Marshall Plan in America which, to be accurate, is probably not exactly the same thing. What America did - and it did help a lot of Afro-American people – was provide employment, otherwise these people were on the streets with no money and no skills. Even though I am not saying that we do exactly what the Marshall Plan was about, the philosophy behind the Marshall Plan was to create employment, which was a good concept. I believe governments do have roles.
To digress a bit, my argument about the Sundowner Caravan Park is not that what is happening is illegal - the owner has the right to do exactly what he is doing - but the government has a role outside of that legal framework to help people. I argue that the government should help the people of Sundowner Caravan Park by doing what I have asked for: swap a block of land.
I say to the federal government, and the Northern Territory government, to a minor extent: yes, there are people out there, and yes, you might say they are uneconomic communities, but you have a responsibility to provide full-time jobs for Aboriginal people on remote communities. Once they have full-time work, people can advance; people have some dignity. That is what is not happening. Why are people getting so tied up in substance abuse? Why do we have sexual abuse? Why do we have houses that are smashed up? We do not have full employment on communities. Unfortunately, that is a major problem.
We also have very high cost of living in these communities. If you buy a lettuce or an apple out in the bush, they are a lot dearer than they are in town. People do not have a lot of money. Therefore, there is a real need for governments - from Mr Mal Brough who has said a lot of things, some good, some bad, but he certainly got people thinking about the issues that are out there in the bush - to create full employment.
I say that from experience when I worked on Bathurst Island. I had 107 people working on the council. We were mowing lawns, fixing fences, keeping the airstrip in good nick, burying the rubbish, undertaking soil erosion mitigation on the beach, and we had a nursery going. We found work for people, and you can find work for people.
Education is improving in some areas and other areas, as the member for Blain said, are still a disgrace. There are still a lot of kids out there who cannot read and write well enough to get a job. However, you cannot have one without the other.
I have spoken about the number of Aboriginal people in prisons, and the number of people in prisons overall is not mentioned here. I believe we have to have plans to make sure Aboriginal people do not go back into gaol. It is no good having programs - and I welcome what the minister for Justice was talking about - for Aboriginal people, for instance, in crocodile handling, if they go back to a community and there is not a crocodile in sight. That is not much good. The other thing is that if there is no work for those people, then they will get into the same problems as they have been all the time. It has to be a bigger package than just employment; there have to be processes in prison that will be useful when they go back to their own community knowing that they can get a job, not knowing they can sit down and just get into trouble again. There needs to be education in our prisons for those people who have missed out on an education in their own community. That is the key emphasis.
We need other programs which can help people take control of their lives. I have said before that, on my visit to the United States, I saw two prisons at which there was what they call a therapeutic community. They help people with drug problems, and people with self-control - especially if they had domestic violence problems - with anger management. They work on helping these people. They get the family involved. They get them employment outside of the prison when those people go back to the outside world. They only have 20% recidivism in those type of communities where, in the Northern Territory, as the minister said today, we have 40% to 50% recidivism in our large prison. Many of those would be Aboriginal people because we have the highest percentage of Aboriginal people in prison in Australia. That is an issue that was not touched on in this statement, but is a very important issue.
The other issue that the Chief Minister spoke about is housing. I have spoken many times about this. If you were just to do some rough figures, if a house at the present time cost anywhere between $350 000 to $500 000 to put on the ground in a remote community, sadly, the $100m package will not go far. I know the Minister for Housing is looking at these issues, but I bring to the House’s attention that there is a fabricator at the Aboriginal Development Foundation shed on the Stuart Highway at Holtze at the 11 Mile. The Minister for Health was there and he saw a product which was relatively cheap. The owner of the factory, John Waldmann, is making wall panels 600 mm X 3 m high. They are slightly hollowed out, cyclone proof and easy to erect. You can put them up any way you want to and you can build a house out of them. They are ideal for Aboriginal communities. You might need someone who has skills in putting up houses, to make sure the house is square and the doors are in the right place but, basically, that is an ideal way of building cheap houses. They are solid houses, they are cyclone proof, and they can be made in any configuration people want. There is a package that I believe has possibilities. John actually won one of the rounds of the ABC Inventors program for his product. It costs $150 per panel, from memory. You do not need to be Einstein to know that you could build a house a lot cheaper than $350 000 if you only have to buy panels 600 mm wide for $150. There is a solution. It is not only a solution for Aboriginal people, it is a solution for many other, non-Aboriginal people who find housing very expensive today, especially if you live further away from Darwin; it gets more and more costly. I am sure the minister will have other things to say on that as well.
The Chief Minister raised the issue of local government. I had a briefing with the Minister for Local Government’s department the other day. I will not say too much on this at the moment, but I do believe that a major statement to the House will be important so that we can put input into these issues. The Minister for Family and Community Services spoke about democracy. There are a couple of issues with local government that have to be clear.
There is local government democracy or local government governance, which is about the delivery of roads, rubbish and reserves - those kind of basic things that are essential for human life and the right of every person in any community, black or white, it does not matter. Then there is traditional governance; that is the people who own the land, naturally, have the right to say how their land is used. Those things have been blurred too much. We have to be clear that traditional ownership is about the land and what happens on the land. However, when you come to fixing the poles or picking up the rubbish, it is not really a traditional thing. It is a local government thing and has to be delivered fairly to all people - old and young, no matter what tribe or skin group. With debate about developing shires or whatever, we have to make sure that those fundamental differences are understood because, up until now, sometimes that has been hard to fathom. I can understand why Aboriginal people, at times, may feel that those two systems clash. It is important to make sure that people understand there is a distinction because, no matter where you are in Australia, you have a right to have your rubbish removed or put in a dump, and for a road to be looked after. They are just basic rights. That is an area that, when we debate local government, we should examine further.
There are the issues, for instance, of having shires where there are pastoral properties. You might have small towns and the predominance might be Aboriginal communities. How is that going to work? Some people will be paying rates, some people will be paying service amounts. You will have wards, from what I understand. There are some real issues that need to be worked out clearly. There is a chance for the community to come together, both non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal, because what councils will do - or what they should do - is not distinguish between who is in it because they are providing essential services. It is not to do with traditional ownership or pastoral ownership; it is in the provision of essential services. I see it as an opportunity where it may bring people together, and that is important when you are looking at local government.
I would like to speak a little more on education but, at the moment, I will say that it is still a long way below par. If we are to get real employment for Aboriginal people - if Aboriginal people are going to become doctors or dentists or surveyors or engineers - they need to have real education. They need to study physics, mathematics and chemistry. They are the subjects that will lead them on to be able to advance their peoples.
Of course, there are people doing secondary education but we need a lot more. We have really only just got a drop in the bucket. I am not bragging here, but I look at where my children were brought up: Bathurst Island, Daly River and Howard Springs. My daughter has now been offered a job in Canberra with the Department of Education, Science and Training. They have asked her to leave Perth where she has only been for a short time because of her experience and ability. As an Aboriginal person who really came from the bush – well, she was born at Royal Darwin Hospital; spent her life at Daly River and Bathurst Island and back to Daly River - she has done well for herself. It can be done.
I have said before - and I am not trying to be paternalistic or whatever - I am proud that Aboriginal people are in this parliament. It is a great attribute. I do not always agree with what people say, but that is why we are here. That does not matter, that is why we are here. We show the rest of Australia that Aboriginal people can do it equally with anyone else. I say I am proud of the Aboriginal people in this community and it is great that we do have you amongst us and giving your point of view.
I return to the problem of alcohol. The government has a long way to go and has to make some harsh decisions because alcohol does not just affect Aboriginal people, it affects non-Aboriginal people. In the non-Aboriginal society, it is a popular; it is a big macho thing. Companies make a lot of money out of alcohol. You only have to go to the footy when the Bulldogs are playing Port Adelaide. I sell hamburgers with Southern Districts, and I walk around and see the amount of full strength alcohol that is sold at Marrara. It is quite incredible how much alcohol is consumed at the football. People might say: ‘That is what you go to footy for’, but I am not so sure. Are we promoting the sport to promote the alcohol? I go to watch the footy. Other people go to have a pretty good time drinking. You have to go there yourself to see it.
Traeger Park in Alice Springs, in my understanding, only sells light beer. Football in Katherine does not sell beer at all. The Northern Territory Football League sells full strength beer; Cougar and Melbourne Bitter. I watched people walk up to the portable bar at the southern side of the ground, and I saw no light beer being sold. I deliberately watched to see what was being served. I am also interested to know whether people were told they could not have any more because they had too much alcohol. That is just one example of the dominance of our breweries in Territory society. I am not a wowser. I admit I do not drink; I do not have a problem with drinking. It is a hot climate and everyone enjoys a drink after a hard day’s work, but there is no doubt that there is an over-emphasis on the connection between alcohol and sport. It always amazes me how we stopped advertising cigarettes because they were bad for your health. How much worse is the over-consumption of alcohol when it comes to domestic violence, car accidents or violence in general?
The police will tell you, 70% or 80% of our offences are alcohol related. We have some hard decisions to make on alcohol. We are trying to help Aboriginal people, but we have to look at this issue in a more holistic way. You cannot just say that Aboriginal people have problems with alcohol; I know a lot of white people who have problems with alcohol.
I go to football club AGMs, to meetings, and I can tell you, there is a lot of alcohol consumed. Many clubs rely on alcohol for their very existence. It would be good to see that a program where clubs could say: ‘We are going to reduce alcohol and the government will give us a replacement amount of funds to encourage us to do that’.
The Katherine Football League is a classic example. I gather the numbers of people who turn up at the football dropped off remarkably because they do not sell alcohol at the football. It would be good if the government said: ‘We will give you a grant of $10 000 or whatever to make up for the loss you have from loss of alcohol sales’. There are other programs we should look at.
Alcohol - even though we have other problems like marijuana and petrol sniffing - remains a key problem in our community and in Aboriginal communities. Visitors might not know that I looked after 30 Aboriginal boys at Daly River in the 1970s. They were boys from the cattle stations. Half of those boys died under the age of 21. They would have been my age. I was only 19 looking after all these boys who were 14, 15, 16. Here I am at 56 and most of the kids are dead today. Half of them, I know, died under the age of 21 - all attributable to alcohol, whether it was murder, a car accident, swimming across a river to a pub and taken by a crocodile. It has had an effect on my thinking about alcohol.
This is something that the government has to pursue and pursue evenly. It has to look at society as a whole, the role of the liquor industry in general, and at advertising. It needs to make sure that it deals with this issue fairly for all the people who are affected by it.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister for her statement. Obviously, a statement on indigenous affairs covers a huge range of issues. I hope I have added something to the debate, and I look forward to the Chief Minister’s response.
Ms ANDERSON (Macdonnell): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the statement on indigenous affairs brought to this House by the Chief Minister, the Minister for Indigenous Policy. I welcome the government’s commitment of an additional $100m over five years for remote housing. This expenditure will provide a significant boost to the regional economy and, in combination with other elements of the package covering local government, housing, education, alcohol and community safety, will enhance the quality of life for residents of our remote communities.
This government recognises that successful housing requires good design, robust building, good maintenance support services and, most importantly, a healthy community and lifestyle that has strong culture, good education, and confronts social problems such as unemployment and alcohol abuse.
Addressing these issues is the first phase of the government’s 20-year plan to improve the social and economic status of Aboriginal Territorians. This is an important objective, and achieving this goal will benefit all Territorians. In economic terms, the benefits flow from Aboriginal people in a large and stable section of the Northern Territory with high population growth and a population that is, on average, younger than non-indigenous people. Aboriginal people spend their money locally, so increases in their income benefit local businesses. If the increases in indigenous income is sustained, this will, ultimately, expand the domestic consumer market, helping to overcome a current structural weakness in the Northern Territory’s economy.
These reforms are also necessary to prevent health and justice needs overwhelming the budget because, in a sense, health and justice pick up the tab for inadequacies in other sectors. The underlying determinates of health are social and economic. Poor levels of educational achievement, overcrowded houses, substandard environmental health conditions and high levels of unemployment are the main drivers of the relatively poor health status, so the first steps of the 20-year plan the Chief Minister has announced today are well targeted at the key priority areas.
The extra $100m over five years for remote housing is the fist significant increase in indigenous housing funding in over a decade. I am pleased that this funding will not become bogged down, waiting and dependent on the Australian government for a matching grant. However, having said that, I urge the Commonwealth to join with the Territory to address the huge need for housing in the Northern Territory.
This government’s attitude to indigenous issues is radically different from that of the CLP government, in power for 27 years and never veering from a policy of opposition to all indigenous organisation, land rights and expressions of sovereignty. They were 27 years of pure neglect in the areas of housing, advancing people to move forward towards economic development, education and health. If you do not invest in a society or a community, you are going to have the results that we see today. The pressure is being put on this government to do things in five years that the CLP did not do in 27 years of pure neglect.
The Martin Labor government is willing to walk hand in hand with indigenous people in health, education, housing and alcohol reform. I am one of the six indigenous members of the Labor government, and very proud to be. In the 2001 election, and again in the Stuart by-election, Aboriginal people have shown an endorsement of the Clare Martin Labor government.
Aboriginal people have always said that there needs to be a restructure and reform in local government. I remember when I was at Papunya, I worked on some form of reform which is similar to what the minister is suggesting, and it was called the Wangka Wilurrara model. It was to do with the people who live to the west of Alice Springs - it was a shire. We spoke about it for three or four years. We are happy, because it brings us as a clan, as a people who belong to a tribe - the Pintubi Luritja tribe - together as one people again. With the building of communities under the assimilation policies and in starting up new outstations, all we have created is a population of 120 here and 320 over there and 80 here. Yet, as a clan, we belong to the whole of that region. It is bringing us, as a people, back together again.
We of the Western Desert, the Luritja Pintubi, would like to say to the Chief Minister and the Minister for Local Government that this is something that we, as a people and as a clan, have worked towards. We want to see those changes for better services. We want to make sure that our communities get one accounting service, one auditing company. We want to make sure that we get real services on the ground so that there is sharing of machinery. You have communities within 100 km of each other having two graders, two backhoes, two trucks, but we cannot share it between those two communities. Yet, we can have a regional road strategy, a regional health strategy, and a regional education strategy.
We are a people who are very mobile. We can travel between Western Australia and South Australia within a week. There has to be a system where you bring those people together and, because of the mobility of indigenous people, there has to be some form of structure that can pick up people while they are travelling. You need to pick up children because of education. You need to pick up people because of health. While you have a shire, the health department or the health clinics can work together to make sure that those people are picked up between communities, and children are picked up between communities as they are travelling for ceremonies or for sorry business, or just going to visit family.
I am honoured to be part of the Clare Martin Labor government, a government that has a vision to do things that other governments have failed to do. This is a government, with the leadership of the Chief Minister, saying to Aboriginal people: ‘I, as the Chief Minister, and we, as the government, will move indigenous people forward together as Territorians’. That is something that we all want to see, and we should have seen that 27 years ago, but we did not. I lived on an Aboriginal community for that 27 years under the CLP, where we were absolutely neglected. It will be on record where we came in and asked the Commonwealth Grants Commission on many occasions: ‘What is the CLP government doing with our money that they get from the Commonwealth? We do not see anything out there in education, health, roads and housing for our people’.
As I said earlier, when you do not invest, you will get the results that you have today. If we, as a government, did not invest in the Territory as a whole in tourism, education and health, we would not be able to advertise the Territory in other states or outside of this country and say: ‘Please come to the Territory, we have all these beautiful parks, we have these things happening. We have Kakadu, we have Ayers Rock’. If you do not invest, then those people cannot come here. That is the same thing that has happened to indigenous people in remote Aboriginal communities; the lack of investment by the CLP government. The Opposition Leader can stand there and condemn the Chief Minister as much as she likes, but the Chief Minister is a person who has guts and is willing to drive Territorians together towards the light on the hill: ‘Please come with us, you are part of the Territory. We want to make sure that we move you as part of the Territory. We want to make sure that we educate you as Territorians. We want to make sure that you are healthy like every Territorian’.
In the past, we were isolated and the results that you are seeing today that we are starting to fix up, is what you have done. You can say as much as you like: ‘You cannot keep going back to the past and 27 years’. It has been an absolute shambles; it has been 27 years of pure neglect. Do you expect 27 years of neglect to be fixed in five? No, it is impossible. The Chief Minister has quite clearly stated in this House and in the media that it is not an easy task. If Aboriginal affairs were so easy, why has the Commonwealth not fixed indigenous affairs many years ago? You have to walk the walk and talk the talk with Aboriginal people, and this government has shown through its leadership that it is willing to move all Territorians forward to good health, good education, good infrastructure and good roads.
I want to go on to something that the member for Nelson said, where he referred to real education and real jobs. If you have a look at Aboriginal communities, apart from being a doctor or a nurse, principal or teachers inside schools or a policeman inside a police station, there are no real jobs. The reforms that the Minister for Local Government is talking about with regional roads, regional housing gangs to go around and build the houses and repair the houses, are the real jobs that we are looking for. This government has taken leadership in offering that to indigenous people in remote Aboriginal communities. The Martin Labor government has been forthcoming in saying to Aboriginal people: ‘We want to have partnerships with you. We want to make sure that you come with us, that you walk with us to achieve good economic advantage for your communities, and that you be included in determining health, education, housing and good roads’. That is the leadership we want to see and this government has taken the initiative.
Being one of the six indigenous members of this government I stand proud and honoured, as I said before, to be part of this team and part of this government under the leadership of Clare Martin. Why is it that the Opposition Leader continuously attacks the Chief Minister on indigenous issues when her government failed, for 27 years, to do anything for indigenous people? This government in all forms, in all their portfolios of infrastructure, health and Aboriginal affairs, mines and energy, sports and recreation, is moving and advancing Aboriginal people.
However, this is not just a job for the government. We all have to understand and realise that we, as a people, have to come forward and build this partnership and the foundation with the government as well. Things can only change if we are willing to change and if we can say to the government that we will work with you to improve our standards. Things cannot be done and changed if Aboriginal people do not want it to be changed. That mind set also has to change, and that change is coming through good education policies from this government.
You have heard the Education minister speak today about the outcomes in education. You have heard the Health minister speak today about the outcomes in health. You have heard the Local Government minister talk about the things that are going to move Aboriginal people forward. You have heard the Minister for Family and Community Services talk about the things the family and community sector is doing to protect our children, to talk about better avenues of embracing Aboriginal children.
I, as one of the Aboriginal members of this government, am absolutely appalled at the Opposition Leader continuously asking the six indigenous members of this government to question the leadership and the portfolio that Clare Martin holds. The six indigenous members of this government support Clare Martin holding the Aboriginal affairs portfolio 100%. I believe that the media needs to stop running to the Opposition Leader. We stood up on many occasions and supported the Chief Minister without the Chief Minister or any members of this government putting pressure on us, to say that we support the Chief Minister wholly and solely. I commend the Chief Minister’s statement to this House.
Debate adjourned.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Mr Acting Speaker, tonight I speak on our government’s decision to allow the expansion of Xstrata’s McArthur River Mine. It is a decision that I have greeted with respect towards my colleagues for the many difficult and controversial aspects of the decision, not just for the mines minister, Chris Natt, but also the environment minister, Marion Scrymgour, and local member for Borroloola and Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Indigenous Policy, Elliot McAdam.
Tonight, I speak for the voices of my people, Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Mara and Gudanji peoples. I share with this House the spiritual aspect of the indigenous people’s protest against our government’s decision. The Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Mara and Gudanji peoples sit in the gallery here tonight. They sit here to support me in the struggles that I face, not only as the member for Arnhem, but also in my responsibilities as a traditional owner, recognised and accepted by my own people.
The indigenous people of the Gulf have travelled here from Borroloola to protest the expansion of this mine on the steps of Parliament House this week. They have done so with great dignity. It is important to me to share with the parliament the meaning behind the distinguished and dignified protest. I could not, in all good conscience, not do so for our people have lived in the region for thousands and thousands of years and struggled for the strong recognition of land rights in the Gulf - rights that were hard won after 30 years, and only handed back four months ago; rights that were fought for by people who have long since passed and who no longer walk this earth, but live through the hearts of their descendants.
My people travelled the 1000 km to have their voices and their songs heard outside this parliament, the place that we all know as the House of law. My people have brought with them the laws and songs that have been sung for thousands of years. These songs have been passed down, telling the rainbow serpent Kujika the song lines of the McArthur River. The people of Groote Eylandt and Numbulwar in my electorate of Arnhem share the Kurdardaku Kujika, the brolga song, with the Borroloola region.
Our peoples are connected through those song lines and have been for centuries. So important are these songs that the families from the Gulf have travelled here to the parliament. For the first time in the history of our people, they sat outside and sang in a different land, in the land of the Larrakia - not in the land of the Garrwa, Gudanji, Mara or Yanyuwa; they sing here, on the land of the Larrakia outside this parliament, the lawmakers.
Tonight, I am conveying their feelings to the parliament. Every day this week, my grandfather, Gordon Lansen, and my brother Harry Lansen, have sung the Kujika of the rainbow serpent and how it rests in the McArthur River where the diversion is to take place. They are worried the rainbow serpent will now be cut. Every day, my brother, Phillip Timothy, has spoken strongly with my sisters, Selina Timothy, Marlene Karkadoo, Kathy Roberts, Clara Thimpson, Sadie Miller and my mothers, Ade Friday, Maisie and Miriam Charlie, Michelle Connolly and Chloe, my grandmothers Amy Friday, Jemima Miller, Diana Norman, Hazel Shadforth and Una Harvey, and my aunty, Mavis Timothy, have sung these songs. Every day they have sat outside of this parliament singing, hoping and praying that the spirituality of our people, and the importance of that spirit and relationship to country, would be respected here in this House of law.
We in this Assembly must reciprocate such genuine respect given to us by the indigenous people of the Gulf, by not just listening to their story but in understanding their concerns, for these songs are songs about the river and country surrounding the McArthur River Mine, one of the world’s largest lead and zinc deposits. This Kujika sung this week expresses the deep concern the indigenous people of the Gulf region have, not only for the waters of the McArthur, but also the rivers that flow into it, the Carrington and the Crooked Rivers - the rivers that flow out to the sea of the Yanyuwa to The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Their concerns expand far wider than the Gulf country - concerns about water and how water is life. The indigenous people who are here in this parliament are troubled by the water crises they see right across Australia. Australia is looking to the north to resolve a growing water crisis in our eastern and southern states, yet, my people are very worried at the potential risk to one of our greatest waterways here in the Northern Territory. They do not understand what they see as a contradiction. The Murray/Darling has become so dried up the farmers are looking to the north for help. The Prime Minister says to the whole of the country that we are facing a water crisis, reminding all Australians that we must look at our usage of water. The Prime Minister, at the same time, urges our government to do something to our waterways - something that is affecting the very heart of the people who sit in the galleries here today, and who have sat in the galleries here every day, wanting to remind us to stir our consciences and make us think that water is life.
How is it that our brothers and sisters in the southern states are struggling so deeply with the water? I think of the Wilton and the Roper in my seat of Arnhem, and I wonder about the Daly and the Katherine and the Elizabeth - about all our rivers. It is a worry that all indigenous people have for country, for land.
I cannot stress enough to this House the spiritual and cultural significance of why the Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Mara and Gudanji peoples have travelled here asking us - pleading with us - to listen to them. As a Yanyuwa woman, I believe strongly in those same things. I say to my countrymen of all the four clans: I support you, I understand and I respect your right to be heard. I stand with you in your concerns about the development of the traditional lands of our people.
I would be failing in my duty to not only my people but also to the people of Arnhem Land whose culture is strong and whose song lines mix with the Yanyuwa, the Garrwa, the Mara and the Gudanji, and who would say to me: ‘How can you represent us if you cannot represent you own people?’ That is why I speak here tonight, so my colleagues will understand and see the struggles, not only from an economic point of view but from a social, environmental, spiritual and cultural points of view. Understand that it has been a long journey for these old people. What they ask is your respect - they have shown you every single day. The traditional owners feel as though they have been left on the sidelines. I ask all the members of this House: what have you done this week to talk to them, sit with them, to ask them what troubles them? Are they so insignificant? Can you not ask them why they have travelled so far?
They do not want the river diverted, and I stand here in this House and relay this message to my colleagues. The water crisis is such that it disturbs greatly the indigenous people of the Gulf region. While I acknowledge the difficulty as a government in making the decisions for the Mines minister, the Environment minister, and the local member, I respect the difficulties of your decision and I ask you to respect the difficulty of mine.
Though the traditional owners do not want the river moved and they worry for the river, they have always said that they are not against mining. There is a great tradition in the Labor Party to look after the battlers. My people here today are the battlers. Let them be heard and listened to. I also ask that Xstrata Zinc’s Chief Executive Officer, Santiago Zaldumbide, meet with the traditional owners. I ask that the Commonwealth Environment minister, Senator Campbell, meet with them and listen to the traditional owners and their representatives, and to allow time for the negotiation. Listen to the traditional owners; they do not want the river moved.
My people are a strong people who have great pride and resilience. They sit here in the gallery to remind the members in this Assembly of what is really important. They bring their message that water is life, through their songs and displayed in the T-shirts that they wear. As the wheels of government chug along and issues are debated across the floor of this House, the indigenous people of the Gulf region now know that you now know how important water is; that no amount of money can ever compensate for the lack of it.
Mr VATSKALIS (Casuarina): Mr Acting Speaker, on 16 September a good friend, constituent and loyal supporter, Mr Frank Upton, passed away. Frankie, as we all knew him, was one of a kind, and everybody who met Frank loved him. He often visited my electorate office to have a chat or to organise morning teas at the Masonic Tiwi Gardens Senior Village so I could meet with seniors and assist with any concerns they may have.
His illness and the speed he deteriorated took everybody surprise. He was always fit and healthy with an amazing appetite, particularly for cakes and pastries. The casino breakfast was a particular favourite of his.
Frank was born in Bendigo on 21 September 1928. He came to the Northern Territory with wife, Maureen, in 1982. When Frank came to the Territory, he rang his family in Melbourne and said: ‘We lived in Melbourne for 15 years and we knew 50 people. We have been in Batchelor for five minutes and we know 500 people, so we are staying here’. They initially settled in Batchelor for about seven years and then moved to Darwin. They chose Batchelor because this is where they first camped when they visited the Territory on holidays. Frank had a variety of jobs in Batchelor including working for the Batchelor College. He was also very active in the Catholic Church and taught religion in schools.
When they moved to Darwin, Frank and Maureen were on-site caretakers and managers for St Vinnies in Stuart Park. They both loved living in the Territory. Frank loved food. He once described the food he had on his trip on the QEII in 2003: 14 different types of eggs and he had a different sort every day. Frank would never let the truth get in the way of a good story. He was in his element on this cruise, swapping stories with the other millionaires.
Frank and Maureen were together for 52 years sharing their special time, drinking two long neck beers after work each day and talking together no matter what had to be done around the house. After retirement, they both enjoyed an amazing four or five months driving to great places like Cape York. Frank was very proud of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and their kittens no matter how small.
The children passed this information to me:
- Dad was smart but instead of going to university as he could easily have, he chose a fairly modest work path being a middle manager, mainly at the Snowy Mountains Scheme and later at APM. He loved his work too and took pride in what he did. Frank worked to live, not lived to work.
Frank’s proudest day was qualifying for the old age pension with all its benefits. As the children told me:
- Dad did not enrol to vote until he was in his 60s, despising the preferential voting system which allowed splinter parties such as a DLP, the Country Party and the Democrats to have the balance of power.
Frank loved politics and could not get enough of it in the media. Politics was his hobby, and the fact he once stuffed envelopes for both the CLP and the ALP during one election did not bother him. He loved and enjoyed politics, and I understand a copy of The Weekend Australian was put in his coffin when he died so he had something to read on the way.
Frank put his money where his mouth was when it came to religion. It was his hobby, and working for the church gave him a lot of satisfaction. It also helped him come to terms with his own mortality. His wish was that everyone think of his passing as moving to a new address, adding that he had done that a few times in his life - moved on and not kept in contact with people but he still thought of them and they still thought of him. It does not get much better than that, and Frank died never once wavering from the belief that he was really going to enjoy his next move.
His children Glenn, Lee and Keith, said Frank was always a family orientated man and was keen to trace his family tree, even visiting Irish ancestors in an effort to fill in missing dates and places. They were forever grateful to their Dad for being a wonderful father, and they join together with their mother, Maureen, to send Frank this message: ‘We love you, we respect you. There is no way you were average in any aspect of your long and happy life’. From me and my electorate officer, Debbie, a very short message to Frank: we will all miss you, Frank.
On another matter, I received a letter the other day in my electorate office. I will quote it because it is wonderful:
Dear Mr Vatskalis,
My name is Honeylyn Lisson and I am a student at Dripstone High School. I am involved in the middle years program run by Miss Allana Herrod and Miss Rebecca Glasby, and as part of this, I am doing a project where we have to choose an issue in our community and try and help to solve that problem. The issue I chose to help with is children who are in the hospital over the Christmas period. I plan to collect as many gifts as possible, so that on Christmas morning the children in the hospital will find some presents from ‘Santa’.
Honeylyn continues to say that she would like a small donation so that she can buy presents for the kids or, if I would prefer to give some presents so she can give them to the kids. One thing I can say is Santa is alive and well, Honeylyn, and what you are doing is admirable and wonderful. I want to assure you that I will make a donation - not a small one - for you to buy these presents to provide for the kids at the hospital so that on Christmas morning, Santa will have been to Royal Darwin Hospital.
Mr NATT (Drysdale): Mr Acting Speaker, tonight I acknowledge a gentleman who has been part of the furniture in the Mines and Energy Division for some years. Unfortunately, Subhash Chandra has decided to retire after 26 wonderful years with the department. Subhash, 61 years of age, and his wife, June, have decided to move to Brisbane to be closer to their family.
With a background in physics, Subhash has been the Director of Energy Policy and Renewable Energy, part of a small team, in the Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries and Mines for the past 20 years. During the part five or six years alone, Subhash and his team have supported almost 400 renewable energy projects in the Northern Territory, particularly in remote areas; notably Hermannsburg and Lajamanu.
Subhash has also been involved in the Territory’s current Alice Springs solar city bid, and he has played an integral role in trying to get that up with the federal government. The Renewable Energy Rebate program provides cash rebates of up to 50% to off-grid power users to replace diesel generation with renewable energy such as solar and wind energy. All off-grid users, including pastoral stations, indigenous communities and roadhouses, are eligible to apply for these rebates.
Subhash holds a Doctorate in Physics from the Queens University in Canada and was part of a renewable energy team that carried out a number of research and development projects on solar and wind power in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek in the 1980s and 1990s. He is President of the Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society Northern Territory Branch, and he organised the national conferences in Darwin in 1992 and 1996.
Subhash was born and brought up in northern India. He moved to Australia in 1973. He worked in the Physics Department of the University of Newcastle before moving to Darwin in September 1980 when the Mines and Energy Division was formed. For the first five years, he worked as a nuclear fuel cycle technologist, examining opportunities in that area, including the possible establishment of low-level radioactive nuclear waste.
Subhash is a former Northern Territory champion badminton player, and was the driving force behind the establishment of the Northern Territory Badminton Association with which he has enjoyed a 25-year involvement. I understand he is very hard to beat. He also helped coordinate the World Solar Car Challenge in its early years, and has been Chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Mental Health.
Subhash has always been a supporter and driver of renewable energy initiatives. Although a quiet achiever, he has been an innovative individual who has seen renewable energy progress to a point where Australia and the world are moving in the right direction; that is, away from the atmospheric pollutant energy systems.
Subhash, you and your expertise will be greatly missed in the Territory. I sincerely hope, on behalf of my office and the staff of my department, you enjoy great times in your retirement with June and your family.
Ms MARTIN (Fannie Bay): Mr Acting Speaker, last Friday I attended this year’s Northern Territory Literary Awards, which were held in Parliament House, and had the pleasure of, once again, presenting the Chief Minister’s Northern Territory History Book Award.
The Literary Awards are in their 22nd year and they are as popular as ever. This year, they attracted 261 entries, which gives an idea of the literary talent we have in the Territory. The highlight of the evening was presenting the 2006 Chief Minister’s Northern Territory History Book Award. It is a relatively new award, only in its third year, and entries must meet two key criteria: the books must be published during the previous year - in this case, 2005 - and they must deal with our history here in the Territory.
The inaugural winner in 2004 was David Bridgman for Acclimatisation, a book about the history of Top End architecture. Last year, John Mulvaney won the award for Paddy Cahill of Oenpelli, which looks at the life and times of the former Protector of Aborigines, Paddy Cahill. They are two great books and two worthy winners.
Nine entries were received this year and the judges whittled them down to four finalists. They were: Southport, Northern Territory, 1869 to 2002 by Marge Duminski, a book about one of the Territory’s first towns; Paint Me Black: Memories of Croker Island and Other Journeys by Claire Henty-Geber, which is her life story; People of Victoria River Region: An Album, by Pearl Ogden, about the people of the Victoria River region; and Frontier Justice: A History of the Gulf Country to 1900, by Tony Roberts, a book that brings a fresh perspective to the Gulf region. That was a competitive field, but the winner this year was Tony Roberts. He was very keen to be in Darwin for the awards, but living at Bega, his home town, he was caught up in the fires around at that time. He could not leave; he was fighting the fires. Congratulations to Tony and our other three finalists; they have all made a significant contribution to our history.
A special thanks to the history book judges, Kym Muller, Michael Loos and Linda Marchesani. I also thank everyone involved in organising the literary awards, especially the Director of the Northern Territory Library, Jo McGill and Assistant Director, Ann Ritchie, and their team at the library: Melissa Reiter, Christa Murphy, Jenny Salt, Danielle Chisholm and Louise Paynter. Thank you also to the NT Literary Awards Committee, Ann Ritchie, Susan Cameron, Sarah White, Prof Mary Ann Bin-Sallik, Dr David Mearns, Andrea McKey, Barbara Hickey, Maurice O’Riordan, Robin Hempel, Jenny Salt and Lisa Sullivan. Congratulations also on a job well done to the NT Literary Award judges: Barbara Lemke, Stephen Gray, Carmel Williams, Constance Bathgate and Vivienne Hayward. Last, but not least, to the sponsors: Dymocks Booksellers, Kath Manzie Estate and Charles Darwin University - many thanks.
On 23 September, the Speaker and I had the pleasure of attending BassintheDust in Alice Springs. It is a great event and one that keeps getting bigger and better each year. There were 11 hours of non-stop music and three huge Australian acts, End of Fashion, Pete Murray and the Living End. Unfortunately, the Hilltop Hoods were booked in but did not make it, but they have promised to come to Alice Springs and play a free concert later this year. By all reports, End of Fashion and Pete Murray both played great sets and kept the crowd entertained. The headline act of the day was Living End, and they did not disappoint. Their set was energetic and exciting, including some very tricky work by the double bass player, who somehow managed to balance on the side of the double bass, while playing it.
BassintheDust is not just for well-known Australian bands; it is a great event to showcase local bands like Sweet Surrender, Night’s Plague, Zenith - who played at this year’s BassintheGrass in Darwin - and new Alice Springs band, the Moxie. I introduced the Moxie, and they received a rousing reception. Declan Furber-Gillick, Tom Snowdon, Bill Guerin and Jack Talbot are four local Alice Springs boys, and they played a great mix of covers and original songs. They are currently recording their first album, and I am sure they are destined for great success in the future. Congratulations to each of the bands and their performances; they did Alice Springs proud.
BassintheDust has become a great success story. The people of Alice Springs have got right behind the event. Last year, 1500 people attended. This year, the total attendance shot up to 2300. That is a great result. There were not just young faces in the crowd; there were rockers of all ages dancing along to the music. Probably the feature of the time that I was there - I was there for about an hour-and-a-half - was Madam Speaker in the mosh pit. Just try to picture that. She did well ...
Mr Wood: Yes, I heard about that.
A member: Skinhead.
Ms MARTIN: Yes, it is still being talked about in Alice Springs. It was a spectacular site. It was while the Moxie were playing, and they were fantastic. They are a young Alice Springs band. I know most of their parents, which makes me feel incredibly old. Their music is terrific. I really think that if they hang in there they have a great future. They probably have a bit of pressure from parents to go and do something professional, but I say, hang in, guys, you have a great music career.
A big thank you to NT Major Events for organising and running a great event. The record numbers are testament to their hard work.
Thanks must also go to Kelsey Rodda and Kylie Bell from Alice Springs who started the petition to keep BassintheDust at Anzac Oval. Following last year’s event, Alice Springs Town Council had plans to move the event to another location. Kelsey and Kylie collected over 400 signatures and, thankfully - and I do thank the council very sincerely – they took heed of this overwhelming support for BassintheDust to stay at Anzac Oval, and changed their mind. Thank you, every single member of council. Everyone who attended, and all the parents doing the drop-off and pick-up duties on the day, recognised that Anzac Oval is the best location for such an event.
I am delighted we were able to provide such a fantastic event for the people of Alice Springs. I look forward to attending an even bigger and better BassintheDust next year. Let us hope there are no more problems with some of the big bands missing their planes from Perth.
Stuart Park Primary School, in my electorate of Fannie Bay, celebrated its 40th anniversary at a special event on 29 August 2006. The night started with school captains, Sani Raqiyawa, Sally Harding, Bernadette O’Sullivan and Bradley Button, welcoming all the guests. As local member, I was delighted that in attendance that night was the former Education minister - Syd was there. School Council Chair, Ian O’Reilly, was the MC for the night and welcomed everyone, including representatives from the Department of Employment, Education and Training; local historian Peter Forrest; Kerry Sacilotto, the member for Port Darwin, an ex-Stuart Park Primary School student; and Barbara Gabel, the wife of the school’s building contractor. The links continue with the Gabel’s grandchildren currently attending the school.
There were some very interesting presentations. Jenny Darben, who was Jenny Sutton, spoke about her experience at the school when it first opened in 1966, and Dorothy Green, an ex-Stuart Park Primary parent, then talked about fundraising efforts in those first years of the school’s life. Fundraising is never easy, and it was not easy then either. Wally Mauger spoke about his experiences as a teacher at Stuart Park Primary in the early 1970s, and Peter Forrest talked about the history of Stuart Park itself. Peter told the audience how the need for another primary school in Stuart Park grew as the suburb developed as a residential area in the late 1950s. When the school opened for students 40 years ago, there were 320 students and 12 staff. Actually, due to a very heavy Wet Season, the school was not quite ready for the start of the year, so classes were based at the Adult Education Block at Frog’s Hollow. They were not there long. Staff and students moved into the new school building at Stuart Park in March.
There was plenty more entertainment, with the school choir and singing group singing We Are One, followed by Greek dancing and a magnificent Chinese lion dance. The performances were especially chosen to reflect the school’s strong relationships with the Hearing Impaired Unit, the Greek community, and the Chinese community. The groups were well supported by the teachers: Raz de Jongh, Michelle William, Sylvia Siskamanis, as well as the Chung Wah Society and Ashlee and Matthew Chin.
A huge cake, in the shape of Stuart Park Primary School’s logo, was cut by the ex-Education minister, minister Stirling, Principal, Bernie Bree, Poppy Melas, an ex-student, and Maria, Nomiki and Strati Melas, the children of Poppy and George Melas. Past students Nick and Ben Williams, Paul Peng, Victor Jong, Aiden Symons, Charles Wong, Ben Cann and Owen Samuels then took care of the sausage sizzle.
When minister Stirling was asked how the evening went he simply said: ‘Good school, going well’. I could not agree more. Congratulations to all students, staff, parents, the school council, and everyone involved in this joyous event.
Finally, on 13 August 2006, I was delighted to attend Sculpture in the Park at Brown’s Mart, and announce the winner of the 2006 Paspaley People’s Choice Award.
Sculpture in the Park is a wonderful event. It takes art out into the public arena to the people and allows them to engage and interact with the works. This was the 6th Sculpture in the Park and it has been getting more and more popular with locals, as well as visitors to the Top End. More than 2500 people strolled through Civic Park during the eight-day exhibition. There were a record number of entries this year - 28 in all - including artists like Sarah Body, Adrienne Kneebone, Ivor Cole, John Hazeldine and Zeb Olsen. There were also entries from the Women Behind Bars Art Group at Darwin Prison, as well as Aboriginal works from the Tiwi Art Centre. Our schools were well represented with entries from Dripstone, Palmerston and Darwin High Schools and the Henbury School.
All the works were very different, using a wide range of material like Helen Peake’s cast glass stones, Katrina Tyler’s mirrors and glass beads, and Glynis Lee’s PVC piping. There was also fibre work, metalwork, papier-mch and various other recycled materials.
The sculpture that resonated most with the public and the winner of the People’s Choice Awards was Rozzie George’s Tree Cosy, which uses a variety of knitted garments to tell its story. Rozzie has been a part of the Darwin art scene for the past 25 years, and I take this opportunity to congratulate her on taking out the award.
The success of this event is due to the dedication and hard work of a great many people. To the trustees of Brown’s Mart, to Brown’s Mart Community Arts and 24HR Art, and to the Darwin Fringe, many thanks. A big thanks to Talitha Kennedy. She is an inspiration and her vision and commitment to the event is appreciated by us all. My congratulations, of course, to the real stars, the artists.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Speaker, I would like to talk about two policemen who, I believe, have done something very special in the rural area. People might have heard there has been a problem with graffiti and some break-ins at the Humpty Doo Shopping Centre. It has been causing quite a few problems with locals, with people using Woolworths Humpty Doo, and with local businesses. They have been quite upset. Of their own volition, two young police - Bill and Matty, I will call them - when they were off duty, went and spoke to some of the young lads who had been causing this problem and convinced them, in a nice way, that if they were to gain respect from the community they could, perhaps, come down and clean up some of their graffiti, wash some of the windows, and clean out the supermarket area.
That is exactly what happened. About three weeks ago, I went to the supermarket. I had a tip off - if you want to talk about it in police language - that something was going to happen there. Sure enough, Bill and Matty had four young blokes painting out the graffiti, washing down the walkways around the supermarket and washing windows in shopfronts. I thought that some really encouraging things came out of that. I should not forget the Koolpinyah Fire Brigade, the volunteer fire brigade, also assisted. They brought their truck down so that they could use the pump and hose to wash down the verandahs.
What I thought was great about it was that these two police had given up their own spare time and gone to the supermarket, got some paint and rollers and trays, and were helping. They were not just standing around saying to these young blokes: ‘Just paint, clean it up’; they were working with these young blokes. That was important. What they were trying to do was, on one hand, tell these young people that they had done something that upset the local community and, on the other hand, saying: ‘Take some responsibility for your actions and we will help you do something positive’. That is what they were showing.
I thank the Koolpinyah Volunteer Fire Brigade and Bill and Matty and Sue. I had better mention Sue. Sue, I think, might be connected with Bill. She was there helping with the drinks and also helping wash down some of the walls with a broom. There were a couple of other people there whose names I cannot remember. All of these people were taking part in a community effort to help these young boys. As much as I think there is a certain amount of cynicism from people - and I understand that - what the police are showing is that they are not just a law enforcement body; they are a body of people which does have concerns for the future of our youth. Yes, they will lock them up or arrest them if they cause trouble, but they are saying: ‘Look, they are young. They probably have some issues in life we do not know much about. They may need a bit of a kick up the pants, but there is also the possibility that we can channel those slightly enthusiastic energies in the right direction’.
That is what these police have done; it is a wonderful thing. I do hope that some of these young fellas might take up painting or join the local volunteer fire brigade. They might put some of their experience from the weekend into practice, and channel the skills that they have – sometimes used in the wrong way – into something positive. It may give them a good job in the future.
I want to mention two other things. I went to Perth recently, at plenty of expense to myself, to an alternative energy transport conference. I do not intend to talk much about it today because I will raise it on General Business Day. It is something the government should have attended. I know the Acting Speaker was interested, although he discovered fairly late that it was on. It would have been good for some representatives from the government to have attended because it dealt with real issues about future fuels for running our transport industries, our trucks and our government fleet and buses, and it covered a whole range of possible fuels that could be used to run those vehicles. However, I will go into that at another time because there is too much information to give you in an adjournment debate.
Finally, the Masters Games are coming up. I know it has been mentioned before. I hope I meet as many politicians in Alice Springs as possible. I am very glad that the ex-Minister for Health, Peter Toyne, is not in my age bracket because, even without my bung knee, there is no way I could catch him. He is a fast man when it comes to running, which shows how he won the Stawell Gift. It shows that he has kept up his fitness, even with the huge workload he had over 10 years. He is a very good athlete.
I will be looking to meet all the locals from the rural area. The softball team is going down. I think there might be some raggedy remnants of a cricket team heading off in that direction. I know the Litchfield Bowls Club is going down because I am playing with them - sort of - singles and doubles. I am also trying to run but, due to a slight cricketing accident, that may not occur. I wish everyone well who is attending the Masters Games. It is a great concept. It is great for Alice Springs and the Territory and it gives and opportunity for older people to keep enjoying the thing they enjoy in life; that is, competitive sport.
Ms LAWRIE (Karama): Mr Acting Speaker, 2006 has been a big year for carers in the Territory, with the introduction of the carer’s concession card and the Carers Recognition Act. There is one group of carers that is often forgotten and that is our young carers - people under 25 who care for their family and friends.
On 31 August and 1 September, a group of young carers from the Territory attended the Second National Young Carers Summit at Seaworld Nara on the Gold Coast. I want to take the opportunity to acknowledge those young carers and, indeed, all the young people who, in addition to the pressures of school and work and other responsibilities, take on the role of carer.
The young people who attended the summit were Joshua Foti, Owen Strathie-Murray, Andy Lee, Alana Michell, Erelia Willoughby, Veronica Pierik, Shyne Brenton, Samantha Penny, Heather Mahoney, Sandra Hintz, Bianca Stevens and Donnella Arnold. I also want to mention Kyle Hennig from Gove who, unfortunately, broke both his arms 10 days before the summit and was unable to attend. The young people who attended the summit where assisted in their preparation and participation by staff from Carers NT, Meghan Williams, Mary Gazzola and Ruth Woods.
Discussions at the summit included access to respite, ways to reach hidden carers, and access to government payments and services. Young carers also shared stories and experiences, and took part in creative workshops, including musical jam sessions and theatre sports. It is great that young carers get to have a say on how the care system works. That is the spirit of our Carers Recognition Act. I look forward to seeing the report of the conference and how it can inform what we are doing to support young carers in the Northern Territory, because, like pretty well every carer, young carers do not choose to become carers, often they are born into being carers with an older sibling or a parent who has a disability, yet, they are absolutely inspirational in the role of caring they provide. I congratulate Carers NT and our young carers for participating in this national summit. I hope that each of them got a lot out of it, made some friends, enjoyed themselves, and had a few moments of respite at Sea World.
I would like to put on the record this evening my acknowledgement of the fine work done by Malak and Karama Neighbourhood Watch. This is a group that is truly volunteer based. They join Neighbourhood Watch because they care about their suburb. They care about Karama and Malak. They are local residents who want to ensure that there is a role for residents in playing a crime prevention role within our community. We have had some really lovely people come through Neighbourhood Watch. I have seen them become emboldened over their participation in this volunteer-based group. I want to acknowledge the work of Leigh Kariko from Malak. He and his wife, Barbara, are absolutely committed to the work of Neighbourhood Watch. In the efforts they undertake, they do so being in the midst of growing their very young family. They have three young children; the latest is just a baby. Despite the pressures of being a young family on a single income, they give their time and work tirelessly for the advancement of Neighbourhood Watch in Malak. Congratulations to Lee; he could not do it without the fantastic support of Barbara.
In Karama, I would like to acknowledge the fine work done by Kerry Behm. Kerry is a chef by trade. She does not come armed with the skills of crime prevention and the nuances of crime prevention. However, she is someone who stepped into the role of area coordinator after Ted Dunstan resigned due to the need to attend hospital interstate - which did not end up eventuating, but that was Ted’s reason in the first instance for stepping down. We all looked around, and Kerry was the one who was strong and capable to step up into that important role of area coordinator. It has been a tumultuous ride for Kerry in that role, but she has taken it on with gusto.
She has befriended the young ratbags of Karama, the kids who are often on the street at nights, the teenagers who are out there mingling and mixing it with their mates, riding their pushbikes around. Kerry has made an effort and befriended those young men. Kerry talks to me about what the young kids want and what they are looking for. She has a real passion to work with them in the community, so that they show our community respect and, as a community, we recognise their needs. Congratulations to Kerry. Rather than pigeonholing the kids, as is often easier to do, she has chosen a path of working with them and, in doing so, she is showing real leadership in our community.
I know she worked tirelessly on a project proposal that she put to the Neighbourhood Watch Board to look at the role of youth in our community, and what sorts of efforts can be made to improve the way the federal and Territory governments and Darwin City Council address their needs. I am hopeful to hear back from the Neighbourhood Watch Board on the success of that project proposal. I know it was fully endorsed by the Karama and Malak Neighbourhood Watch group of resident volunteers. I thank Kerry for the effort she put into getting that proposal put together, and putting it to the local Neighbourhood Watch, which was endorsed and has now gone on to the board. I look forward to Ken Mildren and the other board members, who have come from a volunteer base, to embracing the locally grown proposal.
We have had some really nice changes in the community. We have had Eagle Boys Pizza open their doors at Karama. In talking to the franchise owner and operator, Keith, the day after his opening day, I had reports that it was quite a frenetic opening, with huge crowds attending to get pizzas at a discount price. I spoke to Keith the following day and I said: ‘Keith, I heard you were inundated’. He smiled and said: ‘That is a bit of an understatement’. He said he tried to close his doors of the pizza shop at 10 pm. He said a local policeman was knocking on the door at 10.20 pm begging for a pizza. I said: ‘I hope you gave him one, because the police do a great job out there’. He smiled and said of course he did. I really do like the community-minded perspective of that business owner because he has stuck right into the local community. He has his place in Donaldson Court and he is getting to know the locals and very much embracing his role as a business operator in the Karama community. That is one of the things that I really like about the Karama Shopping Centre because, all the traders there, whether it is Lyndal at the hairdressers, Pat at Brumbies, the chemist, or Coles - and we have James Frazer there now as the manager of Coles; Darwin born and raised, whose father, Ian Fraser, is a very well-known former alderman at the Darwin City Council - they are local people, passionate about Darwin and their little place in Darwin at the Karama Shopping Centre.
It is great to see that shopping centre go from strength to strength. We have the shade structures going up in the car park at the moment, and that is going to be fantastic for the onset of the Wet, where you can park and not get soaking wet getting out of your car. I congratulate the La Pira family and Joondana Investments for putting their investment into their shopping centre to continue to improve it.
At Malak, there have been a lot of non-government organisations move into the Malak Shopping Centre. I congratulate Henry Yap and the Yap family for the work they do in ensuring that they are looking at affordable leases for those non-government organisations who, we know, often do not have a significant amount of money behind them. I hope that the place at Malak that Manjimap Choice has found in the basement car park, through some very nominal rents from Henry Yap, goes from strength to strength because the directors of Munjimpa Choice - Michael Mullins, Paula Arnol, Mark Motlop, John McLean - have a great deal of knowledge, energy and insight into the needs of the youth in the area. I congratulate them as, within the first week of opening the premises at Malak shops, they had both the African and indigenous kids involved in very positive physical activities that included one-on-one mentoring and self-esteem work. It really has improved the friendship between the local African and indigenous kids there who were, of course, as you have seen in the media, undergoing some tension. Those tensions were natural; the suburb was changing very much.
We were going from strength to strength in our multicultural make-up in the suburb, and the African community has grown in significant numbers in recent years in Karama and Malak. Many of us embrace the move of the Africans into our community. They are hard-working, capable, humble, gentle people who come from enormous struggles and are looking forward to enjoying a peaceful life here in Darwin. It has been my pleasure and privilege to work with the African community for many years now. They have enhanced our community in so many ways taking up tough jobs - often jobs that people shirk and do not want to do. It is great to see quite a few of them becoming taxi drivers. We have had success. I had a conversation regarding the opportunity of some of them becoming bus drivers. We have had our first African bus driver with others to follow. They are a community who are out there taking on often pretty tough jobs with significant shift work hours involved. Their kids, I have to say, have fitted into our local school community magnificently.
I know my children count amongst their best friends a couple of the African kids at Holy Family School. I am absolutely enriched by the sense of humour that those young African kids have. They have a fantastic love and zest for life and their sense of humour. They absolutely rejoice and embrace living in our peaceful and prosperous society in Darwin. Congratulations to those local people who make the extra effort to ensure that we are a harmonious community out in Karama.
I know the Leader of the Opposition likes to think that we are torn with strife and are a community riven, and that there are significant issues there. I guess that is an outsider’s perspective but, from an insider’s perspective - someone who lives in the community and spends their days mixing with the community strongly - it could not be further from what the Leader of the Opposition likes to paint. It is a very harmonious community. The last school holidays is a really good example of just how effective, if you have proactive policing such as the mobile police station you can be in making great inroads into ensuring the harmonious nature of the community.
That is not to say that we are living in Utopia. That is not to say that there are not families with significant disadvantage within that suburb. Certainly getting around door-to-door, the conditions and the clear disadvantage that some families have are very evident. There is not, amongst our public housing fraternity, any great wealth. They are battlers, absolute battlers, struggling through the difficulty of life. Yet, right next door, you will see a young family who have bought their first home and are climbing the social ladder of success through sheer hard work.
We have what I call the silver circle, the area of Mullamulla Circuit, where there are magnificent homes, beautiful courts with great homes, and quite a lot of very successful business people living. That also goes to significant sections of Malak where we are seeing fantastic house price increases right across that area of Malak which is great. That has a flow-on effect to Karama as well. Houses are going at really good prices now. Of course, that is an additional wealth for the pockets of Territorians.
I will reiterate I congratulation the work done by Karama Neighbourhood Watch, and the work done by the traders and the owners at both Karama and Malak Shopping Centre who really embrace and rejoice in the great community we have there. I feel very privileged to be the local representative, and my commitment is to continue to work with the community to ensure that the services they seek are delivered as best they can be delivered. I look forward to the development of the family hub opposite Karama Shopping Centre. That will certainly be a very nice finishing off to the suburb. It is a significant section of vacant land in the suburb, and it gives a feeling that we are not quite finished. I am looking forward to the establishment of a family hub there, because I know there is a commitment to co-locate Family Services, which will improve access to services in an area of significant disadvantage for our public housing tenants. We are on a bus route from Palmerston, so it is a very useful location.
A society is only as good as the people who put the effort in at the local level, and I feel very privileged to be a part of a very vibrant, multicultural, diverse society in Karama and Malak, which is going from strength to strength through sheer hard work and effort from the local residents.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Acting Speaker, tonight I would like to raise four issues. I will do them quickly.
The first is regarding Territory Housing rents for people who are in these housing units. I would rather not mention the person’s name in full, but her first name is Phyllis and she lives in one of the units at 9 Aneura Place in Sadadeen in Alice Springs. This lady is on a fixed income, on welfare payments - I think she is on a Disability Support Pension. As of 21 July 2006, her disability pension provides her with about $499.70 per fortnight to live on. While her disability pension is fairly static, her Territory Housing rent has gone up every 12 months. I believe that she first moved into the unit in about July 2003 when she was paying something in the order of $50 a week, but every 12 months her rent has increased. In July 2004, she went up to $53 and, by July 2005, it was $54 and, in July 2006, it has gone up to $57.
It is not that she minds paying rent but, being on a fixed income, it is obviously hard for her to stretch her income if the rent keeps on moving and her disability pension does not. She has compared her rental payments with those of her friends and neighbours who are in a similar situation, and says that her friends who are in the same position as she is had not incurred any rent increase at all. She wonders why her situation keeps changing. She has tried to get an answer from Territory Housing in Alice Springs for quite a few months now and has not been able to. I ask the minister if he could kindly commence an investigation into this matter and provide to me or to Phyllis an explanation of why her rent has gone up when the rest of her friends’ rent has not.
Another matter I want to raise tonight is about Power and Water in Alice Springs. Last week, I spoke about a water outage when there was a burst pipe and an electronic gauge that had malfunctioned and not given any indication to the monitors that a major water tank serving the western side of town had run dry. That tank also supplied the CBD, so you can imagine the CBD and the western side of Alice Springs having no water for well on six to eight hours, if not longer.
Obviously, there is an issue with ageing infrastructure that the government needs to address. Power and Water can only do as much as it can do within the resources that it has. It is important for government to ensure that Power and Water has the resources to deal with all the issues that occur from time to time. Having infrastructure breaking down because of age rather than accident is just not acceptable.
Unfortunately, after the water outage last week that affected a big part of the town for almost a day, this morning when people woke, there was no power. There was no power at 8 am this morning. It affected the western, eastern and northern parts of town. That is a major slice of Alice Springs. Sure, the central business district was okay. They had power, the hospital had power, but the suburbs in the Larapinta, Braitling and Old East Side areas did not have power, albeit that a power failure was only for 10 minutes. No one would know that it was only for 10 minutes. In the middle of preparation to go to work, for all I know, some could be just coming out of the shower, hair all wet and going to dry the hair in the bathroom, and there was no power. Fortunately, the power came back in 10 minutes.
For such a large part of Alice Springs to be without power, there had to be some major problem. I have not been able to chase down the real cause of it. I hope Power and Water, by now, has sorted out what the problem was and provided the minister with a flash advisory today. I look forward to the minister at least advising the opposition what the cause of that power blackout was.
Power and Water has 12 days left before the end of this month when it promised it would fix up the noise and emissions from the Ron Goodin Power Station in Alice Springs. I had a phone call today from a constituent who says that she can now see a very high chimney being constructed, which appears to be facing her home. I do not know whether that is part of the rectification measures or the baffles for the noise that comes out of Ron Goodin station. Until construction is completed and testing is done, we are not going to be able to tell whether the remedial efforts are going to work. I am going to see the constituent when I return to Alice Springs and I will talk to her about it and find out what she knows about the matter. I have not been able to see for myself, of course; we have been in parliament for the last two weeks in Darwin. However, there is a worry amongst the people living around the power station that the remedial works will not work. Again, I seek the minister’s and Power and Water’s chief executive officer’s assurance that, if things do not come right, that they will immediately take steps to shift the turbines to the Brewer Estate where the noise that is emitted by the turbines will not be of any nuisance to anybody there. Twelve days is not a long time to go for the construction of baffles and the testing. It is something that will be waiting to see what happens.
Today, I received a fax in my office in Alice Springs, which was sent to me here. It is a letter written with the logos of the Australian Nursing Federation and the AMA. It is an open letter, so I assume it will be a letter that will be printed in the NT News over the next day or so, or perhaps next week. It is written as follows, and I will read it in total:
- To The Honourable Chris Burns MLA
Minister for Health and Community Services
Dear Minister,
Our organisations remain committed to retaining and recruiting the ‘Best of the Best’ health professionals for the Northern Territory. You will agree that all Territorians deserve no less.
To achieve our goal we need to become competitive in a tight workforce market, a position which we have put at the so-called EBA ‘negotiations’ with your department.
We wish to draw your attention to our complete lack of confidence with senior members of DHCS involving this process, who at best have been unprofessional and at times shown ‘unethical, disruptive and scurrilous behaviours’. Unfortunately, the current lack of leadership within the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment means that the OCPE is either incapable of or unwilling to influence the process. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our serious concerns.
Please do not underestimate our resolve to achieve satisfactory outcomes for our members for the benefit of all Territorians. We urge you to correct a seriously flawed process.
Yours sincerely
It is signed jointly by the secretary of the ANF Northern Territory and the President of the AMA Northern Territory.
That is a very serious letter - a very serious letter - written by two of the leading organisations relating to health care in the Northern Territory; being the Australian Nursing Federation Northern Territory and the Australian Medical Association Northern Territory. They have so little regard for the officers your Health department has provided to negotiate with them for their respective organisations, that they were moved to write such a scathing letter to the minister, which will be published in newspapers, expressing their great disappointment and disgust with the way things have been conducted.
The minister said: ‘We are doing so well in Health. We are putting so much effort into improvement. We are retaining our staff. We have so many more doctors and so many nurses in the Northern Territory’. Obviously, something is seriously flawed if the minister says one thing, and the professional bodies are saying: ‘The system you put together to negotiate with us is seriously flawed’.
If there is a lack of leadership, it is important for the government to get its head around it and address the issue of the OCPE, as well as the senior staff in the Department of Health who are negotiating with the two bodies. I look forward to a response from the minister so that we can know what the government has done to ensure that health staff, nurses and doctors, are being looked after.
In the closing minutes, I have a pleasant duty. I am going to talk about Mr Eric Sultan. Eric Sultan is a man of great stature in Alice Springs. He is of Aboriginal and Afghan decent. He traces his Afghan ancestry back to the people who drove the camel trains from Oodnadatta to Alice Springs. Eric is a man of Islam and has had a strong connection with the religion and the Islamic community in Alice Springs. He would be one of the strongest proponents of the Islam religion and, through his significant efforts and drive, lobbying governments of both persuasions, he has achieved the establishment of a mosque in Alice Springs, which serves the people of Islamic faith very well.
Several times a year, the mosque has open days and invites people from across the Alice Springs community to attend, learn about Islam, understand that Islam, as it is practiced in Alice Springs and the Northern Territory, is very much a moderate religion that fits in with our community standards.
Eric Sultan won the Charles See Kee Individual Award for Multicultural Activities. He was here in Darwin, in Parliament House, to receive the award, and was congratulated by the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. I was with him at the moment of his presentation. As usual, with Eric, ever modest as he is, felt very embarrassed by the award he received, and that it was for everyone who has been involved with him and helped him to do the things he has done for the Islamic community in Alice Springs. I congratulate him.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016