2006-08-24
Madam Speaker Aagaard took the Chair at 10 am.
Mr McADAM (Housing): Madam Speaker, in the past few weeks, much has been made of housing affordability in the Territory and of the house and land prices right across Australia. We all know that home ownership and a strong residential property market underpins the Territory economy. This government is working to ensure that Territorians can achieve the dream of owning their own home. Since the HomeNorth loan scheme commenced on 1 July 2004, this government has assisted 939 low- to middle-income households to purchase their own homes - just under 1000 households in two years. The HomeNorth and HomeNorth Extra scheme exemplifies what this government is about; that is, meeting the dreams and building the Northern Territory in the interest of all.
I will now report on the HomeNorth Extra loan scheme. Firstly, though, I will address the issue of housing affordability in the Territory. The member for Nelson has recently called for home ownership to be made easier, especially for younger people, through release of land and especially in the rural area to reduce the cost of home ownership. He and a number of those opposite appear not to understand the nature of HomeNorth Extra and its role as a start-up in home ownership. I would like to make it very clear: HomeNorth Extra is a first rung on the ladder to home ownership; it is not a passport to buying a luxury villa near the Alice Springs Golf Course or a rural palace in the Darwin River area. Territorians have been voting with their feet and their low 2% deposits to get on the ground floor of home ownership. The facts speak for themselves.
The median price of dwellings purchased under HomeNorth Extra since July 2004 is $200 000. Since 1 July 2004, over 60% of HomeNorth Extra loans have households earning less than $45 000 per annum. Sixty-two percent of borrowers have been aged less than 35 years and 21% below 25 years of age. Thirty-one percent of borrowers have been single mothers and 46% single females. This means that Territorians are getting into home ownership at levels that they can afford and HomeNorth Extra is the way in for low- to middle-income Territorians who want to buy their own patch of the Territory.
Those on higher incomes are able to buy more expensive properties, and quite rightly so. They go to commercial financial institutions. HomeNorth Extra is not about interfering with that end of the market.
The Territory remains by far the most affordable place in the nation to get into home ownership. At the national level, the value of the average home loan is around $28 000 more than the average loan for home occupiers in the Northern Territory.
HomeNorth Extra was introduced in July 2005 with a revised loan criteria to keep the scheme targeted as an entry point to home ownership. As I said before, this government is setting the mark: 939 household loans to the value of $174m; 87% of HomeNorth Extra clients have bought their homes in partnership with government, and 65% of these people are under the age of 35 years; 99.5% of new clients have accessed the interest-free assistance loan which helps purchase whitegoods and ease the financial pressure on establishing a home; and 58% of loans under HomeNorth Extra have been funded to households averaging around $899 per week.
The HomeNorth schemes are an effective stepping stone for young Territorians, people on low to middle incomes, and people who need a hand-up after hitting the hard times, to enter home ownership.
As a final point, Madam Speaker, the member for Nelson sheets some of the blame for increased housing prices on the lack of land availability. This may well be true for some places down south, but it is not true in the Northern Territory. In the Palmerston-Darwin rural area the expected demand for housing lots is around …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I welcome the minister’s report on HomeNorth, a program that has been implemented for some eight years. I am very pleased with the continued enhancement of the program so that more and more people can afford to achieve home ownership.
The Territory has been notoriously low in home ownership rates and HomeNorth has been a very successful program to encourage people, even of modest means, to achieve home ownership. We all know that once you own a property you tend to take a lot more pride in the property and will enhance your property over time.
I would like the government to consider not so much loosening the criteria but finding the means for many single parents - especially those with children to support, who struggle to meet the criteria - to access the scheme. I have many complaints from people who have gone to TIO to get assessed and they find that they are excluded because of the stringent terms. Maybe there is the opportunity to be a bit more flexible, to allow people with modest means to achieve home ownership. The more people who can own homes in the Territory, the better.
Land unavailability is always an issue and the government needs to continue looking at that, particularly in the regional areas where much of the land is surrounded by native title.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his report. Perhaps the Prime Minister got it wrong. The Prime Minister just made a statement blaming the states for not releasing enough land. They might be able to argue that it is the private sector. We cannot argue that in the Territory. Most of the land that we can release in Palmerston and the new town of Weddell is owned by the government. You have control over most of the land. You have control over a considerable amount of land in the rural area, but you do not release it. The government is missing the point. Do not compare yourself with somewhere else; have a look at the reality: 200 000 people are living in an area that is one-fifth of the continent of Australia, and people are struggling to pay.
You can say we have HomeNorth. That is the excuse the government uses all the time while they praise the economy growing and the cost of housing increasing. HomeNorth might be part of the solution. The real solution is to reduce the price of land. You have enough land to decrease the price of land so that first homeowners can buy land at a cheap price and put their money into building a house. That is what you are not doing. You can say that you are not talking about the golf course luxury houses, and you compare that with rural land. Why should people in the rural area not be allowed to buy a cheap one or two hectare block to raise their family? That is what you should be encouraging as a Labor government. You should be encouraging families to have a go and not be put into debt for the rest of their lives.
We have missed the point. We should be trying to allow people to buy a house or some land and not be in debt for the rest of their life, not force people to have two incomes all the time, and have an atmosphere where people can raise their families without having to worry about debt, debt, debt. We have the ability to do it. Change the system. Do not put developers in to open up government land. Develop it yourself and release it at a price more affordable for families.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson, your time is expired.
Mr McADAM (Housing): Madam Speaker, in response to the member for Greatorex, I am aware of his concerns, particularly in relation to the existing salary cap and the $260 000 limit which presently applies. Obviously, as a result of economic factors impacting upon the housing industry in the Northern Territory, government will give consideration in due course to a variation to those two caps. I hope that alleviates your concern as I understood it.
Member for Nelson, as I indicated to you, there are approximately 1300 lots available at this time. That does not incorporate the Lyons development; I believe it fits in to a different market. However, I can advise you that over the next 18 months there will be a further 650 lots released in the Bellamack area.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Ms LAWRIE (Sport and Recreation): Madam Speaker, following on from the recent Australian World Cup Football success, Territory Football is in the throes of great change. This change is most visible now when Territorians drive along McMillans Road and witness the columns of the new football stadium grandstand rising from the dust. After many years of patience, this facility is finally becoming a reality. It is a very exciting time for every football fan across the Territory. By the end of this project, this government will have invested more than $6m in the construction costs. I am delighted to see local contractors, Sitzler Bros, getting on with the job of constructing the buildings, and I look forward to the sowing of the fields before the onset of the Wet.
I was in Malaysia and Vietnam last week promoting the Arafura Games. Both those countries are football mad, and I lost count of the times people mentioned Australia’s success at the World Cup. Our regional neighbours were delighted. I showed them an artist’s impression of the stadium we are building and they are very impressed and looking forward to sending football teams to Arafura 2007.
I fully anticipate this stadium will bring a new facet to football in the Territory, including opportunities to witness national and international football games on our local turf. I am advised that the stadium development is on track to be ready for the 2007 football season. What a sensational opening that will be.
This growth of football is not just in Darwin; football is booming in Alice Springs. I recently had the great pleasure of handing over $500 000 to the Alice Springs Town Council for the upgrade of football facilities at Ross Park. This is an exciting step forward, in particular for junior football, as this will facilitate a permanent home base for them in the Alice.
Neil Smark, Chair of the Football Federation Southern Zone, has been instrumental in this important step forward. He has worked closely with government to ensure that the funding will be used for maximum gain. I am advised the funding will enable lighting to be installed, in addition to providing some office and storage space, which will allow night training and matches. Importantly, it will also grow the numbers of participants, given the additional hours of access. The Southern Zone and Alice Springs Town Council are meeting on a regular basis with the aim of work starting shortly after the conclusion of the Masters Games in October.
I acknowledge the great work of Willie Devlin, the Development Officer for the Southern Zone. I have heard many reports regarding the local and remote work that Willie is undertaking to grow football in Central Australia. I am aware of much appreciation by the Education department regarding his work with schools. I understand the Southern Zone is looking at hosting a local Asian Cup competition in recognition of the Socceroos move into this group for World Cup qualification. This will not only provide a playing opportunity, but also a chance for players to learn more about our Asian neighbours.
This initiative comes on the back of a very successful schools World Cup project which the Southern Zone implemented earlier this year. The initiative, originally trialled in Germany, saw school classes adopt a country playing in the World Cup, and then studied that country in the classroom. This class then played as that team in their own World Cup competition. Neil Smark initiated the program with the assistance from Heather Myers, a teacher from Braitling School and Mandy Hargraves. Gillen Primary School and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Primary School both competed, resulting in some 20 teams playing in the group style synonymous with the World Cup. The victorious side representing Iran came from our Lady of the Sacred Heart and was well coached by their teacher, Kym Urquhart.
Building on this, I am also advised that the Southern Zone has raised more sponsorship during the past 12 months than the whole of the peak body in the Territory - a great achievement. The Southern Zone of the Football Federation should be applauded for their tenacity. It is always pleasing to hear of sports that are being innovative and creative in order to make headway in what we see, and is, an increasingly competitive sports marketplace. I congratulate the Football Federation Southern Zone for showing leadership in growing their sport in the Territory and bringing in the important sponsorship dollars that help sports provide flexible capacity to take their sports out to the remote communities.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, it is encouraging to hear that level of community support, particularly in the southern zone. The report is welcomed. So, too, is the reference to the use of football to engage our new neighbour, and any plans of that type will be supported by the opposition.
I ask if the minister could give some deeper consideration to the possibilities of realigning the timetable so that the Top End could become involved in the Southeast Asian Games through soccer - football. That could be effectively achieved if the Arafura Games timetable was changed. That is difficult in the short term, but it may prove to be beneficial in the long term.
I also ask the minister - and I will provide informally, if you wish, a briefing on the discussions undertaken on my recent visit to West Timor – about the interest going to the next stage; that being a regional or provincial competition. The level and quality of football in our immediate region is very high, as the boys from Palmerston La-Faek Club recognised. The next stage of this would be a regional competition and, I must say, there is willingness from the Indonesian and East Timor sides. Sport is a means to bring people together, as you well know, and to allow greater access to discussions of issues of mutual benefit.
Ultimately, we could consider a competition that looked at the BIMP-EAGA template; that is, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Those possibilities need to be pursued with some aggression as others will quickly see the opportunity and we will lose our strategic advantage. We need to get on to that issue immediately.
Ms LAWRIE (Sport and Recreation): Madam Speaker, I thank the shadow minister for Sport for his cooperation. I know he has a passion for working with our Asian neighbours and the sport of football is an important link for that. I congratulate him on his recent trip to Kupang. I am aware of his desire to see a regional provincial competition.
During my recent travels through Malaysia and Vietnam, the consistent feedback I received was that they prefer our current timing of the Arafura Games because it gives them a trialling base to test their players before the Southeast Asian Games. I am happy to discuss the timing of the Arafura Games with you further as the advice I am receiving from the key participants in Arafura is that the time suits them, quite appropriately, for the training and testing of their players prior to the Southeast Asian Games.
The Territory needs to be careful to ensure that the placement of our Arafura Games continues to meet the needs of our sporting neighbours. That has been the design and the drive of the Arafura Games and, as minister, I am very tuned in to the need to ensure that is a successful element of it.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Ms LAWRIE: My clock did not even start.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, the management of business within Correctional Services will soon be transformed with the implementation of the Integrated Offender Management System. IOMS provides a comprehensive and integrated management of offenders from their very first contact with Correctional Services, through sentence planning, rehabilitation programming, and reintegration on release.
The Department of Justice last month signed a software licence agreement with the Queensland Department of Correctional Services for the ongoing use of IOMS. The Queensland government spent $10m to develop and implement the system over three years. With the benefit of the Queensland experience, the Territory expects to spend $3.4m over three years to implement the system here.
I recently visited Queensland to view the system in operation and discuss potential further agreements between our jurisdictions around cost sharing, including any future developments in software and staff training arrangements.
The Department of Justice is currently undertaking the second stage of the implementation plan and is working with various sectors of Corrections to identify the necessary work, policy and electronic system changes required for the implementation of IOMS. Following this stage and a testing process, it is expected that IOMS will be operational within NT Correctional Services by mid-next year. It is an exciting development for Correctional Services and a key part of our approach to tackle recidivism through increased rehabilitation and improved reintegration strategies.
IOMS will deliver a single system across community corrections, our prisons and juvenile detention centres to manage offender records and thereby ensure consistent work practices, sharing of information and efficiencies. The system has been designed to focus on reducing re-offending through better case management processes. The system will enable better management of offender rehabilitation through improved electronic record tracking, monitoring and assessment tools, including the ability to waitlist offenders on programs.
Offender management plans will be reviewed on a regular basis and following certain significant changes to an offender’s circumstances; for example, a change in security status. These reviews will ensure that the plans are always current and include any special planning considerations. Additionally, IOMS provides more effective tools for assessing community risk factors, and an offender’s criminogenic needs to determine what interventions are most appropriate for their management plan. Properly targeted interventions provide better offender rehabilitation. Better outcomes for offenders in reducing recidivism will lead to better outcomes for the community.
Madam Speaker, I look forward to the roll-out of IOMS throughout NT Correctional Services.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I thank the Attorney-General for once again talking about IOMS. I think you started to talk about it from about 2002. I remember getting a briefing, probably that year. Forgive me if I remain a little sceptical because I heard you in this place before talk about how and when IOMS will be implemented. Having said that, it does sound a little more promising. We know that things are very slow in government machinery. Minister, thank you, I do look forward to it. I might say that having been briefed on it - and I think the original model came from New Zealand if I am not mistaken, and it was trialled there. If you look at that system there is no doubt that there will be benefits both to prisoners, and it will also assist prison officers.
You are, no doubt, aware that prison officers have expressed concern as to whether there is sufficient allocation of money to place everyone on the system. I understand it was relatively expensive to implement. There is also ongoing concern about computers in the gaols: who has access to them, and whether they are working well enough. I am sure you are onto that.
The opposition is supportive of IOMS. In the Correctional Services area, as in many other portfolios, there are developments, things change, people come up with initiatives that will benefit prisoners, as in this case, and it is a good initiative. We have heard about it before. I wish you well. I hope it will be implemented. No doubt, the Prison Officers Association will be in touch with you if they do not have the adequate infrastructure to ensure that what you are saying they are going to get will actually be delivered.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his statement. To be honest, I do not know a lot about IOMS except that from what you were saying in your report the aim is to reduce recidivism, which is a key component of what we should be doing in Correctional Services. I would appreciate a briefing on that. The concept of reducing recidivism is a key component of Correctional Services and we should be looking at a range of systems.
I mentioned the work camp I saw at Wyndham to the minister. The process of the work camps in Western Australia, especially the one at Wyndham, is to get prisoners used to going out to work. They are getting ready to leave the system, getting some skills in how to look after themselves. It is part of the process to try to reduce recidivism.
When I was in Ohio on my trip to America, I visited two prisons. Both ran programs called Therapeutic Communities. They had a recidivism rate of 20%. They have special programs designed in such a way to get people skilled and with the ability to return to the workforce and live with their families. The IOMS is one, you might say, finger in the pie. There is a range of systems that we have to use in the Territory. Our Correctional Services system is one approach when it comes to the type of prisons we have in the Northern Territory. We need to expand the options we have for prisoners and then we can target more specifically the people who are in our prisons to come up with results to reduce recidivism in the Northern Territory.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, just a very quick response to some of the points raised: prison officer training on the new system has commenced. We have the software in the Northern Territory now, so the $3.4m we will spend over the next three years is partly to customise IOMS to Territory-specific arrangements, but it is also to ensure there is sufficient access to computing around the prisons.
In terms of security, the visit to the Queensland Prison, which had 380 protected prisoners, showed there were no problems with security of the system there, including security of the various layers of information it contains. I hope to come back later in these sittings to discuss some of the issues the member for Nelson raised about other options within our correctional services.
Reports noted.
Bill presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. The purpose of this bill is to improve the capacity of the Northern Territory’s legal system, from the police force through to the judiciary, to formally deal with gang-related criminal activities before they have a chance to take hold in the community.
The provisions in this bill specifically target low-, mid-, and high-level criminal gang activity. The government has worked closely with the Northern Territory police force in developing these laws. The bill is what police say they need to combat gangs in the Territory, whether those gangs comprise suburban youth engaging in low-level offences, right through to highly organised and well-funded criminal groups.
This bill also recognises that low-level offending can escalate into more serious criminal behaviour - behaviour that can be stopped if preventative interventions are undertaken early in the offending cycle. The provisions contained in this bill represent a measured and evidence-based response to the issues that face our communities in connection with emerging gang behaviour.
The government prides itself on dealing with matters in a considered fashion. This package of reform is a further example of our commitment to this principle. These reforms will give police powerful tools to deal with low level offending elements on our streets. It also gives the courts the ability to impose restrictions and orders that will break the cycle of criminal group activity by dismantling the power base of group leaders, requiring physical separation of gang members, and restricting their ability to congregate in certain areas.
I will now set out in more detail the new offences contained in this bill and how it will also amend or clarify existing provisions. First, this bill amends the Sentencing Act and Bail Act to provide for non-association and place restriction orders. These may be imposed as conditions of bail or sentence where the court thinks such an order may prevent further offences. Whilst courts can already impose similar restrictions in connection with bonds and suspended sentences, their separate inclusion in the Sentencing Act allows the court to impose these conditions independent of other orders. Contravention of such an order will constitute an offence. Inclusion in the Bail Act again allows the courts and police to impose the restrictions in addition to any other conditions, and clarifies the way in which this may be done.
The Sentencing Act will also be amended to provide for a non-exhaustive list of aggravating circumstances relating to gang activity that may be considered in sentencing. These aggravating factors will include, but are not limited to, whether the offender committed the offence while accompanied by others, whether the offender was armed, and whether the offence involved violence or the threat of violence. Importantly, this bill will also amend the Sentencing Act to require the court when sentencing an offender to take into account any harm done to the community as a whole as a result of the offending behaviour.
Amendments to the Summary Offences Act include the addition of three new offences. The offence of ‘loitering - offence following notice’, new section 47B, will deal with low-level activity. The new offence of violent disorder, section 47AA, will deal with low- and mid-level, intimidating and aggressive gang activity. The new offence of consorting between known offenders, section 55A, is aimed at serious criminals with a track record of highly-organised gang-related activities.
The new loitering provisions are intended to complement existing provisions, but will now give police the power to restrict a person’s access to a particular area for up to 72 hours when they suspect that that person has or is about to commit an offence, or is part of a gang that is behaving in that manner. Being in the area and being issued with a notice will not in itself constitute an offence. An offence will only be committed if the individual breaches the terms of the notice. This provision is designed to assist police to break up gangs without criminalising behaviour at the outset.
The notice will provide a clear instruction to the individual concerned so that they clearly understand what they are required to do under the direction. If any condition is breached, the notice will also provide police with a solid evidentiary basis on which to mount a prosecution.
The new violent disorder offence will effectively target mid-level, intimidating gang behaviour, as recently seen in the Wadeye fighting and the family feud-related violence in Yuendumu. This offence targets individuals who are part of a group that engages in a violent act, as a result of which other people would reasonably fear for their safety. A person will be guilty of an offence under this section if they know, intend, or are reckless as to the fact that the group conduct involves a violent act which would create fear. Police will be able to effectively apply this offence in a wide variety of situations, and deal firmly with violent behaviour before it irreparably damages the community.
The consorting offence is designed to stop organised, high-level criminal group behaviour. Under this new section, police may issue a notice requiring that a person not consort with another specified person. This can only apply, however, in circumstances in which both are known criminals, having been previously convicted of an offence named in regulations and carrying a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.
In issuing the notice prohibiting consorting, the Commissioner of Police must be satisfied that to do so is likely to prevent the commission of a prescribed offence involving multiple offenders and a substantial degree of planning. Once issued with a notice, any communication by one specified person with another specified person will result in an offence that carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment. I note that this new offence is not aimed at impinging on the rights of a reformed criminal but, instead, will compel an offender to avoid situations and individuals that may drag him into a new criminal enterprise.
Finally, the amendment to the Criminal Code is designed to simplify the operation of the riot provisions that already exist in the code. The revised provisions will make the individual offences clearer and easier to use. It will also remove the archaic requirement that a police officer ‘reads the riot act’, ordering the crowd to disperse before they can take action to clear rioters from the area.
The Police minister and I will be closely monitoring the effect and outcomes of these amendments through our respective agencies to ensure the government’s objectives are achieved. It is envisaged that a review will take place approximately 12 months after commencement.
The government is very conscious of emerging gang-related activity in the Northern Territory from groups of suburban youth involved in low-level crimes through to intimidating gangs in our indigenous communities and high-level organised criminal enterprises. We are committed to providing police and our courts with the means to adequately deal with these emerging issues. They will have tools which are specifically designed to best deal with each level of activity. The close involvement of the police in developing these offences will ensure they are used effectively on the ground.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members, and table a copy of the explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
Bill presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of this bill is to amend the law in relation to the provision of what is commonly known as ‘conduct money’. As you would be aware, in the Territory people are often required to travel a fair distance to attend court, and to give evidence in a matter. Our system of law provides that such persons are to be assisted by generally providing that the witnesses’ costs of attending court are paid by the person requiring their attendance. This is generally known as ‘conduct money’. The costs might include the cost of a bus fare, a taxi fare, or even an air flight. If the person is from a remote area, it might also include accommodation.
Currently, provisions governing the provision of conduct money appear in the Justices Act, the Evidence Act, the Supreme Court Rules, the Local Court Act, the Local Court Rules, the Work Health Court Rules, and the Mining Regulations. In general terms, these provisions provide that if a person has been served with a summons requiring them to appear to give evidence and they have been provided with conduct money, if they do not appear they may be in contempt of court which can, ultimately, lead them to be arrested and brought before the court.
However, the current framework for payment of conduct money to witnesses can, in some circumstances, be quite impractical and wasteful and it may, in fact, be ineffective in securing their attendance to give evidence. This is because the legislation is currently worded in such a way that conduct money must, in practice, be paid in cash in advance. This means that even if the party calling the witness has prepaid travel for the witness, or arranged a witness to be collected from their home - both of which are common practice - if they do not turn up then the court is powerless to compel their attendance.
There are a number of problems associated with paying conduct money in cash in advance. For example, many witnesses who are summonsed are not ultimately required to attend court. For criminal matters, this might be due to withdrawal of charges, adjournments, or guilty pleas or, for civil matters, the dispute might settle or be adjourned. Under these circumstances, the prepayment of conduct money in cash is a waste of resources, and there are obvious problems associated with attempting to recover the money from a potential witness. Another difficulty, in criminal matters in particular, is that witnesses may have a substance abuse problem. Under these circumstances, providing such persons with conduct money in cash in advance may be quite irresponsible, as well as being an ineffective means of securing their attendance in court.
This bill is intended to overcome these difficulties by providing flexibility to arrange for a witness to travel to court in a manner that is appropriate in the circumstances. This will still include the option of giving cash, or it could be by providing a prepaid ticket or travel vouchers, or by arranging to collect the witness and return them home afterward at no cost. The objective is to provide the most appropriate and cost-effective assistance to witnesses to get them to court to give evidence while, at the same time, providing the court with the ability to compel their attendance should they not appear.
This bill removes provisions dealing with conduct money that currently appear in a number of acts, regulations and rules, and provides one simple provision in the Evidence Act that will cover all situations. This will simplify the law and remove potential ambiguities which currently exist. The amendments provide that, in all proceedings, the court may issue warrants of arrest for persons who have failed to attend when summonsed to appear provided a number of requirements are met, including that it can be proven that the appropriate arrangements were made for the person to attend court.
Appropriate arrangements are set out in the proposed new section 21(4) of the Evidence Act, and are, in general terms:
(a) giving enough money up-front to meet reasonable expenses of attendance; or
(b) making reasonable arrangements for the witness’s attendance which are agreed to by the witness; or
(c) offering to make reasonable arrangements for the witness’s attendance; for example, arrangement to provide the transport to and from the court such as being collected and given a ride to and from the court.
This is modelled on the framework that currently operates in Western Australia, and is reportedly working effectively for both witnesses and those parties requiring their attendance.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
Continued from 14 June 2006.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, this is a reasonably interesting bill because it severs the waterfront area, which I understand is yet to be defined, from the Municipality of Darwin. The Darwin City Council will have no jurisdiction in the area at all. The minister, or particularly in this case, the Chief Minister, literally will have her own powers over the precinct.
The detail of the bill empowers the relevant minister to appoint a board of three to seven members. The board members are, of course, unelected. The bill empowers the minister to direct the board, and to review the books, and public servants will become staff of the board. The bill makes no guarantee to create local government in the area in the future, other than a clause to review that issue 12 months after the first residential tenant moves in. The Treasurer of the Northern Territory has full oversight of all financial transactions of the corporation, and the Auditor-General has to audit the book. That is by way of a summary, but let us be very clear: this bill creates a board of management for the waterfront area. It excises all other governing authorities. Section 2 lists the objects of the bill so that it develops, manages and services the precinct for the benefit of the community, and promotes the precinct as a place of residence.
This bill makes the area the Chief Minister’s personal domain. With all of the propaganda of the government, or self-promotion and marketing that we have seen in relation to the waterfront, the Chief Minister has clearly demonstrated that she is very keen to secure full control over that area. However, by severing the precinct from the Municipality of Darwin and giving no absolute time frame for the return of local government, this government has opened itself to the accusation that they are not going to give local government rights to the residents of the waterfront. The only promise in the bill about future local government is that, 12 months after the first residential occupancy permit is issued, the corporation must review how it works.
The Chief Minister is, it can be said, setting herself up as the unelected mayor of the waterfront and she appoints the rest of the council. A resident wanting anything done, you could say, will have to deal directly with the Chief Minister or her board, and that then leads to the interesting prospect of residents living in the development, ringing up the Chief Minister in the middle of the night and saying: ‘I have barking dogs; what are you going to do?’. The residents cannot deal with Darwin City Council. They have to go somewhere else. It is very unusual legislation given that it is for an area involving residences. I wish future residents well in the event they have any barking dogs, or any other issues which would fall under the umbrella of local government.
There exists no appeal, and heavy limitations have been placed on the ability to take legal action against the corporation or its staff. The courts have effectively been sidelined by sections in the bill that say that if a staff member or corporation member is acting in good faith, then they are immune from criminal or civil liability.
The counter argument from government, no doubt, will be that this area needs a board of management and that is the sole function until the area can be returned to the Darwin City municipality when it is sufficiently well occupied. However, there is no time frame for this. It is, in essence, ‘All hail, Chief Minister!’ When local residents find out that they cannot participate in the Darwin mayoral elections, as seems to be the case on the basis of the bill, I would have thought that that would be a cause of concern for them, not to mention the barking dogs.
The accusation can be levelled at the Chief Minister that she holds local government in not very high regard because residents, I am sure, and Darwinians generally, would take the view that the Darwin City Council is capable of dealing with issues such as rates, roads and rubbish within the precinct boundaries.
Whilst not unusual in the sense that it provides for a corporation that has control over a particular area of land, what makes the bill unusual is the residential component and the fact that people who buy units, on the face of it, will not be able to participate in local mayoral elections.
It is an interesting bill. We understand the need for it, but this may well come back to bite the Chief Minister because, while she is hitching her wagon very firmly to the waterfront development, there are concerns - and I know she knows about them - in the business community that there are some parts of the development which may come back to bite her.
Then, again, the Chief Minister wants this bill to go through. By dint of the numbers, it will. I will be very interested to hear from the Chief Minister and other government members. Perhaps the member for Nelson will comment on the bill as well. I know he has a long-standing interest in local government. It remains to be seen whether residents, having paid a considerable amount of money for their new homes, will be happy being asked to ring up the Chief Minister in the middle of the night about what are council issues.
That says enough, Madam Speaker. As I said, I look forward to the contributions of others in relation to this reasonably interesting bill.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is right; I have some concerns about the corporation, more so about why we have to go down this path. I raised this yesterday. I realise the government has been discussing these issues with Darwin City Council, which told the government that it was not interested in having this development within its rating area. One of the main reasons it did not want to take over this area was the waterfront infrastructure. It felt that the cost of maintaining that infrastructure was unknown and, therefore, they would be taking on something that was purely guess work at this stage and it could be a cost to the council.
I wonder whether we thought enough about where we were going. The Opposition Leader has spoken about people not having the ability to vote in municipal elections if this area is taken out of the council. Maybe I look at things too simplistically, but I cannot for the life of me see why the actual waterfront part of the waterfront development could not have been given to the Port Authority to maintain. The rest of the land could simply have been made as a single parcel of land within which the government does its development - so call it lot 21 - and it will maintain whatever happens in that land under its control until there is a residential development occurring there, which I gather has already been given some approval under the DCA. You could then subdivide the sections of residential land that have been developed with a road and the parks, just as you would in a normal subdivision, and that section of land, including the residents, could then be excluded from the overall picture. It would become a normal subdivision development.
By putting it in as one parcel of land, you are not taking it out of the municipality but you are still enabling yourselves, the government, to run all the development in that parcel of land. To me, it would satisfy the Darwin City Council – it does not have to take it over until areas are ready to be handed over - but it does allow the people in that area the right to vote in municipal elections. I believe that is important. Under this act, I believe they would not have the right to vote in municipal elections because they would not be within the Municipality of Darwin.
That also raises another question which I raised at the briefing. Before I forget, I thank the government’s officers for their briefing. I said I would make sure I thanked them for the briefing, and it was good.
I raised the question of whether this area would be covered by the Development Consent Authority, because it would now not be within the Darwin municipality. They came back to me with some advice saying: ‘It would be within the Darwin Town Plan; therefore, it would be still covered by the Development Consent Authority’. I thought about that for a while. I got the map of the Darwin Town Plan which is dated 24 May 2006, so it is the latest. It raises a couple of issues.
I hope we do not go down the path that this area does not come under the Development Consent Authority. I know that the advice given to me is that it does, but it says: ‘The application of this Darwin Town Plan applies to the area of land shown, bounded by thick black lines on the map in the schedule’. Of course, if you were then to draw this - again, with the piece of land that is excluded with a big black line around it - technically, that land is not part of the Darwin Town Plan, because the map has changed and you will have a section of land here that, although within the town plan boundary, is physically not part, in fact, of the Darwin City Council. These boundaries here, I imagine, are very close to Darwin City Council boundaries.
Notwithstanding I may be incorrect, there has always been something unusual about the boundaries of the Darwin Town Plan. If you look carefully at this, you will find one of the wharves is not within the boundary. I remember, a long time ago, Litchfield Shire Council actually heard the case of Christo’s Restaurant on Darwin wharf, because at that time it was in the planning area for the greater Darwin area. If you look carefully at this map, that wharf is still outside this area and it goes across where the waterfront development is. It might sound technical but, in reality, does the Darwin waterfront development, as it is at the moment, completely come within the Darwin Town Plan? That is the map that has been given to me. I just want to make sure that the existing Development Consent Authority will definitely cover the wharf development.
I ask that because I hope any development that occurs there is scrutinised by a full Development Consent Authority, with members of the public able to attend public meetings, rather than just the minister having the say. I believe that needs clarification. I would also like, if it is possible, to get a response as to whether this map is accurate. Why is one of the wharves outside of the boundaries? I am not sure why that is.
The other area that concerns me is the ability of the government to take and declare land from somewhere else - it does not say where else - and incorporate it into this particular Darwin Waterfront Corporation. I am told that is just to give it a bit of flexibility, but I am not sure what controls that flexibility. It says here that the Territory may transfer the ownership of control of any of its property whether situated in the precinct or not for the corporation. I have to ask: why is that there? Is there an opportunity for a piece of land at Cullen Bay or somewhere else to be part of the waterfront corporation? I would like an explanation as to whether that has to be in there and whether it could be abused.
I believe the review of the corporation should be by parliament, rather than the corporation reviewing itself. It would be far better that we looked at whether that corporation should continue. Government should come back with a report. That would be far more open and transparent.
The other area I was concerned with was the composition of the corporation board. I would like the Chief Minister to explain who would be on that board and, if, in the early stages of its development it is shown that local residents do not have the right to vote in municipal elections, would there be an automatic place for an elected resident within the boundaries of the corporation to be a member of that corporation? That might not really satisfy the questions the Opposition Leader raised about people’s right to vote in municipal elections. However, at least it might say that some residents have some say in what is going on in that corporation.
Madam Speaker, I will leave my contribution on that note. I am interested to hear what the Chief Minister has to say in reply.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I thank the two members for their contribution to this debate.
I make it clear from the start that this is somewhat unusual legislation. The waterfront, as a development, has different areas of development with the public/private partnership in one area, and then it has residential development in the next.
This legislation has two components. One, as I said in the second reading, is a client role for the Territory government as it is being built. That is very important. There are many elements of the waterfront development; they are not simply to deal with its construction, the actual bricks and mortar that DPI has carriage of. It is to do with the development of a convention centre, public amenity and public art. We needed to set up a corporation that would, initially, have the function of representing Territorians’ interests, and government’s interests, in how that development was happening. The first part of this legislation deals with the next two years, before residents come into the waterfront. Very clearly, the bill says that once residents are living in the waterfront, then there will be a different role for the corporation - much more a local government role.
As the member for Nelson said, the Darwin City Council made it very clear that they did not want to have this under their jurisdiction. They said clearly that it was outside the municipality and, therefore, residents do not get those rights to vote. I hope that will change once residents are living there. However, we have to see how that develops, how quickly residents live there.
Therefore, this has two very distinct roles. The Opposition Leader said if you read it I am setting myself up as a Tsarina of the waterfront. This is government. It is a government organisation to make sure taxpayers are properly represented in what is happening in a very important development. However, the role will very distinctly change once residents are there. The review sets that out very clearly. By 2008, we will have - 135 is it, or 141?
A member interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: One hundred and thirty-eight units have been sold, I hope, and there will be residents in them. It is very important that the corporation, then, respond to the growing number of residents and talk to them about how they would like representation in the future, and what kind of services and governance they want.
That is very clearly spelt out in the review. Even though the Opposition Leader said it is not specified, if you look at clause 37 concerning the review, it says that the corporation must prepare a report of the review, incorporating any recommendations on the management of the precinct, representation of individuals and groups in the membership of the corporation, devolution of the corporation’s powers and functions to another body - actually fitting the local government services model - and any matters which the minister has requested for recommendation. It is clear that once there are residents there, the corporation will start talking to residents about how they will be more involved and have those local government rights.
Even though the Darwin City Council said they did not want to have anything to do with this at this stage, their by-laws do apply there now. Those laws are in place so if there are problems with dogs running around the waterfront, the by-laws apply there. Once the residents are there the corporation will have their own by-laws. However, at this stage, there is no need for a separate set as it is covered by the Darwin City Council’s by-laws.
We did not sever this from the municipality without a lot of talking to the Darwin City Council. Darwin City Council was clear, and the member for Nelson talked about some of those uncertainties they had. The hope of the government is that we do not have to continue as a separate entity within Darwin; that eventually the Darwin City Council will be quite comfortable with oversight of the area and the number of residents and the certainty of where rates, revenue and those kind of things are coming from. I would like to think that a resident of the waterfront will be able to vote for the mayor, but we have to get the Darwin City Council to include this in its coverage eventually.
The Opposition Leader did not raise any other particular matters. It was more to do with me overriding everybody in sight. That is not the case. We will have a head of the corporation who will deal with issues. I doubt whether I will be rung in the middle of the night; there are no residents for the next two years anyway. Government is responsible for what is happening at the waterfront through the corporation and, if you take a long bow on that, then maybe somebody who is unhappy with noise or something else can ring the minister. They do it now; nothing changes.
The member for Nelson raised the issue about the Port Authority taking over certain water-based functions or infrastructure. I do not think, at this stage, that is something that would be envisaged. One of the amendments we are dealing with today is about the corporation having coverage of that water body and its quality. That is important. It is the same with Cullen Bay, I think – the council has coverage of that? Sorry, in Cullen Bay the body corporate has some charge of water qualities and so does the council. We need to make sure that this is an area that has a coherency about it, and having a body corporate to manage that is a good mechanism to have.
The member for Nelson did have a briefing as opposed to the opposition who did not seek a briefing. Thank you both Independents for having a briefing. We are very keen to offer briefings if members want them.
The issued raised of the Development Consent Authority coverage is an important one; it has been there all along. Developments at the waterfront already have had to go individually to the DCA, and we have made commitments that future developments will also have to go to the DCA. That is totally appropriate. It is part of the Darwin Town Plan. We could have further discussions to clarify the map that you held up, and I refer you to the minister responsible for clarifying those issues. Clearly, the waterfront comes under the Darwin Town Plan and every development will go, with all the public components on that, including the public hearings, to the Development Consent Authority.
You referred to the clause in the bill - I am just trying to find it, member for Nelson - about land being able to be moved in to the waterfront. You said that land from somewhere else can come into the waterfront area or be controlled by the corporation. It does allow flexibility, and it could mean a piece of land as little as say a square metre of some area adjoining to make greater road access or something like that. It just provides flexibility. There is no intention for the waterfront corporation to do raids on other parts of Darwin or the rural area, for example. It creates flexibility.
As I said, this is an unusual circumstance. We are dealing with a client role, at this stage, for government through the corporation and, once residents move in, it will be a services role. It is an unusual bill in that sense - we have not seen one like this before - but it creates that flexibility. I give you an absolute assurance that there will be no raids on any other piece of land. If you did hear about it, I am sure you will make an awful lot of noise. However, it creates that ability, if there was a road redesign or something like that, to be able to say that could be transferred into the corporation’s land management. I hope that resolves that issue.
On the review, you say let us bring it to parliament; however, it is important that it engages the residents there and I imagine that will be a public process. Residents need to talk about what their governance and representative arrangements will be, and that will happen in the review. I give an absolute assurance that is our intention. We want to see residents participating in managing their area and having the same rights and responsibilities as residents in other parts of Darwin. As I said, at this stage, it is not under the Darwin City Council. That was their choice, so we had to create another mechanism.
For the next two years, though, the board representatives, because we are representing government, are chosen by the minister and will represent the interests of government and taxpayers to be able to carry out those functions while we are dealing with the client role in the development.
We have some amendments to clarify a few aspects, particularly the corporation’s functions regarding maintenance of water quality, and some aspects of how rates are imposed. The amendments are not significant changes, but I am very happy to talk further to them as we go through committee stage.
I thank both members for their input. I was disappointed in Question Time yesterday when the member for Katherine led her questions with negatives about the waterfront. It is disappointing. I know there was some contention about whether it was negative, but sitting on this side of the House, those questions definitely said: ‘You are not spending in other areas because you are spending on the waterfront’. It clearly demonstrated a negativity towards the waterfront.
We made it very clear that expenditure on roads has not been affected by the waterfront. We clearly said that waterfront expenditure was going to be deficit funded for the two years, and we made it very clear that was the case, so it did not affect the Capital Works program.
When you look at the benefits of the waterfront, we already have 300 workers on-site - it is a great development for local jobs - and 96% of those workers are local. We welcome fly-in/fly-out as we need those skills for other projects like building the LNG, but, at heart, what we really want is local workers. This is great; it is a project in which many local businesses are involved. I read out a significant list yesterday of how many local businesses are benefiting and will benefit over the long run. This is a 10- to 15-year project, and $40m worth of contracts have been let to local businesses as at August 2006.
It is a wonderful project. When you talk to visitors about it, their eyes light up, as they do when you talk to locals. It was great to have the display at the show. There was much interest and many questions. I personally would like to hear more questions about the convention centre. From a tourist point of view this is …
Ms Carney: You have your own members. Why don’t you use one to ask it?
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Ms Carney: We can help you with your Order of Business, if you like.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, Order!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, I think the Leader of the Opposition misunderstood. In a public context, I would love people to be asking me more about the convention centre and growth in tourism as I walk down the street. We can see, from having conventions held here around the year, that from the tourism industry’s point of view, they cannot wait until it happens. I congratulate Ogden IFC for the work they are doing. They have been really active in promoting the convention centre opening in 2008, and getting interest in having conventions held here. There is interest in the wave pool lagoon. When that first sod is turned in the next week or two, and the designs are there to look at, I know that there will be a lot of excitement generated. I would like people to think more about the convention centre side. That is exciting for economic benefit. It is a great project and it is one that Darwin and the Territory will be very proud of.
In the discussion when we first proposed it, it was interesting that there were some people saying ‘Leave the site as it is’. It was a disused industrial site and, even now when you look at the development, it has that excitement of the future about it. Flying into Darwin, you can see the seawall very clearly, and the pour of the first level of the ground floor of the convention centre. You can see the waterfront taking shape. Those of us living in Darwin know that it will add a great element, a new element, to our lifestyle. You can imagine, Madam Speaker, on a Sunday, popping down to the waterfront, doing a bit of wave lagooning, having a meal, sitting on the grass, maybe seeing some entertainment at an amphitheatre, and enjoying being in a new Darwin space with lots of people around and being part of the community.
It is very exciting. Members can be quite confident that the way we are setting up the waterfront corporation will meet the needs over the next two years and, then, move to a services approach as residents move to the waterfront in the future. It is with much delight I talk to this bill and we will move into committee now, Madam Speaker.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
In committee:
Clauses 1 to 11, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 12:
Ms MARTIN: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 9.1.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 12, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 13 and 14, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 15:
Ms MARTIN: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 9.2.
Amendment agreed to.
Ms MARTIN: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 9.3.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 15, as amended, agreed to.
Clause 16:
Ms MARTIN: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 9.4.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 16, as amended, agreed to.
Remainder of the bill, by leave, taken as a whole and agreed to.
Bill reported with amendments; report adopted.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
Continued from 15 June 2006.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I indicate to the Attorney-General that we support the bill for good reason. It was outlined in his second reading speech, so I do not propose to revisit it. However, it is appropriate that I make a couple of points for the purposes of Hansard, and perhaps he can address them in his reply.
You said in your second reading speech that the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs has protection from legal action, and we take that to mean that he has immunity from any criminal or civil action. I am just a little concerned that the Commissioner, for whom I have a great deal of respect, would need to be extremely judicious in his making decisions under the particular areas of this bill because he is able to name organisations, companies, and individuals. There, arguably, should be some sort of accountability mechanism within the legislation for the benefit of the public, more so than anything else, so that there is some safeguard there.
I do not for a moment doubt his intentions, but from the point of view of Territorians, I am a little concerned that they may be concerned that he would need to be extremely careful, him being immune from civil suit or criminal proceedings. When he goes to name a company, those companies, if they are aggrieved, would want to pursue action - that is, defamation proceedings - and under this legislation they would be precluded from doing so.
I wonder whether you have turned your mind to that, and whether you sought advice either from the Law Society, or from your own counsel. I would like you to respond to that if you would. Could you also outline what processes are in place: whether they are guidelines or in the regulations, to ensure the judicious application of naming a company?
Attorney-General, in your second reading speech there is a reference to ‘certain motor vehicles’. It was in the first paragraph of your second reading speech. I could not find a definition in the bill. Whereas you said ‘certain motor vehicles’, I would like to know what types of motor vehicles, and why they do not appear to be specified in the bill. They may be but they certainly were not on the face of it. That is about it. The major concern is just one of the public’s point of view, and if you could answer that question and the one in relation to the motor vehicles, that would be great.
Mr NATT (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, as we all know, the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs aims to promote and regulate responsible business and industry association conduct through the administration of the regulatory system which protects community interests. We all, at some stage of our lives, have had a time when we have been tested in some way in the consumer world. Many of us have been aware of the lurks and perks that loom out there with some traders, landlords and business owners. Most of us are able to handle various confrontations or indiscretions.
However, there are many people who are unaware of their rights and, consequently, are vulnerable to rip-offs. The department does a great job by assisting consumers to understand their rights, and they are very active in the community setting up stands in shopping centres, markets and shows, ensuring the public is aware of their existence and, of course, their rights. I know I have had several complaints from my constituents who have suffered from and/or been tested by many of these scams and they are quite prevalent.
Today’s amendment to the bill is a good news story. Not only has there been a few upgrades in the various definitions within the bill, the sectional change that particularly interests me, and I am sure other members within this Chamber, is the Consumer Protection Provision dealing with door-to-door selling from unsolicited phone calls. How many of us in the Chamber have sat down at the dinner table, about to take our first bite of our meal, when the phone rings? ‘Good morning, Mr Natt. My name is Imran and have I got a deal for you!’. Many people have been financially ripped off by many of these scams, and you often hear terrible stories of financial transfers to overseas countries and victims also scammed by advanced fee swindle deals. It was established last year that $7m was transferred out of this country as a result of these scams. That is a staggering statistic, but it may be just the tip of the iceberg. International research has suggested that a rate of one in 10 consumers have been the victim of a scam or fraudulent solicitation.
At a recent meeting of federal, state and territory consumer affairs and fair trading ministers, financial scams were identified as the No 1 research priority for all the states and territories, highlighting the concern that these scams are prevalent and may worsen. Also highlighted at this meeting was the extent of unwarranted and unsolicited calls from telemarketers pushing their products and scams. The number of these unsolicited calls in Australia has grown significantly in the past few years and has led to rising community concerns about the inconvenience and intrusiveness of telemarketing.
Passage of this legislation today will allow Territory consumers greater protection from these deceptive telemarketers. The legislation is designed to protect Territory consumers from high-pressure selling tactics that result in contracts being formed during these unsolicited calls. Unfair terms and contracts will be prohibited, provide for a cooling-off period, and the right to rescind the contract of the telemarketer if the consumer has had time to reflect and check.
I note with interest that the legislation will prohibit telemarketers from making calls on Sundays and at certain other times. Let us hope that they are during meal times. It is also pleasing to note that Consumer Affairs will complement these changes to the law with an education program or campaign so that Northern Territory residents fully understand their rights.
The bill also amends the Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act to allow the commissioner or minister of this portfolio to make public warning statements against faulty and unsavoury goods, services, businesses or individuals without fear of prosecution. The strength of this amendment was highlighted recently when the minister acted quickly banning the very dangerous No-Holes Tongue Stud which had begun to be marketed in the Northern Territory. With the show season just past, I am sure many parents were relieved to know that Consumer Affairs officers were checking show bags carefully to ensure that dangerous items were not available to children to choke or injure themselves.
Madam Speaker, as I mentioned, this bill is a good news story for the Northern Territory public. The provision is no impediment to the suppliers of business who conduct fair practice; however, it does protect the public and consumers from scandalous and scurrilous businesses and individuals wishing to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. I support the amendments to the bill which will have long-term favourable benefits to all Territorians.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank, first, the opposition for their support for this bill. It is a sensible reform and we will see it as law as soon as possible.
The Opposition Leader queried the balance between protecting the public interest from improper conduct by the commissioner in exercising his power to name companies or individuals that have come to his notice by way of warning the community about alleged improper practices by that company or individual. I refer the Opposition Leader to section 336 of the current Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act. It deals with the subject of protection of the commissioner, council members, officers, etcetera. I will read it in full to indicate the balance it strikes between indemnity for the commissioner for actions he or she takes, and the protection of the public interest:
The key words there are the words ‘in good faith’, that, if an individual or company in the community consider that the commissioner has not, indeed, acted in good faith, they contest that by action. There is a balance there. Additional to that, the amending bill introduces an additional test, I guess, of the validity of the action taken by the minister or commissioner through the provision of clause 4 inserting new section 8A(3):
We have there two bases of challenging the action of the commissioner by an individual or a company: (a) it has to be in good faith, and (b) it has to be seen to be in the public interest, or could be arguable that it is in the public interest. So, there are balances in place so individuals and companies do have the scope to take action. What we have done with the amendment is to clarify the intention of the existing act by further spelling out the basis of the indemnity for the minister and the commissioner.
Regarding the question of exemptions and the definitions of vehicles that are covered by the operation of the Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act, the intention of the amendment is to foreshadow situations where, while in the past there might have been an acknowledged set of fuels that would be normally defining vehicles for public use and vehicles that have been traded in the marketplace, the emergence of new fuels, such as liquid petroleum gas and ethanol, would make it prudent that we widen the definition of the power source being used in the vehicles. Beyond that, there is a long-standing practice to gazette the types of vehicles that we want to exempt from the normal operation of the CAFTA, which is really aimed at controlling trading practices within the motor vehicle market. There will be occasions where it is not appropriate to apply the normal regulatory arrangements to a particular class of make and they can continue to be exempted from the act with the additional amendment.
I thank the member for Drysdale because having other people speak in the debate often allows us to do what we have just done - research an adequate answer to questions that are raised in debate. It is very valuable for members to contribute and here is a good example of where we have been able to give a much more specific answer rather than simply saying we will get back to a member and report at a later date. I thank everyone for their contribution and we will move forward.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General) (by leave): Mr Deputy Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
Continued from 13 June 2006.
Mr VATSKALIS (Primary Industry and Fisheries): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support strongly the statement by my colleague, the member for Nhulunbuy, and minister for Education on the middle years of schooling. I say ‘strongly’ because I am very committed to education. My strong support of education is on the record. I also know that my colleague is committed to and passionate about education. I agree with the minister and his statement on middle schooling. He said it was the most significant reform in education in the last 20 years, and I absolutely agree with him.
When I was growing up in the country where I was born, kids used to go to primary school from Year 1 to Year 7. Greece at that time, together with other European countries, changed the system and introduced primary school as Year 1 to Year 6, and high school from Year 7 to Year 12. Australia soon followed because they realised that children, as time progresses, become more mature. It is strange to keep kids of 11 and 12 years old in a primary school situation.
The Territory was somehow different. In the Centre of Australia, you had Year 1 to Year 6, and then high school from Year 7 to Year 12, while up here in the north it was Year 1 to Year 7, and then Year 8 to Year 12. However, looking around the primary schools - and I bet quite a few of you have been to primary schools in the past few years you have been in parliament - you will see that Year 7 kids have grown quickly, they mature quickly, and they look out of place in primary schools. Many people comment how these kids are neither here nor there. They are too old and advanced for primary school, and probably should be in high school, but they need some assistance.
I suppose the idea behind middle years schooling was exactly that; how to move Year 7 students and put them in high school and prepare them for junior high school and, at the same time, how to take the Year 10 students from junior high school and put them into senior high school so they can be better prepared for the final exams and their future in university or other schools.
There has been considerable public consultation for over three years by this government. I am very proud to say that this government listened to every person and any submission. That consultation, of course, was not all in favour of the government; there were many disagreements and arguments - some of them valid, some of them not. However, we listened to all of these arguments and disagreements and took them into consideration. I am very happy to see that, from next year, Year 7 will be moving to the high school, and Year 10 will be moving to senior high schools.
The government not only made a statement about middle year schooling and introducing middle year school as a concept, but was prepared to support it by allocating money for new infrastructure, to support the schools in their changing role, and to support teachers in their changing role as well. Quite a few teachers I have spoken to, including my wife, expressed some concerns at the beginning about how teachers are going to deal with this new influx of children from primary schools, and how they are going to be dealing with influx of Year 10 students to senior high school. She and her colleagues in the different schools were very pleased when government made the significant commitment about supporting the schools, new infrastructure and the training of teachers.
Darwin Senior College will be supported with $19.5m because a middle school will be built on the Bullocky Point site near the Darwin Senior College. The government is also allocating $11m for the Palmerston High School, and it is money that is needed. I am well aware of the significant number of Palmerston children who travel to Darwin High School, and to Dripstone, to attend school. I am pleased because the new school will alleviate this pressure on the Darwin schools, and will establish Palmerston as a place with its own middle school and senior high school.
There are going to be changes at Casuarina. Casuarina Senior College will accept a number of Year 10 students. We are supporting Casuarina Senior College with $3.4m to upgrade and accommodate the students. I am aware that the teachers from Casuarina Senior College have been visiting schools in my electorate, in particular Alawa, to have a look at the new facilities. Alawa Primary School, as you are aware, has undergone a $2m upgrade which was part of an election 2001 commitment. I was very pleased a month ago to open it with my colleague, the member for Nhulunbuy and the minister for Education. They are brand new facilities with new equipment and the Casuarina Senior College teachers have been visiting to find out about the computers, the laptops, and the interactive whiteboards.
Not only has money been spent in Darwin but also outside Darwin: in Nhulunbuy, $1.35m; Katherine High School with nearly $1m; and Taminmin High School with $4.6m. Overall, the total cost for the upgrade of infrastructure around the Northern Territory is $46.7m, a significant investment in the future of our children. A significant investment in the future of education in the Northern Territory and a commitment by this government that we will support middle schooling, not only with words but by actions.
There will be significant benefits to children with the change to middle schooling. Currently in primary school, the ratio of teachers to students is 22 students to one teacher. When Year 7 students move to middle school they will immediately go to a classroom where the ratio will be 17 students per teacher. We know what a significant difference the reduced ratio of students to teachers will make: personal attention and personal care, easier to teach the kids, easier for the kids to approach their teacher, and easier to interact with their teachers.
By having middle schools and senior schools separate, schools will no longer need to divert their resources from their middle year supplement teaching resource at the senior years. We have seen many occasions where senior classes, Year 11 and Year 12, do not have a significant number of kids but they offer a significant number of subjects. Somehow, they have to find the teachers and the material and it is easier by pulling people out of Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10 to subsidise Year 11 and Year 12 while, at the same time, increasing the ratio of students to teachers of the lower classes.
I especially believe that the Year 7 students are mature enough and old enough to enter middle school. From personal experience when I was 12 years old, again in my home country, I had to have entry exams to go to high school. I recall that I was a Year 6 student and I spent a whole summer - three months - studying maths, geography, history and religious studies in order to sit the entry exams for the high school.
I believe Year 10 students are mature enough these days to enter the senior high school and get the opportunity to better prepare themselves for their future educational years. They have a better opportunity to build a strong base for the Northern Territory Certificate of Education and also opportunities to participate in Vocational Education and Training programs, and more appropriate stage one courses, and they will be able to secure their future. Year 10 students will be leaving classes where the ratio is 17:1 and move to classes where the ratio will go down to 14:1, which is significant.
The amount of additional funding that will be provided for professional learning and support to schools is $5.1m over three years. The changeover will be complete in 2008 and money will still be available for training of extra teachers to support this change in our education from the current system to the middle years instead of the senior years.
There have been concerns. Change always creates some anxiety or fear in children and parents. However, in this case, are the parents more anxious than the children? In many cases, people ask whether the government is introducing zoning. The reality is this government refused to introduce zoning. This government is not introducing zoning but has said that schools are responsible for firstly enrolling students from their immediate area and then cater for other students, rather than selecting them as was happening before: picking the best students from every school in Darwin or in Palmerston or anywhere else and then having skewed results because you have the best students in the Territory. Of course, you are going to get the best results with Certificate of Education or university exams. This is a more egalitarian program. The schools will have to first enrol students from their immediate area and then cater for other students.
There are some concerns about the subjects that will be offered in certain schools. For example, Darwin High used to offer some extra curricula courses, had a great band, had Chinese and Greek language classes. Some parents are now worried that their children will miss out and will not able to learn another language. This gives us the opportunity to have another look at the School of Language and the service provided and where it is provided, and it will provide an opportunity for other schools to diversify and provide other subjects. I am pleased to advise that Dripstone High School is currently looking at utilising the Greek teacher who will be provided by the Greek government to provide classes five days a week to students who want to learn the Greek language. I believe that they are looking at establishing other languages at Dripstone.
Mr Deputy Speaker, my support for education is well known and is well documented. I always support any move to improve education for young Territorians. It is not only our legal obligation as a government to provide solid education to our children; we have a moral obligation to provide opportunities for all Territorians, not only Territorians living in urban centres but also Territorians living outside the urban centres. With middle schooling we have allocated money not only in urban centres like Alice Springs, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Darwin, but places like Kalkarindji and other remote communities which definitely and desperately needed an upgrade in their facilities, and certainly in education.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the minister’s statement on middle schools. I do that for a number of reasons, one of which is that I believe in the concept and that this government has undertaken to improve education for young people throughout the Northern Territory and, of course, in my electorate of Millner.
This is important. As a person who has received an education including a local tertiary education through the Northern Territory system, it has benefited me throughout my work life and my in life as a representative in the Legislative Assembly.
The minister, all members, and the government generally, have made a great effort to provide feedback throughout the process. The one thing that we can say from this process is that the government has listened to the people of the Northern Territory and has taken on board that feedback and attempted to respond in the best ways possible through the models that have been produced.
I would like to briefly put on the record that Millner Primary School and Ludmilla Primary School made efforts to participate in the consultation period, and I thank the minister for his work in ensuring that their opinions were listened to and acted upon. First, I will mention why I support the principle. The middle years are specifically designed to take in Years 7 to 9, and reading from the brochure Parents’ Guide to Middle Years:
It goes on:
Remembering back to my years, I found transferring from primary school to high school difficult. It was one of the big challenges, and the identification of middle school years and allowing students to have particular contact with a smaller number of teachers will be of great benefit. The idea is to help that move from primary school to secondary school and make it run more smoothly.
The middle years approach aims to develop young adolescents to become independent, responsible and active citizens. Again from the brochure:
Opportunity is what life is all about. Middle schools will create opportunities for students. Unfortunately, in the traditional method, for a variety of different reasons - and no one is to blame - there may not be access to particular resources and expertise. They will have opportunities to participate in vocational education and training programs and subjects which count towards their NTCE. There will be an emphasis on career development and work experience in Year 10 for students to explore career paths. As we know, Year 10 is a very important year. Young students, both male and female, have to make serious choices about where their educational path will go, whether they will go into apprenticeships, or on to Years 11 and 12 to assist with those apprenticeships, or tertiary education. I support the minister’s recognition that this needs to be a focused area.
I will describe what the local schools in my area did on behalf of their students and student body, and the general community. As we know, local primary and high schools play an important part in the local community. Millner Primary School was very positive about the middle school changes and all the models presented and they engaged in it. The school council thought it was a fantastic idea. The staff assisted in the promotion and education of parents who had questions about middle schools and the benefits it would have for them. Millner Primary School looks forward to the implementation of these changes in our philosophy of education.
Ludmilla Primary School, under one of the proposed models, was tagged for possible closure and this created great angst in the local community. They lobbied me, through the school council, teachers and parents. They did this through meeting with me on several occasions, and through my electorate office and at people’s homes. I asked the minister for Education to meet the Ludmilla School community and he was kind enough to attend. I was very grateful for that, as people felt they had the opportunity to say, directly to the man who has carriage for this policy, what they thought and how they valued Ludmilla Primary School.
The Ludmilla Primary School Council and parents did not want the school to change to a middle school. They started their campaign under the slogan ‘Save Ludmilla Primary School’, and you might have seen banners hanging from the pedestrian overpass across Bagot Road. The student mix at the school determined a three-pronged approach to their campaign. Although there are three distinct parent groups, Ludmilla and Narrows residents, RAAF Base, and Bagot Community, the campaign was unified by each group’s common goal. The ‘Save Ludmilla Primary School’ campaign was assisted by many, including the school council chair, Sue Rizqallah; Mick Purcell; Simon Love; Helen Fejo-Frith from Bagot Community; Natalie Harwood from Bagot Community; Jenny McClennand, Kellie Howard, Glen Schackier and Tamie Carlisle from the RAAF Base; and Brian Kerr.
The campaign used all modern day means to get the message across. They letterboxed 3000 flyers throughout the area to homes and businesses, and had banner signage on Bagot Road. They wrote media releases and gave interviews, and they marched on Parliament House with parents and children. The minister and I met them on the steps of Parliament House and accepted a petition with over 400 signatures. I thank the minister for meeting with me and ensuring this message was heard loud and clear. They did letterboxing, letter writing and e-mail writing, to the Prime Minister down. We also had a PowerPoint presentation with the minister and me, as the local member, at the local primary school. That was an interesting night, and we had a question and answer session. I thought Syd Stirling did a magnificent job of listening to everyone’s concerns.
I attended the public consultation at the Darwin High School video presentation, featuring Bagot community elders and me as the local MLA. These individuals worked hard and long to ensure that their concerns were heard. All I can say is that the minister did a fantastic job over two-and-a-half years - I believe, minister? - in consultation with a number of different forms, picking up all these suggestions, good and bad, from people who were concerned about their children’s education.
Middle schools is a fantastic approach to the future of education for all children, whether they live in urban, remote or rural areas. I say to the opposition, government members and all parents who might read this material, that the idea and the concept is a solid principle. It is about identifying a certain age group in certain years at our local schools who have difficulties for a number of reasons which leave them to fall through the system. This will concentrate resources and the right type of teaching to ensure that they get a proper education that will allow them to make the right choices throughout their life, not only in work but in their contribution to the local community.
I recommend the middle schools approach to everybody whose children will be going through the system in the next few years. I again thank the minister for his personal contribution, as this was an important matter in my electorate. The minister, along with his staff, was of great help to me, Madam Speaker. I thank him again and put on the record that I thank those parents from Ludmilla and Millner Primary Schools for coming to me and advising me of their concerns. I hope that we will create a better education for all those Territorians of the future.
Debate suspended.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the galleries of members of the public who are joining us today as part of our public education program. There are many people who have come from interstate, some people from New Zealand, and a couple of Territorians. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I acknowledge the presence in the gallery of Mrs Flora Love. You may have noticed that I have commented on Mrs Love before. She comes to every sitting day and watches us. We thought it was only just we who were interested in the sittings, but Mrs Love, who comes from Palmerston, I think – somewhere else? I will ask you later where you come from - but somewhere in Darwin, and she is here every sitting day. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Continued from earlier this day.
Mr BURKE (Brennan): Madam Speaker, I respond to the minister’s statement in relation to the middle years program, specifically in relation to middle years in Palmerston. One of the great initiatives that occurred in Palmerston is the formation of the Palmerston Community Consultative Committee which met for the first time a few weeks ago.
Middle years schooling in Palmerston is a good news story. There is a great enthusiasm to embrace the concept of middle years and to make the most of it at our schools in Palmerston. One of the things that first happened was when the Consultative Committee met was the minister for Education officially opening the first meeting. Every government school in Palmerston was represented either by the principal or chair of the council or by both. There were also the members for Drysdale and Blain, and me, the local MLAs for Palmerston.
One of the first issues I can recall being raised by the committee – and I do not have my notes in front of me - was put to the minister at the time: is this just a talkfest? The minister was very clear in his response; he was not interested in setting something up and then not having any acknowledgement or recognition of some of the recommendations or points of view that may come out of the consultancy committee – that the whole point of it was to make recommendations for government to consider.
I remind honourable members of this government’s record in relation to listening to the feedback of the community in relation to implementation of middle years schooling. The government, understandably, wants to push this program as quickly as possible. It has some time frames in mind and, in light of the strong community response in Palmerston, changes were made to the implementation process. It listened to the concerns of the community and reacted accordingly. This process has been consultative all the way through, with community meetings throughout the process.
During that first meeting, a couple of co-chairs were elected: Mr Kevin Kennedy and Mr Peter Chandler. Kevin is from Durack Primary School and Mr Chandler is from Bakewell Primary School in my electorate of Brennan. You could say the two co-chairs represent the complete span of Palmerston - Durack being on one side and Bakewell on the other. Some of the orders of the day we addressed were terms of reference - and there had been some terms of reference put together - and there were some requests for looking at amendments to those by the committee. I understand from my recollection that they were taken on board and there was no problem with the way that the committee is looking to go forward. The initial steps will be one of accessing information from the department. I noted that departmental representatives were there and were looking forward to working cooperatively with the consultative committee.
Education in Palmerston is entering a very exciting and optimistic future. Just today, there was an announcement in relation to Palmerston High School and plans for future building at Palmerston High. Perhaps I can invite the minister to include some remarks in relation to that in his reply, as this debate was commenced in the last sittings before the finalisation of the extra infrastructure work that will be required at Palmerston High.
No process is without negotiation, and the negotiation between the Palmerston High school council and the principal, Mr Dias, and the department regarding the spending of money and the shape that the new infrastructure would take, has progressed along a road that has been more and more refined.
Palmerston High School is at the forefront of innovation. It has developed already and established communities of practice to develop a number of middle years aspects. Some of these are wellbeing, pedagogy, catering for diversity, information technology integration aimed at 24-hour access for students and parents to learning, outcomes, and community connections. Palmerston High is well resourced and funded for these.
In addition, the high school has been provided funding which has enable three teachers and two from local primary schools to attend two middle years international conferences, one in Adelaide in early August, and one in Perth in May. These teachers also visited innovative middle schools and senior schools interstate. I should pause just here because the focus of debate is middle schools, but this has an effect on other areas of education. I will refer to them as junior schooling and senior schools. In relation to Palmerston High, the middle years and middle schooling will have an effect on their senior schooling as well.
Funding provided to Palmerston will allow release of teachers to visit both government and non-government schools in the Darwin region implementing middle schools programs. There has been funding provided to develop middle years professional learning, a community with teachers from other Palmerston schools, and this has been operating since November 2005. It has allowed shadowing visits by Year 7 teachers to the high school, and by high school teachers to the primary schools.
Palmerston High School has three teachers who will spend a day on tour in other schools in early September to view interactive whiteboards in use, as this is a technology which will be introduced at Palmerston High. I will mention the whiteboards a bit later in relation to Gray.
There are issues which we have to confront in Palmerston in relation to implementation of middle schooling. One issue which will need to be considered by the consultative committee and by government is the place of students with extreme behaviours. Currently, there is provision in Palmerston through the Harley Unit at Moulden Park Primary School for students from Transition to Year 7. I understand that with onset of adolescence these behaviours can become more pronounced, and there is a need to consider how the needs of these students and of the general student population will be provided for in working out how students with extreme behaviours will mix with the general student population. It is not an issue that we are walking away from. We recognise that it needs to be addressed and it will be through the community consultative committee.
Palmerston High School currently manages grants totalling around $340 000 for a number of programs, including the Defence Mentor - Palmerston High School has a considerable population of students who come from Defence Force families; the homework centre; parents school partnership; and I understand an indigenous cultural awareness day was run on 17 August.
Palmerston High School has a grant for the National Accelerated Literacy Program introduced in Years 8 and 9 this semester which will become a feature of the middle years program at Palmerston High. There is a work-ready grant for senior students accessing new apprenticeships and the other grants associated with DEST initiatives and the initiatives I have mentioned.
Anther exciting event for Palmerston High School is the recent visit by middle years students from Japan, which was highly successful. I thank the minister and his office for hosting a reception and tours of parliament for those students, and thank you to the staff of the Legislative Assembly for that. I understand this will mark the start of future exchanges between Palmerston and schools in Japan.
I mentioned interactive whiteboards. One of the issues that Palmerston has to face is that, yes, there are some schools which have capacity issues which need to be examined, planned for and resolved. Rosebery School, whatever form it takes, will go some way to alleviating those problems when it is built. However, there are also capacity issues for other schools which have capacity that is not being utilised. One of the schools that has room for students is Gray Primary School, which is an excellent school. It is always telling of a school exactly what the teachers think of teaching there, and there are many teachers who have spent many years at Gray Primary School because they love teaching there, and they love the students there.
Gray is at the forefront of the use of technology in its learning. It is a school which has several electronic whiteboards. I visited the school not long ago and saw the use of these whiteboards in the classroom and the way the children really engaged with learning through that facility. There is no point pretending that the children of today learn in exactly the same way as I did when I was at school, or the Minister for Employment, Education and Training learnt when he was at school. They are in a very different environment. They grow up in a different environment, and their way of learning has obviously been affected by the environment they are growing up in. They have very different ways of learning and these electronic whiteboards are fantastic resource for teachers in schools. I commend Gray for getting involved at the forefront of this use of technology.
Gray Primary School has been the recipient of many awards. I cannot name them all, but I know that when I was there last time talking to Sue Beynon, she rattled off a whole host of awards that Gray had been given, both at a national level and a state level. One of the programs that Gray Primary School has is Kids Matter. This is part of a Commonwealth mental health initiative for primary schools. It is about mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention, and it aims to improve the mental health and wellbeing of primary school children, reducing mental health problems among children - for example, anxiety and depression - achieving greater support for children at risk of experiencing mental health problems. Why is this important? Because children who are healthy, not just physically but also mentally, learn better, have better relationships, greater resilience and a greater ability to cope with change. They have a greater chance of achieving education and career goals. The four components of Kids Matter are: mental health promotion to students; parenting education and support; early intervention for students at risk; and their families creating a positive school community.
One of the other programs which has run at Gray Primary School, and also at Bakewell Primary School, was the Restorative Justice initiative. This is a very powerful tool. It has been shown to work in other countries and other areas of Australia. It is not just about accepting and forgiving behaviour, but how to work and problem solve; how to look directly at problem behaviours; and to make the person who has caused the problem or perhaps got into some conflict, physical or otherwise, with another student, understand how their actions have impacted on others in their school community, and have them appreciate how to rectify that, and the benefit to them personally as well as to everyone involved if there is some responsibility taken, some acknowledgement for what has happened, and taking action to rectify that. It is a very good program. I went to the lecture at Gray Primary School. I will be trying to get to the parent lecture at Bakewell Primary School as well, because I was very impressed with the program. It is great to see schools in Palmerston getting behind these types of programs and implementing them at their schools.
One of the things that has always struck me about the Palmerston experience of the middle schools announcement, right from the very start, was the preparedness of all the schools and all the councils to work together. I have congratulated them before, but I congratulate everyone again. It is not that everyone agrees on every single point, that does not happen; but there is enough common ground and enough willingness and desire to take this forward, to be part of this program, to see the need for the program and that middle schooling can offer a way forward to improve educational outcomes for students, which they have every right to expect from this government and from this Assembly.
It is beholden on us to ensure we give our kids every single chance and opportunity we possibly can. It may not mean everyone is going to come out at the end of high school with perfect scores. Many people will do vocational training after Year 10. Good luck to them, because there are many good professions they can get into. The middle years has been embraced at Palmerston and I thank the minister for his statement.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the education statement. We will see education in our remote communities extended to Year 9 schools. Currently, many end at Year 7, and we will certainly see a consideration of our youth and their concerns in our remote regions. We know that, for some areas of Arnhem, we have students who are, in Aboriginal culture, considered young men at the ages of 13 and 14. I am aware that the Education minister and his department are acutely aware of these issues on a cultural basis for the students in our remote areas.
There are 15 schools in Arnhem, and our government is determined to ensure that a good and comprehensive secondary education is available in these communities. The Education minister has been dedicated to pursuing strategies to ensure all Territory children, in particular indigenous children in remote areas, receive a good primary and secondary education.
I have spoken at length in this parliament of the rapid population growth in our Territory communities, and the urgency required in planning for the future in our remote regions. It is becoming quite obvious that these regions are only known for their remoteness due to geography now, not because of a lack of people.
I just visited Minyerri in the southern part of Arnhem to see how students and staff were going at the primary and secondary school. What struck me on driving into the community was how many new houses were there. Minyerri, sometimes known as Hodgson Downs, is surrounded by hills, lagoons and the rivers, and is quite a beautiful home. What hit home to me was the number of people in the community. This is important. You may ask why that is important; isn’t is good to have a lot of people? The reason it stuck out in my mind is that the population growth I saw in Minyerri is what I usually see in the Wet Season, not in the Dry Season. The Wet Season is the time when everyone from the outstations, cattle stations, or wherever they have been working, returns to the community, often for ceremonies, to settle in very crowded circumstances.
However, this time it was the Dry Season, and the place was absolutely full. It is a fairly well known fact that in most communities in the Wet, the numbers usually double as people move from their outstations into the main centres. I wonder if this now means that the Wet Season in Minyerri will see a tripling of numbers, simply because the population of that community is growing quite rapidly.
At the school, the students had only just returned from the four-week school break and were pretty happy to share their stories about the holidays. I had the opportunity to join in with the Transition and the Early Childhood classes in their early morning exercises, and was warmed up soon enough. The middle primary students shared their class song with me, whilst the Year 6 and 7 students spoke about the many things they would like to see for youth at Minyerri - things that most youth speak of such as sporting facilities, more recreational options, and discos, even a swimming pool for the community. In fact, I have quite a few communities talking to me about swimming pools, all of which I will be happy to pursue on their behalf with the Sport and Education ministers.
It was encouraging to see the number of Aboriginal teacher assistants involved in the school, and to speak with the school council on issues important to them. It is at this point that I would like to mention the good work done by the principal, Neil Gibson, and his wife, Michelle. Their dedication and the concerns that Neil has for his current and previous students, was quite evident. At the end of the year, Neil and Michelle are planning to take study leave and I take this opportunity to thank them for the work they are doing there.
In the secondary school, I heard from students who raised other issues such as further training and job opportunities. In Minyerri, the CDEP program is all that is available, and I have been on the record in this parliament saying that that is not good enough. In my maiden speech, I spoke of how our students in remote parts of the Territory are encouraged to finish school and all they have is CDEP. There is no incentive to further education if the supposed job outcome is the same, as those who do not finish school still go on CDEP. It is a point that has been raised on numerous occasions, and I know that our government is deeply concerned. I urge our government to put the accelerator on and get the jobs going in our communities, especially in Minyerri.
While talking to students and staff there, one of the most common comments was that many of the 15- to 16-year-old female students were dropping out. Others have gone on and had a family of their own, and yet still want an education. It is an issue not isolated to Minyerri where young women and, indeed, young men, leave at 15, 16, 17 years of age, and have families of their own. Some of these are for cultural reasons, others are that they do not have the chance to move into the employment that they would like. I want to pass on to the Education minister the request that our government look closely at the opportunities for young mothers and, indeed, fathers, to return to school for education. Too many of our young students fall out of the system for whatever reasons and, yet, still wish to return at a later stage, often with a baby to care for.
I am aware, however, that there are programs for young mothers that are operating in other schools throughout the Territory which provide the opportunity for middle years-aged mums and even dads to return to school to complete their studies. This is great news, and I ask the minister to spread the word and encourage all schools to work in their communities and provide similar opportunities.
Along the Roper Road, from the Minyerri turnoff I went on to visit the Urapunga and Ngukurr schools, all the while talking about what our government is doing and seeking their thoughts on the ways that we could work with them to improve the attendance rates of our children at school, and the opportunities that our government is desperately keen to see happen. At Urapunga, Sue and Phil Hearnden are doing well with the primary students there. At least five children from Urapunga have gone on to Kormilda College for high school and some attend Ngukurr Secondary. Others are still missing out on vital secondary educational opportunities, not because of the lack of opportunities, but simply because of other factors related to isolation. It can quite simply be that their families just do not have a car, or enough money for fuel for a vehicle to take them every day to Ngukurr Secondary which is a good 15 to 20 minutes drive on a good day. That is when the Roper River is not up, and the Wilton River. In the Wet Season there is definitely no access for them.
At Ngukurr I welcome the new acting principle, Mike Bowden. Mike has replace Graeme Matthews who is currently on study leave. While at Ngukurr, I spoke with senior students at the school to ask them how they see the future, and also talked with them about the middle schools and what the Northern Territory government is doing with regards to education in other areas of the Northern Territory. I spoke to the students and spent quite a lot of time with kids out on the Roper Road asking them how they saw the future.
Some of the female students suggested a youth forum for all the young people of Ngukurr. It is an idea I certainly embraced, as does one of Ngukurr’s senior teachers, Linda Duckett. It would be an opportunity to workshop the ideas from the youth themselves of what they see as the problems they face in attending school, and ideas on how to address them. It could also be a forum that allows the flow of ideas for the region. These kinds of youth forums work successfully in our high schools and suburbs across the Territory. It is timely to encourage such workshopping of ideas with youth in our remote region. Who knows? We may be pleasantly surprised by the ideas they put forward.
I will mention the recent national debate on history being taught in our schools. It is at this point I would like to add in my discussions with the schools around the Arnhem electorate as I travelled around, that it is certainly an area people are talking about. With the respective communities that I have, families are adamant that their children know the history of their own area first, that they know who they are, where they come from, and how they link in with each other. We have the Alawa people in the Ngukurr area, the Minyerri Hodgson Down mob, Jilkminggan and Numbulwar who are very strong on culture and identity and language, and very strong on their own history being taught in their schools. This history that they talk about does not just begin with the arrival of Captain Cook. It is a history that goes back generations after generation, where the old people can tell those stories, and can be appreciated and respected within a wider mainstream system of teaching. I urge the Education minister, with all the good works that he is doing across remote regions and primary and secondary education, that we consider the history aspect, but in a way that works for the communities.
In closing, I would like to say that, while we may have a way to go in terms of access of our remote regions, I sincerely commend the Education minister and his department for the focus placed on secondary education in our Territory communities. It is a well known fact that the indigenous people across the Northern Territory suffered considerably due to the absence of such a focus on education in remote areas in the last two decades.
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her comments and, particularly, finishing what has been a pretty long debate over two sessions of parliament, on a positive note as she did.
I will touch briefly on issues raised by those speaking to the statement. The member for Blain had fundamental questions about the introduction of middle schools that it did not address, and should start with the curriculum and did not address the curriculum. He is a reasonably regular critic of the Northern Territory Curriculum Framework. I point out that whilst we support it, and we think it is a quality piece of work, it was written by Northern Territory teachers under the hand of CLP ministers. It was well and truly done by the time we came to government. I make no judgment on that other than the fact that it was a piece of work completed and endorsed by the government of which he was a member before we came to government. I still think it is a quality piece of work, although it will be reviewed later this year.
The middle school policy and principles framework is about much more than curriculum. It is more about how teachers work together, how school leaders organise their schools, how the system transitions students through the different stages of schooling, how teachers teach in middle years, and how students learn. We are talking about real cultural change in our schools, not just curriculum.
The member for Blain says the curriculum is the most important thing on the one hand and then says teachers are the most important. I say to the member for Blain that the curriculum framework will undergo a comprehensive review later in 2006. Both I, as minister for Education, and the current chief executive are extremely concerned with standards, and that is the view that will prevail throughout any review of the curriculum. When we talk about standards and objectives within the curriculum, I agree. I believe they should be measurable, specific, objective, and they should, in the end, be achievable so that students can work through them. That is what we were taught in teacher’s college. It is still sound educational practice. However, whilst curriculum changes will come in the future, these changes are about how we teach in middle schools and how teachers learn.
The member for Braitling was critical initially that we were going to close ANZAC Hill High School and now appears equally critical that we have left it open and taken the Year 10 into Centralian. There is a bit of an untruth being run along the lines with the member for Greatorex in Alice Springs that government would close ANZAC Hill within a year. I want to assure both members that if it was going to be closed, the time to do it was when these decisions were being made. Similar accusations were made by the member for Braitling about Irrkerlantye. She said that students would drop out and would hang around the street because she had no faith in the students. That is what she thought would happen. She had no faith, either, in the Irrkerlantye school community; that children in the community were capable of handling the sorts of change that they have. The Alice Springs News reported very strongly and very positively on how well those students were going after the change.
With the review of the South Australian Certificate of Education, we have a view that you do not simply go along with the changes coming out of the review without input or complaint. We are going to be very carefully considering the changes in the South Australian system, what we accept and what we do not. There are already some differences between the Northern Territory Certificate of Education and the South Australian Certificate of Education, so there is not a problem to either system. If we do not believe the changes will educationally benefit our NTCE students, we will not implement them. I invite the member for Blain, the shadow minister for Education, to a briefing in this area if he so wishes.
In relation to Nightcliff High School, I fully believe that it will become a middle school of excellence. It is a school and educational community that has immersed itself already very strongly in the middle schools process. It is considerably advanced in a middle schools approach and it will hit the ground running next year with Years 8 and 9 in 2007 and Years 7, 8 and 9 in 2008. It was a school that had tried to maintain a quality education from Year 7 through to Year 8 through to Year 12 of painfully small numbers of students and to do that it had to take teaching resources from the middle years in order to try to provide the broadest possible subject choices in the senior years. Under that sort of situation, it is the middle years students who lose out, and the senior years students also miss out because the number of students across the subject areas is too small to get a dynamic cohort.
Nightcliff High will, in time, I have no doubt whatsoever, grow into a great middle school and I look forward to that. In fact, 20 years ago it was probably the leading high school in the Northern Territory. I expect that it will regain that reputation, albeit as a middle school into the future.
The member for Braitling was also concerned about special programs at Alice Springs High School: future directions, Alice outcomes, programs along those lines. My response is that the Years 10, 11 and 12 students should take their place alongside their peers. Those programs, in part at least, are happening at Centralian. If they are as effective as the member for Braitling believes, they will be carried across to Centralian. Some already are in place at Centralian, and I would expect, with transfer of teachers following the students across, that the majority, if not all, of those programs will follow those students through.
In terms of numbers at ANZAC High and ASHS, they will be small, but there is certainly plenty of room for growth in student numbers in each of those schools. It is absolutely incumbent upon the school principal and the school community to put in place those programs and practices that support the students who are there, but also attracts those students who are either enrolled and not attending, or not enrolled at all.
The member for Braitling has raised, on many occasions, questions about the number of students in Alice Springs not attending school. I do not have a definitive answer on this yet, but preliminary work around this question by the department suggests that those numbers are not as great as has been put to us over recent times. I hope we would have more definitive information in the near future.
I thank the members for Casuarina, Millner and Brennan for their contributions. I was pleased to work with the member for Millner on the issues around Ludmilla Primary School during the consultative phase and he outlined the number of meetings that we had. The member for Brennan is a very ardent advocate for Palmerston schools. He is intrinsically interested in education in its own right. He is involved in the future planning for Palmerston schools and I know he recognises that this is an exciting time to be involved in education in Palmerston. He has a role and a responsibility to ensure the best possible outcomes for educational infrastructure do come about for the future needs of Palmerston students.
The member for Arnhem is a regular visitor to schools throughout her electorate. She provides me and my office with very valuable feedback on needs throughout her electorate after those visits. It is greatly appreciated by me and my office, and I am sure it is equally appreciated by her constituents. I look forward to the reports from the member for Arnhem after each of the visits she makes.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank all members for their contributions.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
Ms LAWRIE (Family and Community Services): Mr Deputy Speaker, I provide a progress report on the implementation of the Northern Territory’s Volatile Substance Misuse Prevention and Intervention Program. It is just over six months ago, on 9 February this year, that the Northern Territory’s Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act 2005 and its regulations became law. The VSA legislation is groundbreaking. It is the first of its kind in Australia. In only six months, it has received widespread acclaim, and other states have expressed considerable interest in following our lead.
Six months is too short a period to make a full and complete assessment of the legislation’s effectiveness in tackling a long-term and complex problem, petrol sniffing. However, it is appropriate that a preliminary assessment is provided and that is what I want to do today. While we are certainly not claiming that petrol sniffing has in any way been solved, after six months this legislation can only be considered an outstanding success. People at the coalface tell us that sniffing in places like Mutitjulu and Papunya has almost been wiped out, which is a terrific result. This is due to the combination of this legislation and the roll-out of Opal fuel. While we claim some initial success, history tells us that a drastic reduction in petrol sniffing is often temporary. We cannot be complacent and we need to ensure that we remain ahead of the game in tackling petrol sniffing.
The act provides a range of new powers to enable individuals, communities and government agencies prevent and better respond to sniffing. These include: powers for police and others to search individuals and seize and dispose of volatile substances and implements used to inhale volatile substances; powers for police and others to take people who are intoxicated by volatile substances home or to other places of safety; powers for the court to compel people who have chronic volatile substance misuse problems to participate in treatment; powers for communities to create local controls on the sale and supply of volatile substances that are enforceable under Territory law; stronger penalties for knowingly supplying volatile substances to people to inhale; and new protections for people who inform police about offences under the act.
These powers were not decided upon lightly. Rather, they were a result of the heartache of many families and communities grappling with the grief and distress of seeing their young people harming themselves and their communities. They were a result of the fear expressed by some communities about the fate of their young people, and the frustration by others that, despite efforts by community leaders, petrol sniffing was increasing rather than abating, that people were getting worse not better.
These were the stories that were told to my predecessor, the member for Arafura, and to the Select Committee on Substance Abuse which travelled the Territory to try to understand petrol sniffing and its effect on community life. It was these stories and the people who faced the committee as witnesses that shaped the legislation and the powers within it. That is not to say that all regional centres or remote communities are affected by volatile substance misuse. In fact, many remain free of volatile substance misuse.
It is difficult to quantify the problem of petrol sniffing. The Department of Health and Community Services has surveyed 60 communities across the Northern Territory and identified that 23 of them reported some volatile substance misuse in the previous three months, mostly petrol sniffing. This equates to about 300 to 350 people who are using volatile substances Territory-wide. Less than half of this number, or about 140 people, were reported for using volatiles in a chronic way, the balance being experimental or occasional users. While the numbers may seem small, we must not underestimate their impact. Petrol sniffing not only affects the individual involved, but can tear apart whole families and, in some cases, whole communities.
The differences in the spread of volatile substance misuse and its impacts go to the heart of the design and application of the legislation. It has been constructed so that each community, regional centre or area is able to apply different aspects of the legislation according to the extent and nature of the problem in each community, and the resources available. In those communities with many experimental or occasional users, the community could focus on supply management and seize volatile substances from people as an immediate intervention. Those communities with more chronic users are more likely to use compulsory treatment options as well.
I now wish to discuss each of the provisions of the act in turn.
First, police and authorised persons are able to step in and remove petrol, paint and other substances from people who are sniffing and, if necessary, take intoxicated people into care. This is an immediate intervention which ceases the petrol-sniffing behaviour and immediately protects them from further harm. Police, particularly in Central Australia, have been using this provision to make headway on volatile substance misuse. From commencement of the act until early August this year, police across the Territory removed volatile substances and inhalants from people on 60 occasions. I have the latest updated figures; it is now 62 occasions. As expected, the substance seized in 48 - and with the updated figures now 50 - of these events was petrol. Paint was seized twice and other volatile substances 10 times. The volume of petrol seized on each occasion averaged less than one litre per event, which was also the pattern for the other substances seized.
I have been advised as recently as this morning that police have taken 11 people to safety. The provisions are very similar to the powers available to police to tip out alcohol and to take intoxicated people into care. In this way, the police are very experienced in managing substance misuse and protecting people who are intoxicated. I commend the police in their efforts in applying the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act in their day-to-day policing activities.
Police have also been proactive in their efforts to prevent illegal supply, due in part to the new Substance Abuse Intelligence Desk, known as the SAID, based in Central Australia. Using intelligence gained through the SAID, the police have been able to intercept and prosecute the illegal supply of volatile substances on what I have been advised has been four separate occasions in the region. This is a very positive outcome and places petrol and other drug runners to remote communities on notice.
I recall that questions were raised during the debate on the bill about authorised persons. As authorised persons would have powers to use reasonable force to search for and remove volatile substances, and to take people including children into care, concerns were raised about how people who apply to be authorised persons would be trained and assessed. Earlier in the year, I approved the Authorised Person Policy and Practice Guidelines which clearly detail the roles, responsibilities and powers of these positions, application processes, knowledge and skill requirements, and assessment and suitability through background checks. The guidelines are very detailed and are available on the Department of Health and Community Services Alcohol and Other Drugs Program website.
An authorised person training program was completed earlier in the year in Alice Springs. Eight people undertook the training program, gaining a better understanding of the responsibilities and challenges for authorised persons. The training resulted in one organisation expressing a desire for its staff to take steps required to become an authorised person. I look forward to receiving their applications. The promotion of authorised persons and the training program is an ongoing commitment by the department which has now written widely to remote communities to gauge interest in nominating local people to become authorised persons. I am advised that this has generated further interest from some community patrollers.
While many patrollers are well placed to become authorised persons, and I encourage them to consider participating in the training and extending their roles, I also acknowledge that some patrols have stated that they prefer to continue to work with their clients using their existing cultural protocols and processes. The training program remains available in this instance, and may serve to broaden their understanding of the legislation and, more importantly, may develop new skills in working with clients who may be using volatile substances.
The act also allows premises to be designated as places of safety, where police and authorised persons can take people intoxicated by volatile substances and who are at particular risk. I was very pleased to learn that all four sobering-up shelters had indicated a willingness to take on this important role. Their extensive experience in providing care to people intoxicated by alcohol is sure to equip them well in dealing with clients intoxicated by volatile substances. Some shelters have requested training for their staff to help them work with these clients. I understand that one agency has raised other practical issues which need to be addressed such as staffing rosters and suitability of premises for these new clients.
An area of the act which was subject to the most contention in the legislation and which, since its introduction, has attracted considerable interest from families and communities is the compulsory treatment programs. These are the powers given to the court to compel people to participate in treatment for their chronic volatile substance problems. When it was first proposed, some sections of the community identified a range of problems and concerns with the approach. Some people believe that there is no place for court ordered alcohol and other drug treatment, or that such approaches are unlikely to benefit the client. Other people have more practical questions about the suitability and availability of treatment programs for volatile substance misuse problems. Importantly, people from remote communities living with chronic petrol sniffers supported the idea of compulsory treatment, and it was this support that steadied the resolve of government.
To date, 44 applications for compulsory treatment have been made during the six months that the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act has been operating: two applications in the Top End; and 42 applications in Central Australia. Of these 44 applications, 31 have been referrals from Territory police officers, again demonstrating that police are very actively applying the legislation. Other applications have been received from non-government services, primary health staff, and the department’s Family and Children Services program.
In order to describe the outcome of these applications, I need to describe the procedures around an application for court-mandated treatment. The decision to refer a person to the courts is not taken lightly. The act has established a framework which has a number of built-in protections for people about whom an application has been made. These are further strengthened through the administrative arrangements, which have been developed by agencies within the Departments of Health and Community Services and Justice. These arrangements make sure that each person is properly assessed according to their needs, and that only people likely to benefit from treatment are mandated to do so. This assessment also provides the report for consideration by the magistrate.
Each application made in the community undergoes a preliminary assessment by one of two Volatile Substance Abuse nurses working with the Alcohol and Other Drugs program. The preliminary assessment includes verifying the information in the application, assessing immediate risk, and talking with the applicant, primary health care centres and police, about the effects of the sniffing behaviour. Based on this assessment, the application comes to me to approve, or not approve, a formal assessment. Thirty-eight assessments have progressed to a formal application for assessment to me as the delegated minister; 36 in Central Australia, and two in the Top End.
To date, I have approved 12 for formal assessment through a panel process, which is convened through the Department of Justice, and which also includes clinicians from the Alcohol and Other Drugs program, Mental Health Services, and Family and Children’s Services program where appropriate. Depending on individual circumstances, input may also be sought from family members, other local community agencies, local health services, or from police. I have not approved assessments in instances such as where the person is not a Northern Territory resident, or where they would not benefit from a treatment regime. Other people have agreed to participate in treatment as a voluntary client, which has meant that the formal legal process is not required.
The assessment process is not always straightforward. Working with people who may have transient lifestyles presents particular challenges. I have been advised that it has sometimes been difficult to contact the person as, in a small number of cases, they had left their community, some apparently having moved interstate. The changing patterns of volatile substance abuse and misuse also mean that individuals can stop sniffing without any formal intervention. I understand this has been the case with a small number of people about whom an application has been made.
It is important to remember that the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act is not the only pathway for people with these problems to access treatment. People are always encouraged to voluntarily seek treatment. They may be referred by the criminal justice system or, in the case of children, via the welfare system.
One of the most interesting outcomes from the last six months is the high number of voluntary requests for treatment. Most clients who have been referred for compulsory treatment have agreed to participate in treatment as voluntary clients. This is, no doubt, due to the availability of treatment options, and is a credit to the caring environment provided in treatment services. It may also be a result of encouragement and support from the family, the community, and the VSA nurse that some people have made this positive choice. There is no doubt that the threat of compulsory treatment has led to an increase in voluntary treatment, and that is a terrific outcome.
As I mentioned earlier, the act also gives power to communities to better control the sale and supply of volatile substances locally. Management areas with approved management plans will enable residents in communities to apply targeted controls on the availability of substances that are being misused in that region, and for those controls to be enforceable under Territory law.
The process for developing these areas and plans includes a clear understanding of local volatile substance misuse – what is being sniffed, and by whom and where, and how people get access to these substances. This research and consultation process may reveal alternate ways for preparing management areas to control supply. For example, I know that around Darwin, to respond to paint sniffing, the Alcohol and Other Drugs program staff and police have contacted local retailers to remind them of their obligation to not sell to people who may misuse various substances, and they provide practical advice about how to identify and respond to customers who may misuse.
The act also requires that, prior to a management area being declared, the applicant, residents or council need to advise all those who may be affected of any proposed control measures. This is not only residents, but also nearby communities and businesses, such as agricultural, mining, tourism venture operators and contractors who may work on the community or travel through the community.
Management plans do, however, provide a legal mechanism to enforce the Australian government’s roll-out of Opal fuel in the Northern Territory, and they have been embraced as such by some communities. Nine applications have been received from remote communities for management areas: seven in Central Australia, and two in the Top End. While the Alcohol and Other Drugs program, as well as non-government organisations such as the Central Australian Youth Link-Up Service, known as CAYLUS, NPY Women’s Council and Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi have supported communities to undertake their planning and consultation activities, the time taken to complete the process has been longer than expected. I understand that careful consideration is to be given to the implications and practical effects of management areas. Nevertheless, I have asked the Alcohol and Other Drugs program to expedite the process.
While the legislation provides the framework for the Northern Territory’s response to volatile substance misuse, it was acknowledged that it would be largely ineffective without a commensurate additional funding commitment. An additional $2m is allocated each year to support three main areas of the act:
One of the biggest challenges was the development of new treatment models and services, specifically for volatile substance misuse problems. This is, again, a first for the Northern Territory and for Australia. I am proud that this jurisdiction has been able to forge the way in this regard. In March of this year, the Drug and Alcohol Services Association in Alice Springs commenced residential rehabilitation. Since that time, DASA has provided rehabilitation for nine clients, with lengths of stay ranging from over two months to five days. Almost all of these clients were subject to application for treatment under the legislation from their home community, but agreed to participate in treatment voluntarily. One client was referred through the criminal justice system.
DASA has proven to be responsive to the needs of people with volatile substance misuse problems and their families. The service encourages family participation in treatment and can accommodate a carer as well as the client. It has been able to accommodate people with disabilities, and younger clients from 16 years onwards. We know that the demand for treatment services in Central Australia is strong and that there are up to 22 people seeking access to the DASA service.
While this is proving problematic at this point in time, the service will be able to grow when it relocates to the Aranda House facility. This facility will be of a high standard and its design lends itself to becoming a residential rehabilitation service for up to 20 clients. The layout also enables separate sleeping and bathroom facilities for males and females, and has open communal areas and quieter areas for clients. The Department of Health and Community Services is currently consulting with DASA to ensure that the design of the redeveloped building meets DASA’s client, administration and related needs.
It is also working with the Department of Planning and Infrastructure on the design and tendering process. I understand that plans are currently being refined and tenders should be let for the construction phase later in the year, with the service being able to be occupied by March 2007. In the interim, DASA has entered into an arrangement with the Central Australian Aboriginal Alcohol Programs Unit, CAAAPU, in Alice Springs to provide more places for people working to access treatment. This arrangement will make an additional four beds available, and will continue until Aranda House can be occupied. When DASA expands into Aranda House, this will free up part of its existing facility at Schwarz Crescent, which will then be available for short-term residential care for young people experiencing problems related to volatile substance misuse, and which also be auspiced by DASA.
It is important to acknowledge that while residential care provides a much-needed facet of care for people affected by volatile substance abuse, provision of treatment can include other forms. Currently, Bushmob in Alice Springs is providing therapeutic care for young people with volatile substance issues using an outreach model. The service provides all of the elements of a traditional treatment service - counselling, case management, skills development and family therapy - in a culturally secure context. Bushmob works in town and in remote areas and currently has 22 clients. Bushmob will support the residential service for young people in Alice Springs when it is operational. In the meantime, it supports clients living with extended family in outstations and in supported accommodation services in town.
In the Top End, the Council of Aboriginal Alcohol Program Service, CAAPS, is providing residential rehabilitation for both adults and young people. Like the DASA service, CAAPS encourages family involvement in treatment, and all young people must be accompanied by a carer. This ensures new skills learned in treatment are shared across families and provides an additional support for the person in treatment. The service can take up to 12 people at any one time. I was delighted to be able to launch the newly-constructed purpose-built facility on the beautiful grounds of CAAPS’ Berrimah campus in July this year. CAAPS has had a total of six clients, and currently have four clients in the service - two young people and an adult carer, as well as two adult clients. Of these, two were voluntary referrals and two were being directed through the justice system.
The demand for treatment in the Top End has been lower than in Central Australia which is due, in part, to different prevalence rates and associated problems with volatile substance misuse in this region. However, it is also the case that there are different community attitudes to treatment and more complex logistics involved when referring clients from across the Top End to a Darwin-based service.
While work has progressed to provide services in both Darwin and Alice Springs, it is important to recognise the ongoing work at those remote communities which have a long established history of caring for people with volatile substance abuse problems. Ove the first two years of the volatile substance misuse funding, a total of $1.44m was allocated to the remote service development. This has proved both rewarding in community interest and commitment, but has also been difficult and, in some instances, has not been able to be fully realised.
Four remote services in Central Australia received some one-off and operational funding from the Northern Territory’s VSA program. These communities are Ilpurla, Mt Theo, Kintore and Ipolera. Mt Theo and Ilpurla are well-established services and have received national acclaim for their work with young indigenous people. Kintore has elected to use its funding to focus on youth development and a mobile outstation model that links between family, police, courts and individuals. Like many remote services, it is vulnerable to staff changes and shortages.
In the Top End, one-off and recurrent operational funds were allocated to the community councils of Gunbalanya, Angurugu and Gapuwiyak. With the pending introduction of Opal fuel as the only fuel available across the whole of Groote Eylandt, it is possible that Angurugu will also decide not to develop a remote service for volatile substance misuse and, in this instance, alternate regional options will need to be canvassed. Gunbalanya, like Kintore, is operating a model based on youth development and a mobile outreach service.
I spoke earlier about funding being used for the coordination of case management and community information about the legislation. This is a vital part of the implementation of the act, and a total of $725 000 has been recurrently committed for this purpose. These funds were used to facilitate the support and to coordinate access to services for people with volatile substance abuse problems. $200 000 a year is used to employ the two VSA nurses in the Department of Health and Community Service. $180 000 a year has been provided to the Department of Justice to support them to apply the act. These funds have enabled clinical positions to be placed with Courts Administration to coordinate the compulsory assessment processes of the act.
For this program to be truly effective, it was recognised that those individuals and communities that can most benefit from its introduction must have a clear understanding of the intent and powers contained within the act, and the related services available. The Northern Territory government has worked closely with organisations with strong local ties to disseminate information and to support community responses. Waltcha, NPY and CAYLUS have been contracted through the department to help communities in Central Australia region apply the legislation at a local level. Milingimbi, Angurugu and Gapuwiyak in the Top End have also received some one-off funding to assist with planning and to develop local petrol responses.
Additionally, community education staff in the Alcohol and Other Drugs program have been proactive in their role to support the communities’ understanding of the legislation in helping people understand treatment pathways and options, and in assisting communities with supply management plans. All of this activity builds on the work of the Alcohol and Other Drugs program staff, non-government organisations and, of course, communities to put in place a range of prevention and diversionary activities.
This brings me to an important point. Although the focus of my statement is on the progress in implementing the Northern Territory Volatile Substance Abuse Protection Act it is important to recognise that this act and its related services sit within broader Northern Territory and Australian government efforts to respond to volatile substance misuse. For example, the Australian government’s roll-out of subsidised Opal fuel is having an impact on the prevalence of sniffing. I understand that as of August this year, some 26 communities and five islands in the Northern Territory have been approved to supply Opal and that there are currently 25 communities and seven roadhouses supplying Opal fuel. There is no doubt that this has already achieved some notable successes in reducing petrol sniffing and related harm.
Continued Australian government funding of outstations also helps ensure the continued viability and funding of other substance misuse prevention and treatment agencies, and it further builds on the resources available to tackle these problems at the individual or community level.
The government is very encouraged by the first six months of this legislation. We have had some terrific successes and we know where we need to improve. The CLP was extremely critical of this legislation. It is important to understand where we would be now if their policies had been implemented. Members will be aware that the Leader of the Opposition brought into this House a bill that involved two years gaol for anyone, including juveniles, caught petrol sniffing. At the same time, the former Leader of the Opposition announced the CLP would withdraw all funding towards petrol sniffing rehabilitation. The combination of these two policies would have been that anyone caught sniffing would be sent straight to gaol. The courts would have no diversionary options, as the CLP was going to defund all the treatment programs.
I mentioned earlier that there had been 44 applications for compulsory treatment programs. Under the CLP plan, those 44 people would now be in gaol. Under the Martin government those people will, and are, receiving treatment and being given a second chance at life.
Volatile substance misuse is not a static problem. People’s substance use behaviour has changed. People with substance misuse problems can come into contact with various community or government agencies, and community responses change. Volatile substance misuse is a complex and evolving problem, and government and community agencies continue to fine-tune their strategies to better respond to existing problems, and to prevent new ones.
The work undertaken by the Department of Health and Community Services and other Northern Territory government agencies in partnership with the community sector to implement and support the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act has been considerable and consistent. However, there is still work needed to streamline processes and assist individuals and communities make better use of the act.
The act has been in operation for some six months. A review will be conducted in early 2007 to evaluate progress and challenges, and will inform an ongoing process of refinement. The initial success of this legislation has been due to a real team effort. Everyone, from individuals in the communities, the police, the NGOs, acknowledged in this statement, and the staff of my Alcohol and Other Drugs program in my agency, have worked together to make this legislation work. I thank them for their hard work and dedication.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise despite the slap that the minister decided to give the CLP at the conclusion of her statement.
Mrs Braham: She could not help herself.
Dr LIM: I pick up on the interjection from the member for Braitling. She said: ‘She could not help herself’. Let me say from the outset that I am going to give this statement qualified support. I am pleasantly surprised that the minister has achieved some steps forward in these last six months, although I will qualify my support.
We all know that volatile substance abuse is a scourge; primarily petrol, but other volatile substances as well. I am not sure whether members are aware of the physical consequences of petrol sniffing, but it is a very significant matter and the associated social impacts of petrol sniffing, which go along with the physical consequences, are very severe indeed.
I said I will give qualified support. Yes, we have seen some positive steps being taken by the government in this matter. However, as many steps as have been taken forward, they have also raised many questions and these I will put to the minister. I hope she will be able to respond to those questions when she closes the debate.
First, the roll-out of Opal will be received by everyone as a positive move. Fortunately for us, the cost will be borne by the federal government rather than the Northern Territory. Otherwise, you can imagine the cost that would be imposed on all Territorians if Opal was generally rolled out across the Territory. Making fuel non-sniff-able is obviously a step in the right direction, as long as it does not impose a cost on the motor vehicle user. We currently pay extremely high prices in the Northern Territory for petrol and I would not like to see the roll-out of Opal imposing a further burden.
Why is petrol sniffing such a major problem? Many years ago, when I first entered this parliament, I gave a description of what would occur if a youth took up petrol sniffing. Paraphrasing what I said, a hypothetical youth was bored, nothing to do, perhaps not attending school any longer and had no employment, living in a family where parents do not particularly care, or are too drunk to care. He sees his friends, his peers, sniffing petrol and appearing to enjoy themselves. He would be asking himself the same question: ‘Why would I not do that too? My friends appear to be pretty good. They do not seem to be hurt at all in any way, and they also seem to be quite happy and enjoying themselves, so I should try that too’. So, away he goes. His first experience after inhaling the fumes is one of euphoria. That would definitely bring the youth back to more sniffing.
What is in petrol that causes that? It is the chemical called toluene, a clear, colourless liquid with a distinctive smell we all have smelt before, which occurs naturally in crude oil, but is also produced in the process of making gasoline and other fuels from crude oil. I suppose with Opal, the manufacturer has been able to extract the toluene from the end product, thus making it non-sniff-able. Toluene is also used in making paint, paint thinners, fingernail polish, lacquers, adhesives, rubber, and some printing and leather tanning processes.
Toluene, when inhaled, will affect the nervous system. At low to moderate levels, it can cause tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type reactions or actions, associated memory loss, nausea, loss of appetite, and sometimes even hearing and colour vision loss. Fortunately, in low to moderate use levels, when you stop the abuse, the symptoms will completely disappear. However, with high level use, even within a short space of time, with the euphoria, light headedness, dizziness or sleepiness, it can lead to unconsciousness and even death. We also know that toluene can affect the kidneys directly.
We know that babies are also more sensitive than adults to the volatile substance. What is more troubling is that, during pregnancy, it is known that it can result in children born with birth defects and retarded mental abilities, and affects growth in utero and, subsequently, after birth. So there are problems with toluene, the substance that is the main cause of the immediate effects of petrol sniffing.
However, the more insidious problem was in the days when petrol contained a lot of lead. Even today in the lead of modified fuel, there is still enough lead to cause long-term problems. Those long-term problems come from the lead being deposited in the tissues, thus rendering permanent damage. I will not go into the physical consequences of that. People can go back to Hansard and search for the speech I made regarding the causes of mental disability due to petrol sniffing.
I would like the minister to walk us through, step by step, what occurs when a person is found to be sniffing petrol in a public place. From what I can gather, in a private place there is very little authority for the police or an authorised person to apprehend the person because there has been no so-called public offence committed. If that is the case, then what do you do with the child or youth petrol sniffing within the confines of a home under apparent supervision of parents or grandparents?
In public, if a youth is apprehended for sniffing petrol, I assume that a police officer would tip the petrol out and, if the police officer or authorised person deems that the youth is too intoxicated and not able to care for himself or herself, or is likely to come to some harm - whether it be self-harm or otherwise - they could take the youth into protective custody. It is not an arrest; it is just to protect the person, whether it is through accommodation in DASA or CAAAPU or wherever, or even at Aranda House. By the next day, when the youth has regained normalcy when the effects of the sniffing is over, I assume that the youth will be released. There is no immediate process to follow through on what you do with the youth who have been sniffing. What do the youth do? Do they immediately go back to behaviour, take up sniffing again?
I suppose if the police deem that this youth is going to be at risk, the police will report that to FACS. I assume FACS is the body that would follow up on this child? You go down to the river and find the youth who has been sniffing who had been apprehended and put into safe custody for the night. When you find the youth down the river, it is a matter of conjecture - it could be within hours or could be several weeks after. Eventually, the youth is found by the case officer and, perhaps, assessed by the case officer. Then a report is provided to the minister, who then decides whether this person is to go to court. Therefore, for an unknown period of time, this youth at risk continues to be put at risk because there is no control over the youth’s behaviour. That is a problem.
In her statement, while very warm and fuzzy, the minister has gilded the lily and has not spoken about the difficulties of how the whole thing can be implemented with protection of the child, because the child is exposed for several weeks between the time it is first apprehended by the police or an authorised person, to the time that the child faces court to be ordered by the court to then undergo rehabilitation.
Is that what we are after? I thought we were after protecting the child right from the very beginning. Right from the outset you protect the child, so that, in the first instance the child is found to be sniffing petrol, the whole process should start without any chance of the child returning to petrol sniffing. I believe, in this instance, the child would have been put at risk by the failure of this legislation to prevent it from happening. That is something that needs to be properly addressed.
The minister said we have had around 300 to 350 people using volatile substances across the Territory, and was very happy to see that her officers and police had apprehended some 60 people for committing that offence. Sixty in six months, or 10 a month, or one every three days is what has happened in the last six months - one person caught petrol sniffing every third day. I think that is inadequate - really inadequate. Also, only one person was taken to safety. I wonder what sort of commitment there is to ensure that all the petrol sniffers are quickly removed from risk to themselves. Obviously, there are not enough authorised persons; the police have other duties to perform.
As we have seen in the media recently in Alice Springs, crime has gone through the roof again and the police are flat out trying to cope with that without having to stop and tip out some petrol from a container from a youth, and then let the youth go back to whatever he or she was doing previously.
The minister says: ‘We are training them’. We know what the roles are and she even listed the authorised persons’ policy and practice guidelines. Again, short in detail. When she said that the guidelines are very detailed and are available on the Department of Health and Community Services, Alcohol and Other Drugs website, I ask the minister if she has checked the website herself. The detail is not there. As late as today I made inquiries. The detail is not there. Maybe it should be, or if it is, it must have been uploaded within the last half hour. If the minister has hard copies of those very detailed guides, then I request a copy be brought down for me because I have not been able to find one on the website.
I am very keen to know about that because I do not know what the training is for the authorised person, the capacity that those people have to recognise the level of intoxication a youth is under. That is something that needs to occur quickly on your website first of all and, if not, then bring the hard copy down here to this Chamber.
Let us go through the process again. The youth is now assessed by professional officers; the child is at risk and now needs to go to court. An application has to be made based on the assessment and the application goes to the minister. She says, and I quote: ‘Based on this assessment the application comes to me to approve, or not approve, a formal assessment.’ I trust what the minister meant there is that she delegates that power to a fully qualified person. I hope the minister is not putting herself in the place to say that ‘I will now determine whether a person should go for formal assessment’. I hope she takes advice on that because, if not, she is setting herself up as the qualified person who will determine who is assessed or who is not.
If she takes advice and she delegates the authority to somebody else, then she needs to communicate that clearly. Right now, when I read this, I say here is a lay person wanting to approve something, a minister approving a clinical process …
Ms Lawrie: No, I take advice based on the process.
Dr LIM: … and that is a concern. I cannot hear the minister’s interjection and I suggest she responds when the time comes to respond to the debate.
With regard to her slap of the County Liberal Party, the County Liberal Party proposed a policy before the last election and was quite clear: we were going to make it illegal. We wanted to make it illegal so that immediately after a youth is apprehended for petrol sniffing, that youth is taken to court for a court to then impose an order for detoxification and rehabilitation. Apart from that, the other points that were raised by the CLP’s policy, prior to the government releasing their policy, have all been adopted. Let me remind members of the Country Liberal Party policy’s five key points.
First, making the sniffing of petrol and other toxic substances illegal and, if need be, up to two years gaol - not as the minister implied in her statement that every child, every youth, apprehended for petrol sniffing would be thrown in gaol for two years. That is intellectually dishonest, and misleading to the nth degree.
The second point of the CLP policy was to give police the power to dispose of petrol and other toxic substances, similar to pouring out alcohol that is being illegally consumed.
Third: develop, in conjunction with existing health services, state-of-the-art treatment programs, targeting substance abuse including petrol sniffing, and investigate the benefits of establishing a residential rehabilitation facility. I congratulate the government for re-resurrecting Aranda House and encouraging DASA to work with CAAAPU to provide facilities where youth can undergo drying out and rehabilitation.
The fourth point from the CLP policy was to legislate to give courts the power to order sniffers to attend detoxification programs, the resources for which the Country Liberal Party government will provide.
Finally, legislate so that children who are sniffing can be taken into care for their own protection and so that they can undergo treatment.
They are the principles of the Country Liberal Party policy, and I am glad to see that this government has picked up on all bar one. I lament, however, that by not making it illegal, this government, while trying to put processes in place - and I again congratulate the government for having progressed somewhat since the legislation has become law - it has produced a flaw in the legislation that can potentially allow those apprehended youths continuing to suffer harm until such time as they face court. They may not face court - that is the thing. If they do not face court, they can continue to suffer harm.
The minister said, yes, some of them have, as a result of this program, volunteered to go into treatment and rehabilitation. That is great but, obviously, there are many who are not. While the minister’s estimate, according to this latest statement, is something between 300 and 350 petrol sniffers, Blair McFarland was only recently on radio quoting up to 500 youths and young adults are taking part in this abusive behaviour in Central Australia. So there are issues that the government’s legislation has not been able to control.
When this legislation was first debated nearly two years ago, some of the comments made included making sure that these youths have some purpose in their lives so that they will not look at petrol sniffing as the norm. As late as only the middle of last week around Central Australia, there was an ABC report talking about the soaring use of marijuana and other drugs amongst the younger people in Central Australia. The government must be conscious of that. There are social issues that are predisposing these young people to volatile substance abuse rather than useful, productive lives.
Minister, the police are busy enough. I hope you can continue to train more authorised persons to deal with this, and provide them with some sort of identification so that they can go down the street, patrolling, policing - with a small p - the legislation, making sure that youth are being apprehended and taken into some sort of protective sheltered place, and then to take them all to court, or modify your legislation to ensure that they are all prevented from returning to petrol sniffing down the river while waiting for their assessment process and facing your courts eventually. If you do not do that, they will constantly go back and you, through your legislation, put them back in a position where they can harm themselves even more, and that would be a tragedy.
We all know that the long-term consequence of petrol sniffing is intellectual disability and, more often than not, physical disability with very bad muscle coordination and, in an extreme case, being wheelchair bound and requiring a full-time permanent carer for potentially up to 40 to 50 years of the remainder of their lives. That will place a huge cost on our society. While you have put in $2m and have commenced to spend it, I also want to see how you are going to continue to do this over the next four years with your total of $10m. The federal government is playing its part by contributing money to this program and, had it not been for that, I am sure this program would not be as successful, or quite as successful, as it has been.
However, there is still not enough youth being picked up; you really have to wrap it up a bit quicker than you have done. It is well and good to stand up here and say, ‘Look at me, look at me, I have done so well, I have 60 kids apprehended’. What is the follow up rate on this? Tell us what happened to these 60 youth, whether they are still off petrol sniffing or they are back there again and, if they are, then we have not done very much, have we? Again, you can redo this. If the youth are apprehended in a public place, they cannot be apprehended if they are in a private place, so that really limits what you can do with your legislation.
Overall, I believe you have taken some positive steps, and I congratulate the minister for having done that. I have many reservations, loads of concerns, about them, and I am sure other members in this Chamber will voice their concerns as well, if we continue to see the number of petrol sniffers down the river bed and in other areas of Alice Springs. We know that many of them are the culprits of the petty crime that occurs in Alice Springs, and we would like to see those petty crimes stop. The only way to do that is to get rid of petrol sniffing and get these kids educated so they can be gainfully employed in the longer term.
Minister, I congratulate you on your statement. There are some positive matters there, and I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope there is not a big train coming the other way.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Mr Deputy Speaker, I have to say this debate has exposed more born-agains than a Billy Graham rally. While I am quite happy to see constructive contributions to any debate in this House, I am certainly not going to accept the judgmental moralising that was coming from the member for Greatorex just now. Where was he in the 1980s when I was chasing petrol sniffers around the community of Yuendumu, trying to take their petrol off them and get the knives out of their hands? Where was he? He was not there. I will tell you who was there: Chris Franks and Andrew Japaljarri Spencer who cared enough about the welfare and the future of the kids out there to try to take some direct action in the community. They mobilised the community; we all mobilised the community. In those days, you had enough people alive in those families to deal with the behaviour of those kids in the community through direct family action. That is what happened in the 1980s. You were not anywhere around it. Perhaps you need to pay your dues in an issue like this before you get up and express a judgmental opinion as you were just doing.
It is very important in a debate like this to acknowledge all of the people over the years starting with the indigenous families themselves - parents who, despite the rhetoric that you hear thrown around on these issues, actually do care about their kids, and community members who do care about their community. To have 120 kids frying their brains on petrol in Yuendumu in the 1980s was a huge challenge for that community and those families. They met that challenge and they got rid of petrol sniffing, and they kept it out of that community for 10 years before it came back in. I will tell you, 10 years later there were not enough people left standing to deal with that problem when it came back into the community - not by direct action through the families. That is how difficult some of these issues are to deal with.
You can talk all you like about formal documents and how we have adopted your ideas and everything. I have not adopted any of your ideas. The only people I listen to are the people who have fought the battle; committed personally on the ground to the welfare of the communities and of these kids who are so much in jeopardy. I would be appalled to be part of a party that would even consider locking up these kids. Do you know what they say when you talk to them, when they have been abusing themselves on inhalant substances? They say: ‘What is the point of living?’ When you talk about this stuff killing them, they will say: ‘What is the point of living?’ A kid said that to me out at Yuendumu. That is what this is all about; it is the fact that these kids are not doing this to give us a hard time or to dishonour Alice Springs and to attack the lifestyle of the communities, they are doing it because they do not know why they are bloody well alive and what their future holds for them.
That is something that you have to be bloody careful about when you are talking about this. I am sorry I get a bit emotional on this topic but there is …
Dr LIM: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker!
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Attorney-General.
Dr TOYNE: I will withdraw ‘bloody’ if that offends the member for Greatorex.
Dr Lim: It is not that which offends me, Mr Deputy Speaker ...
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have dealt with the point of order, thank you, member for Greatorex. The Attorney-General has withdrawn the word.
Dr TOYNE: I would like to trace the history of the struggle that has happened around these issues from the 1980s when Christine Franks and Andrew Japaljarri Spencer, many of the family members in Yuendumu and I first took up the fight against this terrible practice amongst the kids.
We have now reached a point where the communities have evolved through a couple of periods of response to these problems. The communities, thankfully, in the 1980s did have the internal strength to deal with this; in the 1990s they did not. That is why, in the case of Yuendumu and several other Central Australia communities, they felt the need to take the kids into a more controlled environment. Hence, the Putulu/Mt Theo programs north-west of Yuendumu, 150 km away from the main community - no petrol. Guess what? That was not incarceration, it was not punishment, it was about getting those kids back into a controlled environment where there was not that exposure to the harmful substances; putting them with senior members of the community to teach them how to be proud about who they were and of the heritage that they held to that country and to the culture of the Warlpiri people. That was the key to it. It is not about ‘if you do this we are going to punish you’. It is about, ‘we want to take you away, give you a stable environment for a period of time, and let you find yourself. Let you strengthen your identity so you can find meaning in life beyond simply blotting your brains out’. That is the fundamental of Mt Theo rehabilitation.
It is a hard life out there. There are no amenities other than shelter from the rain, and shade from the sun. The kids live many of the elements of the old lifestyle. They go hunting, they get taught the basic stories of their heritage, and that is why it has been a very effective program. I pay very respectful acknowledgement to Peggy Nampijinpa Brown, and to Johnny Japangardi Miller who have been out with those kids for a decade now. They are still out there largely unsung, although there has been some increasing acknowledgement of the work they have done over such a long period of time. They have reached the point where they have not only eradicated sniffing from Yuendumu, but they have also started to take kids from Willowra, Nyirripi, Papunya, even from town, to take them out in to that environment, provided that the kids acknowledge their authority within the family to teach and guide them.
That is an enormous achievement by these people. Whilst I am absolutely delighted to support the minister’s statement today about the enormous strides that our government and the federal government have made in tackling this problem, we should never lose sight of not just the work of these earlier pioneers in combating petrol sniffing, but also the outcome of their work. They blazed a trail to show what the fundamental things were that we have to deal with.
We have talked about rehabilitation and that could mean many different things. Rehabilitation is rehabilitating the identity and self-respect of these young people, just the same as people with alcohol dependency have to achieve some measure of that same rehabilitation. It is not about somehow learning rules and feeling that you have to obey those rules when you get out. It is about internal strength, and redirecting your life so you feel life is going in a useful direction and that it is worth living.
That is what people like Peggy and Johnny have done. They have demonstrated that on the ground, getting dirty, and living rough year after year to make sure those kids get the support they have needed. I want to make sure that is acknowledged in this debate because they are the unsung heroes here. I saw in the paper the other day that we have unsung heroes. Well, we will make sure they get an award one of these days because they deserve it.
With the current situation, my feeling of delight about this is that we have finally seen a coincidence of some powerful interventions. The Territory government is leading the way on this, and on many other things in the health domain. We are leading the country in many key areas of health and community health development. That is no accident. We are a very strong community here in the Northern Territory and we have some great professional people working with strong community members to get quite extraordinary things done, and this is certainly one area.
The legislation on inhalant abuse that my colleague, the Minister for Family and Community Services, put through parliament and is now very competently implemented on the ground, is an enormous stabilising force in dealing with kids who are at risk from inhalant abuse. It allows a set of strong, formal arrangements to place kids away from risk and into some form of rehabilitation. It is very good, in my view, that rather than reinventing the wheel, we have gone to the successful existing programs like Mt Theo and Ipolera and so on, and we have said: ‘Right, let us build you into this network straight away’, because we know of the benefit that has come from the programs that have been set up largely at the end of the finger nails in some of the periods in which these programs have struggled to survive. It is great to see that they are now built securely into our network of rehabilitation and response to inhalant abuse.
It has exposed areas of the Northern Territory where there needs to be some placement area for kids in this situation. I believe that Central Australia has actually led the way on the development of bush-based programs and, with the addition of the urban programs such as at Aranda House and here in Darwin, we will have a really good rehabilitation network to fit in with the legislation.
The courts will do some of the work, but there is also, as the minister pointed out in her statement, the ability for voluntary referrals into rehabilitation. That does not mean that people who do not appear in the court do not get help. That is an important point to make because the member for Greatorex seemed to think that did not apply.
The other major aspect is Opal fuel. I would like to provide some quick facts about how that is rolled out. It is a very welcome complement to the work that is being done under the Territory inhalant abuse legislation. The Opal story really starts with BP Australia. I commend their corporate citizenship for making the effort to support the program right from the start of developing the non sniff-able fuel in the first place. That occurred three years ago when a well-known Centralian, Chris Tangey sent off a series of e-mails to petrol companies around Australia. His intent was to see if they had anything to contribute to the petrol sniffing debate. Only BP responded. The subsequent series of meetings between BP Australia’s Mark Glazebrook and John Gaynor, who was working at Commonwealth Health at the time, resulted in BP Australia embracing petrol sniffing in Central Australia as a core issue for their company’s social contribution.
Through this initiative and with the support of the member for Macdonnell, Alison Anderson, prior to her entering the House, CAYLUS and both NT government and Australian government agencies, BP Australia’s wish to become part of the solution to petrol sniffing gathered momentum. The commitment shown from the former regional president of BP Australia, Greg Bourne; current regional president, Gerry Hueston; former deputy CEO, Bob Welsh, Corporate Citizen Management, Mark Glazebrook, and their collective desire to contribute solutions to this problem have been second to none.
BP Australia’s 3D strategy - deterrent, diversion and development - involved the development of a solution to overcome petrol sniffing: Opal fuel as well as a system of support for some of the existing youth service providers. In doing so, BP Australia recognised that technology alone would not solve petrol sniffing. Opal fuel was not a panacea but, potentially, a very effective tool.
I welcome the Australian government’s commitment to the eight-point plan of resolving petrol sniffing in the cross-border area, and their new commitment to subsidise the roll-out of Opal fuel across Central Australia, including Alice Springs. I congratulate those petrol retailers who have agreed to offer Opal fuel as a choice at the bowser. To those who have not yet made that change, I implore them to do so.
Additionally, our government’s commitment to fuel all NT government petrol vehicles with Opal is another step in the right direction. Many of those vehicles go out visiting communities, and it will help keep the line very strong against sniff-able fuel getting into the remote communities that are currently on Opal.
I applaud the efforts of our government and this minister, and the Australian government in this enormous initiative that is going on. Talking to CAYLUS, Blair McFarland and Jenny Walker, the petrol sniffing is all but wiped out now in much of Central Australia through the combination of these initiatives, and we have to keep it that way.
To conclude, I will go back to Mt Theo and the next part of the trail that they blazing ahead of the work that is now going on Territory-wide, and that is the stage of this process where you have to address some of the underlying causes of inhalant abuse and substance abuse more generally. You often hear that kids are bored, and they have no status or role in many of our remote communities. That is absolutely true. Mt Theo has now moved on, having eradicated petrol sniffing from the area that they have taken responsibility for, to set up youth and recreation programs. They now have after school drop-in centres, Internet cafes, and sporting and recreational programs going at Yuendumu and the other communities.
The next step is to make sure that those kids’ lives are filled with constructive and healthy activities to replace the void that they were in which led them to substance abuse. That is the next step we that we have to think very seriously about. Once we have got rid of the symptoms, let us get rid of the causes of this terrible behaviour.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Deputy Speaker, I have to admit, I really like listening to the member for Stuart when he talks from the heart, not from his notes. His was quite a passionate speech to begin with. I did notice our observer in the gallery had stopped knitting and listening to you, minister, so that is a commendation to you, that she actually did that.
I lost track of the petrol sniffing in Alice Springs there for a few months. Perhaps it is because it is not happening, or it is not as in your face, I do not know. I had a particular couple of streets, Priest Street and Elliot Street, where people could not leave their hoses out the front, their cars were being tampered with, their lawn mower petrol was being stolen - we had it constantly. But suddenly, I have not had anyone ring me up for a long time. You would see it on Anzac Hill - it is not there; you would see it on Billy Goat Hill - it is not there. You would see it in Larapinta Park, one of the parks there - I have not had any complaints about it.
I appreciate getting this up-to-date statement from the minister. I was wondering what had happened and how successful it had been, particularly as we were all keen to get it going. We were worrying that it was not going fast enough, worrying about how the police were going to do it, and would they have any help. So to have this statement tell us that things are happening and that there are dollars supporting it - which was a bit of worry; we might have this wonderful policy and legislation but we would not have the means to implement it - is good. I thank the minister for letting us know that.
We reached the stage where there was a desperate cry for help out in the communities, as the minister has said. Communities really did not know how to cope, and they could not cope on their own. This is why this legislation is so important and that we see some positive things coming from it. There has always been that small proportion of people in communities who really wanted to do something, but they just did not know where to go. Now we have given them the process and the means, hopefully, it will do the things that we all want it to do.
In reality, with petrol sniffing, you get all sorts of figures bandied around from hundreds to not so many, but the small proportion of people who were sniffing were large enough to cause serious problems within the communities, and serious problems to individuals from a health and social dysfunction side. This particular group of people had enormous effect across communities and across towns. I can understand how it was just too hard to do it alone, and they needed something more. That is why this legislation has, obviously, given that teeth to people. They need back-up support - and they just do not need it from within their community; they need it from people who can stand up and be leaders and show the way. They also need it from government agencies, not just the police. The police have a big enough job on their own. It is pleasing to see that there are other non-government agencies as well helping them.
I am not quite sure what really prompted government to bring in this legislation. I would like to think that it was not because, suddenly, it became a town issue; that it was an issue that had flowed from the communities. It is interesting that often people were sniffing because they were influenced by other people, not because they wanted to do it themselves; through the influence of older people and of groups, they were being pushed into this situation through boredom and lack of education, and they fell into the trap. The greatest success is that we see young people engaging in good young people’s activities, not destructive activities.
I thank Blair McFarland for sending his newsletter to me, because there is some interesting work being done by CAYLUS. I will share a few stories with members. I know the minister has seen these, but I rather like the signs they are encouraging communities to put up. I was just looking at the one from Kintore that, basically, said Kintore does not allow sniff-able fuel into their community. The sign in the community states it very clearly: ‘Opal fuel cannot be sniffed, so do not bother to try, get on with your life’. Kintore has done remarkably well in the way they have turned it around.
Docker River always had a bit of a name for being out of sight but not always cohesive. What they are doing there is commendable. I love their cooking camel stew. I will quote from this:
It might sound a simple thing but it is, obviously, one of those pluses. They were also having trouble with providing activities. They have pool tables at Docker River, but you can understand how easily pool tables are damaged in a community by rough play. What did they do? They decided they would make their own pool tables. The frame is solid steel and water resistant plywood; the top is covered with a layer of lino, and the ball returns are exposed so the players can easily put their hand in the pocket to pull out the balls. Of course, they do not have to put any money in the table to play. It is being proactive and finding ways to get the kids involved in recreational programs that is really important in Docker River.
There is now a junior football and a junior softball team which practise regularly, developing into good teams. The junior football team played at the Healthy Life Carnival in Alice Springs in April this year. The rule at Docker River is that if the young people do not go to school then they are not allowed to play sport in the afternoon - and who wants to miss out on sport? It is one of the incentives for the young people. There is still a bit of petrol sniffing at Docker River, but it is much better than it used to be. Keeping kids busy has stopped much of the sniffing. Opening the recreational hall at night is very important because kids like sniffing at night, and night time activities give them something to do. Having lots of community sport has also been very important.
The police have been very helpful in removing people who deal petrol from the community. The good news is that there is not sniffing every day at Docker River.
They have a male and female recreational officer which is a great idea. It might sound a simple thing but it means that the males and females are dealt with in a different way than if there is just one recreational officer there.
Nyirripi is another story. Bored kids become busy kids. Nyirripi did not have a holiday program, so when school finished and Christmas holidays started, the kids got very bored very quickly. CAYLUS ran a holiday program to make sure kids had something to do and were kept busy. They recruited three youth workers and the community had already put in Opal fuel which meant there was no petrol on the community. As soon as Opal came, sniffing stopped, but it was important to get some good holiday programs in place. That is what that community did: put in the good holiday program so that children were occupied.
This is the one I wanted: ‘Kintore Community uses Opal fuel. Opal fuel is good for cars but is no good for sniffing’. Simple message, good sign. If we saw more of those signs around communities in Central Australia, they would understand that we want to help them, we want to make sure their lives are good. That is what we all want to see no matter what side of politics we represent.
In the minister’s statement she talks about people going to voluntary treatment. I am pleased that CAAAPU is being used. For a long time we were worried that it was not being involved in the purpose of rehabilitation. I am even more pleased that Aranda House is at last going to be turned into something useful. It is a good facility and the government is going to upgrade it and use it for sniffers’ rehabilitation which is great. I would be interested if the minister could tell us the voluntary treatment, people who went into that: were they people who had really severe sniffing problems or were they on the edge? Were they people who had been playing with it and toying with it? I would like to know that.
I would also like to know when the minister talks about ‘eight people had undertaken authorised person training’, whether those eight people come from community agencies or patrols? Where did they come from? That is a great way to ease the burden on the amount of work the police have to do. I take it they still have the same powers as police would under this particular act and they can take petrol off people and take young people to a safe place. I am interested to know where these people came from and if there is encouragement for more, and whether we can get them trained on communities which may still be experiencing some problems. I really think they are the sort of people who would be useful in controlling whatever is happening on communities, particularly if they have the support of the elders.
I notice that petrol sniffing has stopped on those communities with Opal. I am wondering how far down the line we have to go. There is only one service station in Alice Springs which sells Opal and I am one of the people who still does not go there. I guess it is a case of getting your attitude changed to use it. Is it going to be a problem? We have so many tourists coming into the town with cars which do not have Opal fuel. Is it a problem because we still have so many roadhouses which do not sell Opal fuel? It would be interesting to know from the minister how widespread we are going to go with this and how much support the federal government is going to give to make sure that we avoid having petrol available as much as we can.
I notice the minister says there will be a review of this act. It would be interesting to see when she reviews it also to review how many people have gone through the treatment and whether it has become a revolving door, a bit like alcohol - whether they go back to communities and go back on to sniffing, or whether they go through the treatment and there is a success story at the end. Perhaps we can get numbers next time we hear about this on what has happened. Do we have the revolving door effect that we see in so many of our alcoholics, or are we actually saving people so they do not go back to sniffing?
We talk about education and programs. I am interested to hear from the minister whether she thinks attendance at school has improved as communities abandon petrol. Has it helped the schools become more effective? What we are hearing all the time is that it is not just having Opal there; it is all the other things as well that we need to keep kids on the straight and narrow. If the minister could give me some information on that, I would be grateful.
I am interested in some sort of comparison: the cost of petrol sniffers to the community - for their health, for their long-term care, the damage, the break and enter, and all that to the community, which has been quite enormous - versus the cost of rolling out Opal. I am not sure whether that is significant, whether the rolling out of Opal which does cost - and I am not sure of the total amount it is costing the federal government, X number of dollars - has been offset by the savings we can see in the health ramifications of people who do sniff petrol?
I am pleased the minister gave us a breakdown of the money she has provided. I remember people were worried about whether this would have the funding to support the programs that are necessary. Will it have funding not just in once sector, but right across government agencies? I am pleased to see that the government has put their money where their mouth is and is funding the services to make sure this works.
There are many great success stories out there. Barry Abbott is a great success story and he deserves the accolades that have gone his way. Mt Theo is a great success story, but we can never sit back and relax. Just because we have had a few wins, we should not be saying to ourselves: ‘Aren’t we doing a great job? Let’s just relax’. If we take our eye off the ball that is when we will find that it flares up again.
If I can make any recommendations to the government out of all this, please do not forget that you need to give support. You need to introduce programs which will keep children busy, active and healthy. You need to support the families affected by sniffing, and, most of all, you need to make sure that communities are healthy places, and that is a big and expensive ask. While life on communities is not nice or good, people will travel to town, and when they come into town that is when we have all the problems we see in Alice Springs.
Minister, thank you for your statement. It is a good statement, very thorough with lots of detail. I will be interested in making sure we can keep track of what is happening and how successful this program is. If there are briefings available, I would appreciate having an update on the implementation of this legislation.
Mr HENDERSON (Police, Fire and Emergency Services): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I support my colleague, the Minister for Family and Children Services’ statement today.
It was good that the member for Braitling acknowledged my colleague, the Attorney-General, for his passionate contribution to the statement. As everyone in this House knows, the Attorney-General has lived in Central Australia for many years now and has huge experience as a principal at Yuendumu, and has been a passionate advocate for improving the life of indigenous people in Central Australia, and the issues around petrol sniffing and substance abuse. The contribution he made tonight, acknowledging the people who have been at the centre of this fight for many years now, was heart warming.
My direct knowledge and understanding of the huge impacts of petrol sniffing on our community really did not start until I was elected to this place in 1999, and it was made in opposition as shadow Health minister. At that time, I had a general understanding of the petrol sniffing problem, but the extent of the problem, the damage it was doing to individuals and communities, I really had not researched the issue. Certainly, as shadow Health minister, I had a requirement to do that.
To actually get out into communities and see young children walking around with cans of petrol under their noses, hiding in ransacked buildings and sniffing, really does pull you up as a person and a parent, as to why young people would do this, and how communities can sit back and watch their children do this. I suppose that second part of the question is something that I personally still grapple with, as to how parents can sit back and watch their children indulge in such dangerous and debilitating activity. I do not say that in a judgmental way. I just say it in a way that I still personally do not comprehend, and it has been such a problem for so long.
Another time that it was really brought home to me, I had just been made minister for Police, and I received two letters, one on top of the other, pretty quickly from my colleague, the member for Arafura. One was about the extent of petrol sniffing going on in Oenpelli at the time. It was about a four-page letter and a cry for help from the community through my colleague, the local member, for increased police effort. Reading that letter really made me sit up and acknowledge - and I will never forget it - the enormous damage and destruction that petrol sniffing was causing to those people and that community.
We as a government worked hard to pull the current substance abuse policy and response and legislation together. We had many people who researched these issues over many years assisting us with that policy response. It was probably one of the easiest Cabinet decisions we ever had, which was to tick off the policy and allocate the funding. We just could not sit back any more as a government, and as the people of the Northern Territory, and watch our young Territorians destroy their brains sniffing petrol.
I acknowledge the Commonwealth government and BP Australia for their contribution as well. The contribution made by BP was covered by the Attorney-General and the Health minister, and I will not run through the part they played. However, for corporate Australia and one of the major multinational petrol companies to come in and develop a non-sniff-able fuel was certainly testament to their bona fides as good corporate citizens. I pay tribute to BP Australia tonight for their scientific contribution to the resolution of this problem. The subsidies that have to be applied to Opal fuel to bring it down to the same market price as ordinary unleaded petrol had to be funded through the Commonwealth. The Territory government did not have the budget capacity to do that. I congratulate the Commonwealth for coming to the party on that, and particularly as a result of the recent Senate inquiry into petrol sniffing in Central Australia, and their response to roll-out Opal across Central Australia including Alice Springs. So, credit where credit is due to the Commonwealth government.
It just goes to show, when industry and both layers of government come together, work together with good policy and good legislation, you can make change. It is great to see that, in just six months, the impact that this integrated approach by both tiers of governments and industry has had in virtually eliminating petrol sniffing from Central Australia. To see that done in a six-month time period is nothing short of astounding.
If there was anybody else in the opposition going to speak on debate tonight, it would be good to hear if the opposition has ditched their policy which was enunciated prior to the last election when the former member for Brennan, Denis Burke, was Opposition Leader. We had allocated $2m a year for five years - a $10m allocation as I recall - to programs to support the implementation of this legislation, and the opposition policy was to, basically, abolish that support; cut that support entirely. They were going to allocate the $10m for petrol sniffing programs into improving road conditions throughout the Northern Territory.
It was announced just before our last parliamentary sittings in Alice Springs. I spoke in the Alice Springs parliament and said it was an appalling, not only policy and funding decision made by the opposition at the time - and I hope that it is not that position any more - but the appalling decision to cut funding from programs. All of us, as human beings, would say that these kids deserved a chance to break their habit. Somehow, funding our road network in the Territory was a higher priority than trying to assist these kids break a habit that was going to destroy their lives. As I said at the time, of the $3bn a year budget that the Territory government has in infrastructure and services, if you were looking for $10m to put into roads, I would have thought you could have found those savings in any number of areas without cutting the funding entirely for programs to support petrol sniffers regain their lives.
I still have no idea where that policy came from; what audience the then opposition was pitching that policy to. However, it still absolutely defies any sense of human decency that a roads maintenance program should have that money and these kids should not have a chance to get their lives back together. Having said that, I hope that is not the policy of the opposition any more now that the former member for Brennan is no longer a member of this House.
I would like to talk tonight about the use that the police have made of this legislation. Police have made significant use of the legislation. The legislation provides police with the powers to search individuals, and seize and dispose of volatile substances and implements used to inhale volatile substances. It was an anomaly before; you would go around communities to police stations in the bush and you would see the kids wandering around sniffing petrol. I would say to the police: ‘Can’t you do something about this? Can’t you just go up and seize the petrol and tip it out in the same way that you can with grog?’ The answer was no; they had no power to do what I thought was an absolute obvious requirement of powers that police should have. The police now have those powers. Police also have powers to take people who are intoxicated by volatile substance abuse to home or to other places of safety. Again, police had powers to take people affected by alcohol into protective custody, but did not have the powers to take particularly juveniles affected by volatile substances home or to other places of safety. The police called for those powers; they were provided for in the legislation and the police have made good use of that legislation.
As my colleague, the FACS minister said, police have removed volatile substances and inhalants from people on 62 occasions. Fifty of these events were petrol, and a significant amount of petrol was seized. Police have also prosecuted the illegal supply of volatile substances on four separate occasions in the Centralian region. Police are doing their part on the law enforcement side.
When we looked at the effects of petrol sniffing - and my colleague, the Health Minister, talked passionately about the effects on the individuals - from a policing point of view, and particularly in communities and Alice Springs, the types of incidents relating to property offences and social disorder included interference with motor vehicles in a number of car yards, having petrol caps leveraged off so people could access petrol, unlawful entries to business premises where petrol sniffers were targeting inhalants, people under the influence of petrol unable to control their actions, and a large amount of antisocial behaviour and minor and major property damage and property crime as a result of petrol sniffing.
The police have significantly improved their working relationship with Family and Children Services in the last few years in a range of areas including this area. In Central Australia, the police are establishing good relationships with Tangentyere Council and FACS in regards to substance abuse issues and have had significant success in diverting young people from substance abuse into programs auspiced or run through FACS or Tangentyere Council.
The notes that I have here are as of June but, as of that time the police, since the introduction of the legislation, had referred a total of 39 referrals for assessment to Alcohol and Other Drug services in Central Australia. Of those, police made 29 referrals resulting in 12 identified and approved by the minister for treatment. I believe a large number of those referrals actually came from Mutitjulu and, since the inception in June, police have destroyed a total of 125 litres of petrol or other volatile substances and conveyed four affected people to places of safety or police watch-houses. So, very quickly after the legislation was introduced, police made significant inroads into referring people for treatment.
I congratulate the minister for this report this evening and the work that the agency is doing. It has been a significant success story in just six months and just goes to show that if we all work together and focus on the problem in a disciplined way, and fund programs to support policy and legislation, you really can make a difference. The Territory had been the subject of incredibly adverse public comment through coronial inquiries and other reports in relation to petrol sniffing. The next time we have such an inquiry they will be able to see significant improvements in what is happening here in the Territory.
I agree with the member for Braitling, that we do not pat ourselves on the back and say ‘Job done’. We have to continue to keep a watching eye and keep the efforts in this particular area because there is nothing more important than protecting our young people from destroying their lives. Congratulations to the minister. I am sure all members of this House will be very pleased to hear this statement this evening.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Mr Deputy Speaker, I speak in support of the minister’s statement reporting on the progress of the volatile substance misuse prevention and intervention program. It is probably a statement most of us here welcome and it is good that she has brought this forward to report on the progress and what is happening.
Often when you stand in here as a member of parliament you question yourself about your role and the work you are doing as an individual member for your electorate generally, whether you are actually doing something and contributing to the wellbeing of your constituency but, more generally for people throughout the Northern Territory in different areas, providing changes, particularly in services such as health, education, and economic opportunities.
As a former member of the select committee inquiring into substance abuse, in particular alcohol, cannabis and petrol sniffing, it was just another part of a path that I had previously walked down prior to coming into this parliament. As the CEO of a major health service in Katherine, there were many times when I saw firsthand the impact on our people of various substances, and as a result of that abuse, the levels of violence against women and children. There is no one in this House who could not say that they are not moved or compelled to do what is right to help the many individuals who are in the grips of this scourge of addiction.
As the minister rightly pointed out in her statement, there was much criticism, particularly from the CLP and others, who said that this would not work. Prior to the last election, the CLP’s policy - and what they wanted to bring in, as the minister pointed out in her statement - was legislation which, rather than treat these young individuals, sought to lock them up. That was their answer all the time to this.
On 18 May 2004, I recall a ministerial report I made in this House, and I will quote:
I talked about remote area health services and then as the Chair of the substance abuse committee how I had witnessed the harmful effects of substance abuse too often to mention.
I suppose the one moment - and it was a very proud moment - I remember was when I took that to Cabinet and had full support of all my Cabinet colleagues to propose legislation to be drafted as well as the money that would go towards the treatment services for that. That distinguished and certainly showed the difference between our Labor government and Cabinet versus the CLP Cabinet and how they always viewed this problem.
I said in my foreword to the select committee something I have always believed: when it comes to petrol sniffing, it was clear that intervention was needed, and if we were going to intervene it was going to require some sort of legislative reform. That is where the Volatile Substance Misuse Prevention Act came from. The act, as the minister pointed out in her speech, looks at the seizing of the substances, the apprehension without arrest of substance abusers, and the capacity of a court to order a course of treatment.
I praise the minister because often, when you give up something you feel very strongly about, you do not want to let go. Having the area transferred to the current minister, who has the same amount of passion and commitment as me in tackling this, was something that made me feel comforted that those kids and the whole program were going to be left in good hands.
When I mention the department, I would like to, in particular, praise the effort and work of Jo Townsend from the Alcohol and Other Drugs Unit, whose drive and commitment to this whole area – the act, training authorised persons, regulations – without the vision and commitment of someone like Jo Townsend, it would not have been possible.
I remember the number of meetings we had with the police to look at this issue. There was never any negativity. People were apprehensive at first: ‘How do we deal with this’, because this has been a problem long neglected and people were powerless. Knowing that the police wanted to do something about it, many discussions took place with the Police minister and his police representatives to look at how we move forward on this, and with the staff from Health and Community Services. We recognise the efforts of the non-government organisations and they ought to be commended. Organisations like DASA, CAYLUS, CAAPS, all of the many non-government organisations that deal with this issue every day, we appreciate and recognise their efforts, and often we do not recognise the efforts of the staff who do all the work. I was listening to the speech by the Police minister and him commending the police, and also the minister for Community Services with her staff, and those staff deserve recognition.
A week ago I was talking to one of the ladies who runs the treatment service at CAAPS. Her specific job was looking after three young men who had been sent in from Gunbalanya. She was saying that, over those weeks of working with those kids, how it was changing them, and that they would also follow them to the community and look at the reintegration into their communities and with their families, work with their families about how they might be able to support those children so they do not go back to sniffing again, and looking how they case managed that. It was good to be able to talk to staff at CAAPS who were actually dealing with this to hear that we are seeing the results.
It is early days and I know we cannot jump and shout and say this is a great success. I was listening to the minister when she was making her speech and she did say it is early days. But given that it is early days and to see the progress that has happened in the six months, she has to take the chance to bask in this small success that we are having with this. It has been a fantastic opportunity to be part of a government that has actually brought this in.
I remember when we were debating this act, the CLP said this would never work, and we were highly criticised for bringing this in. So it was pleasing to see the 44 applications that have been made and implemented so far. I note that the minister says also that it is not easy. Nothing is ever going to be easy, but at least these kids now have an opportunity and there is a process in place for treatment which, hopefully, will save a number of these kids. Before, the only way out was to either die or to end up with irreversible brain damage. To know that we have put in place legislation and support services that are going to better the lives of those individuals out there who are in the groups of abuse makes me feel proud of the Martin Labor government. It was this government that brought forward this single act which will make sure that we can work with these families and young kids, and give them something to look forward to in the future.
I welcome the minister’s statement. It is pleasing to see that progress has been made. It is early days, but we will remain vigilant. With the cooperation between your department with police, DEET, and the many services across our government agencies with the communities - and those are the most important players because these communities have embraced this act and this process - we will make it work. It is heartening that we are saving young kids’ lives and giving them something to live for.
Thank you, minister, it is a job well done. Congratulations to you and your staff, the police, staff across the agencies and those non-government organisations that do it hard out there, but do not waiver from their commitment in those communities.
Debate adjourned.
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Mr Deputy Speaker, the issue of standards in education is a matter of ongoing national debate. Achieving improved outcomes and lifting overall educational standards is the goal of all governments though, of course, there is ongoing dialogue and debate about how best to achieve it. Members would be aware that the Martin government has introduced a number of reforms aimed at improving student outcomes and raising education standards in the Territory.
In the first term of office, the government put into place 100 additional teachers above formula; implemented the Learning Lessons report; introduced new school attendance officers; and provided a significant boost to the provision of training for Territorians.
In our second term, the most sweeping reform, the middle years education policy, is squarely aimed at raising the level of student outcomes in the Territory from the bottom of the nation to the top. In addition, the government has introduced a Building Better Schools program injecting $42m over four years into secondary education; introduced a comprehensive indigenous education policy and strategy document; improved the delivery of Vocational Education and Training in schools; improved the delivery of careers advice and the provision of student counsellors; introduced a new world-class distance education model; and supported the chief executive’s reorganisation of the agency to provide strong support for student services and to regionalise centres.
All this activity is aimed at improving standards and outcomes. As part of this effort, the government has asked the community to examine the implementation of a policy of compulsory school uniforms for students to Year 9. The government has recently written to all school councils asking them to discuss this policy with their school community and provide their opinion on this issue. We expect that over the next couple of months the matter will be the subject of broad community discussion. In that letter, I laid out the government’s opinion on this matter. Today, we wish to place that position on the Parliamentary Record and seek the opinions of members of parliament on what is an important matter for community debate. Government will be making its decision once feedback is in from the schools. While no final date has been placed on this, the government would expect information to be at hand by the end of September.
The government’s own position is quite clear: we believe that school uniforms should be compulsory for all students up to Year 9. We believe that compulsory school uniforms raise standards. Uniforms instil pride; pride lifts a person’s attachment to the school, which lifts standards. We believe it generates a greater sense of unity and common cause. Countries have used symbols of nationhood for years as a rallying cry for unity. Our flag, our constitution and, most importantly, our green and gold, gives us all a point of common reference, be it in the world of international relations or international sporting contests such as the recent World Cup football series.
There is now a strong view among educationalists that compulsory school uniforms help reduce bullying in the school. They certainly reduce the tension generated by the contest between students about what they wear. Teenagers, perhaps more than at any other age, are caught in the media and advertising world’s spotlight on fashion and trendiness. It is an added pressure on what is already a difficult time.
Government believes that we have added to the pressure by allowing it to continue at school and in the classroom. Compulsory school uniforms should provide some relief from that ongoing pressure. It will also reduce the tension at home. In the mornings, parents and their children clash about what is to be worn to school. The introduction of compulsory school uniforms will also reduce the cost of educating a child. The cost of modern clothes is sometimes staggering. If parents are able to purchase a uniform for their children it will reduce significantly the cost of providing clothes.
The government will help underwrite the cost of uniforms with the introduction earlier this year of the $50 per student, per year, back to school payment. Feedback to date has been overwhelmingly supportive of compulsory school uniforms with some notable criticisms from early years high school students and one school principal. Overwhelmingly, parents believe that it will both reduce costs and reduce tension over what to wear to school.
The Association of Northern Territory School Education Leaders headed by Marcus Dickson recently conducted a survey amongst Territory school principals: 72% of principals supported the introduction of school uniforms. Well over 50% of those said it would have a positive impact on their schools. They said that the introduction of compulsory school uniforms would raise pride and tone, lead to the levelling of social distracters, improve the safety of students, and reduce bullying. Those not in favour, 28%, cited difficulty in managing the policy, depersonalising students, a philosophical opposition or concern about expense as their grounds for opposition. Should the feedback from the school community continue along these lines the government will finalise a decision and implement the policy in 2008.
We encourage all schools and their school community to be involved in designing school uniforms throughout 2007 while we put into place the necessary legislative and regulatory regime to make this compulsory. Government recognises that once a policy like this is announced the legislative tools need to be in place to support principals and school administration in enforcing it.
Focus of the government’s policy intent is on compulsory school uniforms. I am aware some schools are taking the opportunity to extend the discussion to include seeking community opinion on school mottos, school names and the general corporate image of the school. I am happy to encourage schools to have that discussion. It is timely given the development of new schools and sub-schools as a result of middle schools changes. I am pleased to comment the statement to the House. I look forward to hearing the views of members on this issue.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Mr Deputy Speaker, this is one of those propositions of government that I can say on behalf of the opposition that we support without reserve. All of the issues that have been outlined have been outlined well and cover the issue adequately. There will be those who feel uncomfortable wearing uniforms because they want to be an individual. However, as a parent and a former school principal there is merit on both counts for the introduction of school uniforms. From a parent’s point of view, I totally agree that it will remove the angst in the morning of: ‘what should I wear and it is not just what clothes will I wear, what brand, what did I wear yesterday, what will the others be wearing, how will I look?’. Greater focus seems to be placed on that than: ‘has my homework been done and am I prepared for lessons?’.
I have spoken to parents who have been in both environments. As a school principal, I visited a family who left the Territory and went to Victoria to a school that did not have uniforms. I was a stickler for school uniforms, and not just the uniform but the wearing of a uniform correctly to instil school pride. It was a task, but one that was not just aimed at making sure they all looked good but they had some pride in the school. The report from parents who had left a school where there was a strict uniform code in Palmerston to a school in Melbourne with no uniform code was one that convinced me of applying a uniform code to a school. It removed distraction and an anxiety from the kids and considerable expense from the parents.
I am looking forward to it. In fact, when this was initially raised I had some cynicism that it was floated in the midst of a heated community discussion about the nature of the reforms, about the change to middle years of schooling, and it served at that point as a strategic way of diverting attention from issues that concerned me and many educators and former educators. That is the core issue of whether this reform will improve academic standards. That debate has not really been held.
There will be some changes that are measurable in some accounts but, in terms of academic performance, that is a debate that we must have. I was pleased to hear there is going to be a review of the curriculum. First make reference to that issue, knowing that it is not directly related to this, but it does feed into it; first it is the curriculum and then it is those who teach that curriculum, being the teachers. So it is in that order, and not as the minister made an attempt to, as is often done in this Chamber, play word games to score a point.
I urge the minister to proceed promptly with this. The process of review and getting feedback is going to be useful, but I would say that we just go for it. Some suggestions: when it comes up to the senior years of the school, you have chosen to have the middle years going to Year 9, so therefore the 10s, 11s and 12s will be casual, I presume. But there is a way, too, of reinforcing school pride. We could visit uniforms there, but in a more informal way. I have seen it applied with the senior element of a school where they have a shirt or a colour that they are encouraged to wear so that there is some identity with the institution. It is not enforced, such as whether your tie was on or your hat on or whatever. It is not as strictly enforced as you would in a primary school or in a middle school. You still have some identity with the institution in the senior years so that when you look at the kids, you know where they are from. They know who they represent. It is a way of tapping into some deeper issues of belonging to a community, feeding into some ethos that is deeper than the individualism that we have seen applied rampantly. That has had its effect right through education and through the way we even operate the Chamber. We should proceed with this.
There are plenty of other discussions we can have, but I will contain it simply to that, minister. I welcome the statement. You will have the cooperation of the opposition on this. In fact, it was a position that, in the heat of the last Territory election, was presented by the Territory opposition so there would be no concerns whatsoever in changing that position. I, for one, believe in it. There are many people out there who will support it. There will be some detractors. I have had, as a school principal, those philosophical debates about whether uniforms are the go or not, and should we not encourage individualism? You can, but that debate ultimately is not so much about what you wear as about you expressing something deeper than something superficial like your clothes. It is about who you are as a person. We should focus our attention on deeper things than the clothes you wear. Sadly, a lot of kids are trapped into thinking that they are someone because of the brand that they are wearing. We need to put that aside; there is something much deeper.
Sadly, our society is focused more on consumerism and superficial things. This is a step in the right direction to allow school communities to focus on deeper issues of who a person is, not what they look like. The opposition supports the statement.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Deputy Speaker, I want to thank Taminmin High School for starting this debate, or at least being a major part in this debate, because earlier this year, they announced they were going to have compulsory school uniforms in the year 2007. That had the support of the school council. There may have been some student resistance to it originally. I believe that has dissipated as the year has gone on. Quite a number of students at Taminmin High School are now wearing the uniform and, I believe, wearing it with pride. It certainly had the support of many parents in the rural area. I probably should also thank non-government schools. After all, they have been wearing uniforms for years. I was brought up with uniforms, the old cap, the blazer and the tie …
Mr Natt: It did not work.
Mr WOOD: Yes, you are probably right. The member for Drysdale said that it probably did a bit more harm than good in my case. No, I was quite proud of the school I went to. We used to wear the green and gold, probably before it officially became Australian colours. I believe the uniform was something you wore with pride, and you certainly stuck up for your school when you went to various functions where you wore your uniform, whether it was sporting or academic functions.
There are a couple of things I would like to say about this statement. I believe uniforms should be compulsory for all years. I do not quite agree with the member for Blain. If you just have it for Years 7 to 9, it defeats all the reasons you have uniforms. The statement has espoused the benefits and, then, by saying it is only going to be up to Year 9, to some extent shoots those reasons in the foot. Schools like Taminmin will have uniforms right through. What they are going to do is keep the same colours, but have a slightly different version of the uniform for Years 10, 11 and 12. I believe it would be unwise, where there is a school that has middle and senior together, to have two systems. That would defeat the purpose. There would be a ‘them and us’ mentality.
Uniforms on their own will not change the world. When I was in Ohio, I went to a community meeting with various people who work with youth in the town. I mentioned that Taminmin High School was introducing uniforms. They were looking at ways of encouraging high school children in the town of Marysville to become encouraged more about doing the right thing in the community and at the school. They were looking at all sorts of angles by which they could improve the general behaviour of some of the young people. I said that Taminmin High was looking at uniforms. And, as they pointed out, rightly, of course, uniforms on their own are not going to change the world, but they are going to be part of, I would presume, a series of improvements that could bring about an overall change.
You mentioned pride in your school. I also believe it is about starting to look at whether students can feel that they are part of a community in which they support one another. That is one of these values that we have to try to instil in the schools; that we are not just there for our own sake. We are there to help one another achieve whatever goals we are trying to achieve at that school.
There are some good old-fashioned principles that we should be looking at, and they are good manners and respect. I mentioned today that I had been through a prison, and I will talk about it more when I come to my report on my trip. It is a men’s prison - there is also a women’s prison, but it is a slightly different approach there - called a therapeutic community, and it is where everyone in that prison - and they do not call it a prison either, they call it a correctional facility - regard themselves as part of the family. If anyone is falling down, they try to lift them up as a group. They try to work together. However, the one thing that I found that is outstanding in that group of men, who were certainly working hard to change their lives, was that their manners and their respect for one another were paramount. Even when I was sitting there watching one of the programs, any time someone would walk in front of me, it was, ‘Excuse me, Mr Wood’; it was straight manners.
I believe the uniform is part of a change that we need, but it needs to be associated with other changes. Part of our problem in society today is that we are not respecting other people. We do not respect some of our teachers and we do not respect some of our fellow students or our parents. They are some of the values that we need to promote in our schools, and uniforms can be part of that.
We need to also continually promote a culture of academic achievement as being cool, rather than just for the chosen few. That is what is happening at Taminmin High School under the new principal, Tony Considine. The member for Goyder, who has been working positively at Taminmin High School, would know that one of the goals of the school under the new principal is trying to raise the level of academic achievement. For a long time, Taminmin was an okay school, and this was about it. It had a bit of agriculture and the VET program, and that was it. Now, under the new leadership of Tony Considine, academic achievement will be something to be proud of. That, again, is part of what we should be striving for: you are proud to go to your school and you are proud to show that, at this school, we believe that learning and studying are important values.
Another area we need to look at, minister, if we are going to tell young students or our young children that they have to dress in uniform, there should be a dress standard and a behaviour standard for staff. You cannot tell young people they should dress neatly and tidily if staff are doing exactly the opposite. They should be required to dress neatly and tidily. They do not have to have a uniform, but I do not think they should be turning up with a pair of jeans with holes in them, or short skirts, or hair undone or unkempt. There should be certain standards. It is no good telling young people one thing and other people doing exactly the opposite. It is a ‘practice what you preach’ mentality, and we certainly do not want students thinking there is a ‘them and us’ mentality in the school.
When I talk about good manners and respect, that is mutual thing between student and teacher, and teacher and student. I went to a school which was based on religious foundations, but the funny thing was that it was actually a school that was not based on corporal punishment as many schools in that time were. It was based on respect between student and teacher and vice versa. It was that respect that gave you the discipline in the school.
It is important that there is an appropriate set of standards that must go with the compulsory uniform program which will probably be brought into play in 2008, or whenever it is going to be brought in and, at the same time, an appropriate standard of dress and behaviour for staff. In no way am I putting down our teachers, but there are cases where you would say that some teachers do not inspire a great feeling that they actually got up too well in the morning. You want to see a teacher dressed smartly, full of enthusiasm, out there wanting to teach those kids. If you have a teacher like that, kids are going to learn because that rubs off on the student. Again, I believe that is important.
I will just mention something that I do not know whether I will get any support for. I believe shoes should be part of a uniform. I look at primary school kids who have uniforms, and they stand up there on the stage all beautifully dressed in uniforms, and you have every type, range of colours, sizes and designs of joggers. Whilst they might be the nice comfortable thing to wear - I know that, for instance, at Sacred Heart Primary as long as they are black they are okay, so you can still wear joggers. However, at least it sets the uniform off as a uniform. If you have pink, blue, red, yellow, Nike, Adidas, and all those kinds of brands, lights coming off the bottom and all that stuff, big basketball shoes and little dainty running shoes, I just do not think that that sets the uniform off as we would like it when we are trying to get that pride in our schools.
While I realise that the government will give some financial help to families in regard to uniforms, it would be good within a school to have a system where uniforms that are not needed any more by a family that has left the school can be recycled, more or less. I do not say that in a way to put anyone down, but many of the uniforms we have today, especially the nylon-type shirts that are used in the north of Australia, are very washable and do not fade unless you have had them for years and years …
Mr Stirling: That is how we used to get our uniforms.
Mr WOOD: That is right. There needs to be a process to help people, especially if they have a number of children in the school. That would probably be more so if you have a school like Taminmin where you have two uniforms because they will go from one uniform and then change to a slightly different uniform.
I support what the government is trying to do. I should note that the government is not taking into account one other important aspect of uniforms; that is, to reduce the wearing of inappropriate clothing. It is not mentioned in the statement. I believe the one thing that uniforms do is get rid of the short tops, the short skirts, the bare midriffs and the underwear that sometimes seems to - I do not know whether it goes up or the trousers go down. However, it is an inappropriate-type of dress for a school. That is one of the good reasons why you introduce uniforms.
Values are part of the school, and that should include the way one dresses. It is another reason why uniforms should apply to students from Year 10 to Year 12. If you go back to some of the standards of dress that you see in schools at the present time, you have one group of kids in the school dressing that way and another group of students having uniforms for lower grades. I believe you defeat the purpose of what you are trying to do.
I do not think you will have much trouble getting uniforms in Year 12. There does not appear to be any resistance – well, there will be some from the kids because this is change. You will get some. You will have many parents who will support it and I think they already are. The member for Goyder was at the school council meeting where this was being discussed and the impression that I got from that meeting was that there was widespread support from parents with a bit of not quite as widespread support from students, but that appears to be changing now.
As I said, I support what the minister has written in his statement about the uniforms. Do not have it just up to Year 9 and, if you have to, copy what Taminmin High School is doing and have the two uniforms.
I should just make one other little comment. I know the member for Blain talked about individualism, and that is an important thing. However, I always believed that one of the things that society seems to have slipped away from is community. I believe there has been too much emphasis placed on individualism over the years. Individualism is important. That is how you get people to do marvellous things, invent things, strive for great heights, run 100 m in 9.77 seconds. However, it has to be balanced that we belong to a community. The uniform does not stop someone from being an individual. It also recognises that I am part of a community, that my fellow students and I are working towards achieving a goal and that is to - to put it bluntly - pass our exams so that we can qualify for a good job when we grow up, or we can go on to university. If we can instil into schools that we, as a group of students and teachers, are all here to the benefit of one another, to achieve a goal that will head us in the right direction for the rest of our lives, and we can teach people that being part of a community is important no matter where we are, that is a good result of the changes that the government is putting forward.
In the little time I have left, I did not speak on the middle schools so much, but I would like to say that Taminmin High School is certainly working hard towards the middle schools program. The member for Goyder has been working with the principal in relation to the new layout in the buildings, the programs for the establishment of how the middle school and senior school will actually work.
Again, I refer to my trip back to Ohio. The interesting thing when I found I was in this small town of Marysville is they have a Board of Education. I was invited to talk to the Board of Education. These are paid people and they represent a board that is elected by the community, and the election is nearly as important as a local government election. They represent all the schools in the area of Marysville. They set the policy for all the schools as a group. From memory, there were five elementary, one intermediate, one middle school and one high school for about 5000 students all together. Parents are elected to that Board of Education and it sets the policies for all those schools.
I am not saying that that is necessarily a good or bad thing, but I thought in the case of a school like Taminmin with all the schools around it - you have six or seven schools - that may be something that could be considered. Instead of having all these little school councils - which still may have a role for their local fundraising - when it comes to setting policies you have a central high school with five or six primary schools feeding into it. There may be room for that type of Board of Education in an area like that.
They certainly take their election seriously. I gather it is a very vigorous election process. You go out just about electioneering to be on this Board of Education. They certainly regard a role in education as a very important role that any parent or a member of the community can take. I just make that note.
I know there are issues and the member for Blain spoke about middle schools before. I have the feeling that at Taminmin High, they are rolling along. They have plenty of work ahead of them, but my feeling is they are very supportive of the process that is carried out. I believe Tony Considine, the Principal, has good backing from the staff, school council and the parents in the process. While you have that positive approach to middle schools, there is every good chance that the system at Taminmin High School will work well.
Mr WARREN (Goyder): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support compulsory school uniforms. We, on our side of politics, try to ensure that within the public eye and within the broader community there is pride, respect and support for our great public institutions in the Northern Territory.
Clearly, one outwardly visible and obvious sign of this is to promote a school ethos, a school pride, a school identity by the wearing of a school uniform, a uniform that is worn with pride by the school students. From that perspective, by moving to compulsory school uniforms, we are showing that this government proudly wants to showcase our schools with pride. There is nothing more pride-instilling for students than to cheer on their schoolmates in their distinctive school uniforms and colours. I must also add that these days, school uniforms are a lot more comfortable than the ones I used to wear when I was at school.
It is great to see students taking pride in their schools, showing school spirit, competing in solidarity with their school friends, but at the same time respecting each other’s individual skills. That is very important. On a more individual level, it is good for children to wear uniforms at school. Uniforms are a great leveller. They introduce egalitarianism. We all know how influenced young children are by fads and fashions. Consequently, contrary to the oft-argued misconception, the wearing of school uniforms is a personally positive and self-esteem enhancing experience for all the children, not just some children.
School uniforms remove the sometimes emotionally damaging contrasts that occur between kids whose parents can afford expensive clothing and those who cannot. In these days when clothing is everything to young children, when someone can afford the best Nike runners, or the latest and flashest tracksuit tops, and they are in a situation where they can turn up at school and differentiate themselves from other students, that is what leads to problems with self-esteem in others. At least when all students wear a uniform, all are equal before the education system, the education system that provides them with the intellectual nourishment and nurturing they need.
This is a very important reason why compulsory wearing of school uniforms is appropriate. Overseas evidence indicates that in schools where there is no uniform children quickly gravitate to those with whom they can relate. This is mainly manifest by their style of clothing or quality of clothing; a class distinction that is shown and made about another student at first sight. Children are judged by their peers, not for their ability, not for their personality and not for themselves; they are judged on appearance alone. This can often be devastating to children who are of a lower socioeconomic level. The clothes a child wears attracts the attention of certain other children. As the saying goes, ‘birds of a feather flock together’.
Overseas evidence shows that gangs form in schools with no uniforms. There are rich kid gangs, poor kid gangs, the nerds, the bullies and the in crowd. Children want to fit in and be part of the in group. Overseas evidence shows that they want it so badly they would even steal to achieve the look of the gang they want to join. Overseas evidence suggests that first they steal from their mother’s purse, then they move on to petty pilfering at school, and later they steal an article from a shop if it is the gear that they need. I am not suggesting that all students go this way, but if one child feels that it has to go that way, then that is one child too many.
Let us also be honest; it is ridiculous to say that this sort of thing does not happen in our schools today, because it does. Each and every one of us knows that children can be the cruellest of individuals. With a gang behind them, they will be coerced into doing things that they would not normally do.
School uniforms are usually modest, protective and serviceable. In Australia, we are continually promoting protection from the hot sun to preserve our children from the suffering of skin cancers. I cannot imagine too many young people really taking that into consideration in the fashion stakes of what to wear to attract members of the opposite sex. Let us talk about attracting the opposite sex at school. As we are all aware, attracting the opposite sex is on the minds of the vast majority of teenagers in schools. With hormones running rampant during adolescence, it is not necessarily the most prudent thing to have young girls parading around in the school grounds in revealing outfits.
Further to this point, I acknowledge the advantage of having compulsory school uniforms is the safety aspect. A major consideration for parents is the safety of their children. We all know that it is difficult to spot a teenager who is playing truant when they do not have a school uniform. It is equally difficult to pick up the presence of a person who should not be on the school grounds, even including drug pushers. For example, some tragic incidents have occurred in other states and countries where trespassers have gone onto the school grounds and committed criminal acts, sometimes, unfortunately, with great injury to the students. It is most pleasing, therefore, to see that some schools such as Bees Creek, Girraween, Humpty Doo and Taminmin High which service my constituents, have a policy where all teachers are required to wear identification tags to make sure they are delineated.
As I have just explained, school uniforms assist in enhancing security in school grounds by allowing easy identification of students and visitors. Safety in school grounds is now a significant issue, and the beneficial aspects of school uniforms in this respect cannot be underestimated. Outside the schools, schoolchildren participate in school excursions and school activities, quite often in popular urban cities or centres. This occurs frequently. Even here in Parliament House we have almost daily visits of schoolchildren. They also visit places such as the Museum and Art Gallery, sporting and cultural events, and tourist and historical sites. I am sure you can all imagine the nightmare that teachers face when students are not wearing school uniforms, because they would not easily be identifiable in a crowded situation. A student could wander off without the teacher noticing, and then there would be a frantic teacher with one less child in their care.
Can members also imagine the chaos if several schools without uniform codes attended the same venue at the same time? It is very easy to see it would be very difficult for teachers to keep track of their students, which would definitely compromise the safety of those students.
Part of the pride building for the uniform comes to the fore when the school uniform is designed by or in conjunction with the school community. The level of interest in their uniform is a reflection of their school pride. Speaking of reflection, another safety aspect that school councils have considered is to incorporate reflective material into the design of their school uniforms. Overseas evidence indicates that children also like to wear reflective fabric because it is fashionable and it is safe. I encourage school councils and schools to take up this practical idea and introduce reflective material into school uniforms because it will save lives.
The other interesting thing about this issue is that there seems to be a general feeling of support in the community for school uniforms. However, on the other side of the argument, support tends to be weak around the edges and quite wobbly. Most of us agree that school uniforms help develop within a school a sense of pride and belonging, and a sense of family and community. That helps a little with the development of discipline and self-discipline. It helps to build team work and teaches students that, even though they might prefer to do what they want to at all times, they all have to accept some direction and degree of conformity.
Some may argue that implementing a mandatory school uniform policy would cause families considerable expense. However, I take the view that if families can afford to buy expensive brand sportswear and shoes, then it would be safe to assume that they can afford a uniform as an alternative, especially considering these days uniforms are ultimately cheaper than expensive brand-name clothing.
Furthermore, the cost to parents who have a large family are minimised because of the wearing of school uniforms - a family-oriented and useful policy. Besides, it is very convenient for parents and students not to have to choose what has to be worn every day. The children also know exactly what they have to wear. If school communities were so inclined, they could even set aside washing facilities in the school and have back-up uniforms on tap so that all students could go into the community displaying a corporate identity. As a result, the students would clearly look as though they belong together.
Speaking of belonging, when starting school or transferring to another school, if a child is in the same uniform as the other kids, they feel they belong, and most children find it easier to blend in and not look like the new kid. Looking like the new kid is often a terrifying prospect for many children. I know that from my experience, as I went through many schools over many years during my time at school.
In conclusion, I support compulsory school uniforms. It means the school community is united in achieving good outcomes for the community and in education. Mr Deputy Speaker, I commend the minister for his courageous and important initiative.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Deputy Speaker, I ask the minister: what have you done? You have brought out all of these conservatives with all these traditional views on uniforms. If you had asked me when I was a teenager how I liked wearing my uniform - the grey tunic, the blue shirt, the tie and, worst of all, lisle stockings and, because I had skinny legs they used to wrinkle and fall down - it was awful. I would have loved to be individual and wear something different. What is wrong with being an individual?
However, getting back to the topic, minister, I can understand your reasoning. Most schools adopt school uniforms. My primary school always did and, for those kids who did not have uniforms because parents could not afford them, there was always help. You will find most primary schools already have the policy that you are thinking of anyway. Regarding teachers wearing uniforms, at one of my schools, the teachers tend to wear the same colour as the uniform, or the T-shirt with slacks. That is their way of saying to the kids: ‘Yes, we do respect it’.
What is going to happen in bush schools? There have been some great programs over the years where bush kids came in to school, had showers, and changed into the school uniform. It is probably paternalistic but it has been going on for a long time. Are you going to make it compulsory for bush schools too, and how are you going to supervise it? Are you going to send kids home because they do not have their school uniform on? That happened in my day; if you did not have your school uniform on you were sent home to get it – or get your tie on or whatever you had to get on. Or are we going to have two standards, one for town, one for the bush? I do not think you can do that.
That is why I am pleased to see that you are going to phase it in because, although some bush schools already have uniforms, it is not compulsory, and it puts more on the teachers out there. Teachers in bush schools become social workers, nutritionists, health workers - you name it. Now they are going to be clothing controllers. Just think about that. Perhaps we need to really think this through and not make it so compulsory that it disadvantages some children and, also, worst of all, gives the teachers an extra load.
What I worry about is that the teachers will then be targeted by the parents saying: ‘You are making our kids wear this to school, we cannot afford the uniform, why are you doing this?’ and that would be bit of a shame. Bush schools are a different problem again.
I know you said you are going to use that $50 incentive that you give to parents at the beginning of the school year, but remember also the south need winter uniforms; they need two uniforms, not just one. Not just a light breezy one you can rinse out at night and hang on the line and it is dry in the morning in the Top End. You will need a winter uniform as well, be it a jumper or a blazer or a jacket, and you might need slacks in addition to shorts and skirts. You may be placing an extra financial burden on people asking them to have a summer and a winter uniform.
I do not mind schools being told that they have to have compulsory uniforms, but I am a little surprise that you are going down this line. What do you hope to achieve? What is your aim? You are talking about less bullying. I have never known a kid in a school who got bullied because he did not have a school uniform on. They get bullied for other reasons but not for the fact that they have do not have their blue uniform T-shirt on.
You talk about self-esteem. Are we placing too much emphasis on clothing instead of all the other things that should be important about school like attendance, homework being done, being fed, and joining any school activities? Minister, I was going to support your statement until I heard some of the traditional views from the members for Nelson and Goyder. I honestly thought, ‘Let us not go too far on this. What is wrong with individualism? What is wrong with a school spirit, children being able to dress in such a way that they show their individuality?’
I bet, minister, when you went to school you probably had a special pair of trousers and shirt that you liked to wear that perhaps did not always conform to the school. Let me just say do not introduce something that will make us all look like peas in a pod. Let us make sure that we understand that for some kids a uniform may not be possible. Do not let us put any child in an embarrassing situation where they cannot wear a uniform because their parents cannot afford it. Do not think that your $50 might always cover all the necessary uniforms for every kid. Do not think that teachers should have to police this. I do not think that is fair on teachers. Do not forget that you have top and bottom schools in the Territory. Do not forget that you have bush and town schools. Before you race in and make a decision, which I believe you probably already have, give consideration to that.
Also, if you are going to promote school uniforms, why do you not promote different uniforms so we are not just in T-shirts? Let us be bold in the design and give schools a bit of creativity so that they really stand out. Come up with good suggestions for schools so that they look different and each school has its own look. However, they do not always have to be the same old dreary type of clothing. I am speaking with a little tongue in cheek, minister.
Mr Stirling: I knew that.
Debate adjourned.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I would like to talk about the Pride of Australia medals which recognise outstanding Territorians in our community. First, congratulations to the NT News for developing this wonderful initiative. I am very pleased to hear it is set to become an annual event. The Pride of Australia awards recognise everyday Territorians who are making a real difference to their community. Over 200 nominations were received in the 10 categories, proof positive that Territorians are a good natured, friendly and loyal bunch, who look after each other.
The 10 medal categories are: Bravery; Community Spirit; Courage; Environment; Fair Go; Mateship; Peace; Role Model; True Blue; and Young Aussie. My warmest congratulations go to all the nominees.
The winner of the Bravery award was Andrew Boon from Mataranka. Andrew was at the Katherine show when a runaway horse started charging towards a group of people. Andrew put his own safety at risk and wrestled the horse to the ground. He then managed to get the female rider to safety - a truly heroic and selfless act.
The winner of the Community Spirit Medal, which is awarded for selfless, tireless and largely unacknowledged action which enriched or improved the quality of life for a local community, was Gina Dempsey from Howard Springs. Gina works 50 hours a week as a volunteer for Crisis Line and also puts herself on call when she gets home, which shows an incredible commitment.
The Courage Medal winner, awarded to someone who shows the determination and strength of character to overcome personal adversity, was Angela van Roden from Malak. Angela has raised two daughters with autism and her husband has been involved in two accidents. Despite this, she somehow managed to get herself a university degree and cope with the challenges in her life – fantastic stuff.
The Environment category award was Nina Keener from Bachelor. Nina works tirelessly to care and rehabilitate injured and orphaned native wildlife. Such is her commitment, Nina moved to a property outside Darwin, appropriately dubbed Nina’s Ark, just so she could devote more time to her work.
The Fair Go award, awarded to an Australian citizen born overseas who has enriched Australia through their honesty, hard work and willingness to embrace their new home, went to Lalita Close, originally from Singapore and now living in Palmerston. Lalita is 60 years old, or should I say 60 years young, suffers from arthritis and has every reason to slow down and take it easy. She is also a chronic helper. She raises money for those in need, takes the elderly to hospital and her community spirit even sees her welcoming people she has never met to their new neighbourhood - an amazing woman.
The Mateship award went to Karen O’Dwyer from Ludmilla whose deeds sum up what mateship is all about. Despite raising her two children, Karen has also cared for a friend’s child who has autism and has been there for her friend’s family during a particularly traumatic time - a true friend.
The Peace Medal awarded for advancing understanding, tolerance and social harmony among Australians of any background went to Rita Nadeem from Leanyer. Rita took a family of 18 Timor-Leste refugees into her home after they fled the country when their homes were destroyed by rioters. No wonder she is known as the Angel of Mercy.
The Role Model Medal, awarded for commonsense, compassion and wisdom while teaching, coaching and mentoring others to be the best they can, was won by the wonderful Judy Weepers of Parap for her 20 years involvement in The Beat concert. Judy is estimated to have been choir mistress to about 10 000 students over the years.
The True Blue Medal for a lifetime achievement in fostering Australian values and making Australia a better place to live was won by Sister Anne Gardiner. Sister Anne has spent 55 years in the Tiwi Islands devoting her life to supporting Tiwi people and to making the Tiwis a better place. A remarkable woman.
Finally, the Young Aussie Medal, awarded to an Australian 17 years or younger who has demonstrated outstanding resolve, mature judgment and moral character beyond their years, went to 15-year-old Sophie Gilbey from Alice Springs for her work with disabled riders and their horses.
I also congratulate the finalists across all these categories: Nickole Kennell; Dave Gray; Coral Cameron; Kerry Delahunty; Tracy Bester; Debralee Hickey; Ken Metcalfe; Graeme Sawyer; Adina Poole; Fezile Mphele; John Wilson; Jennifer Heath; Dr Robyn Hewitson; Penny La Sette; Neville Wiggins; Barry Fletcher; Paul Rousham; Courtney Stephenson; and Johnny Walker.
All these people - nominees, finalists and winners - are outstanding Territorians who have made a real difference. I congratulate them all.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of the India at Mindil festival. Once again, I was delighted to be part of one of Australia’s largest Indian cultural festivals and certainly the most significant Indian cultural event here in the NT.
The 10th India at Mindil had everything: delicious Indian food, cooking and yoga demonstrations, history and cultural displays, fashion and accessory stalls, a fashion parade, information on holidays in India, and some great entertainment, all of which contributed to another fantastic India at Mindal.
A special mention must go to Dr Shaik Hakeem, President of the Indian Cultural Society. He once again did a great job organising another wonderful festival. I personally congratulate him on his efforts.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary, the Indian Cultural Society presented Sagar - The Great Ocean Festival. Held over two weeks in June, Sagar included various activities such as cultural workshops, special performances and the Bollywood Film Festival held at the Deckchair Cinema. The name ‘Sagar’ means ocean in Hindu, and was chosen because the ocean has been a common thread between the people of India and the Territory for many generations and, of course, because the India at Mindil Festival is held by the ocean each year.
Ramkumar Konesh, long-serving coordinator of the India at Mindil Festival and percussion expert, was one of the many performers, which included magician BS Reddy from India, the Apsara Arts Dance Troupe and the Kohinoor Bhangra Troupe from Singapore. There were also many of our own very talented, local artists who performed Indian music, magic, folk dances and Bhangra dance.
May I also thank Bobby Bali, who coordinated the stall activities, and Christine D’Souza, who managed the Cultural Pavilion, and to everyone involved in the organisation of India at Mindil, many thanks and look forward to the 11th.
Finally tonight, I pay tribute to an extraordinary man, a man of wit and talent, and a true gentleman. Kevin Gould recently died at the much too young age of 69. He was a friend, a constituent, and the father of our own Serjeant-at-Arms, Helen Allmich. Kevin was always his own man. His whole life was about studying and learning, but he hated school, except for English, Latin, French and music.
His family moved to Adelaide in 1950 from England and, after a short stint at Wakefield Street Christian Brothers, Kevin left school at 14 to become a public servant. Roller skating, table tennis, square dancing, ballroom dancing, and rebuilding and racing Austin Seven cars were some of his hobbies. When his mother first introduced him to Betty in 1957, it was love at first sight for both of them and they married seven months later.
Their first child, Paula, arrived a year-and-a-day later, but that did not stop them planning to go to Africa for five years. In the 1950s, such a venture was considered madness, but they would not be swayed and, in January 1960, with one baby and Helen on the way, they set off to Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia.
The Catholic Church played a big part in Kevin’s life in Africa. First it was the church choir, where he became the soloist singing tenor, bass and alto solos, always in Latin. In Ndola, Kevin was involved in theatre work with his uncle, but the move from Ndola to Kitwe saw him become even more involved with church work and its choir, leaving little time for the theatre. They then went to Mpika, where only about 30 Europeans lived, mostly British public servants. Kevin was 26 years old and the manager of a remote branch of a transport company, servicing generators and cars.
After a move to Abercorn, on the tip of Lake Tanganyika, the Goulds returned to Australia in 1965 and moved to Port Augusta where Kevin worked for the Commonwealth Railways. First he became a train driver, which involved a lot of classes, studies and exams. Kevin completed the course quicker than anyone previously. Despite being involved in debating, public speaking and charity work, his work with the church again took precedence, especially when he joined the Knights of the Southern Cross. Around this time, Kevin applied to be trained as a computer programmer and operator for the Commonwealth Railways new NCR 500 computers. There had only been two successful applicants from two intakes of 24 hopeful computer programmers, and Kevin was the sole successful applicant from the third intake.
He was the secretary of the parish council and the school board, and played a big part in the building of the St Joseph’s Catholic High School. He coached the school debating teams with immediate success, coming first and second in his first two years, and he also taught square dancing to the senior classes. As if he wasn’t busy enough, Kevin was also secretary of the Port Augusta ALP and, by 1967, Patrick, his third child, had come along.
The next move for this very active family was Darwin in 1971, where Kevin worked as pay master with the North Australian Railways. Once again, he was singing in the church choir, but with one regret, his beloved Latin seemed to be a thing of the past. At this time, his beautiful voice could no longer do tenor and alto parts, so he mainly sang bass. Less than two months ago, Kevin was still singing at Holy Spirit Church, but for many years he sang mainly at the Cathedral. He was Cantor at Pope John Paul II’s Mass, as well as other important church events.
During his first year in Darwin, Fr Healy asked for parents to become involved in St Pat’s races. Kevin went along to the meeting thinking it was a school sports day. The following year he was told by Fr Healy he was now the secretary and chairman, and Betty, the treasurer. With the help of only a few parents for a couple of years, they worked for little return as it was only really a pony race after the main event. Kevin applied to Jock Nelson, the Administrator, for St Pat’s to become a club in its own right. He succeeded and served as secretary and then president for about 17 years, even though his three children were well past school age.
Kevin was also secretary of the Cathedral Parish Council, and Secretary and State Secretary of the Knights of the Southern Cross.
In 1978, Kevin became involved in the theatre at the Darwin Community College and went on to join on the Cavenagh Theatre and TRACKS. He loved the work and appeared in drama, comedy, pantomime and musicals. This year, he performed in two shows, his last being the wonderful The Bowls Club Wedding. He took that curtain call only a fortnight before he went into hospital. His energy levels were high right up to the end.
He had plans to devote more time to the Adelaide River Railway Historical Society, U3A and Darwin Chorale, as well as doing more printing, taking a final trip overseas, and becoming more involved with the ALP. Kevin always complained the days were too short and said a year needed 14 or 15 months so he could do all he wanted to do.
Unfortunately, despite doing so much, he did not get the time to do everything he wanted. I have no doubt that Kevin is already at work again organising a choir or two, the occasional presentation, and a show for a very important audience. On behalf of everyone in the House, I pass on my heartfelt sympathy to Betty, Paula, Helen, Patrick and their families.
On a very personal note, Kevin was one of those people you just loved. He was a wonderful man. As I said, his energy and his enthusiasm for life were contagious. Our community will miss him enormously. I know Betty will, of course. I know Paula, Helen, Patrick and their families will, as will Gaddy. Our community just loved Kevin. I will carry memories with me of a night – I do not know how many years ago – when Denise Goodfellow organised a soire at the Leanyer sewage ponds. It was one of those Denise Goodfellow evenings. You were to appreciate the wildlife and have a bit of champagne. Kevin actually wrote a special song for the occasion. It was grand and glorious. I will think of Kevin into the future at the Leanyer sewage ponds singing boldly as the sun went down.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I place on the Parliamentary Record an acknowledgement of a member of the Katherine community, a well-known Aboriginal artist who has recently passed away, Mr Paddy Fordham. Out of respect to his memory and so that I do not offend any members of his family, I will, during my adjournment this evening, refer to him as Mr Fordham except when I quote from a newspaper article.
I first met Mr Fordham about 13 years ago when he became a regular customer for food at the Red Gum Tourist Park my husband and I had in Katherine. He became quite a regular figure. I have to say that I never ever saw Mr Fordham angry; he always had a smile on his face and he was always very pleasant. He seemed to enjoy life and he always presented himself as a happy person. He was well known to both Mike and I and to all the members of the Katherine community.
Mr Fordham and his family lived at the Rock Hole community on Florina Road near Katherine. I have always admired Mr Fordham’s paintings because they were so different from any other Aboriginal artwork that I had seen before. As a consequence, my husband and I acquired several of Mr Fordham’s paintings; three of which I have hanging in my electorate office now. One of the paintings that Mr Fordham did for us all those years ago has been rolled up and stored at Gallop Through Time Gallery for some time. That is only because it is such an unusual shape that I have nowhere to hang it. This particular piece, when it is framed, will be around 2.5 m long. It is not very wide, but it is the length of it that is causing a bit of consternation as to where to hang it. It is going to require a considerable height to really fully appreciate this piece of work. It is such an unusual shape that wherever I have to hang it, it will have to be framed in that particular place because I will not be able to carry it anywhere. I am very happy that I do have that piece of artwork and I have had it for a very long time. I have a particular public location in mind but I have to make further inquiries before I can say that I and others will be able to enjoy viewing this particular piece.
Another very large piece of artwork of Mr Fordham’s that Mike and I have was slightly damaged during the 1998 floods in Katherine, but thanks to the expert work of Peter Farnden of Gallop Through Time Gallery in Katherine, it was reframed. That one has pride of place in my office. Most people who come into my office comment on that piece of artwork and admire it because it is so distinctive.
I would like to include in this adjournment and place on the record, an article written for The Australian by Nicholas Rothwell on 24 August 2006, which describes Mr Fordham well. I believe if he had the opportunity to read it, he would agree with this article. He would actually have a smile on his face. So while some of it may seem to be a little bit disrespectful, it is not meant to be in that way at all. It describes Mr Fordham really well. I will read this article as it is written. The heading in this article is ‘Stark visions of death and devilry’:
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, there is an exhibition of Mr Fordham’s work at the Darwin Entertainment Centre Gallery from tomorrow until 2 September. The name of the exhibition - and I will not be able to do it justice when I say it but I will have a go: Gela Na Mirraitjja Fordham – Nginy Golong Ma – A Clever Man. I believe sincerely that Mr Fordham was a very clever man, and we certainly miss him around Katherine. I know that his family miss him dearly. May Mr Fordham rest in peace.
Mr VATSKALIS (Casuarina): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, August is Seniors Month. It is a time of the year when we should let the special seniors in our lives and our community know how much they mean to us by doing something special for them. I was very pleased to host a morning tea for a group of seniors, the Darwin Legacy Widows. This lovely group of ladies headed by Nola, Norma and Heather, visit my electorate office at least once a month for their committee meetings. I was delighted to invite them to the Members and Guests Lounge at Parliament House for a wonderful morning tea, where we shared some interesting stories from old Darwin.
Due to the busy calendar of events that has been organised for Seniors Month, I and my colleague, the member for Wanguri, will host a morning tea for our seniors next month at Tracy Village. We are looking forward to getting together and spending time with the seniors from our electorate and catching up with them and sharing a few stories.
Seeing as we are talking seniors, I was very pleased last month to attend a small ceremony at the Tiwi Masonic Homes Aged Care Facility with the Chief Minister, the Minister for Planning and Lands and member for Johnston, for the official handover of 2.4 ha of land to Masonic Homes Incorporated. The new facility, located close to the Royal Darwin Hospital and Darwin Private Hospital, will include 45 aged care beds, 35 retirement homes and 12 units next to the existing Masonic Home facility. It will cost approximately $80m. This addition will ease the local shortage of beds and homes for senior Territorians. With construction starting in 2007, the project will be complete in four years time and I will keep you updated.
I am very proud to speak about the capital investments in the schools in my electorate and the achievements of the students and staff. Previously, we made an election commitment for both Nakara and Alawa. I am very pleased to report to you on these schools. I am excited to hear that Nakara Primary School will officially open their upgraded facilities soon. I was very proud to be involved with this project. I fought for it from the very beginning. I congratulate Mr Barry Griffin, the principal of the school, the staff and the students at Nakara Primary School. I especially congratulate Chloe Moo from Year 6/7 and Lauren Kiara Russell from Year 1/2, who are the winners of my Achievement Award at the last assembly.
I was also very pleased to attend the official opening of the Alawa Primary School upgrade, Stage 1, with my colleague, the member for Nhulunbuy and minister for Education. The new design allows a better interaction between teachers and students in the classroom. They are open plan, and the new electronic whiteboards and wireless Internet throughout the new upgrade will allow students to do research and learn through interactive activities. Also, a large number of laptop computers are available to students and the teachers. I look forward to Stage 2 of the Alawa Primary School upgrade, as we promised in the last election, and I would like to see the plans develop.
I congratulate the Alawa Primary School students, not for any other reason, but because every time I go there, most of the students, if not all, wear their wonderful red school uniforms. I am a keen supporter of uniforms in schools. The kids are an excellent example of the pride and respect and sense of belonging that uniforms can bring to students and their school. I am sure Alawa will have no problem with the proposal of introducing compulsory school uniforms to schools. I congratulate Dylan Bujnowski of Room 8, and Kearna Wellstead of Room 3, who were the winners of my Achievement Awards this month.
I was recently invited to Dripstone High School by Ms Herrod and Ms Glasby to talk to Year 8 English and Year 11 Tourism students about the current political situation and the potential for development of East Timor. I very much enjoyed their questions; they were very thoughtful. Due to my visit to East Timor in March, I had a series of photographs so they could see the beauty of the place. I spoke before about East Timor; it is one of the prettiest places I have been. I also gave them an historical lesson from the very beginning of the settlement of East Timor, first by people from the west part of Asia, including parts of India and Sri Lanka, to the 15th century settlement by Malay and Chinese people to the Vasco da Gama discovery and, eventually, becoming a colony of Portugal.
I also mentioned the troubles during the World War II, and the wonderful efforts of the Timorese people to resist the Japanese invasion, and how the Timorese people rescued hundreds of Australians, walking them from the north of the island to the south so they could escape to Australia.
A special birthday in my electorate is the Dripstone Childcare Centre in Brinkin, celebrating 21 years of operation. The celebration was last Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend because I was out of town, but I am pretty sure the parents and the staff and the manager, Robyn, had a great time. I remember a few years ago when Robyn spoke to me about the difficulties they had trying to expand because they needed a lot of money. I was very pleased to be able to lobby the government and donate a transportable that has served them very well. Today, the Dripstone Childcare Centre is 21 years old and serves 65 children, from tiny babies to preschoolers. I recently visited the children and staff to check on some maintenance issues, and I am always happy to drop in as I am always greeted by smiling, happy children. First of all, they want to know what is wrong with my cheek, and then they want to share their breakfast or their morning tea.
There were two more promises that we made in the last election, and I am very pleased to announce that we have delivered both of them. First, the lights for Nakara Park. Nakara Park is coming alive again. The Nakara Soccer Club plays and trains there every Thursday, and now we have two women’s soccer clubs training there. The government has provided a $400 000 grant to Darwin City Council for the establishment of low impact lights so the clubs can train at night time. I am looking forward to the development of new Socceroos coming out of this training ground.
Another promise was the money to Tracy Village Sports Club - $800 000 for lights for the club. The member for Wanguri and I promised that before the election in 2005. I was very pleased, two weeks ago, to go to the club and announce that an $800 000 grant was going to be provided. I believe the lights will provide the necessary opportunities for the club to have night training, especially for baseball and other sports. The lights installation will commence in September and will be completed in December 2006.
On sport again, I congratulate Simone Liddy and Emily Peris, two very talented young ladies in my electorate, who were selected to represent the Northern Territory Pearls in the Australian Hockey League recently. The Northern Territory Pearls won two games this year, which shows our hockey team is getting stronger each year. Simone and Emily are members of the Northern Territory Hockey Squad. Simone said a lot of the players’ personal performance was attributed to the Northern Territory Institute of Sports coach, Jason Butcher, and the support staff at the institute who are extremely committed to always providing all the assistance and support the athletes need for their development to help them reach their full potential.
I congratulate Simone for co-captaining the Northern Territory Under 21 hockey team last month in Brisbane. I heard the girls did really well and made us proud. Well done.
I take this opportunity to thank the Northern Territory Institute of Sport hockey coach, Jason Butcher, and the support staff for their commitment and dedication to their elite athletes, which certainly is producing excellent results for the sport of hockey in the Northern Territory.
I only found out today regarding the Rose of Tralee, the competition in Ireland, that this year’s Rose of Tralee was crowned and she was from Queensland – Kathryn Feeney. From the Northern Territory, Brigid Killen, who lives in my electorate in Tiwi, also took part. Brigid is a 19-year-old dynamo who works in the Cue Shop at Casuarina Shopping Centre. In winning this prestigious Northern Territory event, Brigid wowed the judges with her poise, her grace, and well-delivered speech that reflected on her Irish and Indonesian heritage. I hear that when the girls take part in the Rose of Tralee competition, they start as quiet and shy and develop in such a way that, by the end of the competition, they become outspoken and totally different people. I was very impressed the other day to hear Brigid speaking on the radio from Ireland - a totally different Brigid from the Brigid I saw when she was here. She was very shy, she was embarrassed to stand up and deliver her speech. However, this time she had no problems doing that on the radio as she described the scenes at the Rose of Tralee competition, in Tralee in Ireland. She was exceptional.
Brigid’s father, John, and mother, Marryana and godparents, Daphne and John Reid, travelled with her to Tralee. I believe they all had a great time. Brigid is a typical Darwin girl. Her father is an Anglo-Saxon of Irish descent, and her mother is Indonesian. She has a bit of everything in her blood, which does not surprise me because, here in Darwin in the multiracial and multicultural society in which we live, we have to have some of the prettiest faces around town - boys or girls. Having two sons growing up in Darwin, God knows what my daughter-in-laws will be in the future, but I am always proud of them and ready to welcome them wherever they come from.
I would like to close with two events of our ethnic communities again. First of all, my warmest congratulations to the Indonesian community for putting together a fantastic event, the Persona Indonesia once again last weekend. Special congratulation to the Indonesian Acting Consul, Maimunah Vera Syafik and Buchari Bakar, a very good of friend of mine for being there and supporting the Indonesian community, and Mr Oemar AlJufri. We used to work together in Casuarina Plaza in the Health Department and he was there running around organising this event.
My warmest congratulations also go to the Pakistani community which, once again, celebrated Pakistani Independence Day on Sunday. It is a small community, but it is a community that is very dynamic with a significant number of people who are very well-educated, and a community that cares about its history and languages. I was very pleased last year to be able to support them with a grant from the Office of Multicultural Affairs to establish a school to teach the children all the languages. Also, I facilitated the establishment of the school at the Nakara School Library after I spoke to the principal, Mr Griffin.
Congratulations to the Indonesian community and the Pakistani community on their national days, the Indonesian Independence Day and same with the Pakistani Independence Day.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I speak about problems which are occurring which have been troubling my electorate for the past couple of months. It started off at the end of June this year when the Public Trustee wrote to the Development Consent Authority on behalf of one of its clients. The Public Trustee evidently holds in trust a substantial amount of money belonging to a particular client, a 27-year-old, who has a mild intellectual disability, according to the letter. In the letter written to the DCA on 30 June, 2006, I quote:
I understand that the client has a substantial amount of money and the Public Trustee has proposed to purchase a home in the suburbs - a large home, in fact - with the intention of converting that home into a supported accommodation facility, housing, according to this letter, up to four persons with intellectual disability. What will happen is that the client and family will be purchasing the property and then offering their property to a non-government organisation to operate as a supported accommodation home with their client as a permanent resident plus up to three other persons, and their 24-hour carer or carers. We do not know how many carers will be involved but, obviously, this client would require one carer, and then we do not know how many other residents will be in there with their carers.
I suppose this was done through normal due process. The purple placard was placed on the front fence and it was the first anybody knew about that. The advertising period was during the school holidays and, as you can expect, in Alice Springs during the July holidays with the show circuit, many people tend to be away from Alice Springs.
My attention was brought to this matter in the middle of July when I then wrote to the Public Trustee asking the Public Trustee to defer the application with the Development Consent Authority so as to allow for better information and discussion with the community around the proposed home. My concern, as expressed to the Public Trustee, was that there was a lack of adequate publicity over the plan and application to the Development Consent Authority, there was a lack of consultation with the adjacent neighbourhood. There was also a lack of information relating to the impact that a proposed residence, 8 Giles Street, which is the address of the house in question, may have on the neighbourhood, and the potential devaluation of the adjacent properties to that particular property in question. Also in my letter I said that there was an apparent inconsistency of rental to be paid by the NGO for the premises for up to potentially three tenants and a carer plus the owner of the house and, finally, that the Public Trustee had said that every consideration for neighbouring residents had been addressed when, in fact, the neighbourhood said they had not been consulted.
That was why I wanted the Public Trustee to defer the application for a month. I did not think that was unduly harsh in terms of putting off the proposal for a month so the community could have time to discuss the matter through a public meeting if required so that they can have more information provided. I also wrote a letter to the editor of The Centralian Advocate after quite a few letters appeared in the letters to the editor accusing those people who voiced their concerns and objections to the development of this house into supported accommodation. It is unfortunate that some of the people thought to call the people who were against the proposal ‘bigots’. I thought that was a most unnecessary way to further community consultation.
My letter started:
My closing comment was that it is important for us to give the community at least a further 30 days for better information sharing and consultation. I added that I believe the ad hoc use of residential properties in the suburbs for supported accommodation is not good for our community, nor for the ever-increasing numbers of intellectually disabled, what with the numbers of petrol sniffers we have in the community.
What we need is a cluster housing facility not unlike the seniors villages we have developed across the Northern Territory, with 18 or 20 accommodation units for disabled people and their carers. Such a residential complex should be within suburbs, within mainstream, near all the amenities that are available to everyone else in the suburbs. It will assist the residents in the cluster housing facility to normalise their lives within a secure environment, which assists in protecting them as much as it protects the community.
The East Side Residents Association got into discussions because it is the lobby group that represents residents in that area where the house in question is located. I understand that as a residents association, represented by their chairman, they presented to the Development Consent Authority asking for due consideration that this may or may not be the right thing for the location. Some of the comments that were made by others when they turned up to the Development Consent Authority hearing included that the application has errors and was sparse on information, and does not provide much supporting documentation; there was not enough time for a response to be made by parties involved; that not enough information has been provided regarding the number of residents who will be using the premises; whether there will be more than two or three, or up to four; what sort of staff numbers will be required; and the availability of parking spaces within the allotment.
There was a suggestion that perhaps the motor vehicles accessing that particular block could access it through a back lane. There is no back lane to the premises. What it has, in fact, is a drain at the back of the house, and to use that unformed gravel access, which is not a gazetted road or even a back lane, would be most inappropriate. Because the carer should be there 24 hours, you would assume that there would be at least two carers for that first disabled individual. Whether these carers will double up for the other individuals, nobody knows for sure. There is no discussion or information available as to how the residents of that said premises will be managed, or whether the premises will be secured with high fences or otherwise.
These are the things that the neighbourhood needs to know, because they are particularly fearful. I do not want to whip up any unreal fears, but the reality is that many people who fronted up to the DCA hearing - I was told there was something in the order of 40 people who attended the meeting; the ABC estimated there were 50 people who attending the meeting. I know that only four of those people who attended the meeting supported the application; the rest did not. In fact, many of them objected to the application. Of the four who supported the application, three were on behalf of the applicant, and one was from Disability Services.
The concerns that were expressed were essentially about the amenities of the area, parking, traffic movement and security. Nobody has been able to adequately address that, in my opinion. However, the hearing was conducted; the DCA declined to defer the hearing, stating that they had no legal process to defer the hearing at all in any way. I recall when I was sitting on the Town Planning Authority - and the rules might have changed since then - when there was insufficient information from a developer or the DCA was concerned that the community was not adequately consulted, we could say that we would reserve our decision for 30 days and they could come back to us with more information. That used to happen; I do not know why it cannot happen now.
There is an example of another intellectually disabled person living 150 m down the street in another house initially purchased and converted into supported accommodation for this person. That area of the Giles Street neighbourhood has been concerned about the resident since he moved in. There are examples of intellectually disabled people living in support accommodation premises in the suburbs who are causing problems. To convert this new location to house up to four intellectually disabled people will cause an unknown amount of problems. I am concerned that by this ad hoc manner of housing intellectually disabled people in the suburbs, it will only bring more and more grief for everybody and not be a good thing. I ask the government to reconsider this matter and ensure we have an orderly plan to accommodate intellectually disabled people.
Mr BURKE (Brennan): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I wish you a big Daffodil Day for tomorrow; the wonderful celebration that we have in an effort to raise money for cancer research.
I would also like to start off by mentioning Sarah and Peter Worden, and Morton, their dog, who won the public housing gardening competition which was announced by minister McAdam at the Tropical Garden Spectacular on 12 August. I went around to their unit to have a look at all the wonderful work that Sarah has done, not just in her garden but throughout the entire complex. It was incredible that she did 99% of the work with cuttings taken from other flowers and plants, and then looked after those and planted them out. A fantastic effort and I am really happy that they received the award.
I was also extremely privileged to attend the hand back of the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands to the traditional owners, the Yanyuwa people. I was a guest of the member for Arnhem and all of her family. I thank all the traditional owners for having me on their land. This claim was one of the first under the then newly-enacted Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act. It took 30-odd years to finalise. As members could imagine, the ceremony was extremely moving. The member for Arnhem spoke on behalf of the Yanyuwa. In her speech she canvassed the history of the struggle and those who had been part of bringing the claim to fruition. Members should remember that the member for Arnhem was only a little girl when the claim first began, and that, over the 30 years that it took to finalise the claim, a number of people who were there at the start of the claim were not there to see it in. However, I am sure their spirit was there at the ceremony.
The member for Arnhem recognised many people in her speech, and a number of them attended the hand back ceremony. I would like to mention just a few of these people. Dr John Bradley is an anthropologist who spent many years documenting the attachments of the Yanyuwa people to their country, and the ceremonies and stories of the Yanyuwa. He even learned the Yanyuwa language. He now has a postgraduate student studying for her doctorate working with a computer programmer on how to commit the stories and ceremonies to electronic form. Their idea is to develop a computer gaming format as part of an educational tool for the Yanyuwa to ensure the next generation learn about their country. Clearly, for the Yanyuwa, their culture is not standing still.
Ms Carolyn Strachan and Mr Alessandro Cavadini of Red Dirt Films made their film Two Laws in 1981 about the Yanyuwa people’s struggle. They had come to the hand back ceremony to record, as Carolyn said to me, the final chapter of the struggle. It was extremely moving to see the depth of feeling between members of the Yanyuwa and these people. There was a lot of crying, hugging and kissing as people who had not seen each other for many years but had been through so much together caught up and swapped stories. In fact, Carolyn had been in Sydney; she and Alessandro are based in Los Angeles and were in Sydney for the funeral of a relative and heard about the finalisation of the claim and came up specifically for that, breaking off what they were doing in Sydney.
Much of what occurred was very personal and I was mainly a privileged observer. I hope I have not betrayed that privilege by my recounting of these reunions. I can advise the Assembly that the member for Arnhem spoke extremely eloquently as she always does. Once again, I thank the Yanyuwa for their warmth and their hospitality. I especially thank the member for Arnhem for her invitation.
On 18 June, Palmerston Council held a People in the Palmerston Parks day at Nutwood Park on Farrar Boulevard. People in Palmerston Parks is a wonderful program that encourages the use of parks in Palmerston. The Palmerston Council had free water available as well as free ice cream. Dr Anne Pratt, Director of Community Services at Palmerston Council, attended the day as did their CEO, Mr Rodney Donne. Jeff Mosel was there on behalf of Neighbourhood Watch and Geoff Carter and the rest of the Palmerston City Band provided the musical entertainment and, as ever, Moyston Wright was also taking up his duties in the band. I had a lovely afternoon with my family and wish to say well done to all the organisers and participants. I look forward to attending more of the People in Palmerston Parks’ events.
On 19 June, I was extremely privileged to be invited to the Hair Extravaganza at the Palmerston campus of the Charles Darwin University. I thank the Services Industry Training Advisory Council for the invitation. The Hair Extravaganza showcased the high skills of apprentice hairdressers and trainee beauty therapists. Modelling was also provided by more of the students from the university. I greatly enjoyed the event and thank Pamela Morgan, the senior vocational education and training advisor at CDU, and Ms Morag McGrath, head of school at CDU. The students showcased their imaginative creativity. I thank all of them and congratulate them on the show that they put on for those of us privileged to be there - many of the understandably family and friends.
Palmerston High School held a triathlon on 22 June and my electorate officer, Joanne, and I joined a team with Michael Wadrop and Ms Tessa McCredie – one of the teachers there - and Mr Chris Dias the principal of the school. Our team also had some student help with the four laps of Palmerston pool that were required. It has been a long time since I have done four laps of any pool so I was glad they got to do that one. We had a lot of fun. The leaders of the triathlon and eventual winners were never under any pressure from our team but we certainly laughed a lot. I thank Ms Liz Christie-Johnston of Palmerston High School for organising the event and asking Joanne and I to participate. I will be in training prior to next year’s event, however.
One of the great spectacles of the sporting calendar occurred this year and I am, of course, referring to the World Cup. It infects everyone when it is on. This year, I attended a barbecue fundraiser held by the Palmerston La-Faek Women’s Soccer Team. The La-Faek women’s team have a number of their members in the Territory representative side and I was hoping to make it along to support their fundraiser, although the game was not on until midnight. Unfortunately, I had to leave quite a bit before then to get to the United Nations Youth Association NT branch’s quiz, where I made up a table with Senator Crossin and the member for Johnston, and we were in it right until the very end. It was a great night, another enjoyable fundraiser, and the evening is a credit to the association’s members, all of whom are young people. I think I am correct in saying most of them would be high school age. Well done to all of them on the organisation of the night, and I am sure that, as well as Senator Crossin and the member for Johnston, the member for Nelson will also echo my sentiments of the wonderful professional show that they put on.
We all know that Supercars are part of the Territory events calendar, an exciting event that attracts huge crowds. I had a brilliant time meeting up with students from Bakewell Primary and Sacred Heart schools, and also Moulden Park Primary School. Peter Usher, the teacher accompanying the Bakewell students, and I and the students all shared a hot dog or two together. They told me that they were enjoying watching the cars, and they certainly looked like they were. There was a bit of banter as to Holden and Ford but it was clear they were having a magnificent time. Mr Usher has since left Bakewell Primary to take up another position with another Top End school and I wish him all the best in that position and into the future.
Mr Bill Bemelmans is the Assistant Principal at Sacred Heart School and he had the Sacred Heart students under his wing. All of the students - not just of the schools I have mentioned but from all schools - were wonderfully behaved and it was a pleasure to see all of them there enjoying the day. In fact, the Sacred Heart school students had pretty much scattered to the four winds chasing autographs of drivers and getting photos in front of cars. That is what these events are all about, and I am really happy that all the kids had a fantastic time.
The students who were there from Moulden Park School had their picture taken with the Chief Minister and that was a real buzz for them. I hope it capped off a very enjoyable day for them. Bill Bemelmans and his wife are expecting the arrival of their first child soon. I wish them all the best. I am sure I will see him at some point, if not before the birth of their baby, then certainly after some time. Needless to say, the birth of a child is an exciting magical event and I hope I get to meet their new arrival to the family. Best wishes to Bill and his wife.
As many members will know, the ship the Leeuwin was recently in town. One of the programs that it runs is to take Territory students and young people out - university age as well - to teach them a bit about sailing a ship of that size. That component of what the Leeuwin does is subsidised by the Northern Territory government, and I think the subsidy is about $30 000 or thereabouts per year. The government signed off on a three-year deal to keep the Leeuwin coming back. I want to inform the House that I spoke to a number of parents, as well as a number of young people who took part in the voyage, and every one of them said that they wanted the government to continue the support of this program.
I mention specifically Janet and Stephanie McManaway who live in my electorate. Janet was saying, as a single mum, she would have found it extremely difficult if she had to pay what would have been the full price, but with the subsidy the government provides, the $300, it was still a bit of a stretch, but she was able to do it. Her daughter, Stephanie, has provided me with some words of just how much of a real buzz it was for her and how much she got out of it. I will also say that the crew and organisers of the Leeuwin really enjoy coming up here and said what wonderful people our two groups of young Territorians were.
Mr WARREN (Goyder): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I am proudly parochial of my rural electorate of Goyder, because we have such a satisfying lifestyle away from the hustle and bustle of city life. I would like to advise parliament of some of the many wonderful things that have recently occurred in the rural area to give you a snapshot of what has been happening recently.
First, I want to talk about the rural toad bustings that have been carried out leading up to the Toad Bust Audit on 18 August. Since early August, the Dry Season toad bust strategy has been in full swing, with five major toad busts in my electorate alone. FrogWatch statistics show that these recent toad busts have removed more than 300 adult toads, and in excess of 10 000 metamorphs, or toadlets as they are known.
Rural residents are continuing to use the Freds Pass Toad Detention Centre and, since May, over 3200 toads have been dropped off in the toad collection bin where they are euthanised and turned into liquid fertilizer. While many people in the community are actively helping the ecology in this way, I want to highlight the efforts of Janelle McKell and her family in their tireless efforts to keep the Virginia Road area free from this menace. The McKells are constant in their efforts, and often spend two or three evenings each week catching toads, many from a neighbourhood dam. Janelle McKell personally lays claim to catching more than 500 adult toads and countless toadlets. What a fantastic effort.
There have been several events in the rural area for seniors as part of Seniors Month. I attended the Seniors Singalong held at Freds Pass Reserve on Friday, 11 August. This was a typical, beautiful Dry Season day that saw over 30 seniors gathered in our great rural venue at the Lake View Hall for lunch and a singing session. My federal colleagues, Senator Trish Crossin, and Hon Warren Snowdon also popped in to hear some old-time favourites. Children from three of our local schools - Litchfield Christian School, Bees Creek Preschool and Humpty Doo Primary - performed songs and danced for the seniors. A big thank you to Olive Frakking for organising this fun-filled event for our VIS, our Very Important Seniors.
The rural area has no end of activities for those who want to be involved in the community. The Litchfield Bowls Club is a superb facility for lawn bowls, located in the heart of Humpty Doo. For the past few years, they have put on a great welcome to Come and Try Day as part of Seniors Month. It was on again this year, about two weeks ago. I joined at least 50 others who went along to sample the morning tea, hosted by Gerry Wood. I stayed on to have a go, and a great fun time was had by all.
The Cox Peninsula Council is holding an inaugural community event this weekend in the guise of a Ball for Seniors, where the ladies have been asked to strut their stuff and the gentlemen to show their style. The Cox Pen Council, as it is affectionately called, runs quite a few sporting and recreational activities for our junior residents and, with this inaugural ball, is looking to provide the more senior section of our community with a different but, nevertheless diverse, range of sporting and recreational activities as well.
During the school holidays, I attended a couple of days of the V8 Supercars at Hidden Valley in Darwin. It was fantastic. On the Friday, some of my rural constituent schoolchildren were the guests of the Chief Minister in her marquee. The students in the rural area really enjoyed the outing to the V8s, which included lunch with the Chief Minister in her marquee. Words such as ‘fabulous’ and ‘brilliant’ were liberally scattered throughout the school newsletters about their outing. I got some great pictures of me and the kids with the Chief Minister. These great pictures have prominently displayed at electorate office window at Coolalinga.
Ms ANDERSON (Macdonnell): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I want to put on record the passing of Pastor Eli Rubuntja, brother of the late Wenton Rubuntja. I would like to put on the record the eulogy that was read at his funeral at Alice Springs:
Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, on 10 August, I travelled to Ntaria community for the opening of the Hermannsburg solar power station on behalf of the Minister for Business, Industry and Regional Development. The new 192 kW power station built by Solar Systems Pty Ltd consists of eight 14 m diameter solar concentrating dishes that will supply about half of the community’s power requirements with clean, green electricity. This is proven technology as there are similar dish concentrators going up at Yuendumu and Lajamanu.
The benefits include reduced diesel consumption, reduced noise levels and reduced greenhouse emissions. The Power and Water Corporation has entered into a 20-year agreement to purchase the generated electricity and feed it back into the power network grid that services Hermannsburg. The Northern Territory government offers rebates to remote power users and private providers under the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program to support and implement renewable energy programs like this new power station at Ntaria.
As fuel prices continue to rise, renewable energy generation will become more and more important, especially in remote areas. I congratulate Solar Systems Pty Ltd and the Power and Water Corporation, and especially the community, because this kind of partnership happens only with the participation of the community and their council at Hermannsburg. I congratulate Gus and his council and the Hermannsburg community.
In July, I travelled to Areyonga to give a joint presentation with Areyonga Council Chair, Therese Nipper, to a group of philanthropists in Melbourne. Our remote link to the Melbourne conference was arranged by Lawry Mahon of Victoria University so we could discuss the impact that the SWIRL program is having in remote communities. The program, Story Writing in Remote Locations, SWIRL, is an innovative program that has been operating successfully at Atitjere, Alpurrurulam, Ampilatwatja and Areyonga involving 24 student teachers and staff from Victoria University School of Education.
SWIRL operates as a holiday program and includes activities such as kite making, face painting, art and craft programs, and bush tucker hunts but, most importantly, it is a literacy and technology enhancement program. While participating in the day-to-day activities many digital photographs are taken. At the completion of each session, a student teacher and children involved in an activity sit at the computer and construct a story about the activity which is then printed, laminated and bound. Also, while the printed story is being constructed, the children are assisted in making the same story into a talking book using simple software that most children find easy to use. Each child is given a copy of any book they helped write and a copy is added to the school library resources as an aid to literacy learning in the community.
The talking books are generally constructed in both English and the children’s own language and placed on all the school computers, again to assist in conventional literacy learning in English and home language, but also to assist communities to pass on the traditional skills and stories.
IBM Australia has been a strong supporter since its inception. Every year they have supplied at least one computer and a printer to a community visited by a small team, and that equipment stays in the school as a donation. During the 2005 program, IBM donated 24 computers and four printers, so each location has received a valuable resource. This partnership with IBM continued this year with more computing equipment for each site, including a KidSmart package with innovative computer set-up specifically designed for young children.
Victoria University has committed resources to the SWIRL project, including in the past a 22-seater bus, a troop carrier, staff costs and running costs. The Northern Territory government also supported the SWIRL project with a small grant to assist with travel and support of NT DEET in the communities. This is an investment that the minister for Education has taken in supporting the SWIRL program. SWIRL is very grateful for what they get from the Northern Territory government and the fact that the Northern Territory government is participating in the After School Program with SWIRL. The communities are overwhelmed at that as well.
SWIRL takes teachers out to those communities and introduces them to the community. The teachers get to have a look at the programs that are running with the children, the parents, the whole community. There is whole-of-community participation when they go hunting and when they come back to the community. It is initiatives like this, as government, that we need to support. It is a good program which is reaping benefits on communities with children’s literacy and numeracy.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I want to provide some comments in relation to a bill sponsored in this House this week by the member for Nelson. It was an amendment to the Planning Act and Regulations. The minister gave quite a detailed explanation, and I support his comments in regard to the present situation and the possibilities for the future.
The current scheme provides an opportunity for rural residents to appeal against decisions made in relation to developments happening adjacent to their properties, and that is done through the DCA. There is an opportunity under the current scheme for those residents to object to developments happening on neighbouring blocks.
The act has not changed. The current situation is that, as the minister described, you have people buying into the rural area with the expectation of developing enterprises and businesses on their blocks. To make any changes under the current scheme would disadvantage them and could have legal and financial implications for the Northern Territory government.
I talked to the minister about the act and about what has an effect on the rural area, and he articulated that in the future, as the Litchfield Shire Plan comes into force, he will look at changes to that. I will be talking to him and to the community about changes which will bring the rural area more in line with other parts of the Northern Territory, and the urban areas in respect of third-party appeals.
I understand some of the comments from the member for Nelson, having stayed on my rural block, about the setbacks and how the noise can carry farther in the rural area because of the lower density of building.
I am heartened by the minister’s comments. I support his comments. I support this government’s approach to the Planning Scheme which affect the rural area, and I will be feeding into opportunities in the future which will bring it more in line with the scheme.
Mr NATT (Drysdale): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, before I outline some of my electorate activities, I pay tribute to the many young men and women from 1st Brigade who left yesterday on their deployment to Afghanistan. The 1st Brigade is based at Robertson Barracks and many of these families live in my electorate of Drysdale. These families play an important part in the public life and the community role within the Drysdale and Palmerston area. I understand this group is a very capable, well trained confident group of brave individuals who will do Australia, their families and the Northern Territory proud. I sincerely wish them a safe tour of duty. I look forward to welcoming them back home in three months’ time in safe and healthy conditions.
Last night, I had the distinct pleasure of sneaking out of the House for a while to visit the Darwin Entertainment Centre. The Wakakirri performance was taking place at the Darwin Entertainment Centre and several schools from around the Northern Territory participated in this festival. You might ask, what is the Wakakirri Festival? I will tell you. The Wakakirri National Story Festival is an annual creative and performing arts festival for all Australian schools, both primary and secondary. Wakakirri is all about encouraging young Australians to be open-minded, confident and active through the process of creating and sharing stories. It embraces respect for others and themselves, and healthy, active, creative minds and bodies, and also environmental awareness. The philosophy of Wakakirri is that it is an affordable and accessible creative arts opportunity for every student and school in Australia. I liken it very much to the Eisteddfods that schools participate in around Australia.
There were several categories last night: story and dance; story and singing; story telling; story and film; story building; and story writing. It was amazing to see that many of the costumes and props last night were made from rubbish. For instance, there was a grand piano taken onto the stage by the students made from cans and cardboard. Another one very effective prop was, when the lights went out, iridescent cans made into aeroplanes and that was flown around under the iridescent light. It was very effective. It was terrific to see the innovation of the teachers and the students taking these props forward.
The reason I went along last night was because one of my local schools, Durack Primary School, participated. They did an outstanding job. The title of their item was ‘Tracy’ and, obviously from the title, it is understood that it was based on Cyclone Tracy. The story and dance took us through the devastating effects of the cyclone. It incorporated the family breakups, the storm itself, the devastation that it caused and it was well played out by the group. I acknowledge the coordinators, Danielle Banicek and Simone Timms. They did an outstanding job with this group of students. At one particular time, there would have been 30 to 40 students on stage. The costumes and the props and everything that went with it was just fantastic. Everyone at Durack Primary School has to be congratulated.
In the congratulations, I also acknowledge the Casuarina Street Primary School, the Clyde Fenton Primary School, the Katherine South Primary School, Macfarlane Primary School and Woodroffe Primary School. They all did similar things. Probably the most outstanding item last night was Katherine South Primary School item. They participated in three of the categories. They did a story dance, a story telling and a story singing. It was all undertaken by different students. It was all based around the green ant. I will not go into all the details, but it was basically community-minded, using the green ants community, getting the ideas across that everyone has to be safe and close together in a community. The Katherine South people did a fantastic job. I understand they found it very difficult. They got a little out of Katherine yesterday morning to travel up here for the festival and their bus broke down. They had to go back to Katherine and parents and friends brought them up to Darwin for the festival.
Everyone involved has to be congratulated, not only in getting Katherine South up here, but for the whole night. It was really well done. I understand it has been going up here for some years now - I think about five years. The whole concept, I understand, has been running Australia-wide for 15 years. It is a terrific concept and I congratulate everyone involved and look forward to popping along next year. I am going to get the word around to let everyone know that they should get along and have a look at this terrific night. It was really well done by a group of primary school students. It goes to show that some of these kids have some exceptional talent.
On Friday, 4 August, I organised a toad bust in Palmerston. I was helped extremely well by the FrogWatch people, Graeme Sawyer and Paul Cowdy. We assembled at the Palmerston Golf Club and, on the night, we probably had a group of around about 20 to 30 adults and children. We set off at approximately 7.30 pm on dark. We split up into three groups. Paul and Graeme took their groups across University Avenue into the Durack area and around the ponds and the lakes in that area. I took my group of a couple of adults and half a dozen kids to the dam at the Palmerston Golf Course. While we were scouting the edges of the dam, we came across two or three adult toads, and we duly collected them and put them in the plastic bags.
However, the most astounding thing I came across was to see the great masses of black tadpoles that had accumulated. There would have been eight to 10 masses of these tadpoles in this lake. It was just amazing to see the number of toadlets assembling in the dam. These masses would have been probably around 500 mm or 600 mm in diameter. As you shone the light in the water, if you shifted it to the side of the mass, the mass would follow the light. It was quite incredible.
I could not do much with these toadlets because we could not collect them; they were in the water. We continued around the lake. We ended up with about eight toads from that area and I took all of the information back to Graeme Sawyer. When everyone departed at the end of the night, after collecting around about 13 or 14 adult toads, Graeme and I ventured back to the lake and I showed him these masses, and he was absolutely astounded. He had never seen such a large infestation as we had seen on this day. Graeme went back the next day and took nets and the equipment needed to collect them. I understand he took about 10 000 toadlets out of this lake. That is 10 000 toadlets which will no longer be blessing the grounds within Darwin. It was a massive find. I understand Graeme has visited the lake a couple of times since to ensure that these toadlets are completely eradicated.
My congratulations go to Paul and Graeme; they do a fantastic job. I know with the recent FrogWatch toad busts they have collected over 12 000 toads over that period of a week. We really are putting a dent into it, and I am going to continue my toad watch nights. It is terrific to see the support from local people coming out and helping us. I also understand the member for Brennan had a terrific night a couple of weeks before, and he had made an impact in this area as well.
I congratulate one of my supportive Bayview constituents, the Right Reverend Dr Philip Freier. The good bishop was yesterday announced the new Archbishop Elect of Melbourne. What a wonderful achievement for a gentleman who has committed several years of fantastic service to our Territory community. Bishop Freier has been closely associated with the Nungalinya College, a theological college for training of indigenous Christian ministers. He has also overseen the ordination of many Aboriginal Territorians, men and women, to the priesthood. I also know that the bishop has been closely associated with Kormilda, where he has been the chairperson since 2001. I know from my college visits that his presence during this time has made a significant difference to the college. He is highly admired by the teachers, students and parents, and he will be a loss. I am sure the foundations he has laid can be built upon by the person who is to next fill his role. I am also aware of his fantastic work with Anglicare. He stepped into the position to find the organisation in some strife and, over time, he has restructured and organised the group into a strong viable concern.
Philip has worked with many Aboriginal people and groups throughout his time in the Northern Territory and he is admired by all throughout many indigenous groups. I could go on for some time about Philip’s achievements and the roles he plays in the various community groups, but time is a little against me. It is unfortunate that I only had the good fortune of meeting Philip on three or four occasions during my brief political career, and on these occasions I found his conversations and presence extremely rewarding.
I sincerely congratulate Philip on his appointment and wish he and his good wife, Joy, and their family all the very best in Melbourne. He will great in his new role as His Grace, the Most Reverend Dr Philip Freier, Archbishop of Melbourne. Good luck, Philip, you deserve this role and you will be a great leader for the church in Melbourne, and you will be missed in Darwin.
In closing, I would like to point out that as part of my new role as a politician I have been made patron of the Palmerston Golf and Country Club. This weekend I am running my first Patron’s Shield, and I am really looking forward to it. I am going to be teeing off with the President, Mr Merv McMaster, and one of the board members, John Tedford. I am looking forward to the day and getting involved with the club.
The club has been in a little financial difficulty over the last few years. I have met with the club on a couple of occasions and will be attending their board meetings in future in the hope that we might be able to work our way out of this problem. I am looking forward to Sunday. Perhaps I will report in another adjournment how the day went. It is great to be involved with the local community and a club like this who love their sport. I am looking forward to it and I am sure that we will have a great day.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
MINISTERIAL REPORTS
HomeNorth Extra Loan Scheme
HomeNorth Extra Loan Scheme
Mr McADAM (Housing): Madam Speaker, in the past few weeks, much has been made of housing affordability in the Territory and of the house and land prices right across Australia. We all know that home ownership and a strong residential property market underpins the Territory economy. This government is working to ensure that Territorians can achieve the dream of owning their own home. Since the HomeNorth loan scheme commenced on 1 July 2004, this government has assisted 939 low- to middle-income households to purchase their own homes - just under 1000 households in two years. The HomeNorth and HomeNorth Extra scheme exemplifies what this government is about; that is, meeting the dreams and building the Northern Territory in the interest of all.
I will now report on the HomeNorth Extra loan scheme. Firstly, though, I will address the issue of housing affordability in the Territory. The member for Nelson has recently called for home ownership to be made easier, especially for younger people, through release of land and especially in the rural area to reduce the cost of home ownership. He and a number of those opposite appear not to understand the nature of HomeNorth Extra and its role as a start-up in home ownership. I would like to make it very clear: HomeNorth Extra is a first rung on the ladder to home ownership; it is not a passport to buying a luxury villa near the Alice Springs Golf Course or a rural palace in the Darwin River area. Territorians have been voting with their feet and their low 2% deposits to get on the ground floor of home ownership. The facts speak for themselves.
The median price of dwellings purchased under HomeNorth Extra since July 2004 is $200 000. Since 1 July 2004, over 60% of HomeNorth Extra loans have households earning less than $45 000 per annum. Sixty-two percent of borrowers have been aged less than 35 years and 21% below 25 years of age. Thirty-one percent of borrowers have been single mothers and 46% single females. This means that Territorians are getting into home ownership at levels that they can afford and HomeNorth Extra is the way in for low- to middle-income Territorians who want to buy their own patch of the Territory.
Those on higher incomes are able to buy more expensive properties, and quite rightly so. They go to commercial financial institutions. HomeNorth Extra is not about interfering with that end of the market.
The Territory remains by far the most affordable place in the nation to get into home ownership. At the national level, the value of the average home loan is around $28 000 more than the average loan for home occupiers in the Northern Territory.
HomeNorth Extra was introduced in July 2005 with a revised loan criteria to keep the scheme targeted as an entry point to home ownership. As I said before, this government is setting the mark: 939 household loans to the value of $174m; 87% of HomeNorth Extra clients have bought their homes in partnership with government, and 65% of these people are under the age of 35 years; 99.5% of new clients have accessed the interest-free assistance loan which helps purchase whitegoods and ease the financial pressure on establishing a home; and 58% of loans under HomeNorth Extra have been funded to households averaging around $899 per week.
The HomeNorth schemes are an effective stepping stone for young Territorians, people on low to middle incomes, and people who need a hand-up after hitting the hard times, to enter home ownership.
As a final point, Madam Speaker, the member for Nelson sheets some of the blame for increased housing prices on the lack of land availability. This may well be true for some places down south, but it is not true in the Northern Territory. In the Palmerston-Darwin rural area the expected demand for housing lots is around …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I welcome the minister’s report on HomeNorth, a program that has been implemented for some eight years. I am very pleased with the continued enhancement of the program so that more and more people can afford to achieve home ownership.
The Territory has been notoriously low in home ownership rates and HomeNorth has been a very successful program to encourage people, even of modest means, to achieve home ownership. We all know that once you own a property you tend to take a lot more pride in the property and will enhance your property over time.
I would like the government to consider not so much loosening the criteria but finding the means for many single parents - especially those with children to support, who struggle to meet the criteria - to access the scheme. I have many complaints from people who have gone to TIO to get assessed and they find that they are excluded because of the stringent terms. Maybe there is the opportunity to be a bit more flexible, to allow people with modest means to achieve home ownership. The more people who can own homes in the Territory, the better.
Land unavailability is always an issue and the government needs to continue looking at that, particularly in the regional areas where much of the land is surrounded by native title.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his report. Perhaps the Prime Minister got it wrong. The Prime Minister just made a statement blaming the states for not releasing enough land. They might be able to argue that it is the private sector. We cannot argue that in the Territory. Most of the land that we can release in Palmerston and the new town of Weddell is owned by the government. You have control over most of the land. You have control over a considerable amount of land in the rural area, but you do not release it. The government is missing the point. Do not compare yourself with somewhere else; have a look at the reality: 200 000 people are living in an area that is one-fifth of the continent of Australia, and people are struggling to pay.
You can say we have HomeNorth. That is the excuse the government uses all the time while they praise the economy growing and the cost of housing increasing. HomeNorth might be part of the solution. The real solution is to reduce the price of land. You have enough land to decrease the price of land so that first homeowners can buy land at a cheap price and put their money into building a house. That is what you are not doing. You can say that you are not talking about the golf course luxury houses, and you compare that with rural land. Why should people in the rural area not be allowed to buy a cheap one or two hectare block to raise their family? That is what you should be encouraging as a Labor government. You should be encouraging families to have a go and not be put into debt for the rest of their lives.
We have missed the point. We should be trying to allow people to buy a house or some land and not be in debt for the rest of their life, not force people to have two incomes all the time, and have an atmosphere where people can raise their families without having to worry about debt, debt, debt. We have the ability to do it. Change the system. Do not put developers in to open up government land. Develop it yourself and release it at a price more affordable for families.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson, your time is expired.
Mr McADAM (Housing): Madam Speaker, in response to the member for Greatorex, I am aware of his concerns, particularly in relation to the existing salary cap and the $260 000 limit which presently applies. Obviously, as a result of economic factors impacting upon the housing industry in the Northern Territory, government will give consideration in due course to a variation to those two caps. I hope that alleviates your concern as I understood it.
Member for Nelson, as I indicated to you, there are approximately 1300 lots available at this time. That does not incorporate the Lyons development; I believe it fits in to a different market. However, I can advise you that over the next 18 months there will be a further 650 lots released in the Bellamack area.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Football in the Northern Territory
Ms LAWRIE (Sport and Recreation): Madam Speaker, following on from the recent Australian World Cup Football success, Territory Football is in the throes of great change. This change is most visible now when Territorians drive along McMillans Road and witness the columns of the new football stadium grandstand rising from the dust. After many years of patience, this facility is finally becoming a reality. It is a very exciting time for every football fan across the Territory. By the end of this project, this government will have invested more than $6m in the construction costs. I am delighted to see local contractors, Sitzler Bros, getting on with the job of constructing the buildings, and I look forward to the sowing of the fields before the onset of the Wet.
I was in Malaysia and Vietnam last week promoting the Arafura Games. Both those countries are football mad, and I lost count of the times people mentioned Australia’s success at the World Cup. Our regional neighbours were delighted. I showed them an artist’s impression of the stadium we are building and they are very impressed and looking forward to sending football teams to Arafura 2007.
I fully anticipate this stadium will bring a new facet to football in the Territory, including opportunities to witness national and international football games on our local turf. I am advised that the stadium development is on track to be ready for the 2007 football season. What a sensational opening that will be.
This growth of football is not just in Darwin; football is booming in Alice Springs. I recently had the great pleasure of handing over $500 000 to the Alice Springs Town Council for the upgrade of football facilities at Ross Park. This is an exciting step forward, in particular for junior football, as this will facilitate a permanent home base for them in the Alice.
Neil Smark, Chair of the Football Federation Southern Zone, has been instrumental in this important step forward. He has worked closely with government to ensure that the funding will be used for maximum gain. I am advised the funding will enable lighting to be installed, in addition to providing some office and storage space, which will allow night training and matches. Importantly, it will also grow the numbers of participants, given the additional hours of access. The Southern Zone and Alice Springs Town Council are meeting on a regular basis with the aim of work starting shortly after the conclusion of the Masters Games in October.
I acknowledge the great work of Willie Devlin, the Development Officer for the Southern Zone. I have heard many reports regarding the local and remote work that Willie is undertaking to grow football in Central Australia. I am aware of much appreciation by the Education department regarding his work with schools. I understand the Southern Zone is looking at hosting a local Asian Cup competition in recognition of the Socceroos move into this group for World Cup qualification. This will not only provide a playing opportunity, but also a chance for players to learn more about our Asian neighbours.
This initiative comes on the back of a very successful schools World Cup project which the Southern Zone implemented earlier this year. The initiative, originally trialled in Germany, saw school classes adopt a country playing in the World Cup, and then studied that country in the classroom. This class then played as that team in their own World Cup competition. Neil Smark initiated the program with the assistance from Heather Myers, a teacher from Braitling School and Mandy Hargraves. Gillen Primary School and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Primary School both competed, resulting in some 20 teams playing in the group style synonymous with the World Cup. The victorious side representing Iran came from our Lady of the Sacred Heart and was well coached by their teacher, Kym Urquhart.
Building on this, I am also advised that the Southern Zone has raised more sponsorship during the past 12 months than the whole of the peak body in the Territory - a great achievement. The Southern Zone of the Football Federation should be applauded for their tenacity. It is always pleasing to hear of sports that are being innovative and creative in order to make headway in what we see, and is, an increasingly competitive sports marketplace. I congratulate the Football Federation Southern Zone for showing leadership in growing their sport in the Territory and bringing in the important sponsorship dollars that help sports provide flexible capacity to take their sports out to the remote communities.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, it is encouraging to hear that level of community support, particularly in the southern zone. The report is welcomed. So, too, is the reference to the use of football to engage our new neighbour, and any plans of that type will be supported by the opposition.
I ask if the minister could give some deeper consideration to the possibilities of realigning the timetable so that the Top End could become involved in the Southeast Asian Games through soccer - football. That could be effectively achieved if the Arafura Games timetable was changed. That is difficult in the short term, but it may prove to be beneficial in the long term.
I also ask the minister - and I will provide informally, if you wish, a briefing on the discussions undertaken on my recent visit to West Timor – about the interest going to the next stage; that being a regional or provincial competition. The level and quality of football in our immediate region is very high, as the boys from Palmerston La-Faek Club recognised. The next stage of this would be a regional competition and, I must say, there is willingness from the Indonesian and East Timor sides. Sport is a means to bring people together, as you well know, and to allow greater access to discussions of issues of mutual benefit.
Ultimately, we could consider a competition that looked at the BIMP-EAGA template; that is, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Those possibilities need to be pursued with some aggression as others will quickly see the opportunity and we will lose our strategic advantage. We need to get on to that issue immediately.
Ms LAWRIE (Sport and Recreation): Madam Speaker, I thank the shadow minister for Sport for his cooperation. I know he has a passion for working with our Asian neighbours and the sport of football is an important link for that. I congratulate him on his recent trip to Kupang. I am aware of his desire to see a regional provincial competition.
During my recent travels through Malaysia and Vietnam, the consistent feedback I received was that they prefer our current timing of the Arafura Games because it gives them a trialling base to test their players before the Southeast Asian Games. I am happy to discuss the timing of the Arafura Games with you further as the advice I am receiving from the key participants in Arafura is that the time suits them, quite appropriately, for the training and testing of their players prior to the Southeast Asian Games.
The Territory needs to be careful to ensure that the placement of our Arafura Games continues to meet the needs of our sporting neighbours. That has been the design and the drive of the Arafura Games and, as minister, I am very tuned in to the need to ensure that is a successful element of it.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Ms LAWRIE: My clock did not even start.
Implementation of the Integrated Offender Management System
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, the management of business within Correctional Services will soon be transformed with the implementation of the Integrated Offender Management System. IOMS provides a comprehensive and integrated management of offenders from their very first contact with Correctional Services, through sentence planning, rehabilitation programming, and reintegration on release.
The Department of Justice last month signed a software licence agreement with the Queensland Department of Correctional Services for the ongoing use of IOMS. The Queensland government spent $10m to develop and implement the system over three years. With the benefit of the Queensland experience, the Territory expects to spend $3.4m over three years to implement the system here.
I recently visited Queensland to view the system in operation and discuss potential further agreements between our jurisdictions around cost sharing, including any future developments in software and staff training arrangements.
The Department of Justice is currently undertaking the second stage of the implementation plan and is working with various sectors of Corrections to identify the necessary work, policy and electronic system changes required for the implementation of IOMS. Following this stage and a testing process, it is expected that IOMS will be operational within NT Correctional Services by mid-next year. It is an exciting development for Correctional Services and a key part of our approach to tackle recidivism through increased rehabilitation and improved reintegration strategies.
IOMS will deliver a single system across community corrections, our prisons and juvenile detention centres to manage offender records and thereby ensure consistent work practices, sharing of information and efficiencies. The system has been designed to focus on reducing re-offending through better case management processes. The system will enable better management of offender rehabilitation through improved electronic record tracking, monitoring and assessment tools, including the ability to waitlist offenders on programs.
Offender management plans will be reviewed on a regular basis and following certain significant changes to an offender’s circumstances; for example, a change in security status. These reviews will ensure that the plans are always current and include any special planning considerations. Additionally, IOMS provides more effective tools for assessing community risk factors, and an offender’s criminogenic needs to determine what interventions are most appropriate for their management plan. Properly targeted interventions provide better offender rehabilitation. Better outcomes for offenders in reducing recidivism will lead to better outcomes for the community.
Madam Speaker, I look forward to the roll-out of IOMS throughout NT Correctional Services.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I thank the Attorney-General for once again talking about IOMS. I think you started to talk about it from about 2002. I remember getting a briefing, probably that year. Forgive me if I remain a little sceptical because I heard you in this place before talk about how and when IOMS will be implemented. Having said that, it does sound a little more promising. We know that things are very slow in government machinery. Minister, thank you, I do look forward to it. I might say that having been briefed on it - and I think the original model came from New Zealand if I am not mistaken, and it was trialled there. If you look at that system there is no doubt that there will be benefits both to prisoners, and it will also assist prison officers.
You are, no doubt, aware that prison officers have expressed concern as to whether there is sufficient allocation of money to place everyone on the system. I understand it was relatively expensive to implement. There is also ongoing concern about computers in the gaols: who has access to them, and whether they are working well enough. I am sure you are onto that.
The opposition is supportive of IOMS. In the Correctional Services area, as in many other portfolios, there are developments, things change, people come up with initiatives that will benefit prisoners, as in this case, and it is a good initiative. We have heard about it before. I wish you well. I hope it will be implemented. No doubt, the Prison Officers Association will be in touch with you if they do not have the adequate infrastructure to ensure that what you are saying they are going to get will actually be delivered.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his statement. To be honest, I do not know a lot about IOMS except that from what you were saying in your report the aim is to reduce recidivism, which is a key component of what we should be doing in Correctional Services. I would appreciate a briefing on that. The concept of reducing recidivism is a key component of Correctional Services and we should be looking at a range of systems.
I mentioned the work camp I saw at Wyndham to the minister. The process of the work camps in Western Australia, especially the one at Wyndham, is to get prisoners used to going out to work. They are getting ready to leave the system, getting some skills in how to look after themselves. It is part of the process to try to reduce recidivism.
When I was in Ohio on my trip to America, I visited two prisons. Both ran programs called Therapeutic Communities. They had a recidivism rate of 20%. They have special programs designed in such a way to get people skilled and with the ability to return to the workforce and live with their families. The IOMS is one, you might say, finger in the pie. There is a range of systems that we have to use in the Territory. Our Correctional Services system is one approach when it comes to the type of prisons we have in the Northern Territory. We need to expand the options we have for prisoners and then we can target more specifically the people who are in our prisons to come up with results to reduce recidivism in the Northern Territory.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, just a very quick response to some of the points raised: prison officer training on the new system has commenced. We have the software in the Northern Territory now, so the $3.4m we will spend over the next three years is partly to customise IOMS to Territory-specific arrangements, but it is also to ensure there is sufficient access to computing around the prisons.
In terms of security, the visit to the Queensland Prison, which had 380 protected prisoners, showed there were no problems with security of the system there, including security of the various layers of information it contains. I hope to come back later in these sittings to discuss some of the issues the member for Nelson raised about other options within our correctional services.
Reports noted.
JUSTICE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (GROUP CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES) BILL
(Serial 65)
(Serial 65)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. The purpose of this bill is to improve the capacity of the Northern Territory’s legal system, from the police force through to the judiciary, to formally deal with gang-related criminal activities before they have a chance to take hold in the community.
The provisions in this bill specifically target low-, mid-, and high-level criminal gang activity. The government has worked closely with the Northern Territory police force in developing these laws. The bill is what police say they need to combat gangs in the Territory, whether those gangs comprise suburban youth engaging in low-level offences, right through to highly organised and well-funded criminal groups.
This bill also recognises that low-level offending can escalate into more serious criminal behaviour - behaviour that can be stopped if preventative interventions are undertaken early in the offending cycle. The provisions contained in this bill represent a measured and evidence-based response to the issues that face our communities in connection with emerging gang behaviour.
The government prides itself on dealing with matters in a considered fashion. This package of reform is a further example of our commitment to this principle. These reforms will give police powerful tools to deal with low level offending elements on our streets. It also gives the courts the ability to impose restrictions and orders that will break the cycle of criminal group activity by dismantling the power base of group leaders, requiring physical separation of gang members, and restricting their ability to congregate in certain areas.
I will now set out in more detail the new offences contained in this bill and how it will also amend or clarify existing provisions. First, this bill amends the Sentencing Act and Bail Act to provide for non-association and place restriction orders. These may be imposed as conditions of bail or sentence where the court thinks such an order may prevent further offences. Whilst courts can already impose similar restrictions in connection with bonds and suspended sentences, their separate inclusion in the Sentencing Act allows the court to impose these conditions independent of other orders. Contravention of such an order will constitute an offence. Inclusion in the Bail Act again allows the courts and police to impose the restrictions in addition to any other conditions, and clarifies the way in which this may be done.
The Sentencing Act will also be amended to provide for a non-exhaustive list of aggravating circumstances relating to gang activity that may be considered in sentencing. These aggravating factors will include, but are not limited to, whether the offender committed the offence while accompanied by others, whether the offender was armed, and whether the offence involved violence or the threat of violence. Importantly, this bill will also amend the Sentencing Act to require the court when sentencing an offender to take into account any harm done to the community as a whole as a result of the offending behaviour.
Amendments to the Summary Offences Act include the addition of three new offences. The offence of ‘loitering - offence following notice’, new section 47B, will deal with low-level activity. The new offence of violent disorder, section 47AA, will deal with low- and mid-level, intimidating and aggressive gang activity. The new offence of consorting between known offenders, section 55A, is aimed at serious criminals with a track record of highly-organised gang-related activities.
The new loitering provisions are intended to complement existing provisions, but will now give police the power to restrict a person’s access to a particular area for up to 72 hours when they suspect that that person has or is about to commit an offence, or is part of a gang that is behaving in that manner. Being in the area and being issued with a notice will not in itself constitute an offence. An offence will only be committed if the individual breaches the terms of the notice. This provision is designed to assist police to break up gangs without criminalising behaviour at the outset.
The notice will provide a clear instruction to the individual concerned so that they clearly understand what they are required to do under the direction. If any condition is breached, the notice will also provide police with a solid evidentiary basis on which to mount a prosecution.
The new violent disorder offence will effectively target mid-level, intimidating gang behaviour, as recently seen in the Wadeye fighting and the family feud-related violence in Yuendumu. This offence targets individuals who are part of a group that engages in a violent act, as a result of which other people would reasonably fear for their safety. A person will be guilty of an offence under this section if they know, intend, or are reckless as to the fact that the group conduct involves a violent act which would create fear. Police will be able to effectively apply this offence in a wide variety of situations, and deal firmly with violent behaviour before it irreparably damages the community.
The consorting offence is designed to stop organised, high-level criminal group behaviour. Under this new section, police may issue a notice requiring that a person not consort with another specified person. This can only apply, however, in circumstances in which both are known criminals, having been previously convicted of an offence named in regulations and carrying a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.
In issuing the notice prohibiting consorting, the Commissioner of Police must be satisfied that to do so is likely to prevent the commission of a prescribed offence involving multiple offenders and a substantial degree of planning. Once issued with a notice, any communication by one specified person with another specified person will result in an offence that carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment. I note that this new offence is not aimed at impinging on the rights of a reformed criminal but, instead, will compel an offender to avoid situations and individuals that may drag him into a new criminal enterprise.
Finally, the amendment to the Criminal Code is designed to simplify the operation of the riot provisions that already exist in the code. The revised provisions will make the individual offences clearer and easier to use. It will also remove the archaic requirement that a police officer ‘reads the riot act’, ordering the crowd to disperse before they can take action to clear rioters from the area.
The Police minister and I will be closely monitoring the effect and outcomes of these amendments through our respective agencies to ensure the government’s objectives are achieved. It is envisaged that a review will take place approximately 12 months after commencement.
The government is very conscious of emerging gang-related activity in the Northern Territory from groups of suburban youth involved in low-level crimes through to intimidating gangs in our indigenous communities and high-level organised criminal enterprises. We are committed to providing police and our courts with the means to adequately deal with these emerging issues. They will have tools which are specifically designed to best deal with each level of activity. The close involvement of the police in developing these offences will ensure they are used effectively on the ground.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members, and table a copy of the explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
EVIDENCE AND OTHER LEGISLATION (WITNESS ASSISTANCE) AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 64)
(Serial 64)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of this bill is to amend the law in relation to the provision of what is commonly known as ‘conduct money’. As you would be aware, in the Territory people are often required to travel a fair distance to attend court, and to give evidence in a matter. Our system of law provides that such persons are to be assisted by generally providing that the witnesses’ costs of attending court are paid by the person requiring their attendance. This is generally known as ‘conduct money’. The costs might include the cost of a bus fare, a taxi fare, or even an air flight. If the person is from a remote area, it might also include accommodation.
Currently, provisions governing the provision of conduct money appear in the Justices Act, the Evidence Act, the Supreme Court Rules, the Local Court Act, the Local Court Rules, the Work Health Court Rules, and the Mining Regulations. In general terms, these provisions provide that if a person has been served with a summons requiring them to appear to give evidence and they have been provided with conduct money, if they do not appear they may be in contempt of court which can, ultimately, lead them to be arrested and brought before the court.
However, the current framework for payment of conduct money to witnesses can, in some circumstances, be quite impractical and wasteful and it may, in fact, be ineffective in securing their attendance to give evidence. This is because the legislation is currently worded in such a way that conduct money must, in practice, be paid in cash in advance. This means that even if the party calling the witness has prepaid travel for the witness, or arranged a witness to be collected from their home - both of which are common practice - if they do not turn up then the court is powerless to compel their attendance.
There are a number of problems associated with paying conduct money in cash in advance. For example, many witnesses who are summonsed are not ultimately required to attend court. For criminal matters, this might be due to withdrawal of charges, adjournments, or guilty pleas or, for civil matters, the dispute might settle or be adjourned. Under these circumstances, the prepayment of conduct money in cash is a waste of resources, and there are obvious problems associated with attempting to recover the money from a potential witness. Another difficulty, in criminal matters in particular, is that witnesses may have a substance abuse problem. Under these circumstances, providing such persons with conduct money in cash in advance may be quite irresponsible, as well as being an ineffective means of securing their attendance in court.
This bill is intended to overcome these difficulties by providing flexibility to arrange for a witness to travel to court in a manner that is appropriate in the circumstances. This will still include the option of giving cash, or it could be by providing a prepaid ticket or travel vouchers, or by arranging to collect the witness and return them home afterward at no cost. The objective is to provide the most appropriate and cost-effective assistance to witnesses to get them to court to give evidence while, at the same time, providing the court with the ability to compel their attendance should they not appear.
This bill removes provisions dealing with conduct money that currently appear in a number of acts, regulations and rules, and provides one simple provision in the Evidence Act that will cover all situations. This will simplify the law and remove potential ambiguities which currently exist. The amendments provide that, in all proceedings, the court may issue warrants of arrest for persons who have failed to attend when summonsed to appear provided a number of requirements are met, including that it can be proven that the appropriate arrangements were made for the person to attend court.
Appropriate arrangements are set out in the proposed new section 21(4) of the Evidence Act, and are, in general terms:
(a) giving enough money up-front to meet reasonable expenses of attendance; or
(b) making reasonable arrangements for the witness’s attendance which are agreed to by the witness; or
(c) offering to make reasonable arrangements for the witness’s attendance; for example, arrangement to provide the transport to and from the court such as being collected and given a ride to and from the court.
This is modelled on the framework that currently operates in Western Australia, and is reportedly working effectively for both witnesses and those parties requiring their attendance.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
DARWIN WATERFRONT CORPORATION BILL
(Serial 55)
(Serial 55)
Continued from 14 June 2006.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, this is a reasonably interesting bill because it severs the waterfront area, which I understand is yet to be defined, from the Municipality of Darwin. The Darwin City Council will have no jurisdiction in the area at all. The minister, or particularly in this case, the Chief Minister, literally will have her own powers over the precinct.
The detail of the bill empowers the relevant minister to appoint a board of three to seven members. The board members are, of course, unelected. The bill empowers the minister to direct the board, and to review the books, and public servants will become staff of the board. The bill makes no guarantee to create local government in the area in the future, other than a clause to review that issue 12 months after the first residential tenant moves in. The Treasurer of the Northern Territory has full oversight of all financial transactions of the corporation, and the Auditor-General has to audit the book. That is by way of a summary, but let us be very clear: this bill creates a board of management for the waterfront area. It excises all other governing authorities. Section 2 lists the objects of the bill so that it develops, manages and services the precinct for the benefit of the community, and promotes the precinct as a place of residence.
This bill makes the area the Chief Minister’s personal domain. With all of the propaganda of the government, or self-promotion and marketing that we have seen in relation to the waterfront, the Chief Minister has clearly demonstrated that she is very keen to secure full control over that area. However, by severing the precinct from the Municipality of Darwin and giving no absolute time frame for the return of local government, this government has opened itself to the accusation that they are not going to give local government rights to the residents of the waterfront. The only promise in the bill about future local government is that, 12 months after the first residential occupancy permit is issued, the corporation must review how it works.
The Chief Minister is, it can be said, setting herself up as the unelected mayor of the waterfront and she appoints the rest of the council. A resident wanting anything done, you could say, will have to deal directly with the Chief Minister or her board, and that then leads to the interesting prospect of residents living in the development, ringing up the Chief Minister in the middle of the night and saying: ‘I have barking dogs; what are you going to do?’. The residents cannot deal with Darwin City Council. They have to go somewhere else. It is very unusual legislation given that it is for an area involving residences. I wish future residents well in the event they have any barking dogs, or any other issues which would fall under the umbrella of local government.
There exists no appeal, and heavy limitations have been placed on the ability to take legal action against the corporation or its staff. The courts have effectively been sidelined by sections in the bill that say that if a staff member or corporation member is acting in good faith, then they are immune from criminal or civil liability.
The counter argument from government, no doubt, will be that this area needs a board of management and that is the sole function until the area can be returned to the Darwin City municipality when it is sufficiently well occupied. However, there is no time frame for this. It is, in essence, ‘All hail, Chief Minister!’ When local residents find out that they cannot participate in the Darwin mayoral elections, as seems to be the case on the basis of the bill, I would have thought that that would be a cause of concern for them, not to mention the barking dogs.
The accusation can be levelled at the Chief Minister that she holds local government in not very high regard because residents, I am sure, and Darwinians generally, would take the view that the Darwin City Council is capable of dealing with issues such as rates, roads and rubbish within the precinct boundaries.
Whilst not unusual in the sense that it provides for a corporation that has control over a particular area of land, what makes the bill unusual is the residential component and the fact that people who buy units, on the face of it, will not be able to participate in local mayoral elections.
It is an interesting bill. We understand the need for it, but this may well come back to bite the Chief Minister because, while she is hitching her wagon very firmly to the waterfront development, there are concerns - and I know she knows about them - in the business community that there are some parts of the development which may come back to bite her.
Then, again, the Chief Minister wants this bill to go through. By dint of the numbers, it will. I will be very interested to hear from the Chief Minister and other government members. Perhaps the member for Nelson will comment on the bill as well. I know he has a long-standing interest in local government. It remains to be seen whether residents, having paid a considerable amount of money for their new homes, will be happy being asked to ring up the Chief Minister in the middle of the night about what are council issues.
That says enough, Madam Speaker. As I said, I look forward to the contributions of others in relation to this reasonably interesting bill.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is right; I have some concerns about the corporation, more so about why we have to go down this path. I raised this yesterday. I realise the government has been discussing these issues with Darwin City Council, which told the government that it was not interested in having this development within its rating area. One of the main reasons it did not want to take over this area was the waterfront infrastructure. It felt that the cost of maintaining that infrastructure was unknown and, therefore, they would be taking on something that was purely guess work at this stage and it could be a cost to the council.
I wonder whether we thought enough about where we were going. The Opposition Leader has spoken about people not having the ability to vote in municipal elections if this area is taken out of the council. Maybe I look at things too simplistically, but I cannot for the life of me see why the actual waterfront part of the waterfront development could not have been given to the Port Authority to maintain. The rest of the land could simply have been made as a single parcel of land within which the government does its development - so call it lot 21 - and it will maintain whatever happens in that land under its control until there is a residential development occurring there, which I gather has already been given some approval under the DCA. You could then subdivide the sections of residential land that have been developed with a road and the parks, just as you would in a normal subdivision, and that section of land, including the residents, could then be excluded from the overall picture. It would become a normal subdivision development.
By putting it in as one parcel of land, you are not taking it out of the municipality but you are still enabling yourselves, the government, to run all the development in that parcel of land. To me, it would satisfy the Darwin City Council – it does not have to take it over until areas are ready to be handed over - but it does allow the people in that area the right to vote in municipal elections. I believe that is important. Under this act, I believe they would not have the right to vote in municipal elections because they would not be within the Municipality of Darwin.
That also raises another question which I raised at the briefing. Before I forget, I thank the government’s officers for their briefing. I said I would make sure I thanked them for the briefing, and it was good.
I raised the question of whether this area would be covered by the Development Consent Authority, because it would now not be within the Darwin municipality. They came back to me with some advice saying: ‘It would be within the Darwin Town Plan; therefore, it would be still covered by the Development Consent Authority’. I thought about that for a while. I got the map of the Darwin Town Plan which is dated 24 May 2006, so it is the latest. It raises a couple of issues.
I hope we do not go down the path that this area does not come under the Development Consent Authority. I know that the advice given to me is that it does, but it says: ‘The application of this Darwin Town Plan applies to the area of land shown, bounded by thick black lines on the map in the schedule’. Of course, if you were then to draw this - again, with the piece of land that is excluded with a big black line around it - technically, that land is not part of the Darwin Town Plan, because the map has changed and you will have a section of land here that, although within the town plan boundary, is physically not part, in fact, of the Darwin City Council. These boundaries here, I imagine, are very close to Darwin City Council boundaries.
Notwithstanding I may be incorrect, there has always been something unusual about the boundaries of the Darwin Town Plan. If you look carefully at this, you will find one of the wharves is not within the boundary. I remember, a long time ago, Litchfield Shire Council actually heard the case of Christo’s Restaurant on Darwin wharf, because at that time it was in the planning area for the greater Darwin area. If you look carefully at this map, that wharf is still outside this area and it goes across where the waterfront development is. It might sound technical but, in reality, does the Darwin waterfront development, as it is at the moment, completely come within the Darwin Town Plan? That is the map that has been given to me. I just want to make sure that the existing Development Consent Authority will definitely cover the wharf development.
I ask that because I hope any development that occurs there is scrutinised by a full Development Consent Authority, with members of the public able to attend public meetings, rather than just the minister having the say. I believe that needs clarification. I would also like, if it is possible, to get a response as to whether this map is accurate. Why is one of the wharves outside of the boundaries? I am not sure why that is.
The other area that concerns me is the ability of the government to take and declare land from somewhere else - it does not say where else - and incorporate it into this particular Darwin Waterfront Corporation. I am told that is just to give it a bit of flexibility, but I am not sure what controls that flexibility. It says here that the Territory may transfer the ownership of control of any of its property whether situated in the precinct or not for the corporation. I have to ask: why is that there? Is there an opportunity for a piece of land at Cullen Bay or somewhere else to be part of the waterfront corporation? I would like an explanation as to whether that has to be in there and whether it could be abused.
I believe the review of the corporation should be by parliament, rather than the corporation reviewing itself. It would be far better that we looked at whether that corporation should continue. Government should come back with a report. That would be far more open and transparent.
The other area I was concerned with was the composition of the corporation board. I would like the Chief Minister to explain who would be on that board and, if, in the early stages of its development it is shown that local residents do not have the right to vote in municipal elections, would there be an automatic place for an elected resident within the boundaries of the corporation to be a member of that corporation? That might not really satisfy the questions the Opposition Leader raised about people’s right to vote in municipal elections. However, at least it might say that some residents have some say in what is going on in that corporation.
Madam Speaker, I will leave my contribution on that note. I am interested to hear what the Chief Minister has to say in reply.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I thank the two members for their contribution to this debate.
I make it clear from the start that this is somewhat unusual legislation. The waterfront, as a development, has different areas of development with the public/private partnership in one area, and then it has residential development in the next.
This legislation has two components. One, as I said in the second reading, is a client role for the Territory government as it is being built. That is very important. There are many elements of the waterfront development; they are not simply to deal with its construction, the actual bricks and mortar that DPI has carriage of. It is to do with the development of a convention centre, public amenity and public art. We needed to set up a corporation that would, initially, have the function of representing Territorians’ interests, and government’s interests, in how that development was happening. The first part of this legislation deals with the next two years, before residents come into the waterfront. Very clearly, the bill says that once residents are living in the waterfront, then there will be a different role for the corporation - much more a local government role.
As the member for Nelson said, the Darwin City Council made it very clear that they did not want to have this under their jurisdiction. They said clearly that it was outside the municipality and, therefore, residents do not get those rights to vote. I hope that will change once residents are living there. However, we have to see how that develops, how quickly residents live there.
Therefore, this has two very distinct roles. The Opposition Leader said if you read it I am setting myself up as a Tsarina of the waterfront. This is government. It is a government organisation to make sure taxpayers are properly represented in what is happening in a very important development. However, the role will very distinctly change once residents are there. The review sets that out very clearly. By 2008, we will have - 135 is it, or 141?
A member interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: One hundred and thirty-eight units have been sold, I hope, and there will be residents in them. It is very important that the corporation, then, respond to the growing number of residents and talk to them about how they would like representation in the future, and what kind of services and governance they want.
That is very clearly spelt out in the review. Even though the Opposition Leader said it is not specified, if you look at clause 37 concerning the review, it says that the corporation must prepare a report of the review, incorporating any recommendations on the management of the precinct, representation of individuals and groups in the membership of the corporation, devolution of the corporation’s powers and functions to another body - actually fitting the local government services model - and any matters which the minister has requested for recommendation. It is clear that once there are residents there, the corporation will start talking to residents about how they will be more involved and have those local government rights.
Even though the Darwin City Council said they did not want to have anything to do with this at this stage, their by-laws do apply there now. Those laws are in place so if there are problems with dogs running around the waterfront, the by-laws apply there. Once the residents are there the corporation will have their own by-laws. However, at this stage, there is no need for a separate set as it is covered by the Darwin City Council’s by-laws.
We did not sever this from the municipality without a lot of talking to the Darwin City Council. Darwin City Council was clear, and the member for Nelson talked about some of those uncertainties they had. The hope of the government is that we do not have to continue as a separate entity within Darwin; that eventually the Darwin City Council will be quite comfortable with oversight of the area and the number of residents and the certainty of where rates, revenue and those kind of things are coming from. I would like to think that a resident of the waterfront will be able to vote for the mayor, but we have to get the Darwin City Council to include this in its coverage eventually.
The Opposition Leader did not raise any other particular matters. It was more to do with me overriding everybody in sight. That is not the case. We will have a head of the corporation who will deal with issues. I doubt whether I will be rung in the middle of the night; there are no residents for the next two years anyway. Government is responsible for what is happening at the waterfront through the corporation and, if you take a long bow on that, then maybe somebody who is unhappy with noise or something else can ring the minister. They do it now; nothing changes.
The member for Nelson raised the issue about the Port Authority taking over certain water-based functions or infrastructure. I do not think, at this stage, that is something that would be envisaged. One of the amendments we are dealing with today is about the corporation having coverage of that water body and its quality. That is important. It is the same with Cullen Bay, I think – the council has coverage of that? Sorry, in Cullen Bay the body corporate has some charge of water qualities and so does the council. We need to make sure that this is an area that has a coherency about it, and having a body corporate to manage that is a good mechanism to have.
The member for Nelson did have a briefing as opposed to the opposition who did not seek a briefing. Thank you both Independents for having a briefing. We are very keen to offer briefings if members want them.
The issued raised of the Development Consent Authority coverage is an important one; it has been there all along. Developments at the waterfront already have had to go individually to the DCA, and we have made commitments that future developments will also have to go to the DCA. That is totally appropriate. It is part of the Darwin Town Plan. We could have further discussions to clarify the map that you held up, and I refer you to the minister responsible for clarifying those issues. Clearly, the waterfront comes under the Darwin Town Plan and every development will go, with all the public components on that, including the public hearings, to the Development Consent Authority.
You referred to the clause in the bill - I am just trying to find it, member for Nelson - about land being able to be moved in to the waterfront. You said that land from somewhere else can come into the waterfront area or be controlled by the corporation. It does allow flexibility, and it could mean a piece of land as little as say a square metre of some area adjoining to make greater road access or something like that. It just provides flexibility. There is no intention for the waterfront corporation to do raids on other parts of Darwin or the rural area, for example. It creates flexibility.
As I said, this is an unusual circumstance. We are dealing with a client role, at this stage, for government through the corporation and, once residents move in, it will be a services role. It is an unusual bill in that sense - we have not seen one like this before - but it creates that flexibility. I give you an absolute assurance that there will be no raids on any other piece of land. If you did hear about it, I am sure you will make an awful lot of noise. However, it creates that ability, if there was a road redesign or something like that, to be able to say that could be transferred into the corporation’s land management. I hope that resolves that issue.
On the review, you say let us bring it to parliament; however, it is important that it engages the residents there and I imagine that will be a public process. Residents need to talk about what their governance and representative arrangements will be, and that will happen in the review. I give an absolute assurance that is our intention. We want to see residents participating in managing their area and having the same rights and responsibilities as residents in other parts of Darwin. As I said, at this stage, it is not under the Darwin City Council. That was their choice, so we had to create another mechanism.
For the next two years, though, the board representatives, because we are representing government, are chosen by the minister and will represent the interests of government and taxpayers to be able to carry out those functions while we are dealing with the client role in the development.
We have some amendments to clarify a few aspects, particularly the corporation’s functions regarding maintenance of water quality, and some aspects of how rates are imposed. The amendments are not significant changes, but I am very happy to talk further to them as we go through committee stage.
I thank both members for their input. I was disappointed in Question Time yesterday when the member for Katherine led her questions with negatives about the waterfront. It is disappointing. I know there was some contention about whether it was negative, but sitting on this side of the House, those questions definitely said: ‘You are not spending in other areas because you are spending on the waterfront’. It clearly demonstrated a negativity towards the waterfront.
We made it very clear that expenditure on roads has not been affected by the waterfront. We clearly said that waterfront expenditure was going to be deficit funded for the two years, and we made it very clear that was the case, so it did not affect the Capital Works program.
When you look at the benefits of the waterfront, we already have 300 workers on-site - it is a great development for local jobs - and 96% of those workers are local. We welcome fly-in/fly-out as we need those skills for other projects like building the LNG, but, at heart, what we really want is local workers. This is great; it is a project in which many local businesses are involved. I read out a significant list yesterday of how many local businesses are benefiting and will benefit over the long run. This is a 10- to 15-year project, and $40m worth of contracts have been let to local businesses as at August 2006.
It is a wonderful project. When you talk to visitors about it, their eyes light up, as they do when you talk to locals. It was great to have the display at the show. There was much interest and many questions. I personally would like to hear more questions about the convention centre. From a tourist point of view this is …
Ms Carney: You have your own members. Why don’t you use one to ask it?
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Ms Carney: We can help you with your Order of Business, if you like.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, Order!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, I think the Leader of the Opposition misunderstood. In a public context, I would love people to be asking me more about the convention centre and growth in tourism as I walk down the street. We can see, from having conventions held here around the year, that from the tourism industry’s point of view, they cannot wait until it happens. I congratulate Ogden IFC for the work they are doing. They have been really active in promoting the convention centre opening in 2008, and getting interest in having conventions held here. There is interest in the wave pool lagoon. When that first sod is turned in the next week or two, and the designs are there to look at, I know that there will be a lot of excitement generated. I would like people to think more about the convention centre side. That is exciting for economic benefit. It is a great project and it is one that Darwin and the Territory will be very proud of.
In the discussion when we first proposed it, it was interesting that there were some people saying ‘Leave the site as it is’. It was a disused industrial site and, even now when you look at the development, it has that excitement of the future about it. Flying into Darwin, you can see the seawall very clearly, and the pour of the first level of the ground floor of the convention centre. You can see the waterfront taking shape. Those of us living in Darwin know that it will add a great element, a new element, to our lifestyle. You can imagine, Madam Speaker, on a Sunday, popping down to the waterfront, doing a bit of wave lagooning, having a meal, sitting on the grass, maybe seeing some entertainment at an amphitheatre, and enjoying being in a new Darwin space with lots of people around and being part of the community.
It is very exciting. Members can be quite confident that the way we are setting up the waterfront corporation will meet the needs over the next two years and, then, move to a services approach as residents move to the waterfront in the future. It is with much delight I talk to this bill and we will move into committee now, Madam Speaker.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
In committee:
Clauses 1 to 11, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 12:
Ms MARTIN: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 9.1.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 12, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 13 and 14, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 15:
Ms MARTIN: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 9.2.
Amendment agreed to.
Ms MARTIN: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 9.3.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 15, as amended, agreed to.
Clause 16:
Ms MARTIN: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 9.4.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 16, as amended, agreed to.
Remainder of the bill, by leave, taken as a whole and agreed to.
Bill reported with amendments; report adopted.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND FAIR TRADING AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 58)
(Serial 58)
Continued from 15 June 2006.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I indicate to the Attorney-General that we support the bill for good reason. It was outlined in his second reading speech, so I do not propose to revisit it. However, it is appropriate that I make a couple of points for the purposes of Hansard, and perhaps he can address them in his reply.
You said in your second reading speech that the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs has protection from legal action, and we take that to mean that he has immunity from any criminal or civil action. I am just a little concerned that the Commissioner, for whom I have a great deal of respect, would need to be extremely judicious in his making decisions under the particular areas of this bill because he is able to name organisations, companies, and individuals. There, arguably, should be some sort of accountability mechanism within the legislation for the benefit of the public, more so than anything else, so that there is some safeguard there.
I do not for a moment doubt his intentions, but from the point of view of Territorians, I am a little concerned that they may be concerned that he would need to be extremely careful, him being immune from civil suit or criminal proceedings. When he goes to name a company, those companies, if they are aggrieved, would want to pursue action - that is, defamation proceedings - and under this legislation they would be precluded from doing so.
I wonder whether you have turned your mind to that, and whether you sought advice either from the Law Society, or from your own counsel. I would like you to respond to that if you would. Could you also outline what processes are in place: whether they are guidelines or in the regulations, to ensure the judicious application of naming a company?
Attorney-General, in your second reading speech there is a reference to ‘certain motor vehicles’. It was in the first paragraph of your second reading speech. I could not find a definition in the bill. Whereas you said ‘certain motor vehicles’, I would like to know what types of motor vehicles, and why they do not appear to be specified in the bill. They may be but they certainly were not on the face of it. That is about it. The major concern is just one of the public’s point of view, and if you could answer that question and the one in relation to the motor vehicles, that would be great.
Mr NATT (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, as we all know, the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs aims to promote and regulate responsible business and industry association conduct through the administration of the regulatory system which protects community interests. We all, at some stage of our lives, have had a time when we have been tested in some way in the consumer world. Many of us have been aware of the lurks and perks that loom out there with some traders, landlords and business owners. Most of us are able to handle various confrontations or indiscretions.
However, there are many people who are unaware of their rights and, consequently, are vulnerable to rip-offs. The department does a great job by assisting consumers to understand their rights, and they are very active in the community setting up stands in shopping centres, markets and shows, ensuring the public is aware of their existence and, of course, their rights. I know I have had several complaints from my constituents who have suffered from and/or been tested by many of these scams and they are quite prevalent.
Today’s amendment to the bill is a good news story. Not only has there been a few upgrades in the various definitions within the bill, the sectional change that particularly interests me, and I am sure other members within this Chamber, is the Consumer Protection Provision dealing with door-to-door selling from unsolicited phone calls. How many of us in the Chamber have sat down at the dinner table, about to take our first bite of our meal, when the phone rings? ‘Good morning, Mr Natt. My name is Imran and have I got a deal for you!’. Many people have been financially ripped off by many of these scams, and you often hear terrible stories of financial transfers to overseas countries and victims also scammed by advanced fee swindle deals. It was established last year that $7m was transferred out of this country as a result of these scams. That is a staggering statistic, but it may be just the tip of the iceberg. International research has suggested that a rate of one in 10 consumers have been the victim of a scam or fraudulent solicitation.
At a recent meeting of federal, state and territory consumer affairs and fair trading ministers, financial scams were identified as the No 1 research priority for all the states and territories, highlighting the concern that these scams are prevalent and may worsen. Also highlighted at this meeting was the extent of unwarranted and unsolicited calls from telemarketers pushing their products and scams. The number of these unsolicited calls in Australia has grown significantly in the past few years and has led to rising community concerns about the inconvenience and intrusiveness of telemarketing.
Passage of this legislation today will allow Territory consumers greater protection from these deceptive telemarketers. The legislation is designed to protect Territory consumers from high-pressure selling tactics that result in contracts being formed during these unsolicited calls. Unfair terms and contracts will be prohibited, provide for a cooling-off period, and the right to rescind the contract of the telemarketer if the consumer has had time to reflect and check.
I note with interest that the legislation will prohibit telemarketers from making calls on Sundays and at certain other times. Let us hope that they are during meal times. It is also pleasing to note that Consumer Affairs will complement these changes to the law with an education program or campaign so that Northern Territory residents fully understand their rights.
The bill also amends the Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act to allow the commissioner or minister of this portfolio to make public warning statements against faulty and unsavoury goods, services, businesses or individuals without fear of prosecution. The strength of this amendment was highlighted recently when the minister acted quickly banning the very dangerous No-Holes Tongue Stud which had begun to be marketed in the Northern Territory. With the show season just past, I am sure many parents were relieved to know that Consumer Affairs officers were checking show bags carefully to ensure that dangerous items were not available to children to choke or injure themselves.
Madam Speaker, as I mentioned, this bill is a good news story for the Northern Territory public. The provision is no impediment to the suppliers of business who conduct fair practice; however, it does protect the public and consumers from scandalous and scurrilous businesses and individuals wishing to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. I support the amendments to the bill which will have long-term favourable benefits to all Territorians.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank, first, the opposition for their support for this bill. It is a sensible reform and we will see it as law as soon as possible.
The Opposition Leader queried the balance between protecting the public interest from improper conduct by the commissioner in exercising his power to name companies or individuals that have come to his notice by way of warning the community about alleged improper practices by that company or individual. I refer the Opposition Leader to section 336 of the current Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act. It deals with the subject of protection of the commissioner, council members, officers, etcetera. I will read it in full to indicate the balance it strikes between indemnity for the commissioner for actions he or she takes, and the protection of the public interest:
- No action or proceeding, civil or criminal, shall be commenced or lie against the Commissioner, the Chairman of the Council, any other member of the Council, a member of any committee appointed or established under this Act or any person otherwise employed or engaged in or in connection with the administration or enforcement of this Act for or in respect of any act or thing done or omitted to be done by him or her in good faith in the exercise or purported exercise of a power, or the performance or purported performance of a function, under this Act.
The key words there are the words ‘in good faith’, that, if an individual or company in the community consider that the commissioner has not, indeed, acted in good faith, they contest that by action. There is a balance there. Additional to that, the amending bill introduces an additional test, I guess, of the validity of the action taken by the minister or commissioner through the provision of clause 4 inserting new section 8A(3):
- The minister or commissioner may issue a statement under this section only if satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so.
We have there two bases of challenging the action of the commissioner by an individual or a company: (a) it has to be in good faith, and (b) it has to be seen to be in the public interest, or could be arguable that it is in the public interest. So, there are balances in place so individuals and companies do have the scope to take action. What we have done with the amendment is to clarify the intention of the existing act by further spelling out the basis of the indemnity for the minister and the commissioner.
Regarding the question of exemptions and the definitions of vehicles that are covered by the operation of the Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act, the intention of the amendment is to foreshadow situations where, while in the past there might have been an acknowledged set of fuels that would be normally defining vehicles for public use and vehicles that have been traded in the marketplace, the emergence of new fuels, such as liquid petroleum gas and ethanol, would make it prudent that we widen the definition of the power source being used in the vehicles. Beyond that, there is a long-standing practice to gazette the types of vehicles that we want to exempt from the normal operation of the CAFTA, which is really aimed at controlling trading practices within the motor vehicle market. There will be occasions where it is not appropriate to apply the normal regulatory arrangements to a particular class of make and they can continue to be exempted from the act with the additional amendment.
I thank the member for Drysdale because having other people speak in the debate often allows us to do what we have just done - research an adequate answer to questions that are raised in debate. It is very valuable for members to contribute and here is a good example of where we have been able to give a much more specific answer rather than simply saying we will get back to a member and report at a later date. I thank everyone for their contribution and we will move forward.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General) (by leave): Mr Deputy Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
MOTION
Note Statement – Middle Years of Schooling
Note Statement – Middle Years of Schooling
Continued from 13 June 2006.
Mr VATSKALIS (Primary Industry and Fisheries): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support strongly the statement by my colleague, the member for Nhulunbuy, and minister for Education on the middle years of schooling. I say ‘strongly’ because I am very committed to education. My strong support of education is on the record. I also know that my colleague is committed to and passionate about education. I agree with the minister and his statement on middle schooling. He said it was the most significant reform in education in the last 20 years, and I absolutely agree with him.
When I was growing up in the country where I was born, kids used to go to primary school from Year 1 to Year 7. Greece at that time, together with other European countries, changed the system and introduced primary school as Year 1 to Year 6, and high school from Year 7 to Year 12. Australia soon followed because they realised that children, as time progresses, become more mature. It is strange to keep kids of 11 and 12 years old in a primary school situation.
The Territory was somehow different. In the Centre of Australia, you had Year 1 to Year 6, and then high school from Year 7 to Year 12, while up here in the north it was Year 1 to Year 7, and then Year 8 to Year 12. However, looking around the primary schools - and I bet quite a few of you have been to primary schools in the past few years you have been in parliament - you will see that Year 7 kids have grown quickly, they mature quickly, and they look out of place in primary schools. Many people comment how these kids are neither here nor there. They are too old and advanced for primary school, and probably should be in high school, but they need some assistance.
I suppose the idea behind middle years schooling was exactly that; how to move Year 7 students and put them in high school and prepare them for junior high school and, at the same time, how to take the Year 10 students from junior high school and put them into senior high school so they can be better prepared for the final exams and their future in university or other schools.
There has been considerable public consultation for over three years by this government. I am very proud to say that this government listened to every person and any submission. That consultation, of course, was not all in favour of the government; there were many disagreements and arguments - some of them valid, some of them not. However, we listened to all of these arguments and disagreements and took them into consideration. I am very happy to see that, from next year, Year 7 will be moving to the high school, and Year 10 will be moving to senior high schools.
The government not only made a statement about middle year schooling and introducing middle year school as a concept, but was prepared to support it by allocating money for new infrastructure, to support the schools in their changing role, and to support teachers in their changing role as well. Quite a few teachers I have spoken to, including my wife, expressed some concerns at the beginning about how teachers are going to deal with this new influx of children from primary schools, and how they are going to be dealing with influx of Year 10 students to senior high school. She and her colleagues in the different schools were very pleased when government made the significant commitment about supporting the schools, new infrastructure and the training of teachers.
Darwin Senior College will be supported with $19.5m because a middle school will be built on the Bullocky Point site near the Darwin Senior College. The government is also allocating $11m for the Palmerston High School, and it is money that is needed. I am well aware of the significant number of Palmerston children who travel to Darwin High School, and to Dripstone, to attend school. I am pleased because the new school will alleviate this pressure on the Darwin schools, and will establish Palmerston as a place with its own middle school and senior high school.
There are going to be changes at Casuarina. Casuarina Senior College will accept a number of Year 10 students. We are supporting Casuarina Senior College with $3.4m to upgrade and accommodate the students. I am aware that the teachers from Casuarina Senior College have been visiting schools in my electorate, in particular Alawa, to have a look at the new facilities. Alawa Primary School, as you are aware, has undergone a $2m upgrade which was part of an election 2001 commitment. I was very pleased a month ago to open it with my colleague, the member for Nhulunbuy and the minister for Education. They are brand new facilities with new equipment and the Casuarina Senior College teachers have been visiting to find out about the computers, the laptops, and the interactive whiteboards.
Not only has money been spent in Darwin but also outside Darwin: in Nhulunbuy, $1.35m; Katherine High School with nearly $1m; and Taminmin High School with $4.6m. Overall, the total cost for the upgrade of infrastructure around the Northern Territory is $46.7m, a significant investment in the future of our children. A significant investment in the future of education in the Northern Territory and a commitment by this government that we will support middle schooling, not only with words but by actions.
There will be significant benefits to children with the change to middle schooling. Currently in primary school, the ratio of teachers to students is 22 students to one teacher. When Year 7 students move to middle school they will immediately go to a classroom where the ratio will be 17 students per teacher. We know what a significant difference the reduced ratio of students to teachers will make: personal attention and personal care, easier to teach the kids, easier for the kids to approach their teacher, and easier to interact with their teachers.
By having middle schools and senior schools separate, schools will no longer need to divert their resources from their middle year supplement teaching resource at the senior years. We have seen many occasions where senior classes, Year 11 and Year 12, do not have a significant number of kids but they offer a significant number of subjects. Somehow, they have to find the teachers and the material and it is easier by pulling people out of Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10 to subsidise Year 11 and Year 12 while, at the same time, increasing the ratio of students to teachers of the lower classes.
I especially believe that the Year 7 students are mature enough and old enough to enter middle school. From personal experience when I was 12 years old, again in my home country, I had to have entry exams to go to high school. I recall that I was a Year 6 student and I spent a whole summer - three months - studying maths, geography, history and religious studies in order to sit the entry exams for the high school.
I believe Year 10 students are mature enough these days to enter the senior high school and get the opportunity to better prepare themselves for their future educational years. They have a better opportunity to build a strong base for the Northern Territory Certificate of Education and also opportunities to participate in Vocational Education and Training programs, and more appropriate stage one courses, and they will be able to secure their future. Year 10 students will be leaving classes where the ratio is 17:1 and move to classes where the ratio will go down to 14:1, which is significant.
The amount of additional funding that will be provided for professional learning and support to schools is $5.1m over three years. The changeover will be complete in 2008 and money will still be available for training of extra teachers to support this change in our education from the current system to the middle years instead of the senior years.
There have been concerns. Change always creates some anxiety or fear in children and parents. However, in this case, are the parents more anxious than the children? In many cases, people ask whether the government is introducing zoning. The reality is this government refused to introduce zoning. This government is not introducing zoning but has said that schools are responsible for firstly enrolling students from their immediate area and then cater for other students, rather than selecting them as was happening before: picking the best students from every school in Darwin or in Palmerston or anywhere else and then having skewed results because you have the best students in the Territory. Of course, you are going to get the best results with Certificate of Education or university exams. This is a more egalitarian program. The schools will have to first enrol students from their immediate area and then cater for other students.
There are some concerns about the subjects that will be offered in certain schools. For example, Darwin High used to offer some extra curricula courses, had a great band, had Chinese and Greek language classes. Some parents are now worried that their children will miss out and will not able to learn another language. This gives us the opportunity to have another look at the School of Language and the service provided and where it is provided, and it will provide an opportunity for other schools to diversify and provide other subjects. I am pleased to advise that Dripstone High School is currently looking at utilising the Greek teacher who will be provided by the Greek government to provide classes five days a week to students who want to learn the Greek language. I believe that they are looking at establishing other languages at Dripstone.
Mr Deputy Speaker, my support for education is well known and is well documented. I always support any move to improve education for young Territorians. It is not only our legal obligation as a government to provide solid education to our children; we have a moral obligation to provide opportunities for all Territorians, not only Territorians living in urban centres but also Territorians living outside the urban centres. With middle schooling we have allocated money not only in urban centres like Alice Springs, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Darwin, but places like Kalkarindji and other remote communities which definitely and desperately needed an upgrade in their facilities, and certainly in education.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the minister’s statement on middle schools. I do that for a number of reasons, one of which is that I believe in the concept and that this government has undertaken to improve education for young people throughout the Northern Territory and, of course, in my electorate of Millner.
This is important. As a person who has received an education including a local tertiary education through the Northern Territory system, it has benefited me throughout my work life and my in life as a representative in the Legislative Assembly.
The minister, all members, and the government generally, have made a great effort to provide feedback throughout the process. The one thing that we can say from this process is that the government has listened to the people of the Northern Territory and has taken on board that feedback and attempted to respond in the best ways possible through the models that have been produced.
I would like to briefly put on the record that Millner Primary School and Ludmilla Primary School made efforts to participate in the consultation period, and I thank the minister for his work in ensuring that their opinions were listened to and acted upon. First, I will mention why I support the principle. The middle years are specifically designed to take in Years 7 to 9, and reading from the brochure Parents’ Guide to Middle Years:
- The middle years is about students in Years 7 to 9. Middle years is not a new concept. Some schools in the Territory have already adopted it, and many teachers have the expertise to teach middle year students. Students in the middle years have particular social, academic and emotional needs.
It goes on:
- By implementing the middle years approach, students will find the way that they learn and what they learn at school is more interesting and relevant to their lives. It will provide a stronger focus on individual needs, with more hands-on learning and a greater emphasis on literacy and numeracy.
During the primary school years students have a one-on-one relationship with their teacher. This can change when students move to high school and some students find adjustment to many teachers difficult.
Remembering back to my years, I found transferring from primary school to high school difficult. It was one of the big challenges, and the identification of middle school years and allowing students to have particular contact with a smaller number of teachers will be of great benefit. The idea is to help that move from primary school to secondary school and make it run more smoothly.
The middle years approach aims to develop young adolescents to become independent, responsible and active citizens. Again from the brochure:
- Year 10 is an important senior school year. It marks the beginning of progress towards the Northern Territory Certificate of Education. Grouping Year 10 students with Years 11 and 12 will give students greater access to subject courses, resources and expertise, as well as opportunities to learn with other senior students.
Opportunity is what life is all about. Middle schools will create opportunities for students. Unfortunately, in the traditional method, for a variety of different reasons - and no one is to blame - there may not be access to particular resources and expertise. They will have opportunities to participate in vocational education and training programs and subjects which count towards their NTCE. There will be an emphasis on career development and work experience in Year 10 for students to explore career paths. As we know, Year 10 is a very important year. Young students, both male and female, have to make serious choices about where their educational path will go, whether they will go into apprenticeships, or on to Years 11 and 12 to assist with those apprenticeships, or tertiary education. I support the minister’s recognition that this needs to be a focused area.
I will describe what the local schools in my area did on behalf of their students and student body, and the general community. As we know, local primary and high schools play an important part in the local community. Millner Primary School was very positive about the middle school changes and all the models presented and they engaged in it. The school council thought it was a fantastic idea. The staff assisted in the promotion and education of parents who had questions about middle schools and the benefits it would have for them. Millner Primary School looks forward to the implementation of these changes in our philosophy of education.
Ludmilla Primary School, under one of the proposed models, was tagged for possible closure and this created great angst in the local community. They lobbied me, through the school council, teachers and parents. They did this through meeting with me on several occasions, and through my electorate office and at people’s homes. I asked the minister for Education to meet the Ludmilla School community and he was kind enough to attend. I was very grateful for that, as people felt they had the opportunity to say, directly to the man who has carriage for this policy, what they thought and how they valued Ludmilla Primary School.
The Ludmilla Primary School Council and parents did not want the school to change to a middle school. They started their campaign under the slogan ‘Save Ludmilla Primary School’, and you might have seen banners hanging from the pedestrian overpass across Bagot Road. The student mix at the school determined a three-pronged approach to their campaign. Although there are three distinct parent groups, Ludmilla and Narrows residents, RAAF Base, and Bagot Community, the campaign was unified by each group’s common goal. The ‘Save Ludmilla Primary School’ campaign was assisted by many, including the school council chair, Sue Rizqallah; Mick Purcell; Simon Love; Helen Fejo-Frith from Bagot Community; Natalie Harwood from Bagot Community; Jenny McClennand, Kellie Howard, Glen Schackier and Tamie Carlisle from the RAAF Base; and Brian Kerr.
The campaign used all modern day means to get the message across. They letterboxed 3000 flyers throughout the area to homes and businesses, and had banner signage on Bagot Road. They wrote media releases and gave interviews, and they marched on Parliament House with parents and children. The minister and I met them on the steps of Parliament House and accepted a petition with over 400 signatures. I thank the minister for meeting with me and ensuring this message was heard loud and clear. They did letterboxing, letter writing and e-mail writing, to the Prime Minister down. We also had a PowerPoint presentation with the minister and me, as the local member, at the local primary school. That was an interesting night, and we had a question and answer session. I thought Syd Stirling did a magnificent job of listening to everyone’s concerns.
I attended the public consultation at the Darwin High School video presentation, featuring Bagot community elders and me as the local MLA. These individuals worked hard and long to ensure that their concerns were heard. All I can say is that the minister did a fantastic job over two-and-a-half years - I believe, minister? - in consultation with a number of different forms, picking up all these suggestions, good and bad, from people who were concerned about their children’s education.
Middle schools is a fantastic approach to the future of education for all children, whether they live in urban, remote or rural areas. I say to the opposition, government members and all parents who might read this material, that the idea and the concept is a solid principle. It is about identifying a certain age group in certain years at our local schools who have difficulties for a number of reasons which leave them to fall through the system. This will concentrate resources and the right type of teaching to ensure that they get a proper education that will allow them to make the right choices throughout their life, not only in work but in their contribution to the local community.
I recommend the middle schools approach to everybody whose children will be going through the system in the next few years. I again thank the minister for his personal contribution, as this was an important matter in my electorate. The minister, along with his staff, was of great help to me, Madam Speaker. I thank him again and put on the record that I thank those parents from Ludmilla and Millner Primary Schools for coming to me and advising me of their concerns. I hope that we will create a better education for all those Territorians of the future.
Debate suspended.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the galleries of members of the public who are joining us today as part of our public education program. There are many people who have come from interstate, some people from New Zealand, and a couple of Territorians. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I acknowledge the presence in the gallery of Mrs Flora Love. You may have noticed that I have commented on Mrs Love before. She comes to every sitting day and watches us. We thought it was only just we who were interested in the sittings, but Mrs Love, who comes from Palmerston, I think – somewhere else? I will ask you later where you come from - but somewhere in Darwin, and she is here every sitting day. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
MOTION
Note Statement – Middle Years of Schooling
Note Statement – Middle Years of Schooling
Continued from earlier this day.
Mr BURKE (Brennan): Madam Speaker, I respond to the minister’s statement in relation to the middle years program, specifically in relation to middle years in Palmerston. One of the great initiatives that occurred in Palmerston is the formation of the Palmerston Community Consultative Committee which met for the first time a few weeks ago.
Middle years schooling in Palmerston is a good news story. There is a great enthusiasm to embrace the concept of middle years and to make the most of it at our schools in Palmerston. One of the things that first happened was when the Consultative Committee met was the minister for Education officially opening the first meeting. Every government school in Palmerston was represented either by the principal or chair of the council or by both. There were also the members for Drysdale and Blain, and me, the local MLAs for Palmerston.
One of the first issues I can recall being raised by the committee – and I do not have my notes in front of me - was put to the minister at the time: is this just a talkfest? The minister was very clear in his response; he was not interested in setting something up and then not having any acknowledgement or recognition of some of the recommendations or points of view that may come out of the consultancy committee – that the whole point of it was to make recommendations for government to consider.
I remind honourable members of this government’s record in relation to listening to the feedback of the community in relation to implementation of middle years schooling. The government, understandably, wants to push this program as quickly as possible. It has some time frames in mind and, in light of the strong community response in Palmerston, changes were made to the implementation process. It listened to the concerns of the community and reacted accordingly. This process has been consultative all the way through, with community meetings throughout the process.
During that first meeting, a couple of co-chairs were elected: Mr Kevin Kennedy and Mr Peter Chandler. Kevin is from Durack Primary School and Mr Chandler is from Bakewell Primary School in my electorate of Brennan. You could say the two co-chairs represent the complete span of Palmerston - Durack being on one side and Bakewell on the other. Some of the orders of the day we addressed were terms of reference - and there had been some terms of reference put together - and there were some requests for looking at amendments to those by the committee. I understand from my recollection that they were taken on board and there was no problem with the way that the committee is looking to go forward. The initial steps will be one of accessing information from the department. I noted that departmental representatives were there and were looking forward to working cooperatively with the consultative committee.
Education in Palmerston is entering a very exciting and optimistic future. Just today, there was an announcement in relation to Palmerston High School and plans for future building at Palmerston High. Perhaps I can invite the minister to include some remarks in relation to that in his reply, as this debate was commenced in the last sittings before the finalisation of the extra infrastructure work that will be required at Palmerston High.
No process is without negotiation, and the negotiation between the Palmerston High school council and the principal, Mr Dias, and the department regarding the spending of money and the shape that the new infrastructure would take, has progressed along a road that has been more and more refined.
Palmerston High School is at the forefront of innovation. It has developed already and established communities of practice to develop a number of middle years aspects. Some of these are wellbeing, pedagogy, catering for diversity, information technology integration aimed at 24-hour access for students and parents to learning, outcomes, and community connections. Palmerston High is well resourced and funded for these.
In addition, the high school has been provided funding which has enable three teachers and two from local primary schools to attend two middle years international conferences, one in Adelaide in early August, and one in Perth in May. These teachers also visited innovative middle schools and senior schools interstate. I should pause just here because the focus of debate is middle schools, but this has an effect on other areas of education. I will refer to them as junior schooling and senior schools. In relation to Palmerston High, the middle years and middle schooling will have an effect on their senior schooling as well.
Funding provided to Palmerston will allow release of teachers to visit both government and non-government schools in the Darwin region implementing middle schools programs. There has been funding provided to develop middle years professional learning, a community with teachers from other Palmerston schools, and this has been operating since November 2005. It has allowed shadowing visits by Year 7 teachers to the high school, and by high school teachers to the primary schools.
Palmerston High School has three teachers who will spend a day on tour in other schools in early September to view interactive whiteboards in use, as this is a technology which will be introduced at Palmerston High. I will mention the whiteboards a bit later in relation to Gray.
There are issues which we have to confront in Palmerston in relation to implementation of middle schooling. One issue which will need to be considered by the consultative committee and by government is the place of students with extreme behaviours. Currently, there is provision in Palmerston through the Harley Unit at Moulden Park Primary School for students from Transition to Year 7. I understand that with onset of adolescence these behaviours can become more pronounced, and there is a need to consider how the needs of these students and of the general student population will be provided for in working out how students with extreme behaviours will mix with the general student population. It is not an issue that we are walking away from. We recognise that it needs to be addressed and it will be through the community consultative committee.
Palmerston High School currently manages grants totalling around $340 000 for a number of programs, including the Defence Mentor - Palmerston High School has a considerable population of students who come from Defence Force families; the homework centre; parents school partnership; and I understand an indigenous cultural awareness day was run on 17 August.
Palmerston High School has a grant for the National Accelerated Literacy Program introduced in Years 8 and 9 this semester which will become a feature of the middle years program at Palmerston High. There is a work-ready grant for senior students accessing new apprenticeships and the other grants associated with DEST initiatives and the initiatives I have mentioned.
Anther exciting event for Palmerston High School is the recent visit by middle years students from Japan, which was highly successful. I thank the minister and his office for hosting a reception and tours of parliament for those students, and thank you to the staff of the Legislative Assembly for that. I understand this will mark the start of future exchanges between Palmerston and schools in Japan.
I mentioned interactive whiteboards. One of the issues that Palmerston has to face is that, yes, there are some schools which have capacity issues which need to be examined, planned for and resolved. Rosebery School, whatever form it takes, will go some way to alleviating those problems when it is built. However, there are also capacity issues for other schools which have capacity that is not being utilised. One of the schools that has room for students is Gray Primary School, which is an excellent school. It is always telling of a school exactly what the teachers think of teaching there, and there are many teachers who have spent many years at Gray Primary School because they love teaching there, and they love the students there.
Gray is at the forefront of the use of technology in its learning. It is a school which has several electronic whiteboards. I visited the school not long ago and saw the use of these whiteboards in the classroom and the way the children really engaged with learning through that facility. There is no point pretending that the children of today learn in exactly the same way as I did when I was at school, or the Minister for Employment, Education and Training learnt when he was at school. They are in a very different environment. They grow up in a different environment, and their way of learning has obviously been affected by the environment they are growing up in. They have very different ways of learning and these electronic whiteboards are fantastic resource for teachers in schools. I commend Gray for getting involved at the forefront of this use of technology.
Gray Primary School has been the recipient of many awards. I cannot name them all, but I know that when I was there last time talking to Sue Beynon, she rattled off a whole host of awards that Gray had been given, both at a national level and a state level. One of the programs that Gray Primary School has is Kids Matter. This is part of a Commonwealth mental health initiative for primary schools. It is about mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention, and it aims to improve the mental health and wellbeing of primary school children, reducing mental health problems among children - for example, anxiety and depression - achieving greater support for children at risk of experiencing mental health problems. Why is this important? Because children who are healthy, not just physically but also mentally, learn better, have better relationships, greater resilience and a greater ability to cope with change. They have a greater chance of achieving education and career goals. The four components of Kids Matter are: mental health promotion to students; parenting education and support; early intervention for students at risk; and their families creating a positive school community.
One of the other programs which has run at Gray Primary School, and also at Bakewell Primary School, was the Restorative Justice initiative. This is a very powerful tool. It has been shown to work in other countries and other areas of Australia. It is not just about accepting and forgiving behaviour, but how to work and problem solve; how to look directly at problem behaviours; and to make the person who has caused the problem or perhaps got into some conflict, physical or otherwise, with another student, understand how their actions have impacted on others in their school community, and have them appreciate how to rectify that, and the benefit to them personally as well as to everyone involved if there is some responsibility taken, some acknowledgement for what has happened, and taking action to rectify that. It is a very good program. I went to the lecture at Gray Primary School. I will be trying to get to the parent lecture at Bakewell Primary School as well, because I was very impressed with the program. It is great to see schools in Palmerston getting behind these types of programs and implementing them at their schools.
One of the things that has always struck me about the Palmerston experience of the middle schools announcement, right from the very start, was the preparedness of all the schools and all the councils to work together. I have congratulated them before, but I congratulate everyone again. It is not that everyone agrees on every single point, that does not happen; but there is enough common ground and enough willingness and desire to take this forward, to be part of this program, to see the need for the program and that middle schooling can offer a way forward to improve educational outcomes for students, which they have every right to expect from this government and from this Assembly.
It is beholden on us to ensure we give our kids every single chance and opportunity we possibly can. It may not mean everyone is going to come out at the end of high school with perfect scores. Many people will do vocational training after Year 10. Good luck to them, because there are many good professions they can get into. The middle years has been embraced at Palmerston and I thank the minister for his statement.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the education statement. We will see education in our remote communities extended to Year 9 schools. Currently, many end at Year 7, and we will certainly see a consideration of our youth and their concerns in our remote regions. We know that, for some areas of Arnhem, we have students who are, in Aboriginal culture, considered young men at the ages of 13 and 14. I am aware that the Education minister and his department are acutely aware of these issues on a cultural basis for the students in our remote areas.
There are 15 schools in Arnhem, and our government is determined to ensure that a good and comprehensive secondary education is available in these communities. The Education minister has been dedicated to pursuing strategies to ensure all Territory children, in particular indigenous children in remote areas, receive a good primary and secondary education.
I have spoken at length in this parliament of the rapid population growth in our Territory communities, and the urgency required in planning for the future in our remote regions. It is becoming quite obvious that these regions are only known for their remoteness due to geography now, not because of a lack of people.
I just visited Minyerri in the southern part of Arnhem to see how students and staff were going at the primary and secondary school. What struck me on driving into the community was how many new houses were there. Minyerri, sometimes known as Hodgson Downs, is surrounded by hills, lagoons and the rivers, and is quite a beautiful home. What hit home to me was the number of people in the community. This is important. You may ask why that is important; isn’t is good to have a lot of people? The reason it stuck out in my mind is that the population growth I saw in Minyerri is what I usually see in the Wet Season, not in the Dry Season. The Wet Season is the time when everyone from the outstations, cattle stations, or wherever they have been working, returns to the community, often for ceremonies, to settle in very crowded circumstances.
However, this time it was the Dry Season, and the place was absolutely full. It is a fairly well known fact that in most communities in the Wet, the numbers usually double as people move from their outstations into the main centres. I wonder if this now means that the Wet Season in Minyerri will see a tripling of numbers, simply because the population of that community is growing quite rapidly.
At the school, the students had only just returned from the four-week school break and were pretty happy to share their stories about the holidays. I had the opportunity to join in with the Transition and the Early Childhood classes in their early morning exercises, and was warmed up soon enough. The middle primary students shared their class song with me, whilst the Year 6 and 7 students spoke about the many things they would like to see for youth at Minyerri - things that most youth speak of such as sporting facilities, more recreational options, and discos, even a swimming pool for the community. In fact, I have quite a few communities talking to me about swimming pools, all of which I will be happy to pursue on their behalf with the Sport and Education ministers.
It was encouraging to see the number of Aboriginal teacher assistants involved in the school, and to speak with the school council on issues important to them. It is at this point that I would like to mention the good work done by the principal, Neil Gibson, and his wife, Michelle. Their dedication and the concerns that Neil has for his current and previous students, was quite evident. At the end of the year, Neil and Michelle are planning to take study leave and I take this opportunity to thank them for the work they are doing there.
In the secondary school, I heard from students who raised other issues such as further training and job opportunities. In Minyerri, the CDEP program is all that is available, and I have been on the record in this parliament saying that that is not good enough. In my maiden speech, I spoke of how our students in remote parts of the Territory are encouraged to finish school and all they have is CDEP. There is no incentive to further education if the supposed job outcome is the same, as those who do not finish school still go on CDEP. It is a point that has been raised on numerous occasions, and I know that our government is deeply concerned. I urge our government to put the accelerator on and get the jobs going in our communities, especially in Minyerri.
While talking to students and staff there, one of the most common comments was that many of the 15- to 16-year-old female students were dropping out. Others have gone on and had a family of their own, and yet still want an education. It is an issue not isolated to Minyerri where young women and, indeed, young men, leave at 15, 16, 17 years of age, and have families of their own. Some of these are for cultural reasons, others are that they do not have the chance to move into the employment that they would like. I want to pass on to the Education minister the request that our government look closely at the opportunities for young mothers and, indeed, fathers, to return to school for education. Too many of our young students fall out of the system for whatever reasons and, yet, still wish to return at a later stage, often with a baby to care for.
I am aware, however, that there are programs for young mothers that are operating in other schools throughout the Territory which provide the opportunity for middle years-aged mums and even dads to return to school to complete their studies. This is great news, and I ask the minister to spread the word and encourage all schools to work in their communities and provide similar opportunities.
Along the Roper Road, from the Minyerri turnoff I went on to visit the Urapunga and Ngukurr schools, all the while talking about what our government is doing and seeking their thoughts on the ways that we could work with them to improve the attendance rates of our children at school, and the opportunities that our government is desperately keen to see happen. At Urapunga, Sue and Phil Hearnden are doing well with the primary students there. At least five children from Urapunga have gone on to Kormilda College for high school and some attend Ngukurr Secondary. Others are still missing out on vital secondary educational opportunities, not because of the lack of opportunities, but simply because of other factors related to isolation. It can quite simply be that their families just do not have a car, or enough money for fuel for a vehicle to take them every day to Ngukurr Secondary which is a good 15 to 20 minutes drive on a good day. That is when the Roper River is not up, and the Wilton River. In the Wet Season there is definitely no access for them.
At Ngukurr I welcome the new acting principle, Mike Bowden. Mike has replace Graeme Matthews who is currently on study leave. While at Ngukurr, I spoke with senior students at the school to ask them how they see the future, and also talked with them about the middle schools and what the Northern Territory government is doing with regards to education in other areas of the Northern Territory. I spoke to the students and spent quite a lot of time with kids out on the Roper Road asking them how they saw the future.
Some of the female students suggested a youth forum for all the young people of Ngukurr. It is an idea I certainly embraced, as does one of Ngukurr’s senior teachers, Linda Duckett. It would be an opportunity to workshop the ideas from the youth themselves of what they see as the problems they face in attending school, and ideas on how to address them. It could also be a forum that allows the flow of ideas for the region. These kinds of youth forums work successfully in our high schools and suburbs across the Territory. It is timely to encourage such workshopping of ideas with youth in our remote region. Who knows? We may be pleasantly surprised by the ideas they put forward.
I will mention the recent national debate on history being taught in our schools. It is at this point I would like to add in my discussions with the schools around the Arnhem electorate as I travelled around, that it is certainly an area people are talking about. With the respective communities that I have, families are adamant that their children know the history of their own area first, that they know who they are, where they come from, and how they link in with each other. We have the Alawa people in the Ngukurr area, the Minyerri Hodgson Down mob, Jilkminggan and Numbulwar who are very strong on culture and identity and language, and very strong on their own history being taught in their schools. This history that they talk about does not just begin with the arrival of Captain Cook. It is a history that goes back generations after generation, where the old people can tell those stories, and can be appreciated and respected within a wider mainstream system of teaching. I urge the Education minister, with all the good works that he is doing across remote regions and primary and secondary education, that we consider the history aspect, but in a way that works for the communities.
In closing, I would like to say that, while we may have a way to go in terms of access of our remote regions, I sincerely commend the Education minister and his department for the focus placed on secondary education in our Territory communities. It is a well known fact that the indigenous people across the Northern Territory suffered considerably due to the absence of such a focus on education in remote areas in the last two decades.
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her comments and, particularly, finishing what has been a pretty long debate over two sessions of parliament, on a positive note as she did.
I will touch briefly on issues raised by those speaking to the statement. The member for Blain had fundamental questions about the introduction of middle schools that it did not address, and should start with the curriculum and did not address the curriculum. He is a reasonably regular critic of the Northern Territory Curriculum Framework. I point out that whilst we support it, and we think it is a quality piece of work, it was written by Northern Territory teachers under the hand of CLP ministers. It was well and truly done by the time we came to government. I make no judgment on that other than the fact that it was a piece of work completed and endorsed by the government of which he was a member before we came to government. I still think it is a quality piece of work, although it will be reviewed later this year.
The middle school policy and principles framework is about much more than curriculum. It is more about how teachers work together, how school leaders organise their schools, how the system transitions students through the different stages of schooling, how teachers teach in middle years, and how students learn. We are talking about real cultural change in our schools, not just curriculum.
The member for Blain says the curriculum is the most important thing on the one hand and then says teachers are the most important. I say to the member for Blain that the curriculum framework will undergo a comprehensive review later in 2006. Both I, as minister for Education, and the current chief executive are extremely concerned with standards, and that is the view that will prevail throughout any review of the curriculum. When we talk about standards and objectives within the curriculum, I agree. I believe they should be measurable, specific, objective, and they should, in the end, be achievable so that students can work through them. That is what we were taught in teacher’s college. It is still sound educational practice. However, whilst curriculum changes will come in the future, these changes are about how we teach in middle schools and how teachers learn.
The member for Braitling was critical initially that we were going to close ANZAC Hill High School and now appears equally critical that we have left it open and taken the Year 10 into Centralian. There is a bit of an untruth being run along the lines with the member for Greatorex in Alice Springs that government would close ANZAC Hill within a year. I want to assure both members that if it was going to be closed, the time to do it was when these decisions were being made. Similar accusations were made by the member for Braitling about Irrkerlantye. She said that students would drop out and would hang around the street because she had no faith in the students. That is what she thought would happen. She had no faith, either, in the Irrkerlantye school community; that children in the community were capable of handling the sorts of change that they have. The Alice Springs News reported very strongly and very positively on how well those students were going after the change.
With the review of the South Australian Certificate of Education, we have a view that you do not simply go along with the changes coming out of the review without input or complaint. We are going to be very carefully considering the changes in the South Australian system, what we accept and what we do not. There are already some differences between the Northern Territory Certificate of Education and the South Australian Certificate of Education, so there is not a problem to either system. If we do not believe the changes will educationally benefit our NTCE students, we will not implement them. I invite the member for Blain, the shadow minister for Education, to a briefing in this area if he so wishes.
In relation to Nightcliff High School, I fully believe that it will become a middle school of excellence. It is a school and educational community that has immersed itself already very strongly in the middle schools process. It is considerably advanced in a middle schools approach and it will hit the ground running next year with Years 8 and 9 in 2007 and Years 7, 8 and 9 in 2008. It was a school that had tried to maintain a quality education from Year 7 through to Year 8 through to Year 12 of painfully small numbers of students and to do that it had to take teaching resources from the middle years in order to try to provide the broadest possible subject choices in the senior years. Under that sort of situation, it is the middle years students who lose out, and the senior years students also miss out because the number of students across the subject areas is too small to get a dynamic cohort.
Nightcliff High will, in time, I have no doubt whatsoever, grow into a great middle school and I look forward to that. In fact, 20 years ago it was probably the leading high school in the Northern Territory. I expect that it will regain that reputation, albeit as a middle school into the future.
The member for Braitling was also concerned about special programs at Alice Springs High School: future directions, Alice outcomes, programs along those lines. My response is that the Years 10, 11 and 12 students should take their place alongside their peers. Those programs, in part at least, are happening at Centralian. If they are as effective as the member for Braitling believes, they will be carried across to Centralian. Some already are in place at Centralian, and I would expect, with transfer of teachers following the students across, that the majority, if not all, of those programs will follow those students through.
In terms of numbers at ANZAC High and ASHS, they will be small, but there is certainly plenty of room for growth in student numbers in each of those schools. It is absolutely incumbent upon the school principal and the school community to put in place those programs and practices that support the students who are there, but also attracts those students who are either enrolled and not attending, or not enrolled at all.
The member for Braitling has raised, on many occasions, questions about the number of students in Alice Springs not attending school. I do not have a definitive answer on this yet, but preliminary work around this question by the department suggests that those numbers are not as great as has been put to us over recent times. I hope we would have more definitive information in the near future.
I thank the members for Casuarina, Millner and Brennan for their contributions. I was pleased to work with the member for Millner on the issues around Ludmilla Primary School during the consultative phase and he outlined the number of meetings that we had. The member for Brennan is a very ardent advocate for Palmerston schools. He is intrinsically interested in education in its own right. He is involved in the future planning for Palmerston schools and I know he recognises that this is an exciting time to be involved in education in Palmerston. He has a role and a responsibility to ensure the best possible outcomes for educational infrastructure do come about for the future needs of Palmerston students.
The member for Arnhem is a regular visitor to schools throughout her electorate. She provides me and my office with very valuable feedback on needs throughout her electorate after those visits. It is greatly appreciated by me and my office, and I am sure it is equally appreciated by her constituents. I look forward to the reports from the member for Arnhem after each of the visits she makes.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank all members for their contributions.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Volatile Substance Misuse Prevention and Intervention Program
Volatile Substance Misuse Prevention and Intervention Program
Ms LAWRIE (Family and Community Services): Mr Deputy Speaker, I provide a progress report on the implementation of the Northern Territory’s Volatile Substance Misuse Prevention and Intervention Program. It is just over six months ago, on 9 February this year, that the Northern Territory’s Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act 2005 and its regulations became law. The VSA legislation is groundbreaking. It is the first of its kind in Australia. In only six months, it has received widespread acclaim, and other states have expressed considerable interest in following our lead.
Six months is too short a period to make a full and complete assessment of the legislation’s effectiveness in tackling a long-term and complex problem, petrol sniffing. However, it is appropriate that a preliminary assessment is provided and that is what I want to do today. While we are certainly not claiming that petrol sniffing has in any way been solved, after six months this legislation can only be considered an outstanding success. People at the coalface tell us that sniffing in places like Mutitjulu and Papunya has almost been wiped out, which is a terrific result. This is due to the combination of this legislation and the roll-out of Opal fuel. While we claim some initial success, history tells us that a drastic reduction in petrol sniffing is often temporary. We cannot be complacent and we need to ensure that we remain ahead of the game in tackling petrol sniffing.
The act provides a range of new powers to enable individuals, communities and government agencies prevent and better respond to sniffing. These include: powers for police and others to search individuals and seize and dispose of volatile substances and implements used to inhale volatile substances; powers for police and others to take people who are intoxicated by volatile substances home or to other places of safety; powers for the court to compel people who have chronic volatile substance misuse problems to participate in treatment; powers for communities to create local controls on the sale and supply of volatile substances that are enforceable under Territory law; stronger penalties for knowingly supplying volatile substances to people to inhale; and new protections for people who inform police about offences under the act.
These powers were not decided upon lightly. Rather, they were a result of the heartache of many families and communities grappling with the grief and distress of seeing their young people harming themselves and their communities. They were a result of the fear expressed by some communities about the fate of their young people, and the frustration by others that, despite efforts by community leaders, petrol sniffing was increasing rather than abating, that people were getting worse not better.
These were the stories that were told to my predecessor, the member for Arafura, and to the Select Committee on Substance Abuse which travelled the Territory to try to understand petrol sniffing and its effect on community life. It was these stories and the people who faced the committee as witnesses that shaped the legislation and the powers within it. That is not to say that all regional centres or remote communities are affected by volatile substance misuse. In fact, many remain free of volatile substance misuse.
It is difficult to quantify the problem of petrol sniffing. The Department of Health and Community Services has surveyed 60 communities across the Northern Territory and identified that 23 of them reported some volatile substance misuse in the previous three months, mostly petrol sniffing. This equates to about 300 to 350 people who are using volatile substances Territory-wide. Less than half of this number, or about 140 people, were reported for using volatiles in a chronic way, the balance being experimental or occasional users. While the numbers may seem small, we must not underestimate their impact. Petrol sniffing not only affects the individual involved, but can tear apart whole families and, in some cases, whole communities.
The differences in the spread of volatile substance misuse and its impacts go to the heart of the design and application of the legislation. It has been constructed so that each community, regional centre or area is able to apply different aspects of the legislation according to the extent and nature of the problem in each community, and the resources available. In those communities with many experimental or occasional users, the community could focus on supply management and seize volatile substances from people as an immediate intervention. Those communities with more chronic users are more likely to use compulsory treatment options as well.
I now wish to discuss each of the provisions of the act in turn.
First, police and authorised persons are able to step in and remove petrol, paint and other substances from people who are sniffing and, if necessary, take intoxicated people into care. This is an immediate intervention which ceases the petrol-sniffing behaviour and immediately protects them from further harm. Police, particularly in Central Australia, have been using this provision to make headway on volatile substance misuse. From commencement of the act until early August this year, police across the Territory removed volatile substances and inhalants from people on 60 occasions. I have the latest updated figures; it is now 62 occasions. As expected, the substance seized in 48 - and with the updated figures now 50 - of these events was petrol. Paint was seized twice and other volatile substances 10 times. The volume of petrol seized on each occasion averaged less than one litre per event, which was also the pattern for the other substances seized.
I have been advised as recently as this morning that police have taken 11 people to safety. The provisions are very similar to the powers available to police to tip out alcohol and to take intoxicated people into care. In this way, the police are very experienced in managing substance misuse and protecting people who are intoxicated. I commend the police in their efforts in applying the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act in their day-to-day policing activities.
Police have also been proactive in their efforts to prevent illegal supply, due in part to the new Substance Abuse Intelligence Desk, known as the SAID, based in Central Australia. Using intelligence gained through the SAID, the police have been able to intercept and prosecute the illegal supply of volatile substances on what I have been advised has been four separate occasions in the region. This is a very positive outcome and places petrol and other drug runners to remote communities on notice.
I recall that questions were raised during the debate on the bill about authorised persons. As authorised persons would have powers to use reasonable force to search for and remove volatile substances, and to take people including children into care, concerns were raised about how people who apply to be authorised persons would be trained and assessed. Earlier in the year, I approved the Authorised Person Policy and Practice Guidelines which clearly detail the roles, responsibilities and powers of these positions, application processes, knowledge and skill requirements, and assessment and suitability through background checks. The guidelines are very detailed and are available on the Department of Health and Community Services Alcohol and Other Drugs Program website.
An authorised person training program was completed earlier in the year in Alice Springs. Eight people undertook the training program, gaining a better understanding of the responsibilities and challenges for authorised persons. The training resulted in one organisation expressing a desire for its staff to take steps required to become an authorised person. I look forward to receiving their applications. The promotion of authorised persons and the training program is an ongoing commitment by the department which has now written widely to remote communities to gauge interest in nominating local people to become authorised persons. I am advised that this has generated further interest from some community patrollers.
While many patrollers are well placed to become authorised persons, and I encourage them to consider participating in the training and extending their roles, I also acknowledge that some patrols have stated that they prefer to continue to work with their clients using their existing cultural protocols and processes. The training program remains available in this instance, and may serve to broaden their understanding of the legislation and, more importantly, may develop new skills in working with clients who may be using volatile substances.
The act also allows premises to be designated as places of safety, where police and authorised persons can take people intoxicated by volatile substances and who are at particular risk. I was very pleased to learn that all four sobering-up shelters had indicated a willingness to take on this important role. Their extensive experience in providing care to people intoxicated by alcohol is sure to equip them well in dealing with clients intoxicated by volatile substances. Some shelters have requested training for their staff to help them work with these clients. I understand that one agency has raised other practical issues which need to be addressed such as staffing rosters and suitability of premises for these new clients.
An area of the act which was subject to the most contention in the legislation and which, since its introduction, has attracted considerable interest from families and communities is the compulsory treatment programs. These are the powers given to the court to compel people to participate in treatment for their chronic volatile substance problems. When it was first proposed, some sections of the community identified a range of problems and concerns with the approach. Some people believe that there is no place for court ordered alcohol and other drug treatment, or that such approaches are unlikely to benefit the client. Other people have more practical questions about the suitability and availability of treatment programs for volatile substance misuse problems. Importantly, people from remote communities living with chronic petrol sniffers supported the idea of compulsory treatment, and it was this support that steadied the resolve of government.
To date, 44 applications for compulsory treatment have been made during the six months that the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act has been operating: two applications in the Top End; and 42 applications in Central Australia. Of these 44 applications, 31 have been referrals from Territory police officers, again demonstrating that police are very actively applying the legislation. Other applications have been received from non-government services, primary health staff, and the department’s Family and Children Services program.
In order to describe the outcome of these applications, I need to describe the procedures around an application for court-mandated treatment. The decision to refer a person to the courts is not taken lightly. The act has established a framework which has a number of built-in protections for people about whom an application has been made. These are further strengthened through the administrative arrangements, which have been developed by agencies within the Departments of Health and Community Services and Justice. These arrangements make sure that each person is properly assessed according to their needs, and that only people likely to benefit from treatment are mandated to do so. This assessment also provides the report for consideration by the magistrate.
Each application made in the community undergoes a preliminary assessment by one of two Volatile Substance Abuse nurses working with the Alcohol and Other Drugs program. The preliminary assessment includes verifying the information in the application, assessing immediate risk, and talking with the applicant, primary health care centres and police, about the effects of the sniffing behaviour. Based on this assessment, the application comes to me to approve, or not approve, a formal assessment. Thirty-eight assessments have progressed to a formal application for assessment to me as the delegated minister; 36 in Central Australia, and two in the Top End.
To date, I have approved 12 for formal assessment through a panel process, which is convened through the Department of Justice, and which also includes clinicians from the Alcohol and Other Drugs program, Mental Health Services, and Family and Children’s Services program where appropriate. Depending on individual circumstances, input may also be sought from family members, other local community agencies, local health services, or from police. I have not approved assessments in instances such as where the person is not a Northern Territory resident, or where they would not benefit from a treatment regime. Other people have agreed to participate in treatment as a voluntary client, which has meant that the formal legal process is not required.
The assessment process is not always straightforward. Working with people who may have transient lifestyles presents particular challenges. I have been advised that it has sometimes been difficult to contact the person as, in a small number of cases, they had left their community, some apparently having moved interstate. The changing patterns of volatile substance abuse and misuse also mean that individuals can stop sniffing without any formal intervention. I understand this has been the case with a small number of people about whom an application has been made.
It is important to remember that the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act is not the only pathway for people with these problems to access treatment. People are always encouraged to voluntarily seek treatment. They may be referred by the criminal justice system or, in the case of children, via the welfare system.
One of the most interesting outcomes from the last six months is the high number of voluntary requests for treatment. Most clients who have been referred for compulsory treatment have agreed to participate in treatment as voluntary clients. This is, no doubt, due to the availability of treatment options, and is a credit to the caring environment provided in treatment services. It may also be a result of encouragement and support from the family, the community, and the VSA nurse that some people have made this positive choice. There is no doubt that the threat of compulsory treatment has led to an increase in voluntary treatment, and that is a terrific outcome.
As I mentioned earlier, the act also gives power to communities to better control the sale and supply of volatile substances locally. Management areas with approved management plans will enable residents in communities to apply targeted controls on the availability of substances that are being misused in that region, and for those controls to be enforceable under Territory law.
The process for developing these areas and plans includes a clear understanding of local volatile substance misuse – what is being sniffed, and by whom and where, and how people get access to these substances. This research and consultation process may reveal alternate ways for preparing management areas to control supply. For example, I know that around Darwin, to respond to paint sniffing, the Alcohol and Other Drugs program staff and police have contacted local retailers to remind them of their obligation to not sell to people who may misuse various substances, and they provide practical advice about how to identify and respond to customers who may misuse.
The act also requires that, prior to a management area being declared, the applicant, residents or council need to advise all those who may be affected of any proposed control measures. This is not only residents, but also nearby communities and businesses, such as agricultural, mining, tourism venture operators and contractors who may work on the community or travel through the community.
Management plans do, however, provide a legal mechanism to enforce the Australian government’s roll-out of Opal fuel in the Northern Territory, and they have been embraced as such by some communities. Nine applications have been received from remote communities for management areas: seven in Central Australia, and two in the Top End. While the Alcohol and Other Drugs program, as well as non-government organisations such as the Central Australian Youth Link-Up Service, known as CAYLUS, NPY Women’s Council and Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi have supported communities to undertake their planning and consultation activities, the time taken to complete the process has been longer than expected. I understand that careful consideration is to be given to the implications and practical effects of management areas. Nevertheless, I have asked the Alcohol and Other Drugs program to expedite the process.
While the legislation provides the framework for the Northern Territory’s response to volatile substance misuse, it was acknowledged that it would be largely ineffective without a commensurate additional funding commitment. An additional $2m is allocated each year to support three main areas of the act:
- 1. new or developed treatment and re-habitation options in urban and remote areas;
- 2. coordination and assessment of people with volatile substance abuse problems; and
3. community planning and information around the legislation and its application at a local level.
One of the biggest challenges was the development of new treatment models and services, specifically for volatile substance misuse problems. This is, again, a first for the Northern Territory and for Australia. I am proud that this jurisdiction has been able to forge the way in this regard. In March of this year, the Drug and Alcohol Services Association in Alice Springs commenced residential rehabilitation. Since that time, DASA has provided rehabilitation for nine clients, with lengths of stay ranging from over two months to five days. Almost all of these clients were subject to application for treatment under the legislation from their home community, but agreed to participate in treatment voluntarily. One client was referred through the criminal justice system.
DASA has proven to be responsive to the needs of people with volatile substance misuse problems and their families. The service encourages family participation in treatment and can accommodate a carer as well as the client. It has been able to accommodate people with disabilities, and younger clients from 16 years onwards. We know that the demand for treatment services in Central Australia is strong and that there are up to 22 people seeking access to the DASA service.
While this is proving problematic at this point in time, the service will be able to grow when it relocates to the Aranda House facility. This facility will be of a high standard and its design lends itself to becoming a residential rehabilitation service for up to 20 clients. The layout also enables separate sleeping and bathroom facilities for males and females, and has open communal areas and quieter areas for clients. The Department of Health and Community Services is currently consulting with DASA to ensure that the design of the redeveloped building meets DASA’s client, administration and related needs.
It is also working with the Department of Planning and Infrastructure on the design and tendering process. I understand that plans are currently being refined and tenders should be let for the construction phase later in the year, with the service being able to be occupied by March 2007. In the interim, DASA has entered into an arrangement with the Central Australian Aboriginal Alcohol Programs Unit, CAAAPU, in Alice Springs to provide more places for people working to access treatment. This arrangement will make an additional four beds available, and will continue until Aranda House can be occupied. When DASA expands into Aranda House, this will free up part of its existing facility at Schwarz Crescent, which will then be available for short-term residential care for young people experiencing problems related to volatile substance misuse, and which also be auspiced by DASA.
It is important to acknowledge that while residential care provides a much-needed facet of care for people affected by volatile substance abuse, provision of treatment can include other forms. Currently, Bushmob in Alice Springs is providing therapeutic care for young people with volatile substance issues using an outreach model. The service provides all of the elements of a traditional treatment service - counselling, case management, skills development and family therapy - in a culturally secure context. Bushmob works in town and in remote areas and currently has 22 clients. Bushmob will support the residential service for young people in Alice Springs when it is operational. In the meantime, it supports clients living with extended family in outstations and in supported accommodation services in town.
In the Top End, the Council of Aboriginal Alcohol Program Service, CAAPS, is providing residential rehabilitation for both adults and young people. Like the DASA service, CAAPS encourages family involvement in treatment, and all young people must be accompanied by a carer. This ensures new skills learned in treatment are shared across families and provides an additional support for the person in treatment. The service can take up to 12 people at any one time. I was delighted to be able to launch the newly-constructed purpose-built facility on the beautiful grounds of CAAPS’ Berrimah campus in July this year. CAAPS has had a total of six clients, and currently have four clients in the service - two young people and an adult carer, as well as two adult clients. Of these, two were voluntary referrals and two were being directed through the justice system.
The demand for treatment in the Top End has been lower than in Central Australia which is due, in part, to different prevalence rates and associated problems with volatile substance misuse in this region. However, it is also the case that there are different community attitudes to treatment and more complex logistics involved when referring clients from across the Top End to a Darwin-based service.
While work has progressed to provide services in both Darwin and Alice Springs, it is important to recognise the ongoing work at those remote communities which have a long established history of caring for people with volatile substance abuse problems. Ove the first two years of the volatile substance misuse funding, a total of $1.44m was allocated to the remote service development. This has proved both rewarding in community interest and commitment, but has also been difficult and, in some instances, has not been able to be fully realised.
Four remote services in Central Australia received some one-off and operational funding from the Northern Territory’s VSA program. These communities are Ilpurla, Mt Theo, Kintore and Ipolera. Mt Theo and Ilpurla are well-established services and have received national acclaim for their work with young indigenous people. Kintore has elected to use its funding to focus on youth development and a mobile outstation model that links between family, police, courts and individuals. Like many remote services, it is vulnerable to staff changes and shortages.
In the Top End, one-off and recurrent operational funds were allocated to the community councils of Gunbalanya, Angurugu and Gapuwiyak. With the pending introduction of Opal fuel as the only fuel available across the whole of Groote Eylandt, it is possible that Angurugu will also decide not to develop a remote service for volatile substance misuse and, in this instance, alternate regional options will need to be canvassed. Gunbalanya, like Kintore, is operating a model based on youth development and a mobile outreach service.
I spoke earlier about funding being used for the coordination of case management and community information about the legislation. This is a vital part of the implementation of the act, and a total of $725 000 has been recurrently committed for this purpose. These funds were used to facilitate the support and to coordinate access to services for people with volatile substance abuse problems. $200 000 a year is used to employ the two VSA nurses in the Department of Health and Community Service. $180 000 a year has been provided to the Department of Justice to support them to apply the act. These funds have enabled clinical positions to be placed with Courts Administration to coordinate the compulsory assessment processes of the act.
For this program to be truly effective, it was recognised that those individuals and communities that can most benefit from its introduction must have a clear understanding of the intent and powers contained within the act, and the related services available. The Northern Territory government has worked closely with organisations with strong local ties to disseminate information and to support community responses. Waltcha, NPY and CAYLUS have been contracted through the department to help communities in Central Australia region apply the legislation at a local level. Milingimbi, Angurugu and Gapuwiyak in the Top End have also received some one-off funding to assist with planning and to develop local petrol responses.
Additionally, community education staff in the Alcohol and Other Drugs program have been proactive in their role to support the communities’ understanding of the legislation in helping people understand treatment pathways and options, and in assisting communities with supply management plans. All of this activity builds on the work of the Alcohol and Other Drugs program staff, non-government organisations and, of course, communities to put in place a range of prevention and diversionary activities.
This brings me to an important point. Although the focus of my statement is on the progress in implementing the Northern Territory Volatile Substance Abuse Protection Act it is important to recognise that this act and its related services sit within broader Northern Territory and Australian government efforts to respond to volatile substance misuse. For example, the Australian government’s roll-out of subsidised Opal fuel is having an impact on the prevalence of sniffing. I understand that as of August this year, some 26 communities and five islands in the Northern Territory have been approved to supply Opal and that there are currently 25 communities and seven roadhouses supplying Opal fuel. There is no doubt that this has already achieved some notable successes in reducing petrol sniffing and related harm.
Continued Australian government funding of outstations also helps ensure the continued viability and funding of other substance misuse prevention and treatment agencies, and it further builds on the resources available to tackle these problems at the individual or community level.
The government is very encouraged by the first six months of this legislation. We have had some terrific successes and we know where we need to improve. The CLP was extremely critical of this legislation. It is important to understand where we would be now if their policies had been implemented. Members will be aware that the Leader of the Opposition brought into this House a bill that involved two years gaol for anyone, including juveniles, caught petrol sniffing. At the same time, the former Leader of the Opposition announced the CLP would withdraw all funding towards petrol sniffing rehabilitation. The combination of these two policies would have been that anyone caught sniffing would be sent straight to gaol. The courts would have no diversionary options, as the CLP was going to defund all the treatment programs.
I mentioned earlier that there had been 44 applications for compulsory treatment programs. Under the CLP plan, those 44 people would now be in gaol. Under the Martin government those people will, and are, receiving treatment and being given a second chance at life.
Volatile substance misuse is not a static problem. People’s substance use behaviour has changed. People with substance misuse problems can come into contact with various community or government agencies, and community responses change. Volatile substance misuse is a complex and evolving problem, and government and community agencies continue to fine-tune their strategies to better respond to existing problems, and to prevent new ones.
The work undertaken by the Department of Health and Community Services and other Northern Territory government agencies in partnership with the community sector to implement and support the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act has been considerable and consistent. However, there is still work needed to streamline processes and assist individuals and communities make better use of the act.
The act has been in operation for some six months. A review will be conducted in early 2007 to evaluate progress and challenges, and will inform an ongoing process of refinement. The initial success of this legislation has been due to a real team effort. Everyone, from individuals in the communities, the police, the NGOs, acknowledged in this statement, and the staff of my Alcohol and Other Drugs program in my agency, have worked together to make this legislation work. I thank them for their hard work and dedication.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise despite the slap that the minister decided to give the CLP at the conclusion of her statement.
Mrs Braham: She could not help herself.
Dr LIM: I pick up on the interjection from the member for Braitling. She said: ‘She could not help herself’. Let me say from the outset that I am going to give this statement qualified support. I am pleasantly surprised that the minister has achieved some steps forward in these last six months, although I will qualify my support.
We all know that volatile substance abuse is a scourge; primarily petrol, but other volatile substances as well. I am not sure whether members are aware of the physical consequences of petrol sniffing, but it is a very significant matter and the associated social impacts of petrol sniffing, which go along with the physical consequences, are very severe indeed.
I said I will give qualified support. Yes, we have seen some positive steps being taken by the government in this matter. However, as many steps as have been taken forward, they have also raised many questions and these I will put to the minister. I hope she will be able to respond to those questions when she closes the debate.
First, the roll-out of Opal will be received by everyone as a positive move. Fortunately for us, the cost will be borne by the federal government rather than the Northern Territory. Otherwise, you can imagine the cost that would be imposed on all Territorians if Opal was generally rolled out across the Territory. Making fuel non-sniff-able is obviously a step in the right direction, as long as it does not impose a cost on the motor vehicle user. We currently pay extremely high prices in the Northern Territory for petrol and I would not like to see the roll-out of Opal imposing a further burden.
Why is petrol sniffing such a major problem? Many years ago, when I first entered this parliament, I gave a description of what would occur if a youth took up petrol sniffing. Paraphrasing what I said, a hypothetical youth was bored, nothing to do, perhaps not attending school any longer and had no employment, living in a family where parents do not particularly care, or are too drunk to care. He sees his friends, his peers, sniffing petrol and appearing to enjoy themselves. He would be asking himself the same question: ‘Why would I not do that too? My friends appear to be pretty good. They do not seem to be hurt at all in any way, and they also seem to be quite happy and enjoying themselves, so I should try that too’. So, away he goes. His first experience after inhaling the fumes is one of euphoria. That would definitely bring the youth back to more sniffing.
What is in petrol that causes that? It is the chemical called toluene, a clear, colourless liquid with a distinctive smell we all have smelt before, which occurs naturally in crude oil, but is also produced in the process of making gasoline and other fuels from crude oil. I suppose with Opal, the manufacturer has been able to extract the toluene from the end product, thus making it non-sniff-able. Toluene is also used in making paint, paint thinners, fingernail polish, lacquers, adhesives, rubber, and some printing and leather tanning processes.
Toluene, when inhaled, will affect the nervous system. At low to moderate levels, it can cause tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type reactions or actions, associated memory loss, nausea, loss of appetite, and sometimes even hearing and colour vision loss. Fortunately, in low to moderate use levels, when you stop the abuse, the symptoms will completely disappear. However, with high level use, even within a short space of time, with the euphoria, light headedness, dizziness or sleepiness, it can lead to unconsciousness and even death. We also know that toluene can affect the kidneys directly.
We know that babies are also more sensitive than adults to the volatile substance. What is more troubling is that, during pregnancy, it is known that it can result in children born with birth defects and retarded mental abilities, and affects growth in utero and, subsequently, after birth. So there are problems with toluene, the substance that is the main cause of the immediate effects of petrol sniffing.
However, the more insidious problem was in the days when petrol contained a lot of lead. Even today in the lead of modified fuel, there is still enough lead to cause long-term problems. Those long-term problems come from the lead being deposited in the tissues, thus rendering permanent damage. I will not go into the physical consequences of that. People can go back to Hansard and search for the speech I made regarding the causes of mental disability due to petrol sniffing.
I would like the minister to walk us through, step by step, what occurs when a person is found to be sniffing petrol in a public place. From what I can gather, in a private place there is very little authority for the police or an authorised person to apprehend the person because there has been no so-called public offence committed. If that is the case, then what do you do with the child or youth petrol sniffing within the confines of a home under apparent supervision of parents or grandparents?
In public, if a youth is apprehended for sniffing petrol, I assume that a police officer would tip the petrol out and, if the police officer or authorised person deems that the youth is too intoxicated and not able to care for himself or herself, or is likely to come to some harm - whether it be self-harm or otherwise - they could take the youth into protective custody. It is not an arrest; it is just to protect the person, whether it is through accommodation in DASA or CAAAPU or wherever, or even at Aranda House. By the next day, when the youth has regained normalcy when the effects of the sniffing is over, I assume that the youth will be released. There is no immediate process to follow through on what you do with the youth who have been sniffing. What do the youth do? Do they immediately go back to behaviour, take up sniffing again?
I suppose if the police deem that this youth is going to be at risk, the police will report that to FACS. I assume FACS is the body that would follow up on this child? You go down to the river and find the youth who has been sniffing who had been apprehended and put into safe custody for the night. When you find the youth down the river, it is a matter of conjecture - it could be within hours or could be several weeks after. Eventually, the youth is found by the case officer and, perhaps, assessed by the case officer. Then a report is provided to the minister, who then decides whether this person is to go to court. Therefore, for an unknown period of time, this youth at risk continues to be put at risk because there is no control over the youth’s behaviour. That is a problem.
In her statement, while very warm and fuzzy, the minister has gilded the lily and has not spoken about the difficulties of how the whole thing can be implemented with protection of the child, because the child is exposed for several weeks between the time it is first apprehended by the police or an authorised person, to the time that the child faces court to be ordered by the court to then undergo rehabilitation.
Is that what we are after? I thought we were after protecting the child right from the very beginning. Right from the outset you protect the child, so that, in the first instance the child is found to be sniffing petrol, the whole process should start without any chance of the child returning to petrol sniffing. I believe, in this instance, the child would have been put at risk by the failure of this legislation to prevent it from happening. That is something that needs to be properly addressed.
The minister said we have had around 300 to 350 people using volatile substances across the Territory, and was very happy to see that her officers and police had apprehended some 60 people for committing that offence. Sixty in six months, or 10 a month, or one every three days is what has happened in the last six months - one person caught petrol sniffing every third day. I think that is inadequate - really inadequate. Also, only one person was taken to safety. I wonder what sort of commitment there is to ensure that all the petrol sniffers are quickly removed from risk to themselves. Obviously, there are not enough authorised persons; the police have other duties to perform.
As we have seen in the media recently in Alice Springs, crime has gone through the roof again and the police are flat out trying to cope with that without having to stop and tip out some petrol from a container from a youth, and then let the youth go back to whatever he or she was doing previously.
The minister says: ‘We are training them’. We know what the roles are and she even listed the authorised persons’ policy and practice guidelines. Again, short in detail. When she said that the guidelines are very detailed and are available on the Department of Health and Community Services, Alcohol and Other Drugs website, I ask the minister if she has checked the website herself. The detail is not there. As late as today I made inquiries. The detail is not there. Maybe it should be, or if it is, it must have been uploaded within the last half hour. If the minister has hard copies of those very detailed guides, then I request a copy be brought down for me because I have not been able to find one on the website.
I am very keen to know about that because I do not know what the training is for the authorised person, the capacity that those people have to recognise the level of intoxication a youth is under. That is something that needs to occur quickly on your website first of all and, if not, then bring the hard copy down here to this Chamber.
Let us go through the process again. The youth is now assessed by professional officers; the child is at risk and now needs to go to court. An application has to be made based on the assessment and the application goes to the minister. She says, and I quote: ‘Based on this assessment the application comes to me to approve, or not approve, a formal assessment.’ I trust what the minister meant there is that she delegates that power to a fully qualified person. I hope the minister is not putting herself in the place to say that ‘I will now determine whether a person should go for formal assessment’. I hope she takes advice on that because, if not, she is setting herself up as the qualified person who will determine who is assessed or who is not.
If she takes advice and she delegates the authority to somebody else, then she needs to communicate that clearly. Right now, when I read this, I say here is a lay person wanting to approve something, a minister approving a clinical process …
Ms Lawrie: No, I take advice based on the process.
Dr LIM: … and that is a concern. I cannot hear the minister’s interjection and I suggest she responds when the time comes to respond to the debate.
With regard to her slap of the County Liberal Party, the County Liberal Party proposed a policy before the last election and was quite clear: we were going to make it illegal. We wanted to make it illegal so that immediately after a youth is apprehended for petrol sniffing, that youth is taken to court for a court to then impose an order for detoxification and rehabilitation. Apart from that, the other points that were raised by the CLP’s policy, prior to the government releasing their policy, have all been adopted. Let me remind members of the Country Liberal Party policy’s five key points.
First, making the sniffing of petrol and other toxic substances illegal and, if need be, up to two years gaol - not as the minister implied in her statement that every child, every youth, apprehended for petrol sniffing would be thrown in gaol for two years. That is intellectually dishonest, and misleading to the nth degree.
The second point of the CLP policy was to give police the power to dispose of petrol and other toxic substances, similar to pouring out alcohol that is being illegally consumed.
Third: develop, in conjunction with existing health services, state-of-the-art treatment programs, targeting substance abuse including petrol sniffing, and investigate the benefits of establishing a residential rehabilitation facility. I congratulate the government for re-resurrecting Aranda House and encouraging DASA to work with CAAAPU to provide facilities where youth can undergo drying out and rehabilitation.
The fourth point from the CLP policy was to legislate to give courts the power to order sniffers to attend detoxification programs, the resources for which the Country Liberal Party government will provide.
Finally, legislate so that children who are sniffing can be taken into care for their own protection and so that they can undergo treatment.
They are the principles of the Country Liberal Party policy, and I am glad to see that this government has picked up on all bar one. I lament, however, that by not making it illegal, this government, while trying to put processes in place - and I again congratulate the government for having progressed somewhat since the legislation has become law - it has produced a flaw in the legislation that can potentially allow those apprehended youths continuing to suffer harm until such time as they face court. They may not face court - that is the thing. If they do not face court, they can continue to suffer harm.
The minister said, yes, some of them have, as a result of this program, volunteered to go into treatment and rehabilitation. That is great but, obviously, there are many who are not. While the minister’s estimate, according to this latest statement, is something between 300 and 350 petrol sniffers, Blair McFarland was only recently on radio quoting up to 500 youths and young adults are taking part in this abusive behaviour in Central Australia. So there are issues that the government’s legislation has not been able to control.
When this legislation was first debated nearly two years ago, some of the comments made included making sure that these youths have some purpose in their lives so that they will not look at petrol sniffing as the norm. As late as only the middle of last week around Central Australia, there was an ABC report talking about the soaring use of marijuana and other drugs amongst the younger people in Central Australia. The government must be conscious of that. There are social issues that are predisposing these young people to volatile substance abuse rather than useful, productive lives.
Minister, the police are busy enough. I hope you can continue to train more authorised persons to deal with this, and provide them with some sort of identification so that they can go down the street, patrolling, policing - with a small p - the legislation, making sure that youth are being apprehended and taken into some sort of protective sheltered place, and then to take them all to court, or modify your legislation to ensure that they are all prevented from returning to petrol sniffing down the river while waiting for their assessment process and facing your courts eventually. If you do not do that, they will constantly go back and you, through your legislation, put them back in a position where they can harm themselves even more, and that would be a tragedy.
We all know that the long-term consequence of petrol sniffing is intellectual disability and, more often than not, physical disability with very bad muscle coordination and, in an extreme case, being wheelchair bound and requiring a full-time permanent carer for potentially up to 40 to 50 years of the remainder of their lives. That will place a huge cost on our society. While you have put in $2m and have commenced to spend it, I also want to see how you are going to continue to do this over the next four years with your total of $10m. The federal government is playing its part by contributing money to this program and, had it not been for that, I am sure this program would not be as successful, or quite as successful, as it has been.
However, there is still not enough youth being picked up; you really have to wrap it up a bit quicker than you have done. It is well and good to stand up here and say, ‘Look at me, look at me, I have done so well, I have 60 kids apprehended’. What is the follow up rate on this? Tell us what happened to these 60 youth, whether they are still off petrol sniffing or they are back there again and, if they are, then we have not done very much, have we? Again, you can redo this. If the youth are apprehended in a public place, they cannot be apprehended if they are in a private place, so that really limits what you can do with your legislation.
Overall, I believe you have taken some positive steps, and I congratulate the minister for having done that. I have many reservations, loads of concerns, about them, and I am sure other members in this Chamber will voice their concerns as well, if we continue to see the number of petrol sniffers down the river bed and in other areas of Alice Springs. We know that many of them are the culprits of the petty crime that occurs in Alice Springs, and we would like to see those petty crimes stop. The only way to do that is to get rid of petrol sniffing and get these kids educated so they can be gainfully employed in the longer term.
Minister, I congratulate you on your statement. There are some positive matters there, and I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope there is not a big train coming the other way.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Mr Deputy Speaker, I have to say this debate has exposed more born-agains than a Billy Graham rally. While I am quite happy to see constructive contributions to any debate in this House, I am certainly not going to accept the judgmental moralising that was coming from the member for Greatorex just now. Where was he in the 1980s when I was chasing petrol sniffers around the community of Yuendumu, trying to take their petrol off them and get the knives out of their hands? Where was he? He was not there. I will tell you who was there: Chris Franks and Andrew Japaljarri Spencer who cared enough about the welfare and the future of the kids out there to try to take some direct action in the community. They mobilised the community; we all mobilised the community. In those days, you had enough people alive in those families to deal with the behaviour of those kids in the community through direct family action. That is what happened in the 1980s. You were not anywhere around it. Perhaps you need to pay your dues in an issue like this before you get up and express a judgmental opinion as you were just doing.
It is very important in a debate like this to acknowledge all of the people over the years starting with the indigenous families themselves - parents who, despite the rhetoric that you hear thrown around on these issues, actually do care about their kids, and community members who do care about their community. To have 120 kids frying their brains on petrol in Yuendumu in the 1980s was a huge challenge for that community and those families. They met that challenge and they got rid of petrol sniffing, and they kept it out of that community for 10 years before it came back in. I will tell you, 10 years later there were not enough people left standing to deal with that problem when it came back into the community - not by direct action through the families. That is how difficult some of these issues are to deal with.
You can talk all you like about formal documents and how we have adopted your ideas and everything. I have not adopted any of your ideas. The only people I listen to are the people who have fought the battle; committed personally on the ground to the welfare of the communities and of these kids who are so much in jeopardy. I would be appalled to be part of a party that would even consider locking up these kids. Do you know what they say when you talk to them, when they have been abusing themselves on inhalant substances? They say: ‘What is the point of living?’ When you talk about this stuff killing them, they will say: ‘What is the point of living?’ A kid said that to me out at Yuendumu. That is what this is all about; it is the fact that these kids are not doing this to give us a hard time or to dishonour Alice Springs and to attack the lifestyle of the communities, they are doing it because they do not know why they are bloody well alive and what their future holds for them.
That is something that you have to be bloody careful about when you are talking about this. I am sorry I get a bit emotional on this topic but there is …
Dr LIM: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker!
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Attorney-General.
Dr TOYNE: I will withdraw ‘bloody’ if that offends the member for Greatorex.
Dr Lim: It is not that which offends me, Mr Deputy Speaker ...
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have dealt with the point of order, thank you, member for Greatorex. The Attorney-General has withdrawn the word.
Dr TOYNE: I would like to trace the history of the struggle that has happened around these issues from the 1980s when Christine Franks and Andrew Japaljarri Spencer, many of the family members in Yuendumu and I first took up the fight against this terrible practice amongst the kids.
We have now reached a point where the communities have evolved through a couple of periods of response to these problems. The communities, thankfully, in the 1980s did have the internal strength to deal with this; in the 1990s they did not. That is why, in the case of Yuendumu and several other Central Australia communities, they felt the need to take the kids into a more controlled environment. Hence, the Putulu/Mt Theo programs north-west of Yuendumu, 150 km away from the main community - no petrol. Guess what? That was not incarceration, it was not punishment, it was about getting those kids back into a controlled environment where there was not that exposure to the harmful substances; putting them with senior members of the community to teach them how to be proud about who they were and of the heritage that they held to that country and to the culture of the Warlpiri people. That was the key to it. It is not about ‘if you do this we are going to punish you’. It is about, ‘we want to take you away, give you a stable environment for a period of time, and let you find yourself. Let you strengthen your identity so you can find meaning in life beyond simply blotting your brains out’. That is the fundamental of Mt Theo rehabilitation.
It is a hard life out there. There are no amenities other than shelter from the rain, and shade from the sun. The kids live many of the elements of the old lifestyle. They go hunting, they get taught the basic stories of their heritage, and that is why it has been a very effective program. I pay very respectful acknowledgement to Peggy Nampijinpa Brown, and to Johnny Japangardi Miller who have been out with those kids for a decade now. They are still out there largely unsung, although there has been some increasing acknowledgement of the work they have done over such a long period of time. They have reached the point where they have not only eradicated sniffing from Yuendumu, but they have also started to take kids from Willowra, Nyirripi, Papunya, even from town, to take them out in to that environment, provided that the kids acknowledge their authority within the family to teach and guide them.
That is an enormous achievement by these people. Whilst I am absolutely delighted to support the minister’s statement today about the enormous strides that our government and the federal government have made in tackling this problem, we should never lose sight of not just the work of these earlier pioneers in combating petrol sniffing, but also the outcome of their work. They blazed a trail to show what the fundamental things were that we have to deal with.
We have talked about rehabilitation and that could mean many different things. Rehabilitation is rehabilitating the identity and self-respect of these young people, just the same as people with alcohol dependency have to achieve some measure of that same rehabilitation. It is not about somehow learning rules and feeling that you have to obey those rules when you get out. It is about internal strength, and redirecting your life so you feel life is going in a useful direction and that it is worth living.
That is what people like Peggy and Johnny have done. They have demonstrated that on the ground, getting dirty, and living rough year after year to make sure those kids get the support they have needed. I want to make sure that is acknowledged in this debate because they are the unsung heroes here. I saw in the paper the other day that we have unsung heroes. Well, we will make sure they get an award one of these days because they deserve it.
With the current situation, my feeling of delight about this is that we have finally seen a coincidence of some powerful interventions. The Territory government is leading the way on this, and on many other things in the health domain. We are leading the country in many key areas of health and community health development. That is no accident. We are a very strong community here in the Northern Territory and we have some great professional people working with strong community members to get quite extraordinary things done, and this is certainly one area.
The legislation on inhalant abuse that my colleague, the Minister for Family and Community Services, put through parliament and is now very competently implemented on the ground, is an enormous stabilising force in dealing with kids who are at risk from inhalant abuse. It allows a set of strong, formal arrangements to place kids away from risk and into some form of rehabilitation. It is very good, in my view, that rather than reinventing the wheel, we have gone to the successful existing programs like Mt Theo and Ipolera and so on, and we have said: ‘Right, let us build you into this network straight away’, because we know of the benefit that has come from the programs that have been set up largely at the end of the finger nails in some of the periods in which these programs have struggled to survive. It is great to see that they are now built securely into our network of rehabilitation and response to inhalant abuse.
It has exposed areas of the Northern Territory where there needs to be some placement area for kids in this situation. I believe that Central Australia has actually led the way on the development of bush-based programs and, with the addition of the urban programs such as at Aranda House and here in Darwin, we will have a really good rehabilitation network to fit in with the legislation.
The courts will do some of the work, but there is also, as the minister pointed out in her statement, the ability for voluntary referrals into rehabilitation. That does not mean that people who do not appear in the court do not get help. That is an important point to make because the member for Greatorex seemed to think that did not apply.
The other major aspect is Opal fuel. I would like to provide some quick facts about how that is rolled out. It is a very welcome complement to the work that is being done under the Territory inhalant abuse legislation. The Opal story really starts with BP Australia. I commend their corporate citizenship for making the effort to support the program right from the start of developing the non sniff-able fuel in the first place. That occurred three years ago when a well-known Centralian, Chris Tangey sent off a series of e-mails to petrol companies around Australia. His intent was to see if they had anything to contribute to the petrol sniffing debate. Only BP responded. The subsequent series of meetings between BP Australia’s Mark Glazebrook and John Gaynor, who was working at Commonwealth Health at the time, resulted in BP Australia embracing petrol sniffing in Central Australia as a core issue for their company’s social contribution.
Through this initiative and with the support of the member for Macdonnell, Alison Anderson, prior to her entering the House, CAYLUS and both NT government and Australian government agencies, BP Australia’s wish to become part of the solution to petrol sniffing gathered momentum. The commitment shown from the former regional president of BP Australia, Greg Bourne; current regional president, Gerry Hueston; former deputy CEO, Bob Welsh, Corporate Citizen Management, Mark Glazebrook, and their collective desire to contribute solutions to this problem have been second to none.
BP Australia’s 3D strategy - deterrent, diversion and development - involved the development of a solution to overcome petrol sniffing: Opal fuel as well as a system of support for some of the existing youth service providers. In doing so, BP Australia recognised that technology alone would not solve petrol sniffing. Opal fuel was not a panacea but, potentially, a very effective tool.
I welcome the Australian government’s commitment to the eight-point plan of resolving petrol sniffing in the cross-border area, and their new commitment to subsidise the roll-out of Opal fuel across Central Australia, including Alice Springs. I congratulate those petrol retailers who have agreed to offer Opal fuel as a choice at the bowser. To those who have not yet made that change, I implore them to do so.
Additionally, our government’s commitment to fuel all NT government petrol vehicles with Opal is another step in the right direction. Many of those vehicles go out visiting communities, and it will help keep the line very strong against sniff-able fuel getting into the remote communities that are currently on Opal.
I applaud the efforts of our government and this minister, and the Australian government in this enormous initiative that is going on. Talking to CAYLUS, Blair McFarland and Jenny Walker, the petrol sniffing is all but wiped out now in much of Central Australia through the combination of these initiatives, and we have to keep it that way.
To conclude, I will go back to Mt Theo and the next part of the trail that they blazing ahead of the work that is now going on Territory-wide, and that is the stage of this process where you have to address some of the underlying causes of inhalant abuse and substance abuse more generally. You often hear that kids are bored, and they have no status or role in many of our remote communities. That is absolutely true. Mt Theo has now moved on, having eradicated petrol sniffing from the area that they have taken responsibility for, to set up youth and recreation programs. They now have after school drop-in centres, Internet cafes, and sporting and recreational programs going at Yuendumu and the other communities.
The next step is to make sure that those kids’ lives are filled with constructive and healthy activities to replace the void that they were in which led them to substance abuse. That is the next step we that we have to think very seriously about. Once we have got rid of the symptoms, let us get rid of the causes of this terrible behaviour.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Deputy Speaker, I have to admit, I really like listening to the member for Stuart when he talks from the heart, not from his notes. His was quite a passionate speech to begin with. I did notice our observer in the gallery had stopped knitting and listening to you, minister, so that is a commendation to you, that she actually did that.
I lost track of the petrol sniffing in Alice Springs there for a few months. Perhaps it is because it is not happening, or it is not as in your face, I do not know. I had a particular couple of streets, Priest Street and Elliot Street, where people could not leave their hoses out the front, their cars were being tampered with, their lawn mower petrol was being stolen - we had it constantly. But suddenly, I have not had anyone ring me up for a long time. You would see it on Anzac Hill - it is not there; you would see it on Billy Goat Hill - it is not there. You would see it in Larapinta Park, one of the parks there - I have not had any complaints about it.
I appreciate getting this up-to-date statement from the minister. I was wondering what had happened and how successful it had been, particularly as we were all keen to get it going. We were worrying that it was not going fast enough, worrying about how the police were going to do it, and would they have any help. So to have this statement tell us that things are happening and that there are dollars supporting it - which was a bit of worry; we might have this wonderful policy and legislation but we would not have the means to implement it - is good. I thank the minister for letting us know that.
We reached the stage where there was a desperate cry for help out in the communities, as the minister has said. Communities really did not know how to cope, and they could not cope on their own. This is why this legislation is so important and that we see some positive things coming from it. There has always been that small proportion of people in communities who really wanted to do something, but they just did not know where to go. Now we have given them the process and the means, hopefully, it will do the things that we all want it to do.
In reality, with petrol sniffing, you get all sorts of figures bandied around from hundreds to not so many, but the small proportion of people who were sniffing were large enough to cause serious problems within the communities, and serious problems to individuals from a health and social dysfunction side. This particular group of people had enormous effect across communities and across towns. I can understand how it was just too hard to do it alone, and they needed something more. That is why this legislation has, obviously, given that teeth to people. They need back-up support - and they just do not need it from within their community; they need it from people who can stand up and be leaders and show the way. They also need it from government agencies, not just the police. The police have a big enough job on their own. It is pleasing to see that there are other non-government agencies as well helping them.
I am not quite sure what really prompted government to bring in this legislation. I would like to think that it was not because, suddenly, it became a town issue; that it was an issue that had flowed from the communities. It is interesting that often people were sniffing because they were influenced by other people, not because they wanted to do it themselves; through the influence of older people and of groups, they were being pushed into this situation through boredom and lack of education, and they fell into the trap. The greatest success is that we see young people engaging in good young people’s activities, not destructive activities.
I thank Blair McFarland for sending his newsletter to me, because there is some interesting work being done by CAYLUS. I will share a few stories with members. I know the minister has seen these, but I rather like the signs they are encouraging communities to put up. I was just looking at the one from Kintore that, basically, said Kintore does not allow sniff-able fuel into their community. The sign in the community states it very clearly: ‘Opal fuel cannot be sniffed, so do not bother to try, get on with your life’. Kintore has done remarkably well in the way they have turned it around.
Docker River always had a bit of a name for being out of sight but not always cohesive. What they are doing there is commendable. I love their cooking camel stew. I will quote from this:
- The recreation program in Docker River is all about keeping the kids busy. Monday and Tuesdays are the hungry days at Docker River, and making camel stew is all about making sure the kids do not go hungry. Mark takes the kids out bush to teach them how to butcher a camel and, with all the meat cut up, they come back into Docker River and cook camel stew for everyone to eat - the young and the elders. It is very important that young people in Docker River eat more meat and vegetables. The clinic reports that young people have low iron blood levels. Cooking camel stew provides food for kids on the hungry days, teaches young people to cook for themselves, increases their iron levels, and involves a whole community in happy eating.
It might sound a simple thing but it is, obviously, one of those pluses. They were also having trouble with providing activities. They have pool tables at Docker River, but you can understand how easily pool tables are damaged in a community by rough play. What did they do? They decided they would make their own pool tables. The frame is solid steel and water resistant plywood; the top is covered with a layer of lino, and the ball returns are exposed so the players can easily put their hand in the pocket to pull out the balls. Of course, they do not have to put any money in the table to play. It is being proactive and finding ways to get the kids involved in recreational programs that is really important in Docker River.
There is now a junior football and a junior softball team which practise regularly, developing into good teams. The junior football team played at the Healthy Life Carnival in Alice Springs in April this year. The rule at Docker River is that if the young people do not go to school then they are not allowed to play sport in the afternoon - and who wants to miss out on sport? It is one of the incentives for the young people. There is still a bit of petrol sniffing at Docker River, but it is much better than it used to be. Keeping kids busy has stopped much of the sniffing. Opening the recreational hall at night is very important because kids like sniffing at night, and night time activities give them something to do. Having lots of community sport has also been very important.
The police have been very helpful in removing people who deal petrol from the community. The good news is that there is not sniffing every day at Docker River.
They have a male and female recreational officer which is a great idea. It might sound a simple thing but it means that the males and females are dealt with in a different way than if there is just one recreational officer there.
Nyirripi is another story. Bored kids become busy kids. Nyirripi did not have a holiday program, so when school finished and Christmas holidays started, the kids got very bored very quickly. CAYLUS ran a holiday program to make sure kids had something to do and were kept busy. They recruited three youth workers and the community had already put in Opal fuel which meant there was no petrol on the community. As soon as Opal came, sniffing stopped, but it was important to get some good holiday programs in place. That is what that community did: put in the good holiday program so that children were occupied.
This is the one I wanted: ‘Kintore Community uses Opal fuel. Opal fuel is good for cars but is no good for sniffing’. Simple message, good sign. If we saw more of those signs around communities in Central Australia, they would understand that we want to help them, we want to make sure their lives are good. That is what we all want to see no matter what side of politics we represent.
In the minister’s statement she talks about people going to voluntary treatment. I am pleased that CAAAPU is being used. For a long time we were worried that it was not being involved in the purpose of rehabilitation. I am even more pleased that Aranda House is at last going to be turned into something useful. It is a good facility and the government is going to upgrade it and use it for sniffers’ rehabilitation which is great. I would be interested if the minister could tell us the voluntary treatment, people who went into that: were they people who had really severe sniffing problems or were they on the edge? Were they people who had been playing with it and toying with it? I would like to know that.
I would also like to know when the minister talks about ‘eight people had undertaken authorised person training’, whether those eight people come from community agencies or patrols? Where did they come from? That is a great way to ease the burden on the amount of work the police have to do. I take it they still have the same powers as police would under this particular act and they can take petrol off people and take young people to a safe place. I am interested to know where these people came from and if there is encouragement for more, and whether we can get them trained on communities which may still be experiencing some problems. I really think they are the sort of people who would be useful in controlling whatever is happening on communities, particularly if they have the support of the elders.
I notice that petrol sniffing has stopped on those communities with Opal. I am wondering how far down the line we have to go. There is only one service station in Alice Springs which sells Opal and I am one of the people who still does not go there. I guess it is a case of getting your attitude changed to use it. Is it going to be a problem? We have so many tourists coming into the town with cars which do not have Opal fuel. Is it a problem because we still have so many roadhouses which do not sell Opal fuel? It would be interesting to know from the minister how widespread we are going to go with this and how much support the federal government is going to give to make sure that we avoid having petrol available as much as we can.
I notice the minister says there will be a review of this act. It would be interesting to see when she reviews it also to review how many people have gone through the treatment and whether it has become a revolving door, a bit like alcohol - whether they go back to communities and go back on to sniffing, or whether they go through the treatment and there is a success story at the end. Perhaps we can get numbers next time we hear about this on what has happened. Do we have the revolving door effect that we see in so many of our alcoholics, or are we actually saving people so they do not go back to sniffing?
We talk about education and programs. I am interested to hear from the minister whether she thinks attendance at school has improved as communities abandon petrol. Has it helped the schools become more effective? What we are hearing all the time is that it is not just having Opal there; it is all the other things as well that we need to keep kids on the straight and narrow. If the minister could give me some information on that, I would be grateful.
I am interested in some sort of comparison: the cost of petrol sniffers to the community - for their health, for their long-term care, the damage, the break and enter, and all that to the community, which has been quite enormous - versus the cost of rolling out Opal. I am not sure whether that is significant, whether the rolling out of Opal which does cost - and I am not sure of the total amount it is costing the federal government, X number of dollars - has been offset by the savings we can see in the health ramifications of people who do sniff petrol?
I am pleased the minister gave us a breakdown of the money she has provided. I remember people were worried about whether this would have the funding to support the programs that are necessary. Will it have funding not just in once sector, but right across government agencies? I am pleased to see that the government has put their money where their mouth is and is funding the services to make sure this works.
There are many great success stories out there. Barry Abbott is a great success story and he deserves the accolades that have gone his way. Mt Theo is a great success story, but we can never sit back and relax. Just because we have had a few wins, we should not be saying to ourselves: ‘Aren’t we doing a great job? Let’s just relax’. If we take our eye off the ball that is when we will find that it flares up again.
If I can make any recommendations to the government out of all this, please do not forget that you need to give support. You need to introduce programs which will keep children busy, active and healthy. You need to support the families affected by sniffing, and, most of all, you need to make sure that communities are healthy places, and that is a big and expensive ask. While life on communities is not nice or good, people will travel to town, and when they come into town that is when we have all the problems we see in Alice Springs.
Minister, thank you for your statement. It is a good statement, very thorough with lots of detail. I will be interested in making sure we can keep track of what is happening and how successful this program is. If there are briefings available, I would appreciate having an update on the implementation of this legislation.
Mr HENDERSON (Police, Fire and Emergency Services): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I support my colleague, the Minister for Family and Children Services’ statement today.
It was good that the member for Braitling acknowledged my colleague, the Attorney-General, for his passionate contribution to the statement. As everyone in this House knows, the Attorney-General has lived in Central Australia for many years now and has huge experience as a principal at Yuendumu, and has been a passionate advocate for improving the life of indigenous people in Central Australia, and the issues around petrol sniffing and substance abuse. The contribution he made tonight, acknowledging the people who have been at the centre of this fight for many years now, was heart warming.
My direct knowledge and understanding of the huge impacts of petrol sniffing on our community really did not start until I was elected to this place in 1999, and it was made in opposition as shadow Health minister. At that time, I had a general understanding of the petrol sniffing problem, but the extent of the problem, the damage it was doing to individuals and communities, I really had not researched the issue. Certainly, as shadow Health minister, I had a requirement to do that.
To actually get out into communities and see young children walking around with cans of petrol under their noses, hiding in ransacked buildings and sniffing, really does pull you up as a person and a parent, as to why young people would do this, and how communities can sit back and watch their children do this. I suppose that second part of the question is something that I personally still grapple with, as to how parents can sit back and watch their children indulge in such dangerous and debilitating activity. I do not say that in a judgmental way. I just say it in a way that I still personally do not comprehend, and it has been such a problem for so long.
Another time that it was really brought home to me, I had just been made minister for Police, and I received two letters, one on top of the other, pretty quickly from my colleague, the member for Arafura. One was about the extent of petrol sniffing going on in Oenpelli at the time. It was about a four-page letter and a cry for help from the community through my colleague, the local member, for increased police effort. Reading that letter really made me sit up and acknowledge - and I will never forget it - the enormous damage and destruction that petrol sniffing was causing to those people and that community.
We as a government worked hard to pull the current substance abuse policy and response and legislation together. We had many people who researched these issues over many years assisting us with that policy response. It was probably one of the easiest Cabinet decisions we ever had, which was to tick off the policy and allocate the funding. We just could not sit back any more as a government, and as the people of the Northern Territory, and watch our young Territorians destroy their brains sniffing petrol.
I acknowledge the Commonwealth government and BP Australia for their contribution as well. The contribution made by BP was covered by the Attorney-General and the Health minister, and I will not run through the part they played. However, for corporate Australia and one of the major multinational petrol companies to come in and develop a non-sniff-able fuel was certainly testament to their bona fides as good corporate citizens. I pay tribute to BP Australia tonight for their scientific contribution to the resolution of this problem. The subsidies that have to be applied to Opal fuel to bring it down to the same market price as ordinary unleaded petrol had to be funded through the Commonwealth. The Territory government did not have the budget capacity to do that. I congratulate the Commonwealth for coming to the party on that, and particularly as a result of the recent Senate inquiry into petrol sniffing in Central Australia, and their response to roll-out Opal across Central Australia including Alice Springs. So, credit where credit is due to the Commonwealth government.
It just goes to show, when industry and both layers of government come together, work together with good policy and good legislation, you can make change. It is great to see that, in just six months, the impact that this integrated approach by both tiers of governments and industry has had in virtually eliminating petrol sniffing from Central Australia. To see that done in a six-month time period is nothing short of astounding.
If there was anybody else in the opposition going to speak on debate tonight, it would be good to hear if the opposition has ditched their policy which was enunciated prior to the last election when the former member for Brennan, Denis Burke, was Opposition Leader. We had allocated $2m a year for five years - a $10m allocation as I recall - to programs to support the implementation of this legislation, and the opposition policy was to, basically, abolish that support; cut that support entirely. They were going to allocate the $10m for petrol sniffing programs into improving road conditions throughout the Northern Territory.
It was announced just before our last parliamentary sittings in Alice Springs. I spoke in the Alice Springs parliament and said it was an appalling, not only policy and funding decision made by the opposition at the time - and I hope that it is not that position any more - but the appalling decision to cut funding from programs. All of us, as human beings, would say that these kids deserved a chance to break their habit. Somehow, funding our road network in the Territory was a higher priority than trying to assist these kids break a habit that was going to destroy their lives. As I said at the time, of the $3bn a year budget that the Territory government has in infrastructure and services, if you were looking for $10m to put into roads, I would have thought you could have found those savings in any number of areas without cutting the funding entirely for programs to support petrol sniffers regain their lives.
I still have no idea where that policy came from; what audience the then opposition was pitching that policy to. However, it still absolutely defies any sense of human decency that a roads maintenance program should have that money and these kids should not have a chance to get their lives back together. Having said that, I hope that is not the policy of the opposition any more now that the former member for Brennan is no longer a member of this House.
I would like to talk tonight about the use that the police have made of this legislation. Police have made significant use of the legislation. The legislation provides police with the powers to search individuals, and seize and dispose of volatile substances and implements used to inhale volatile substances. It was an anomaly before; you would go around communities to police stations in the bush and you would see the kids wandering around sniffing petrol. I would say to the police: ‘Can’t you do something about this? Can’t you just go up and seize the petrol and tip it out in the same way that you can with grog?’ The answer was no; they had no power to do what I thought was an absolute obvious requirement of powers that police should have. The police now have those powers. Police also have powers to take people who are intoxicated by volatile substance abuse to home or to other places of safety. Again, police had powers to take people affected by alcohol into protective custody, but did not have the powers to take particularly juveniles affected by volatile substances home or to other places of safety. The police called for those powers; they were provided for in the legislation and the police have made good use of that legislation.
As my colleague, the FACS minister said, police have removed volatile substances and inhalants from people on 62 occasions. Fifty of these events were petrol, and a significant amount of petrol was seized. Police have also prosecuted the illegal supply of volatile substances on four separate occasions in the Centralian region. Police are doing their part on the law enforcement side.
When we looked at the effects of petrol sniffing - and my colleague, the Health Minister, talked passionately about the effects on the individuals - from a policing point of view, and particularly in communities and Alice Springs, the types of incidents relating to property offences and social disorder included interference with motor vehicles in a number of car yards, having petrol caps leveraged off so people could access petrol, unlawful entries to business premises where petrol sniffers were targeting inhalants, people under the influence of petrol unable to control their actions, and a large amount of antisocial behaviour and minor and major property damage and property crime as a result of petrol sniffing.
The police have significantly improved their working relationship with Family and Children Services in the last few years in a range of areas including this area. In Central Australia, the police are establishing good relationships with Tangentyere Council and FACS in regards to substance abuse issues and have had significant success in diverting young people from substance abuse into programs auspiced or run through FACS or Tangentyere Council.
The notes that I have here are as of June but, as of that time the police, since the introduction of the legislation, had referred a total of 39 referrals for assessment to Alcohol and Other Drug services in Central Australia. Of those, police made 29 referrals resulting in 12 identified and approved by the minister for treatment. I believe a large number of those referrals actually came from Mutitjulu and, since the inception in June, police have destroyed a total of 125 litres of petrol or other volatile substances and conveyed four affected people to places of safety or police watch-houses. So, very quickly after the legislation was introduced, police made significant inroads into referring people for treatment.
I congratulate the minister for this report this evening and the work that the agency is doing. It has been a significant success story in just six months and just goes to show that if we all work together and focus on the problem in a disciplined way, and fund programs to support policy and legislation, you really can make a difference. The Territory had been the subject of incredibly adverse public comment through coronial inquiries and other reports in relation to petrol sniffing. The next time we have such an inquiry they will be able to see significant improvements in what is happening here in the Territory.
I agree with the member for Braitling, that we do not pat ourselves on the back and say ‘Job done’. We have to continue to keep a watching eye and keep the efforts in this particular area because there is nothing more important than protecting our young people from destroying their lives. Congratulations to the minister. I am sure all members of this House will be very pleased to hear this statement this evening.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Mr Deputy Speaker, I speak in support of the minister’s statement reporting on the progress of the volatile substance misuse prevention and intervention program. It is probably a statement most of us here welcome and it is good that she has brought this forward to report on the progress and what is happening.
Often when you stand in here as a member of parliament you question yourself about your role and the work you are doing as an individual member for your electorate generally, whether you are actually doing something and contributing to the wellbeing of your constituency but, more generally for people throughout the Northern Territory in different areas, providing changes, particularly in services such as health, education, and economic opportunities.
As a former member of the select committee inquiring into substance abuse, in particular alcohol, cannabis and petrol sniffing, it was just another part of a path that I had previously walked down prior to coming into this parliament. As the CEO of a major health service in Katherine, there were many times when I saw firsthand the impact on our people of various substances, and as a result of that abuse, the levels of violence against women and children. There is no one in this House who could not say that they are not moved or compelled to do what is right to help the many individuals who are in the grips of this scourge of addiction.
As the minister rightly pointed out in her statement, there was much criticism, particularly from the CLP and others, who said that this would not work. Prior to the last election, the CLP’s policy - and what they wanted to bring in, as the minister pointed out in her statement - was legislation which, rather than treat these young individuals, sought to lock them up. That was their answer all the time to this.
On 18 May 2004, I recall a ministerial report I made in this House, and I will quote:
- Petrol sniffing and substance abuse is a tragic problem in the Northern Territory.
I talked about remote area health services and then as the Chair of the substance abuse committee how I had witnessed the harmful effects of substance abuse too often to mention.
- In the Northern Territory, substance abuse is perhaps the biggest barrier to achieving outcomes in health, education and community safety, and it was a problem that had been ignored too long. After years of neglect …
I suppose the one moment - and it was a very proud moment - I remember was when I took that to Cabinet and had full support of all my Cabinet colleagues to propose legislation to be drafted as well as the money that would go towards the treatment services for that. That distinguished and certainly showed the difference between our Labor government and Cabinet versus the CLP Cabinet and how they always viewed this problem.
I said in my foreword to the select committee something I have always believed: when it comes to petrol sniffing, it was clear that intervention was needed, and if we were going to intervene it was going to require some sort of legislative reform. That is where the Volatile Substance Misuse Prevention Act came from. The act, as the minister pointed out in her speech, looks at the seizing of the substances, the apprehension without arrest of substance abusers, and the capacity of a court to order a course of treatment.
I praise the minister because often, when you give up something you feel very strongly about, you do not want to let go. Having the area transferred to the current minister, who has the same amount of passion and commitment as me in tackling this, was something that made me feel comforted that those kids and the whole program were going to be left in good hands.
When I mention the department, I would like to, in particular, praise the effort and work of Jo Townsend from the Alcohol and Other Drugs Unit, whose drive and commitment to this whole area – the act, training authorised persons, regulations – without the vision and commitment of someone like Jo Townsend, it would not have been possible.
I remember the number of meetings we had with the police to look at this issue. There was never any negativity. People were apprehensive at first: ‘How do we deal with this’, because this has been a problem long neglected and people were powerless. Knowing that the police wanted to do something about it, many discussions took place with the Police minister and his police representatives to look at how we move forward on this, and with the staff from Health and Community Services. We recognise the efforts of the non-government organisations and they ought to be commended. Organisations like DASA, CAYLUS, CAAPS, all of the many non-government organisations that deal with this issue every day, we appreciate and recognise their efforts, and often we do not recognise the efforts of the staff who do all the work. I was listening to the speech by the Police minister and him commending the police, and also the minister for Community Services with her staff, and those staff deserve recognition.
A week ago I was talking to one of the ladies who runs the treatment service at CAAPS. Her specific job was looking after three young men who had been sent in from Gunbalanya. She was saying that, over those weeks of working with those kids, how it was changing them, and that they would also follow them to the community and look at the reintegration into their communities and with their families, work with their families about how they might be able to support those children so they do not go back to sniffing again, and looking how they case managed that. It was good to be able to talk to staff at CAAPS who were actually dealing with this to hear that we are seeing the results.
It is early days and I know we cannot jump and shout and say this is a great success. I was listening to the minister when she was making her speech and she did say it is early days. But given that it is early days and to see the progress that has happened in the six months, she has to take the chance to bask in this small success that we are having with this. It has been a fantastic opportunity to be part of a government that has actually brought this in.
I remember when we were debating this act, the CLP said this would never work, and we were highly criticised for bringing this in. So it was pleasing to see the 44 applications that have been made and implemented so far. I note that the minister says also that it is not easy. Nothing is ever going to be easy, but at least these kids now have an opportunity and there is a process in place for treatment which, hopefully, will save a number of these kids. Before, the only way out was to either die or to end up with irreversible brain damage. To know that we have put in place legislation and support services that are going to better the lives of those individuals out there who are in the groups of abuse makes me feel proud of the Martin Labor government. It was this government that brought forward this single act which will make sure that we can work with these families and young kids, and give them something to look forward to in the future.
I welcome the minister’s statement. It is pleasing to see that progress has been made. It is early days, but we will remain vigilant. With the cooperation between your department with police, DEET, and the many services across our government agencies with the communities - and those are the most important players because these communities have embraced this act and this process - we will make it work. It is heartening that we are saving young kids’ lives and giving them something to live for.
Thank you, minister, it is a job well done. Congratulations to you and your staff, the police, staff across the agencies and those non-government organisations that do it hard out there, but do not waiver from their commitment in those communities.
Debate adjourned.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Education Standards and Compulsory
School Uniforms
Education Standards and Compulsory
School Uniforms
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Mr Deputy Speaker, the issue of standards in education is a matter of ongoing national debate. Achieving improved outcomes and lifting overall educational standards is the goal of all governments though, of course, there is ongoing dialogue and debate about how best to achieve it. Members would be aware that the Martin government has introduced a number of reforms aimed at improving student outcomes and raising education standards in the Territory.
In the first term of office, the government put into place 100 additional teachers above formula; implemented the Learning Lessons report; introduced new school attendance officers; and provided a significant boost to the provision of training for Territorians.
In our second term, the most sweeping reform, the middle years education policy, is squarely aimed at raising the level of student outcomes in the Territory from the bottom of the nation to the top. In addition, the government has introduced a Building Better Schools program injecting $42m over four years into secondary education; introduced a comprehensive indigenous education policy and strategy document; improved the delivery of Vocational Education and Training in schools; improved the delivery of careers advice and the provision of student counsellors; introduced a new world-class distance education model; and supported the chief executive’s reorganisation of the agency to provide strong support for student services and to regionalise centres.
All this activity is aimed at improving standards and outcomes. As part of this effort, the government has asked the community to examine the implementation of a policy of compulsory school uniforms for students to Year 9. The government has recently written to all school councils asking them to discuss this policy with their school community and provide their opinion on this issue. We expect that over the next couple of months the matter will be the subject of broad community discussion. In that letter, I laid out the government’s opinion on this matter. Today, we wish to place that position on the Parliamentary Record and seek the opinions of members of parliament on what is an important matter for community debate. Government will be making its decision once feedback is in from the schools. While no final date has been placed on this, the government would expect information to be at hand by the end of September.
The government’s own position is quite clear: we believe that school uniforms should be compulsory for all students up to Year 9. We believe that compulsory school uniforms raise standards. Uniforms instil pride; pride lifts a person’s attachment to the school, which lifts standards. We believe it generates a greater sense of unity and common cause. Countries have used symbols of nationhood for years as a rallying cry for unity. Our flag, our constitution and, most importantly, our green and gold, gives us all a point of common reference, be it in the world of international relations or international sporting contests such as the recent World Cup football series.
There is now a strong view among educationalists that compulsory school uniforms help reduce bullying in the school. They certainly reduce the tension generated by the contest between students about what they wear. Teenagers, perhaps more than at any other age, are caught in the media and advertising world’s spotlight on fashion and trendiness. It is an added pressure on what is already a difficult time.
Government believes that we have added to the pressure by allowing it to continue at school and in the classroom. Compulsory school uniforms should provide some relief from that ongoing pressure. It will also reduce the tension at home. In the mornings, parents and their children clash about what is to be worn to school. The introduction of compulsory school uniforms will also reduce the cost of educating a child. The cost of modern clothes is sometimes staggering. If parents are able to purchase a uniform for their children it will reduce significantly the cost of providing clothes.
The government will help underwrite the cost of uniforms with the introduction earlier this year of the $50 per student, per year, back to school payment. Feedback to date has been overwhelmingly supportive of compulsory school uniforms with some notable criticisms from early years high school students and one school principal. Overwhelmingly, parents believe that it will both reduce costs and reduce tension over what to wear to school.
The Association of Northern Territory School Education Leaders headed by Marcus Dickson recently conducted a survey amongst Territory school principals: 72% of principals supported the introduction of school uniforms. Well over 50% of those said it would have a positive impact on their schools. They said that the introduction of compulsory school uniforms would raise pride and tone, lead to the levelling of social distracters, improve the safety of students, and reduce bullying. Those not in favour, 28%, cited difficulty in managing the policy, depersonalising students, a philosophical opposition or concern about expense as their grounds for opposition. Should the feedback from the school community continue along these lines the government will finalise a decision and implement the policy in 2008.
We encourage all schools and their school community to be involved in designing school uniforms throughout 2007 while we put into place the necessary legislative and regulatory regime to make this compulsory. Government recognises that once a policy like this is announced the legislative tools need to be in place to support principals and school administration in enforcing it.
Focus of the government’s policy intent is on compulsory school uniforms. I am aware some schools are taking the opportunity to extend the discussion to include seeking community opinion on school mottos, school names and the general corporate image of the school. I am happy to encourage schools to have that discussion. It is timely given the development of new schools and sub-schools as a result of middle schools changes. I am pleased to comment the statement to the House. I look forward to hearing the views of members on this issue.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Mr Deputy Speaker, this is one of those propositions of government that I can say on behalf of the opposition that we support without reserve. All of the issues that have been outlined have been outlined well and cover the issue adequately. There will be those who feel uncomfortable wearing uniforms because they want to be an individual. However, as a parent and a former school principal there is merit on both counts for the introduction of school uniforms. From a parent’s point of view, I totally agree that it will remove the angst in the morning of: ‘what should I wear and it is not just what clothes will I wear, what brand, what did I wear yesterday, what will the others be wearing, how will I look?’. Greater focus seems to be placed on that than: ‘has my homework been done and am I prepared for lessons?’.
I have spoken to parents who have been in both environments. As a school principal, I visited a family who left the Territory and went to Victoria to a school that did not have uniforms. I was a stickler for school uniforms, and not just the uniform but the wearing of a uniform correctly to instil school pride. It was a task, but one that was not just aimed at making sure they all looked good but they had some pride in the school. The report from parents who had left a school where there was a strict uniform code in Palmerston to a school in Melbourne with no uniform code was one that convinced me of applying a uniform code to a school. It removed distraction and an anxiety from the kids and considerable expense from the parents.
I am looking forward to it. In fact, when this was initially raised I had some cynicism that it was floated in the midst of a heated community discussion about the nature of the reforms, about the change to middle years of schooling, and it served at that point as a strategic way of diverting attention from issues that concerned me and many educators and former educators. That is the core issue of whether this reform will improve academic standards. That debate has not really been held.
There will be some changes that are measurable in some accounts but, in terms of academic performance, that is a debate that we must have. I was pleased to hear there is going to be a review of the curriculum. First make reference to that issue, knowing that it is not directly related to this, but it does feed into it; first it is the curriculum and then it is those who teach that curriculum, being the teachers. So it is in that order, and not as the minister made an attempt to, as is often done in this Chamber, play word games to score a point.
I urge the minister to proceed promptly with this. The process of review and getting feedback is going to be useful, but I would say that we just go for it. Some suggestions: when it comes up to the senior years of the school, you have chosen to have the middle years going to Year 9, so therefore the 10s, 11s and 12s will be casual, I presume. But there is a way, too, of reinforcing school pride. We could visit uniforms there, but in a more informal way. I have seen it applied with the senior element of a school where they have a shirt or a colour that they are encouraged to wear so that there is some identity with the institution. It is not enforced, such as whether your tie was on or your hat on or whatever. It is not as strictly enforced as you would in a primary school or in a middle school. You still have some identity with the institution in the senior years so that when you look at the kids, you know where they are from. They know who they represent. It is a way of tapping into some deeper issues of belonging to a community, feeding into some ethos that is deeper than the individualism that we have seen applied rampantly. That has had its effect right through education and through the way we even operate the Chamber. We should proceed with this.
There are plenty of other discussions we can have, but I will contain it simply to that, minister. I welcome the statement. You will have the cooperation of the opposition on this. In fact, it was a position that, in the heat of the last Territory election, was presented by the Territory opposition so there would be no concerns whatsoever in changing that position. I, for one, believe in it. There are many people out there who will support it. There will be some detractors. I have had, as a school principal, those philosophical debates about whether uniforms are the go or not, and should we not encourage individualism? You can, but that debate ultimately is not so much about what you wear as about you expressing something deeper than something superficial like your clothes. It is about who you are as a person. We should focus our attention on deeper things than the clothes you wear. Sadly, a lot of kids are trapped into thinking that they are someone because of the brand that they are wearing. We need to put that aside; there is something much deeper.
Sadly, our society is focused more on consumerism and superficial things. This is a step in the right direction to allow school communities to focus on deeper issues of who a person is, not what they look like. The opposition supports the statement.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Deputy Speaker, I want to thank Taminmin High School for starting this debate, or at least being a major part in this debate, because earlier this year, they announced they were going to have compulsory school uniforms in the year 2007. That had the support of the school council. There may have been some student resistance to it originally. I believe that has dissipated as the year has gone on. Quite a number of students at Taminmin High School are now wearing the uniform and, I believe, wearing it with pride. It certainly had the support of many parents in the rural area. I probably should also thank non-government schools. After all, they have been wearing uniforms for years. I was brought up with uniforms, the old cap, the blazer and the tie …
Mr Natt: It did not work.
Mr WOOD: Yes, you are probably right. The member for Drysdale said that it probably did a bit more harm than good in my case. No, I was quite proud of the school I went to. We used to wear the green and gold, probably before it officially became Australian colours. I believe the uniform was something you wore with pride, and you certainly stuck up for your school when you went to various functions where you wore your uniform, whether it was sporting or academic functions.
There are a couple of things I would like to say about this statement. I believe uniforms should be compulsory for all years. I do not quite agree with the member for Blain. If you just have it for Years 7 to 9, it defeats all the reasons you have uniforms. The statement has espoused the benefits and, then, by saying it is only going to be up to Year 9, to some extent shoots those reasons in the foot. Schools like Taminmin will have uniforms right through. What they are going to do is keep the same colours, but have a slightly different version of the uniform for Years 10, 11 and 12. I believe it would be unwise, where there is a school that has middle and senior together, to have two systems. That would defeat the purpose. There would be a ‘them and us’ mentality.
Uniforms on their own will not change the world. When I was in Ohio, I went to a community meeting with various people who work with youth in the town. I mentioned that Taminmin High School was introducing uniforms. They were looking at ways of encouraging high school children in the town of Marysville to become encouraged more about doing the right thing in the community and at the school. They were looking at all sorts of angles by which they could improve the general behaviour of some of the young people. I said that Taminmin High was looking at uniforms. And, as they pointed out, rightly, of course, uniforms on their own are not going to change the world, but they are going to be part of, I would presume, a series of improvements that could bring about an overall change.
You mentioned pride in your school. I also believe it is about starting to look at whether students can feel that they are part of a community in which they support one another. That is one of these values that we have to try to instil in the schools; that we are not just there for our own sake. We are there to help one another achieve whatever goals we are trying to achieve at that school.
There are some good old-fashioned principles that we should be looking at, and they are good manners and respect. I mentioned today that I had been through a prison, and I will talk about it more when I come to my report on my trip. It is a men’s prison - there is also a women’s prison, but it is a slightly different approach there - called a therapeutic community, and it is where everyone in that prison - and they do not call it a prison either, they call it a correctional facility - regard themselves as part of the family. If anyone is falling down, they try to lift them up as a group. They try to work together. However, the one thing that I found that is outstanding in that group of men, who were certainly working hard to change their lives, was that their manners and their respect for one another were paramount. Even when I was sitting there watching one of the programs, any time someone would walk in front of me, it was, ‘Excuse me, Mr Wood’; it was straight manners.
I believe the uniform is part of a change that we need, but it needs to be associated with other changes. Part of our problem in society today is that we are not respecting other people. We do not respect some of our teachers and we do not respect some of our fellow students or our parents. They are some of the values that we need to promote in our schools, and uniforms can be part of that.
We need to also continually promote a culture of academic achievement as being cool, rather than just for the chosen few. That is what is happening at Taminmin High School under the new principal, Tony Considine. The member for Goyder, who has been working positively at Taminmin High School, would know that one of the goals of the school under the new principal is trying to raise the level of academic achievement. For a long time, Taminmin was an okay school, and this was about it. It had a bit of agriculture and the VET program, and that was it. Now, under the new leadership of Tony Considine, academic achievement will be something to be proud of. That, again, is part of what we should be striving for: you are proud to go to your school and you are proud to show that, at this school, we believe that learning and studying are important values.
Another area we need to look at, minister, if we are going to tell young students or our young children that they have to dress in uniform, there should be a dress standard and a behaviour standard for staff. You cannot tell young people they should dress neatly and tidily if staff are doing exactly the opposite. They should be required to dress neatly and tidily. They do not have to have a uniform, but I do not think they should be turning up with a pair of jeans with holes in them, or short skirts, or hair undone or unkempt. There should be certain standards. It is no good telling young people one thing and other people doing exactly the opposite. It is a ‘practice what you preach’ mentality, and we certainly do not want students thinking there is a ‘them and us’ mentality in the school.
When I talk about good manners and respect, that is mutual thing between student and teacher, and teacher and student. I went to a school which was based on religious foundations, but the funny thing was that it was actually a school that was not based on corporal punishment as many schools in that time were. It was based on respect between student and teacher and vice versa. It was that respect that gave you the discipline in the school.
It is important that there is an appropriate set of standards that must go with the compulsory uniform program which will probably be brought into play in 2008, or whenever it is going to be brought in and, at the same time, an appropriate standard of dress and behaviour for staff. In no way am I putting down our teachers, but there are cases where you would say that some teachers do not inspire a great feeling that they actually got up too well in the morning. You want to see a teacher dressed smartly, full of enthusiasm, out there wanting to teach those kids. If you have a teacher like that, kids are going to learn because that rubs off on the student. Again, I believe that is important.
I will just mention something that I do not know whether I will get any support for. I believe shoes should be part of a uniform. I look at primary school kids who have uniforms, and they stand up there on the stage all beautifully dressed in uniforms, and you have every type, range of colours, sizes and designs of joggers. Whilst they might be the nice comfortable thing to wear - I know that, for instance, at Sacred Heart Primary as long as they are black they are okay, so you can still wear joggers. However, at least it sets the uniform off as a uniform. If you have pink, blue, red, yellow, Nike, Adidas, and all those kinds of brands, lights coming off the bottom and all that stuff, big basketball shoes and little dainty running shoes, I just do not think that that sets the uniform off as we would like it when we are trying to get that pride in our schools.
While I realise that the government will give some financial help to families in regard to uniforms, it would be good within a school to have a system where uniforms that are not needed any more by a family that has left the school can be recycled, more or less. I do not say that in a way to put anyone down, but many of the uniforms we have today, especially the nylon-type shirts that are used in the north of Australia, are very washable and do not fade unless you have had them for years and years …
Mr Stirling: That is how we used to get our uniforms.
Mr WOOD: That is right. There needs to be a process to help people, especially if they have a number of children in the school. That would probably be more so if you have a school like Taminmin where you have two uniforms because they will go from one uniform and then change to a slightly different uniform.
I support what the government is trying to do. I should note that the government is not taking into account one other important aspect of uniforms; that is, to reduce the wearing of inappropriate clothing. It is not mentioned in the statement. I believe the one thing that uniforms do is get rid of the short tops, the short skirts, the bare midriffs and the underwear that sometimes seems to - I do not know whether it goes up or the trousers go down. However, it is an inappropriate-type of dress for a school. That is one of the good reasons why you introduce uniforms.
Values are part of the school, and that should include the way one dresses. It is another reason why uniforms should apply to students from Year 10 to Year 12. If you go back to some of the standards of dress that you see in schools at the present time, you have one group of kids in the school dressing that way and another group of students having uniforms for lower grades. I believe you defeat the purpose of what you are trying to do.
I do not think you will have much trouble getting uniforms in Year 12. There does not appear to be any resistance – well, there will be some from the kids because this is change. You will get some. You will have many parents who will support it and I think they already are. The member for Goyder was at the school council meeting where this was being discussed and the impression that I got from that meeting was that there was widespread support from parents with a bit of not quite as widespread support from students, but that appears to be changing now.
As I said, I support what the minister has written in his statement about the uniforms. Do not have it just up to Year 9 and, if you have to, copy what Taminmin High School is doing and have the two uniforms.
I should just make one other little comment. I know the member for Blain talked about individualism, and that is an important thing. However, I always believed that one of the things that society seems to have slipped away from is community. I believe there has been too much emphasis placed on individualism over the years. Individualism is important. That is how you get people to do marvellous things, invent things, strive for great heights, run 100 m in 9.77 seconds. However, it has to be balanced that we belong to a community. The uniform does not stop someone from being an individual. It also recognises that I am part of a community, that my fellow students and I are working towards achieving a goal and that is to - to put it bluntly - pass our exams so that we can qualify for a good job when we grow up, or we can go on to university. If we can instil into schools that we, as a group of students and teachers, are all here to the benefit of one another, to achieve a goal that will head us in the right direction for the rest of our lives, and we can teach people that being part of a community is important no matter where we are, that is a good result of the changes that the government is putting forward.
In the little time I have left, I did not speak on the middle schools so much, but I would like to say that Taminmin High School is certainly working hard towards the middle schools program. The member for Goyder has been working with the principal in relation to the new layout in the buildings, the programs for the establishment of how the middle school and senior school will actually work.
Again, I refer to my trip back to Ohio. The interesting thing when I found I was in this small town of Marysville is they have a Board of Education. I was invited to talk to the Board of Education. These are paid people and they represent a board that is elected by the community, and the election is nearly as important as a local government election. They represent all the schools in the area of Marysville. They set the policy for all the schools as a group. From memory, there were five elementary, one intermediate, one middle school and one high school for about 5000 students all together. Parents are elected to that Board of Education and it sets the policies for all those schools.
I am not saying that that is necessarily a good or bad thing, but I thought in the case of a school like Taminmin with all the schools around it - you have six or seven schools - that may be something that could be considered. Instead of having all these little school councils - which still may have a role for their local fundraising - when it comes to setting policies you have a central high school with five or six primary schools feeding into it. There may be room for that type of Board of Education in an area like that.
They certainly take their election seriously. I gather it is a very vigorous election process. You go out just about electioneering to be on this Board of Education. They certainly regard a role in education as a very important role that any parent or a member of the community can take. I just make that note.
I know there are issues and the member for Blain spoke about middle schools before. I have the feeling that at Taminmin High, they are rolling along. They have plenty of work ahead of them, but my feeling is they are very supportive of the process that is carried out. I believe Tony Considine, the Principal, has good backing from the staff, school council and the parents in the process. While you have that positive approach to middle schools, there is every good chance that the system at Taminmin High School will work well.
Mr WARREN (Goyder): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support compulsory school uniforms. We, on our side of politics, try to ensure that within the public eye and within the broader community there is pride, respect and support for our great public institutions in the Northern Territory.
Clearly, one outwardly visible and obvious sign of this is to promote a school ethos, a school pride, a school identity by the wearing of a school uniform, a uniform that is worn with pride by the school students. From that perspective, by moving to compulsory school uniforms, we are showing that this government proudly wants to showcase our schools with pride. There is nothing more pride-instilling for students than to cheer on their schoolmates in their distinctive school uniforms and colours. I must also add that these days, school uniforms are a lot more comfortable than the ones I used to wear when I was at school.
It is great to see students taking pride in their schools, showing school spirit, competing in solidarity with their school friends, but at the same time respecting each other’s individual skills. That is very important. On a more individual level, it is good for children to wear uniforms at school. Uniforms are a great leveller. They introduce egalitarianism. We all know how influenced young children are by fads and fashions. Consequently, contrary to the oft-argued misconception, the wearing of school uniforms is a personally positive and self-esteem enhancing experience for all the children, not just some children.
School uniforms remove the sometimes emotionally damaging contrasts that occur between kids whose parents can afford expensive clothing and those who cannot. In these days when clothing is everything to young children, when someone can afford the best Nike runners, or the latest and flashest tracksuit tops, and they are in a situation where they can turn up at school and differentiate themselves from other students, that is what leads to problems with self-esteem in others. At least when all students wear a uniform, all are equal before the education system, the education system that provides them with the intellectual nourishment and nurturing they need.
This is a very important reason why compulsory wearing of school uniforms is appropriate. Overseas evidence indicates that in schools where there is no uniform children quickly gravitate to those with whom they can relate. This is mainly manifest by their style of clothing or quality of clothing; a class distinction that is shown and made about another student at first sight. Children are judged by their peers, not for their ability, not for their personality and not for themselves; they are judged on appearance alone. This can often be devastating to children who are of a lower socioeconomic level. The clothes a child wears attracts the attention of certain other children. As the saying goes, ‘birds of a feather flock together’.
Overseas evidence shows that gangs form in schools with no uniforms. There are rich kid gangs, poor kid gangs, the nerds, the bullies and the in crowd. Children want to fit in and be part of the in group. Overseas evidence shows that they want it so badly they would even steal to achieve the look of the gang they want to join. Overseas evidence suggests that first they steal from their mother’s purse, then they move on to petty pilfering at school, and later they steal an article from a shop if it is the gear that they need. I am not suggesting that all students go this way, but if one child feels that it has to go that way, then that is one child too many.
Let us also be honest; it is ridiculous to say that this sort of thing does not happen in our schools today, because it does. Each and every one of us knows that children can be the cruellest of individuals. With a gang behind them, they will be coerced into doing things that they would not normally do.
School uniforms are usually modest, protective and serviceable. In Australia, we are continually promoting protection from the hot sun to preserve our children from the suffering of skin cancers. I cannot imagine too many young people really taking that into consideration in the fashion stakes of what to wear to attract members of the opposite sex. Let us talk about attracting the opposite sex at school. As we are all aware, attracting the opposite sex is on the minds of the vast majority of teenagers in schools. With hormones running rampant during adolescence, it is not necessarily the most prudent thing to have young girls parading around in the school grounds in revealing outfits.
Further to this point, I acknowledge the advantage of having compulsory school uniforms is the safety aspect. A major consideration for parents is the safety of their children. We all know that it is difficult to spot a teenager who is playing truant when they do not have a school uniform. It is equally difficult to pick up the presence of a person who should not be on the school grounds, even including drug pushers. For example, some tragic incidents have occurred in other states and countries where trespassers have gone onto the school grounds and committed criminal acts, sometimes, unfortunately, with great injury to the students. It is most pleasing, therefore, to see that some schools such as Bees Creek, Girraween, Humpty Doo and Taminmin High which service my constituents, have a policy where all teachers are required to wear identification tags to make sure they are delineated.
As I have just explained, school uniforms assist in enhancing security in school grounds by allowing easy identification of students and visitors. Safety in school grounds is now a significant issue, and the beneficial aspects of school uniforms in this respect cannot be underestimated. Outside the schools, schoolchildren participate in school excursions and school activities, quite often in popular urban cities or centres. This occurs frequently. Even here in Parliament House we have almost daily visits of schoolchildren. They also visit places such as the Museum and Art Gallery, sporting and cultural events, and tourist and historical sites. I am sure you can all imagine the nightmare that teachers face when students are not wearing school uniforms, because they would not easily be identifiable in a crowded situation. A student could wander off without the teacher noticing, and then there would be a frantic teacher with one less child in their care.
Can members also imagine the chaos if several schools without uniform codes attended the same venue at the same time? It is very easy to see it would be very difficult for teachers to keep track of their students, which would definitely compromise the safety of those students.
Part of the pride building for the uniform comes to the fore when the school uniform is designed by or in conjunction with the school community. The level of interest in their uniform is a reflection of their school pride. Speaking of reflection, another safety aspect that school councils have considered is to incorporate reflective material into the design of their school uniforms. Overseas evidence indicates that children also like to wear reflective fabric because it is fashionable and it is safe. I encourage school councils and schools to take up this practical idea and introduce reflective material into school uniforms because it will save lives.
The other interesting thing about this issue is that there seems to be a general feeling of support in the community for school uniforms. However, on the other side of the argument, support tends to be weak around the edges and quite wobbly. Most of us agree that school uniforms help develop within a school a sense of pride and belonging, and a sense of family and community. That helps a little with the development of discipline and self-discipline. It helps to build team work and teaches students that, even though they might prefer to do what they want to at all times, they all have to accept some direction and degree of conformity.
Some may argue that implementing a mandatory school uniform policy would cause families considerable expense. However, I take the view that if families can afford to buy expensive brand sportswear and shoes, then it would be safe to assume that they can afford a uniform as an alternative, especially considering these days uniforms are ultimately cheaper than expensive brand-name clothing.
Furthermore, the cost to parents who have a large family are minimised because of the wearing of school uniforms - a family-oriented and useful policy. Besides, it is very convenient for parents and students not to have to choose what has to be worn every day. The children also know exactly what they have to wear. If school communities were so inclined, they could even set aside washing facilities in the school and have back-up uniforms on tap so that all students could go into the community displaying a corporate identity. As a result, the students would clearly look as though they belong together.
Speaking of belonging, when starting school or transferring to another school, if a child is in the same uniform as the other kids, they feel they belong, and most children find it easier to blend in and not look like the new kid. Looking like the new kid is often a terrifying prospect for many children. I know that from my experience, as I went through many schools over many years during my time at school.
In conclusion, I support compulsory school uniforms. It means the school community is united in achieving good outcomes for the community and in education. Mr Deputy Speaker, I commend the minister for his courageous and important initiative.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Deputy Speaker, I ask the minister: what have you done? You have brought out all of these conservatives with all these traditional views on uniforms. If you had asked me when I was a teenager how I liked wearing my uniform - the grey tunic, the blue shirt, the tie and, worst of all, lisle stockings and, because I had skinny legs they used to wrinkle and fall down - it was awful. I would have loved to be individual and wear something different. What is wrong with being an individual?
However, getting back to the topic, minister, I can understand your reasoning. Most schools adopt school uniforms. My primary school always did and, for those kids who did not have uniforms because parents could not afford them, there was always help. You will find most primary schools already have the policy that you are thinking of anyway. Regarding teachers wearing uniforms, at one of my schools, the teachers tend to wear the same colour as the uniform, or the T-shirt with slacks. That is their way of saying to the kids: ‘Yes, we do respect it’.
What is going to happen in bush schools? There have been some great programs over the years where bush kids came in to school, had showers, and changed into the school uniform. It is probably paternalistic but it has been going on for a long time. Are you going to make it compulsory for bush schools too, and how are you going to supervise it? Are you going to send kids home because they do not have their school uniform on? That happened in my day; if you did not have your school uniform on you were sent home to get it – or get your tie on or whatever you had to get on. Or are we going to have two standards, one for town, one for the bush? I do not think you can do that.
That is why I am pleased to see that you are going to phase it in because, although some bush schools already have uniforms, it is not compulsory, and it puts more on the teachers out there. Teachers in bush schools become social workers, nutritionists, health workers - you name it. Now they are going to be clothing controllers. Just think about that. Perhaps we need to really think this through and not make it so compulsory that it disadvantages some children and, also, worst of all, gives the teachers an extra load.
What I worry about is that the teachers will then be targeted by the parents saying: ‘You are making our kids wear this to school, we cannot afford the uniform, why are you doing this?’ and that would be bit of a shame. Bush schools are a different problem again.
I know you said you are going to use that $50 incentive that you give to parents at the beginning of the school year, but remember also the south need winter uniforms; they need two uniforms, not just one. Not just a light breezy one you can rinse out at night and hang on the line and it is dry in the morning in the Top End. You will need a winter uniform as well, be it a jumper or a blazer or a jacket, and you might need slacks in addition to shorts and skirts. You may be placing an extra financial burden on people asking them to have a summer and a winter uniform.
I do not mind schools being told that they have to have compulsory uniforms, but I am a little surprise that you are going down this line. What do you hope to achieve? What is your aim? You are talking about less bullying. I have never known a kid in a school who got bullied because he did not have a school uniform on. They get bullied for other reasons but not for the fact that they have do not have their blue uniform T-shirt on.
You talk about self-esteem. Are we placing too much emphasis on clothing instead of all the other things that should be important about school like attendance, homework being done, being fed, and joining any school activities? Minister, I was going to support your statement until I heard some of the traditional views from the members for Nelson and Goyder. I honestly thought, ‘Let us not go too far on this. What is wrong with individualism? What is wrong with a school spirit, children being able to dress in such a way that they show their individuality?’
I bet, minister, when you went to school you probably had a special pair of trousers and shirt that you liked to wear that perhaps did not always conform to the school. Let me just say do not introduce something that will make us all look like peas in a pod. Let us make sure that we understand that for some kids a uniform may not be possible. Do not let us put any child in an embarrassing situation where they cannot wear a uniform because their parents cannot afford it. Do not think that your $50 might always cover all the necessary uniforms for every kid. Do not think that teachers should have to police this. I do not think that is fair on teachers. Do not forget that you have top and bottom schools in the Territory. Do not forget that you have bush and town schools. Before you race in and make a decision, which I believe you probably already have, give consideration to that.
Also, if you are going to promote school uniforms, why do you not promote different uniforms so we are not just in T-shirts? Let us be bold in the design and give schools a bit of creativity so that they really stand out. Come up with good suggestions for schools so that they look different and each school has its own look. However, they do not always have to be the same old dreary type of clothing. I am speaking with a little tongue in cheek, minister.
Mr Stirling: I knew that.
Debate adjourned.
ADJOURNMENT
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I would like to talk about the Pride of Australia medals which recognise outstanding Territorians in our community. First, congratulations to the NT News for developing this wonderful initiative. I am very pleased to hear it is set to become an annual event. The Pride of Australia awards recognise everyday Territorians who are making a real difference to their community. Over 200 nominations were received in the 10 categories, proof positive that Territorians are a good natured, friendly and loyal bunch, who look after each other.
The 10 medal categories are: Bravery; Community Spirit; Courage; Environment; Fair Go; Mateship; Peace; Role Model; True Blue; and Young Aussie. My warmest congratulations go to all the nominees.
The winner of the Bravery award was Andrew Boon from Mataranka. Andrew was at the Katherine show when a runaway horse started charging towards a group of people. Andrew put his own safety at risk and wrestled the horse to the ground. He then managed to get the female rider to safety - a truly heroic and selfless act.
The winner of the Community Spirit Medal, which is awarded for selfless, tireless and largely unacknowledged action which enriched or improved the quality of life for a local community, was Gina Dempsey from Howard Springs. Gina works 50 hours a week as a volunteer for Crisis Line and also puts herself on call when she gets home, which shows an incredible commitment.
The Courage Medal winner, awarded to someone who shows the determination and strength of character to overcome personal adversity, was Angela van Roden from Malak. Angela has raised two daughters with autism and her husband has been involved in two accidents. Despite this, she somehow managed to get herself a university degree and cope with the challenges in her life – fantastic stuff.
The Environment category award was Nina Keener from Bachelor. Nina works tirelessly to care and rehabilitate injured and orphaned native wildlife. Such is her commitment, Nina moved to a property outside Darwin, appropriately dubbed Nina’s Ark, just so she could devote more time to her work.
The Fair Go award, awarded to an Australian citizen born overseas who has enriched Australia through their honesty, hard work and willingness to embrace their new home, went to Lalita Close, originally from Singapore and now living in Palmerston. Lalita is 60 years old, or should I say 60 years young, suffers from arthritis and has every reason to slow down and take it easy. She is also a chronic helper. She raises money for those in need, takes the elderly to hospital and her community spirit even sees her welcoming people she has never met to their new neighbourhood - an amazing woman.
The Mateship award went to Karen O’Dwyer from Ludmilla whose deeds sum up what mateship is all about. Despite raising her two children, Karen has also cared for a friend’s child who has autism and has been there for her friend’s family during a particularly traumatic time - a true friend.
The Peace Medal awarded for advancing understanding, tolerance and social harmony among Australians of any background went to Rita Nadeem from Leanyer. Rita took a family of 18 Timor-Leste refugees into her home after they fled the country when their homes were destroyed by rioters. No wonder she is known as the Angel of Mercy.
The Role Model Medal, awarded for commonsense, compassion and wisdom while teaching, coaching and mentoring others to be the best they can, was won by the wonderful Judy Weepers of Parap for her 20 years involvement in The Beat concert. Judy is estimated to have been choir mistress to about 10 000 students over the years.
The True Blue Medal for a lifetime achievement in fostering Australian values and making Australia a better place to live was won by Sister Anne Gardiner. Sister Anne has spent 55 years in the Tiwi Islands devoting her life to supporting Tiwi people and to making the Tiwis a better place. A remarkable woman.
Finally, the Young Aussie Medal, awarded to an Australian 17 years or younger who has demonstrated outstanding resolve, mature judgment and moral character beyond their years, went to 15-year-old Sophie Gilbey from Alice Springs for her work with disabled riders and their horses.
I also congratulate the finalists across all these categories: Nickole Kennell; Dave Gray; Coral Cameron; Kerry Delahunty; Tracy Bester; Debralee Hickey; Ken Metcalfe; Graeme Sawyer; Adina Poole; Fezile Mphele; John Wilson; Jennifer Heath; Dr Robyn Hewitson; Penny La Sette; Neville Wiggins; Barry Fletcher; Paul Rousham; Courtney Stephenson; and Johnny Walker.
All these people - nominees, finalists and winners - are outstanding Territorians who have made a real difference. I congratulate them all.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of the India at Mindil festival. Once again, I was delighted to be part of one of Australia’s largest Indian cultural festivals and certainly the most significant Indian cultural event here in the NT.
The 10th India at Mindil had everything: delicious Indian food, cooking and yoga demonstrations, history and cultural displays, fashion and accessory stalls, a fashion parade, information on holidays in India, and some great entertainment, all of which contributed to another fantastic India at Mindal.
A special mention must go to Dr Shaik Hakeem, President of the Indian Cultural Society. He once again did a great job organising another wonderful festival. I personally congratulate him on his efforts.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary, the Indian Cultural Society presented Sagar - The Great Ocean Festival. Held over two weeks in June, Sagar included various activities such as cultural workshops, special performances and the Bollywood Film Festival held at the Deckchair Cinema. The name ‘Sagar’ means ocean in Hindu, and was chosen because the ocean has been a common thread between the people of India and the Territory for many generations and, of course, because the India at Mindil Festival is held by the ocean each year.
Ramkumar Konesh, long-serving coordinator of the India at Mindil Festival and percussion expert, was one of the many performers, which included magician BS Reddy from India, the Apsara Arts Dance Troupe and the Kohinoor Bhangra Troupe from Singapore. There were also many of our own very talented, local artists who performed Indian music, magic, folk dances and Bhangra dance.
May I also thank Bobby Bali, who coordinated the stall activities, and Christine D’Souza, who managed the Cultural Pavilion, and to everyone involved in the organisation of India at Mindil, many thanks and look forward to the 11th.
Finally tonight, I pay tribute to an extraordinary man, a man of wit and talent, and a true gentleman. Kevin Gould recently died at the much too young age of 69. He was a friend, a constituent, and the father of our own Serjeant-at-Arms, Helen Allmich. Kevin was always his own man. His whole life was about studying and learning, but he hated school, except for English, Latin, French and music.
His family moved to Adelaide in 1950 from England and, after a short stint at Wakefield Street Christian Brothers, Kevin left school at 14 to become a public servant. Roller skating, table tennis, square dancing, ballroom dancing, and rebuilding and racing Austin Seven cars were some of his hobbies. When his mother first introduced him to Betty in 1957, it was love at first sight for both of them and they married seven months later.
Their first child, Paula, arrived a year-and-a-day later, but that did not stop them planning to go to Africa for five years. In the 1950s, such a venture was considered madness, but they would not be swayed and, in January 1960, with one baby and Helen on the way, they set off to Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia.
The Catholic Church played a big part in Kevin’s life in Africa. First it was the church choir, where he became the soloist singing tenor, bass and alto solos, always in Latin. In Ndola, Kevin was involved in theatre work with his uncle, but the move from Ndola to Kitwe saw him become even more involved with church work and its choir, leaving little time for the theatre. They then went to Mpika, where only about 30 Europeans lived, mostly British public servants. Kevin was 26 years old and the manager of a remote branch of a transport company, servicing generators and cars.
After a move to Abercorn, on the tip of Lake Tanganyika, the Goulds returned to Australia in 1965 and moved to Port Augusta where Kevin worked for the Commonwealth Railways. First he became a train driver, which involved a lot of classes, studies and exams. Kevin completed the course quicker than anyone previously. Despite being involved in debating, public speaking and charity work, his work with the church again took precedence, especially when he joined the Knights of the Southern Cross. Around this time, Kevin applied to be trained as a computer programmer and operator for the Commonwealth Railways new NCR 500 computers. There had only been two successful applicants from two intakes of 24 hopeful computer programmers, and Kevin was the sole successful applicant from the third intake.
He was the secretary of the parish council and the school board, and played a big part in the building of the St Joseph’s Catholic High School. He coached the school debating teams with immediate success, coming first and second in his first two years, and he also taught square dancing to the senior classes. As if he wasn’t busy enough, Kevin was also secretary of the Port Augusta ALP and, by 1967, Patrick, his third child, had come along.
The next move for this very active family was Darwin in 1971, where Kevin worked as pay master with the North Australian Railways. Once again, he was singing in the church choir, but with one regret, his beloved Latin seemed to be a thing of the past. At this time, his beautiful voice could no longer do tenor and alto parts, so he mainly sang bass. Less than two months ago, Kevin was still singing at Holy Spirit Church, but for many years he sang mainly at the Cathedral. He was Cantor at Pope John Paul II’s Mass, as well as other important church events.
During his first year in Darwin, Fr Healy asked for parents to become involved in St Pat’s races. Kevin went along to the meeting thinking it was a school sports day. The following year he was told by Fr Healy he was now the secretary and chairman, and Betty, the treasurer. With the help of only a few parents for a couple of years, they worked for little return as it was only really a pony race after the main event. Kevin applied to Jock Nelson, the Administrator, for St Pat’s to become a club in its own right. He succeeded and served as secretary and then president for about 17 years, even though his three children were well past school age.
Kevin was also secretary of the Cathedral Parish Council, and Secretary and State Secretary of the Knights of the Southern Cross.
In 1978, Kevin became involved in the theatre at the Darwin Community College and went on to join on the Cavenagh Theatre and TRACKS. He loved the work and appeared in drama, comedy, pantomime and musicals. This year, he performed in two shows, his last being the wonderful The Bowls Club Wedding. He took that curtain call only a fortnight before he went into hospital. His energy levels were high right up to the end.
He had plans to devote more time to the Adelaide River Railway Historical Society, U3A and Darwin Chorale, as well as doing more printing, taking a final trip overseas, and becoming more involved with the ALP. Kevin always complained the days were too short and said a year needed 14 or 15 months so he could do all he wanted to do.
Unfortunately, despite doing so much, he did not get the time to do everything he wanted. I have no doubt that Kevin is already at work again organising a choir or two, the occasional presentation, and a show for a very important audience. On behalf of everyone in the House, I pass on my heartfelt sympathy to Betty, Paula, Helen, Patrick and their families.
On a very personal note, Kevin was one of those people you just loved. He was a wonderful man. As I said, his energy and his enthusiasm for life were contagious. Our community will miss him enormously. I know Betty will, of course. I know Paula, Helen, Patrick and their families will, as will Gaddy. Our community just loved Kevin. I will carry memories with me of a night – I do not know how many years ago – when Denise Goodfellow organised a soire at the Leanyer sewage ponds. It was one of those Denise Goodfellow evenings. You were to appreciate the wildlife and have a bit of champagne. Kevin actually wrote a special song for the occasion. It was grand and glorious. I will think of Kevin into the future at the Leanyer sewage ponds singing boldly as the sun went down.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I place on the Parliamentary Record an acknowledgement of a member of the Katherine community, a well-known Aboriginal artist who has recently passed away, Mr Paddy Fordham. Out of respect to his memory and so that I do not offend any members of his family, I will, during my adjournment this evening, refer to him as Mr Fordham except when I quote from a newspaper article.
I first met Mr Fordham about 13 years ago when he became a regular customer for food at the Red Gum Tourist Park my husband and I had in Katherine. He became quite a regular figure. I have to say that I never ever saw Mr Fordham angry; he always had a smile on his face and he was always very pleasant. He seemed to enjoy life and he always presented himself as a happy person. He was well known to both Mike and I and to all the members of the Katherine community.
Mr Fordham and his family lived at the Rock Hole community on Florina Road near Katherine. I have always admired Mr Fordham’s paintings because they were so different from any other Aboriginal artwork that I had seen before. As a consequence, my husband and I acquired several of Mr Fordham’s paintings; three of which I have hanging in my electorate office now. One of the paintings that Mr Fordham did for us all those years ago has been rolled up and stored at Gallop Through Time Gallery for some time. That is only because it is such an unusual shape that I have nowhere to hang it. This particular piece, when it is framed, will be around 2.5 m long. It is not very wide, but it is the length of it that is causing a bit of consternation as to where to hang it. It is going to require a considerable height to really fully appreciate this piece of work. It is such an unusual shape that wherever I have to hang it, it will have to be framed in that particular place because I will not be able to carry it anywhere. I am very happy that I do have that piece of artwork and I have had it for a very long time. I have a particular public location in mind but I have to make further inquiries before I can say that I and others will be able to enjoy viewing this particular piece.
Another very large piece of artwork of Mr Fordham’s that Mike and I have was slightly damaged during the 1998 floods in Katherine, but thanks to the expert work of Peter Farnden of Gallop Through Time Gallery in Katherine, it was reframed. That one has pride of place in my office. Most people who come into my office comment on that piece of artwork and admire it because it is so distinctive.
I would like to include in this adjournment and place on the record, an article written for The Australian by Nicholas Rothwell on 24 August 2006, which describes Mr Fordham well. I believe if he had the opportunity to read it, he would agree with this article. He would actually have a smile on his face. So while some of it may seem to be a little bit disrespectful, it is not meant to be in that way at all. It describes Mr Fordham really well. I will read this article as it is written. The heading in this article is ‘Stark visions of death and devilry’:
- Paddy Fordham was a wild man, an instinctive painter and expansive storyteller who defied convention in life as well as in art. Nicholas Rothwell examines his late works.
- He was wild, unruly and difficult. He was a committed drinker and a promiscuous womaniser who proudly tallied up his ‘hundred wives’. He was quite uncaring of his standing in the world of fine art and painted freely for a gaggle of carpetbaggers. Money, humour and the pleasures of the moment were the things that drove him.
So it was no vast surprise, when the Rembarrnga artist, visionary and storyteller Paddy Fordham died two months ago in Katherine, in the Northern Territory, that the obituary notices were a touch reticent.
What to make of a man who still wore his hair long to attract the opposite sex in his 70th year and smeared those tresses with love-magic potions obtained at great expense from West Australian medicine men? How exactly to catch the tone of an artist who depicted scenes such as Drinking in the Graveyard, a tableau in which Fordham keeps his own dead son company?
The work of this protean figure will be exhibited at Darwin’s Entertainment Centre Gallery: a set of his late graphite and ochre drawings will be on view for a week.
These pieces, all of stark intensity, were coaxed into being by Mike Bolton, a self-sacrificing ex-teacher who worked, or tried to work, with Fordham over the past eight years. They focus on life’s stages, illustrating the artist’s tendency to visionary dreaming and the inner realm he occupied as an Aboriginal ‘clever man’.
‘I considered him to be a magical man,’ Bolton says, ‘a scholar, a brilliant scholar. We certainly respected each other, and most of the time we liked each other’.
Fordham’s career unfolded in episodic fashion on several fronts. He was a stockman, grader driver and outstation builder until the early 1980s. After he moved into the town of Katherine, he began painting barks in bright ochres, and these pieces had an immediate communicative force.
Fordham’s great Western admirer - one is almost tempted to say his follower - Darwin artist Chips Mackinolty captures well the spirit of that early work. ‘More reminiscent of animation storyboards than Aboriginal iconography’, he calls it.
Fordham’s gravity and strength comes through in the new body of work on display in Darwin. A sequence of three drawings shows the influence of rock painting from the margins of his own country in Central Arnhem Land. Dead Man and Blue Fly depicts the artist prone, flies swarming over his body, their proboscis points sucking up his blood. White Angel portrays a figure from one of Fordham’s recurrent waking dreams in which an angel appeared, ready to escort him to the skies. He was always keen to be on guard, though, in case the devil took the form of an angel and played a trick on him.
Murrmullrell - My Grandfather shows the sinuous body of the artist’s ancestor bent over at a well-known waterhole. Fordham was sure that when his turn came to die he would rise into the heavens, a shooting star would fall down and land on his country, and there he would in due course be reincarnated like his forebears.
These drawings have a brutal edge to them: they are stark, stripped down, devoid of eye-delighting ornament. They have the quality of a last message. Often, there is a defiant, almost laughing ribaldry: Nyang Devil (Witch Doctor) depicts a one-legged ‘clever’ devil spirit, who feeds on human flesh and even offers this meat to men wanting special knowledge. Fordham’s own gloss on the drawing, quoted in the show, is somehow irresistible: ‘This is really Devil one, the one that eat human being. He has a big stink. You can smell him. He is the boss for every devil. Very bad shit! He really dirty brains, really no-good one’.
Fordham used various media in his initial outpouring of creative work. He made carved spirit figures, barks and canvases, he sang songs and spun story cycles. He painted hollow log coffins: 44 of them are in the National Gallery of Australia’s famous Aboriginal memorial.
But the vast mass of his recent work is problematic, to put it mildly. Often - in fact during the most of the time in his later years - Fordham would roam far from the little block and the anthill-construction house outside Katherine where Bolton gave him fine paperwork to make high art. You would find him, instead, in the caf or the town hotels, talking, telling stories, interacting, painting for quick money: acrylic canvases, maybe 30 or 40 at a time, for a lump sum of $2000 or so.
‘He wasn’t precious at all about his art,’ says Bolton. ‘There’s a great deal of soulless work out there. But when he applied his vision, he could hit the heights’. Those heights had poise and balance, and a dancing tone can be seen in many of the drawings that are being exhibited.
They mark the memory of a man who had no thought for the conventions of Western art, but many thoughts for the country.
Mackinolty remembers Fordham as a startling presence. ‘I can see him at the club at Beswick at sundown, bringing in his latest bark painting wrapped in an old sheet,’ he says. ‘He would tell, declaim, even preach his latest stories. It would be a performance for all, with laughter and good humour, and with catcalls, disagreements and elaborations from his countrymen. They were stories worth telling to us all’.
Their echoes are in Darwin this week.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, there is an exhibition of Mr Fordham’s work at the Darwin Entertainment Centre Gallery from tomorrow until 2 September. The name of the exhibition - and I will not be able to do it justice when I say it but I will have a go: Gela Na Mirraitjja Fordham – Nginy Golong Ma – A Clever Man. I believe sincerely that Mr Fordham was a very clever man, and we certainly miss him around Katherine. I know that his family miss him dearly. May Mr Fordham rest in peace.
Mr VATSKALIS (Casuarina): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, August is Seniors Month. It is a time of the year when we should let the special seniors in our lives and our community know how much they mean to us by doing something special for them. I was very pleased to host a morning tea for a group of seniors, the Darwin Legacy Widows. This lovely group of ladies headed by Nola, Norma and Heather, visit my electorate office at least once a month for their committee meetings. I was delighted to invite them to the Members and Guests Lounge at Parliament House for a wonderful morning tea, where we shared some interesting stories from old Darwin.
Due to the busy calendar of events that has been organised for Seniors Month, I and my colleague, the member for Wanguri, will host a morning tea for our seniors next month at Tracy Village. We are looking forward to getting together and spending time with the seniors from our electorate and catching up with them and sharing a few stories.
Seeing as we are talking seniors, I was very pleased last month to attend a small ceremony at the Tiwi Masonic Homes Aged Care Facility with the Chief Minister, the Minister for Planning and Lands and member for Johnston, for the official handover of 2.4 ha of land to Masonic Homes Incorporated. The new facility, located close to the Royal Darwin Hospital and Darwin Private Hospital, will include 45 aged care beds, 35 retirement homes and 12 units next to the existing Masonic Home facility. It will cost approximately $80m. This addition will ease the local shortage of beds and homes for senior Territorians. With construction starting in 2007, the project will be complete in four years time and I will keep you updated.
I am very proud to speak about the capital investments in the schools in my electorate and the achievements of the students and staff. Previously, we made an election commitment for both Nakara and Alawa. I am very pleased to report to you on these schools. I am excited to hear that Nakara Primary School will officially open their upgraded facilities soon. I was very proud to be involved with this project. I fought for it from the very beginning. I congratulate Mr Barry Griffin, the principal of the school, the staff and the students at Nakara Primary School. I especially congratulate Chloe Moo from Year 6/7 and Lauren Kiara Russell from Year 1/2, who are the winners of my Achievement Award at the last assembly.
I was also very pleased to attend the official opening of the Alawa Primary School upgrade, Stage 1, with my colleague, the member for Nhulunbuy and minister for Education. The new design allows a better interaction between teachers and students in the classroom. They are open plan, and the new electronic whiteboards and wireless Internet throughout the new upgrade will allow students to do research and learn through interactive activities. Also, a large number of laptop computers are available to students and the teachers. I look forward to Stage 2 of the Alawa Primary School upgrade, as we promised in the last election, and I would like to see the plans develop.
I congratulate the Alawa Primary School students, not for any other reason, but because every time I go there, most of the students, if not all, wear their wonderful red school uniforms. I am a keen supporter of uniforms in schools. The kids are an excellent example of the pride and respect and sense of belonging that uniforms can bring to students and their school. I am sure Alawa will have no problem with the proposal of introducing compulsory school uniforms to schools. I congratulate Dylan Bujnowski of Room 8, and Kearna Wellstead of Room 3, who were the winners of my Achievement Awards this month.
I was recently invited to Dripstone High School by Ms Herrod and Ms Glasby to talk to Year 8 English and Year 11 Tourism students about the current political situation and the potential for development of East Timor. I very much enjoyed their questions; they were very thoughtful. Due to my visit to East Timor in March, I had a series of photographs so they could see the beauty of the place. I spoke before about East Timor; it is one of the prettiest places I have been. I also gave them an historical lesson from the very beginning of the settlement of East Timor, first by people from the west part of Asia, including parts of India and Sri Lanka, to the 15th century settlement by Malay and Chinese people to the Vasco da Gama discovery and, eventually, becoming a colony of Portugal.
I also mentioned the troubles during the World War II, and the wonderful efforts of the Timorese people to resist the Japanese invasion, and how the Timorese people rescued hundreds of Australians, walking them from the north of the island to the south so they could escape to Australia.
A special birthday in my electorate is the Dripstone Childcare Centre in Brinkin, celebrating 21 years of operation. The celebration was last Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend because I was out of town, but I am pretty sure the parents and the staff and the manager, Robyn, had a great time. I remember a few years ago when Robyn spoke to me about the difficulties they had trying to expand because they needed a lot of money. I was very pleased to be able to lobby the government and donate a transportable that has served them very well. Today, the Dripstone Childcare Centre is 21 years old and serves 65 children, from tiny babies to preschoolers. I recently visited the children and staff to check on some maintenance issues, and I am always happy to drop in as I am always greeted by smiling, happy children. First of all, they want to know what is wrong with my cheek, and then they want to share their breakfast or their morning tea.
There were two more promises that we made in the last election, and I am very pleased to announce that we have delivered both of them. First, the lights for Nakara Park. Nakara Park is coming alive again. The Nakara Soccer Club plays and trains there every Thursday, and now we have two women’s soccer clubs training there. The government has provided a $400 000 grant to Darwin City Council for the establishment of low impact lights so the clubs can train at night time. I am looking forward to the development of new Socceroos coming out of this training ground.
Another promise was the money to Tracy Village Sports Club - $800 000 for lights for the club. The member for Wanguri and I promised that before the election in 2005. I was very pleased, two weeks ago, to go to the club and announce that an $800 000 grant was going to be provided. I believe the lights will provide the necessary opportunities for the club to have night training, especially for baseball and other sports. The lights installation will commence in September and will be completed in December 2006.
On sport again, I congratulate Simone Liddy and Emily Peris, two very talented young ladies in my electorate, who were selected to represent the Northern Territory Pearls in the Australian Hockey League recently. The Northern Territory Pearls won two games this year, which shows our hockey team is getting stronger each year. Simone and Emily are members of the Northern Territory Hockey Squad. Simone said a lot of the players’ personal performance was attributed to the Northern Territory Institute of Sports coach, Jason Butcher, and the support staff at the institute who are extremely committed to always providing all the assistance and support the athletes need for their development to help them reach their full potential.
I congratulate Simone for co-captaining the Northern Territory Under 21 hockey team last month in Brisbane. I heard the girls did really well and made us proud. Well done.
I take this opportunity to thank the Northern Territory Institute of Sport hockey coach, Jason Butcher, and the support staff for their commitment and dedication to their elite athletes, which certainly is producing excellent results for the sport of hockey in the Northern Territory.
I only found out today regarding the Rose of Tralee, the competition in Ireland, that this year’s Rose of Tralee was crowned and she was from Queensland – Kathryn Feeney. From the Northern Territory, Brigid Killen, who lives in my electorate in Tiwi, also took part. Brigid is a 19-year-old dynamo who works in the Cue Shop at Casuarina Shopping Centre. In winning this prestigious Northern Territory event, Brigid wowed the judges with her poise, her grace, and well-delivered speech that reflected on her Irish and Indonesian heritage. I hear that when the girls take part in the Rose of Tralee competition, they start as quiet and shy and develop in such a way that, by the end of the competition, they become outspoken and totally different people. I was very impressed the other day to hear Brigid speaking on the radio from Ireland - a totally different Brigid from the Brigid I saw when she was here. She was very shy, she was embarrassed to stand up and deliver her speech. However, this time she had no problems doing that on the radio as she described the scenes at the Rose of Tralee competition, in Tralee in Ireland. She was exceptional.
Brigid’s father, John, and mother, Marryana and godparents, Daphne and John Reid, travelled with her to Tralee. I believe they all had a great time. Brigid is a typical Darwin girl. Her father is an Anglo-Saxon of Irish descent, and her mother is Indonesian. She has a bit of everything in her blood, which does not surprise me because, here in Darwin in the multiracial and multicultural society in which we live, we have to have some of the prettiest faces around town - boys or girls. Having two sons growing up in Darwin, God knows what my daughter-in-laws will be in the future, but I am always proud of them and ready to welcome them wherever they come from.
I would like to close with two events of our ethnic communities again. First of all, my warmest congratulations to the Indonesian community for putting together a fantastic event, the Persona Indonesia once again last weekend. Special congratulation to the Indonesian Acting Consul, Maimunah Vera Syafik and Buchari Bakar, a very good of friend of mine for being there and supporting the Indonesian community, and Mr Oemar AlJufri. We used to work together in Casuarina Plaza in the Health Department and he was there running around organising this event.
My warmest congratulations also go to the Pakistani community which, once again, celebrated Pakistani Independence Day on Sunday. It is a small community, but it is a community that is very dynamic with a significant number of people who are very well-educated, and a community that cares about its history and languages. I was very pleased last year to be able to support them with a grant from the Office of Multicultural Affairs to establish a school to teach the children all the languages. Also, I facilitated the establishment of the school at the Nakara School Library after I spoke to the principal, Mr Griffin.
Congratulations to the Indonesian community and the Pakistani community on their national days, the Indonesian Independence Day and same with the Pakistani Independence Day.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I speak about problems which are occurring which have been troubling my electorate for the past couple of months. It started off at the end of June this year when the Public Trustee wrote to the Development Consent Authority on behalf of one of its clients. The Public Trustee evidently holds in trust a substantial amount of money belonging to a particular client, a 27-year-old, who has a mild intellectual disability, according to the letter. In the letter written to the DCA on 30 June, 2006, I quote:
- A number of accommodation scenarios have been trialled with our client. However, nothing to date has proved appropriate for all parties. Our client is currently in an ‘at-risk’ situation living in one of the town camps in Alice Springs and has been in this situation in excess of nine months.
I understand that the client has a substantial amount of money and the Public Trustee has proposed to purchase a home in the suburbs - a large home, in fact - with the intention of converting that home into a supported accommodation facility, housing, according to this letter, up to four persons with intellectual disability. What will happen is that the client and family will be purchasing the property and then offering their property to a non-government organisation to operate as a supported accommodation home with their client as a permanent resident plus up to three other persons, and their 24-hour carer or carers. We do not know how many carers will be involved but, obviously, this client would require one carer, and then we do not know how many other residents will be in there with their carers.
I suppose this was done through normal due process. The purple placard was placed on the front fence and it was the first anybody knew about that. The advertising period was during the school holidays and, as you can expect, in Alice Springs during the July holidays with the show circuit, many people tend to be away from Alice Springs.
My attention was brought to this matter in the middle of July when I then wrote to the Public Trustee asking the Public Trustee to defer the application with the Development Consent Authority so as to allow for better information and discussion with the community around the proposed home. My concern, as expressed to the Public Trustee, was that there was a lack of adequate publicity over the plan and application to the Development Consent Authority, there was a lack of consultation with the adjacent neighbourhood. There was also a lack of information relating to the impact that a proposed residence, 8 Giles Street, which is the address of the house in question, may have on the neighbourhood, and the potential devaluation of the adjacent properties to that particular property in question. Also in my letter I said that there was an apparent inconsistency of rental to be paid by the NGO for the premises for up to potentially three tenants and a carer plus the owner of the house and, finally, that the Public Trustee had said that every consideration for neighbouring residents had been addressed when, in fact, the neighbourhood said they had not been consulted.
That was why I wanted the Public Trustee to defer the application for a month. I did not think that was unduly harsh in terms of putting off the proposal for a month so the community could have time to discuss the matter through a public meeting if required so that they can have more information provided. I also wrote a letter to the editor of The Centralian Advocate after quite a few letters appeared in the letters to the editor accusing those people who voiced their concerns and objections to the development of this house into supported accommodation. It is unfortunate that some of the people thought to call the people who were against the proposal ‘bigots’. I thought that was a most unnecessary way to further community consultation.
My letter started:
- I read with disappointment the letters penned by several named persons stating their support for the conversion of the property at Giles Street to a supported accommodation facility for up to four intellectually disabled persons, not because they supported the proposal, but because they chose to label the people who opposed the project as bigots or NIMBYs.
In my opinion, there are many reasons why people support or oppose the proposal. Each one has the right to state a view on the matter and seek support for their view. There would be the issues of impact of the amenity of the area such as an unsightly two-metre chain-wire fence or the devaluation of the adjacent properties, and there may also be issues of safety for the proposed residents and adults and children in the neighbourhood.
The only bigotry I could find in this debate is not whether people support or oppose the proposal, but in people prepared to hold fast to their views and label others bigots. This is the sort of narrow-minded bigotry that prevents open discussion of matters that affect our daily lives.
My closing comment was that it is important for us to give the community at least a further 30 days for better information sharing and consultation. I added that I believe the ad hoc use of residential properties in the suburbs for supported accommodation is not good for our community, nor for the ever-increasing numbers of intellectually disabled, what with the numbers of petrol sniffers we have in the community.
What we need is a cluster housing facility not unlike the seniors villages we have developed across the Northern Territory, with 18 or 20 accommodation units for disabled people and their carers. Such a residential complex should be within suburbs, within mainstream, near all the amenities that are available to everyone else in the suburbs. It will assist the residents in the cluster housing facility to normalise their lives within a secure environment, which assists in protecting them as much as it protects the community.
The East Side Residents Association got into discussions because it is the lobby group that represents residents in that area where the house in question is located. I understand that as a residents association, represented by their chairman, they presented to the Development Consent Authority asking for due consideration that this may or may not be the right thing for the location. Some of the comments that were made by others when they turned up to the Development Consent Authority hearing included that the application has errors and was sparse on information, and does not provide much supporting documentation; there was not enough time for a response to be made by parties involved; that not enough information has been provided regarding the number of residents who will be using the premises; whether there will be more than two or three, or up to four; what sort of staff numbers will be required; and the availability of parking spaces within the allotment.
There was a suggestion that perhaps the motor vehicles accessing that particular block could access it through a back lane. There is no back lane to the premises. What it has, in fact, is a drain at the back of the house, and to use that unformed gravel access, which is not a gazetted road or even a back lane, would be most inappropriate. Because the carer should be there 24 hours, you would assume that there would be at least two carers for that first disabled individual. Whether these carers will double up for the other individuals, nobody knows for sure. There is no discussion or information available as to how the residents of that said premises will be managed, or whether the premises will be secured with high fences or otherwise.
These are the things that the neighbourhood needs to know, because they are particularly fearful. I do not want to whip up any unreal fears, but the reality is that many people who fronted up to the DCA hearing - I was told there was something in the order of 40 people who attended the meeting; the ABC estimated there were 50 people who attending the meeting. I know that only four of those people who attended the meeting supported the application; the rest did not. In fact, many of them objected to the application. Of the four who supported the application, three were on behalf of the applicant, and one was from Disability Services.
The concerns that were expressed were essentially about the amenities of the area, parking, traffic movement and security. Nobody has been able to adequately address that, in my opinion. However, the hearing was conducted; the DCA declined to defer the hearing, stating that they had no legal process to defer the hearing at all in any way. I recall when I was sitting on the Town Planning Authority - and the rules might have changed since then - when there was insufficient information from a developer or the DCA was concerned that the community was not adequately consulted, we could say that we would reserve our decision for 30 days and they could come back to us with more information. That used to happen; I do not know why it cannot happen now.
There is an example of another intellectually disabled person living 150 m down the street in another house initially purchased and converted into supported accommodation for this person. That area of the Giles Street neighbourhood has been concerned about the resident since he moved in. There are examples of intellectually disabled people living in support accommodation premises in the suburbs who are causing problems. To convert this new location to house up to four intellectually disabled people will cause an unknown amount of problems. I am concerned that by this ad hoc manner of housing intellectually disabled people in the suburbs, it will only bring more and more grief for everybody and not be a good thing. I ask the government to reconsider this matter and ensure we have an orderly plan to accommodate intellectually disabled people.
Mr BURKE (Brennan): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I wish you a big Daffodil Day for tomorrow; the wonderful celebration that we have in an effort to raise money for cancer research.
I would also like to start off by mentioning Sarah and Peter Worden, and Morton, their dog, who won the public housing gardening competition which was announced by minister McAdam at the Tropical Garden Spectacular on 12 August. I went around to their unit to have a look at all the wonderful work that Sarah has done, not just in her garden but throughout the entire complex. It was incredible that she did 99% of the work with cuttings taken from other flowers and plants, and then looked after those and planted them out. A fantastic effort and I am really happy that they received the award.
I was also extremely privileged to attend the hand back of the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands to the traditional owners, the Yanyuwa people. I was a guest of the member for Arnhem and all of her family. I thank all the traditional owners for having me on their land. This claim was one of the first under the then newly-enacted Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act. It took 30-odd years to finalise. As members could imagine, the ceremony was extremely moving. The member for Arnhem spoke on behalf of the Yanyuwa. In her speech she canvassed the history of the struggle and those who had been part of bringing the claim to fruition. Members should remember that the member for Arnhem was only a little girl when the claim first began, and that, over the 30 years that it took to finalise the claim, a number of people who were there at the start of the claim were not there to see it in. However, I am sure their spirit was there at the ceremony.
The member for Arnhem recognised many people in her speech, and a number of them attended the hand back ceremony. I would like to mention just a few of these people. Dr John Bradley is an anthropologist who spent many years documenting the attachments of the Yanyuwa people to their country, and the ceremonies and stories of the Yanyuwa. He even learned the Yanyuwa language. He now has a postgraduate student studying for her doctorate working with a computer programmer on how to commit the stories and ceremonies to electronic form. Their idea is to develop a computer gaming format as part of an educational tool for the Yanyuwa to ensure the next generation learn about their country. Clearly, for the Yanyuwa, their culture is not standing still.
Ms Carolyn Strachan and Mr Alessandro Cavadini of Red Dirt Films made their film Two Laws in 1981 about the Yanyuwa people’s struggle. They had come to the hand back ceremony to record, as Carolyn said to me, the final chapter of the struggle. It was extremely moving to see the depth of feeling between members of the Yanyuwa and these people. There was a lot of crying, hugging and kissing as people who had not seen each other for many years but had been through so much together caught up and swapped stories. In fact, Carolyn had been in Sydney; she and Alessandro are based in Los Angeles and were in Sydney for the funeral of a relative and heard about the finalisation of the claim and came up specifically for that, breaking off what they were doing in Sydney.
Much of what occurred was very personal and I was mainly a privileged observer. I hope I have not betrayed that privilege by my recounting of these reunions. I can advise the Assembly that the member for Arnhem spoke extremely eloquently as she always does. Once again, I thank the Yanyuwa for their warmth and their hospitality. I especially thank the member for Arnhem for her invitation.
On 18 June, Palmerston Council held a People in the Palmerston Parks day at Nutwood Park on Farrar Boulevard. People in Palmerston Parks is a wonderful program that encourages the use of parks in Palmerston. The Palmerston Council had free water available as well as free ice cream. Dr Anne Pratt, Director of Community Services at Palmerston Council, attended the day as did their CEO, Mr Rodney Donne. Jeff Mosel was there on behalf of Neighbourhood Watch and Geoff Carter and the rest of the Palmerston City Band provided the musical entertainment and, as ever, Moyston Wright was also taking up his duties in the band. I had a lovely afternoon with my family and wish to say well done to all the organisers and participants. I look forward to attending more of the People in Palmerston Parks’ events.
On 19 June, I was extremely privileged to be invited to the Hair Extravaganza at the Palmerston campus of the Charles Darwin University. I thank the Services Industry Training Advisory Council for the invitation. The Hair Extravaganza showcased the high skills of apprentice hairdressers and trainee beauty therapists. Modelling was also provided by more of the students from the university. I greatly enjoyed the event and thank Pamela Morgan, the senior vocational education and training advisor at CDU, and Ms Morag McGrath, head of school at CDU. The students showcased their imaginative creativity. I thank all of them and congratulate them on the show that they put on for those of us privileged to be there - many of the understandably family and friends.
Palmerston High School held a triathlon on 22 June and my electorate officer, Joanne, and I joined a team with Michael Wadrop and Ms Tessa McCredie – one of the teachers there - and Mr Chris Dias the principal of the school. Our team also had some student help with the four laps of Palmerston pool that were required. It has been a long time since I have done four laps of any pool so I was glad they got to do that one. We had a lot of fun. The leaders of the triathlon and eventual winners were never under any pressure from our team but we certainly laughed a lot. I thank Ms Liz Christie-Johnston of Palmerston High School for organising the event and asking Joanne and I to participate. I will be in training prior to next year’s event, however.
One of the great spectacles of the sporting calendar occurred this year and I am, of course, referring to the World Cup. It infects everyone when it is on. This year, I attended a barbecue fundraiser held by the Palmerston La-Faek Women’s Soccer Team. The La-Faek women’s team have a number of their members in the Territory representative side and I was hoping to make it along to support their fundraiser, although the game was not on until midnight. Unfortunately, I had to leave quite a bit before then to get to the United Nations Youth Association NT branch’s quiz, where I made up a table with Senator Crossin and the member for Johnston, and we were in it right until the very end. It was a great night, another enjoyable fundraiser, and the evening is a credit to the association’s members, all of whom are young people. I think I am correct in saying most of them would be high school age. Well done to all of them on the organisation of the night, and I am sure that, as well as Senator Crossin and the member for Johnston, the member for Nelson will also echo my sentiments of the wonderful professional show that they put on.
We all know that Supercars are part of the Territory events calendar, an exciting event that attracts huge crowds. I had a brilliant time meeting up with students from Bakewell Primary and Sacred Heart schools, and also Moulden Park Primary School. Peter Usher, the teacher accompanying the Bakewell students, and I and the students all shared a hot dog or two together. They told me that they were enjoying watching the cars, and they certainly looked like they were. There was a bit of banter as to Holden and Ford but it was clear they were having a magnificent time. Mr Usher has since left Bakewell Primary to take up another position with another Top End school and I wish him all the best in that position and into the future.
Mr Bill Bemelmans is the Assistant Principal at Sacred Heart School and he had the Sacred Heart students under his wing. All of the students - not just of the schools I have mentioned but from all schools - were wonderfully behaved and it was a pleasure to see all of them there enjoying the day. In fact, the Sacred Heart school students had pretty much scattered to the four winds chasing autographs of drivers and getting photos in front of cars. That is what these events are all about, and I am really happy that all the kids had a fantastic time.
The students who were there from Moulden Park School had their picture taken with the Chief Minister and that was a real buzz for them. I hope it capped off a very enjoyable day for them. Bill Bemelmans and his wife are expecting the arrival of their first child soon. I wish them all the best. I am sure I will see him at some point, if not before the birth of their baby, then certainly after some time. Needless to say, the birth of a child is an exciting magical event and I hope I get to meet their new arrival to the family. Best wishes to Bill and his wife.
As many members will know, the ship the Leeuwin was recently in town. One of the programs that it runs is to take Territory students and young people out - university age as well - to teach them a bit about sailing a ship of that size. That component of what the Leeuwin does is subsidised by the Northern Territory government, and I think the subsidy is about $30 000 or thereabouts per year. The government signed off on a three-year deal to keep the Leeuwin coming back. I want to inform the House that I spoke to a number of parents, as well as a number of young people who took part in the voyage, and every one of them said that they wanted the government to continue the support of this program.
I mention specifically Janet and Stephanie McManaway who live in my electorate. Janet was saying, as a single mum, she would have found it extremely difficult if she had to pay what would have been the full price, but with the subsidy the government provides, the $300, it was still a bit of a stretch, but she was able to do it. Her daughter, Stephanie, has provided me with some words of just how much of a real buzz it was for her and how much she got out of it. I will also say that the crew and organisers of the Leeuwin really enjoy coming up here and said what wonderful people our two groups of young Territorians were.
Mr WARREN (Goyder): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I am proudly parochial of my rural electorate of Goyder, because we have such a satisfying lifestyle away from the hustle and bustle of city life. I would like to advise parliament of some of the many wonderful things that have recently occurred in the rural area to give you a snapshot of what has been happening recently.
First, I want to talk about the rural toad bustings that have been carried out leading up to the Toad Bust Audit on 18 August. Since early August, the Dry Season toad bust strategy has been in full swing, with five major toad busts in my electorate alone. FrogWatch statistics show that these recent toad busts have removed more than 300 adult toads, and in excess of 10 000 metamorphs, or toadlets as they are known.
Rural residents are continuing to use the Freds Pass Toad Detention Centre and, since May, over 3200 toads have been dropped off in the toad collection bin where they are euthanised and turned into liquid fertilizer. While many people in the community are actively helping the ecology in this way, I want to highlight the efforts of Janelle McKell and her family in their tireless efforts to keep the Virginia Road area free from this menace. The McKells are constant in their efforts, and often spend two or three evenings each week catching toads, many from a neighbourhood dam. Janelle McKell personally lays claim to catching more than 500 adult toads and countless toadlets. What a fantastic effort.
There have been several events in the rural area for seniors as part of Seniors Month. I attended the Seniors Singalong held at Freds Pass Reserve on Friday, 11 August. This was a typical, beautiful Dry Season day that saw over 30 seniors gathered in our great rural venue at the Lake View Hall for lunch and a singing session. My federal colleagues, Senator Trish Crossin, and Hon Warren Snowdon also popped in to hear some old-time favourites. Children from three of our local schools - Litchfield Christian School, Bees Creek Preschool and Humpty Doo Primary - performed songs and danced for the seniors. A big thank you to Olive Frakking for organising this fun-filled event for our VIS, our Very Important Seniors.
The rural area has no end of activities for those who want to be involved in the community. The Litchfield Bowls Club is a superb facility for lawn bowls, located in the heart of Humpty Doo. For the past few years, they have put on a great welcome to Come and Try Day as part of Seniors Month. It was on again this year, about two weeks ago. I joined at least 50 others who went along to sample the morning tea, hosted by Gerry Wood. I stayed on to have a go, and a great fun time was had by all.
The Cox Peninsula Council is holding an inaugural community event this weekend in the guise of a Ball for Seniors, where the ladies have been asked to strut their stuff and the gentlemen to show their style. The Cox Pen Council, as it is affectionately called, runs quite a few sporting and recreational activities for our junior residents and, with this inaugural ball, is looking to provide the more senior section of our community with a different but, nevertheless diverse, range of sporting and recreational activities as well.
During the school holidays, I attended a couple of days of the V8 Supercars at Hidden Valley in Darwin. It was fantastic. On the Friday, some of my rural constituent schoolchildren were the guests of the Chief Minister in her marquee. The students in the rural area really enjoyed the outing to the V8s, which included lunch with the Chief Minister in her marquee. Words such as ‘fabulous’ and ‘brilliant’ were liberally scattered throughout the school newsletters about their outing. I got some great pictures of me and the kids with the Chief Minister. These great pictures have prominently displayed at electorate office window at Coolalinga.
Ms ANDERSON (Macdonnell): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I want to put on record the passing of Pastor Eli Rubuntja, brother of the late Wenton Rubuntja. I would like to put on the record the eulogy that was read at his funeral at Alice Springs:
- Ingkarte was born at Ntaria 14 March 1922, and baptised on 19 March by Pastor Carl Strehlow. After his father was killed he was raised by his mother. At the mission school, Ingkarte learnt reading and writing first in Aranda, and English only later on. The value of his early bilingual education he took with him into his life to come.
Ingkarte spoke fondly of his school time and also of being out bush with his grandmother, singing. The bringing of the water from Kaporilya Springs to Ntaria by a pipeline in 1935 was an event Ingkarte remembered and celebrated throughout his life. It broke the drought and guaranteed fresh produce and better health outcomes for all at Ntaria.
As a young man, Ingkarte worked as a stockman and an evangelist in many places: Tempe Downs, Hermannsburg, Areyonga, Henbury Station. He also travelled by camel delivering mail to Idracowra and Horseshoe Bend.
Ingkarte was renowned at that time as a champion runner, entering races in Melbourne and Bendigo and Warrnambool, and came runner-up at the Park Handicap over 100 yards at the Stawell Easter Gift Athletics Meet in 1946.
Ingkarte was confirmed by Pastor Albrecht in 1940 and in 1942 he married Leonora after returning from Army service in Darwin. Together they had six children: Nita, Felicity, Aubrey, Minnie, Doris and Bethany.
In 1958 at the age of 36, Ingkarte and his family moved to live here at the mission block where he worked at the mission store and as a driver for the mission.
The youngest children were born in Alice Springs and they remember their mother and father as kind and loving parents. Ingkarte was very close to old Pastor Albrecht and together they made many journeys to visit Aboriginal people working on outlying cattle stations. At this time, Ingkarte was also still working as an evangelist, caring for people both here at the mission block and out bush.
In the mid-1970s together with his brother Kumentyaye Rubuntja, Ingkarte began working hard to improve the life of those people living in Alice Springs town camps, establishing Tangentyere Council in 1977. Ingkarte was the first president of Tangentyere Council and he held that position on and off over 25 years. In this role he was at the forefront of many significant struggles, including the establishment of Centralian Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Yipirinya School and the Tyeweretye Club. Coming as he did from a childhood where his language and culture was strongly valued and supported, it is clear why he fought so passionately for an independent Aboriginal bilingual school. In his own words: ‘We need an Aboriginal school in Alice Springs somewhere. We should be teaching our children Aranda, Pitjantjatjara and other languages. To do all that we need a school’. Ingkarte was president of Yipirinya School Council for many years.
Around this time, in 1978, Ingkarte mourned the death of his wife. And in the middle of his work for many organisations, and after many years working as an evangelist, Ingkarte was ordained as Lutheran Pastor in 1983. His congregation became the same people on whose behalf he was campaigning for social improvement. And he took services and gave pastoral care to many living in the town camps of Alice Springs and nearby communities.
In 1988, as President of Tangentyere Council, Ingkarte said: ‘The whitefellas in Alice Springs didn’t like the camps. They said they were unhealthy and bad for tourists. They tried to push us away. But this was our country. Aranda country. Aboriginal country. The other people living in the camps - Warlpiri, Luritja, Pintubi, Pitjantjatjara, Anmatjere – had been pushed off their land too. We wanted our land in town so we could sit down and not worry about whitefellas pushing us off’.
Over the last decade Ingkarte lived near a dreaming site of deep significance at ‘Anthepe’ Camp, with many of his family.
- In 1999, he received the Commonwealth Recognition Award for Senior Australians. In 2000, he was named NAIDOC Centralian of the Year. In 2001, he received the Governor-General’s Centenary Award granted for major contributions of service to the Australian people.
In recent years Ingkarte requested that an old house at Anthepe camp be converted into a space he could use as a church and there he continued taking services right up until the time of his illness in June. Almost one year ago Ingkarte ministered at the funeral for his brother Kumentyaye Rubuntja. Ingkarte died on 1 July this year, 2006, at the age of 84.
The life of Ingkarte is an inspiration to many and his long struggle for justice and care for his people challenges all of us. His gentleness, affection and humour have touched so many he will be deeply missed.
- Ingkarte is survived by daughters Bethany and Doris; grandchildren Lorraine, Daniel, Darren, Elsa, Roseanna, Cedric, Roy, Phillip, Rosemary, Gavin, Troy, Shane, Leanne, Tammy, Gary, Julie, Paul, Darren, Mandy, Alice, Georgie, Sarah and Christine; great grandchildren Kristina, Joey, Darren, Crystal, Shania, Leroy, Kayanne, Cameron, Fabian, Larissa, Dylan, Damien, Neil, Ingrid, Sarah, Gloria, Tammy, Cecily, Reveena, Ester, Shania, Jonathon, Sharath, Troy, Shane and Caleb; and great great grandchild, Jeffrey.
Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, on 10 August, I travelled to Ntaria community for the opening of the Hermannsburg solar power station on behalf of the Minister for Business, Industry and Regional Development. The new 192 kW power station built by Solar Systems Pty Ltd consists of eight 14 m diameter solar concentrating dishes that will supply about half of the community’s power requirements with clean, green electricity. This is proven technology as there are similar dish concentrators going up at Yuendumu and Lajamanu.
The benefits include reduced diesel consumption, reduced noise levels and reduced greenhouse emissions. The Power and Water Corporation has entered into a 20-year agreement to purchase the generated electricity and feed it back into the power network grid that services Hermannsburg. The Northern Territory government offers rebates to remote power users and private providers under the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program to support and implement renewable energy programs like this new power station at Ntaria.
As fuel prices continue to rise, renewable energy generation will become more and more important, especially in remote areas. I congratulate Solar Systems Pty Ltd and the Power and Water Corporation, and especially the community, because this kind of partnership happens only with the participation of the community and their council at Hermannsburg. I congratulate Gus and his council and the Hermannsburg community.
In July, I travelled to Areyonga to give a joint presentation with Areyonga Council Chair, Therese Nipper, to a group of philanthropists in Melbourne. Our remote link to the Melbourne conference was arranged by Lawry Mahon of Victoria University so we could discuss the impact that the SWIRL program is having in remote communities. The program, Story Writing in Remote Locations, SWIRL, is an innovative program that has been operating successfully at Atitjere, Alpurrurulam, Ampilatwatja and Areyonga involving 24 student teachers and staff from Victoria University School of Education.
SWIRL operates as a holiday program and includes activities such as kite making, face painting, art and craft programs, and bush tucker hunts but, most importantly, it is a literacy and technology enhancement program. While participating in the day-to-day activities many digital photographs are taken. At the completion of each session, a student teacher and children involved in an activity sit at the computer and construct a story about the activity which is then printed, laminated and bound. Also, while the printed story is being constructed, the children are assisted in making the same story into a talking book using simple software that most children find easy to use. Each child is given a copy of any book they helped write and a copy is added to the school library resources as an aid to literacy learning in the community.
The talking books are generally constructed in both English and the children’s own language and placed on all the school computers, again to assist in conventional literacy learning in English and home language, but also to assist communities to pass on the traditional skills and stories.
IBM Australia has been a strong supporter since its inception. Every year they have supplied at least one computer and a printer to a community visited by a small team, and that equipment stays in the school as a donation. During the 2005 program, IBM donated 24 computers and four printers, so each location has received a valuable resource. This partnership with IBM continued this year with more computing equipment for each site, including a KidSmart package with innovative computer set-up specifically designed for young children.
Victoria University has committed resources to the SWIRL project, including in the past a 22-seater bus, a troop carrier, staff costs and running costs. The Northern Territory government also supported the SWIRL project with a small grant to assist with travel and support of NT DEET in the communities. This is an investment that the minister for Education has taken in supporting the SWIRL program. SWIRL is very grateful for what they get from the Northern Territory government and the fact that the Northern Territory government is participating in the After School Program with SWIRL. The communities are overwhelmed at that as well.
SWIRL takes teachers out to those communities and introduces them to the community. The teachers get to have a look at the programs that are running with the children, the parents, the whole community. There is whole-of-community participation when they go hunting and when they come back to the community. It is initiatives like this, as government, that we need to support. It is a good program which is reaping benefits on communities with children’s literacy and numeracy.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I want to provide some comments in relation to a bill sponsored in this House this week by the member for Nelson. It was an amendment to the Planning Act and Regulations. The minister gave quite a detailed explanation, and I support his comments in regard to the present situation and the possibilities for the future.
The current scheme provides an opportunity for rural residents to appeal against decisions made in relation to developments happening adjacent to their properties, and that is done through the DCA. There is an opportunity under the current scheme for those residents to object to developments happening on neighbouring blocks.
The act has not changed. The current situation is that, as the minister described, you have people buying into the rural area with the expectation of developing enterprises and businesses on their blocks. To make any changes under the current scheme would disadvantage them and could have legal and financial implications for the Northern Territory government.
I talked to the minister about the act and about what has an effect on the rural area, and he articulated that in the future, as the Litchfield Shire Plan comes into force, he will look at changes to that. I will be talking to him and to the community about changes which will bring the rural area more in line with other parts of the Northern Territory, and the urban areas in respect of third-party appeals.
I understand some of the comments from the member for Nelson, having stayed on my rural block, about the setbacks and how the noise can carry farther in the rural area because of the lower density of building.
I am heartened by the minister’s comments. I support his comments. I support this government’s approach to the Planning Scheme which affect the rural area, and I will be feeding into opportunities in the future which will bring it more in line with the scheme.
Mr NATT (Drysdale): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, before I outline some of my electorate activities, I pay tribute to the many young men and women from 1st Brigade who left yesterday on their deployment to Afghanistan. The 1st Brigade is based at Robertson Barracks and many of these families live in my electorate of Drysdale. These families play an important part in the public life and the community role within the Drysdale and Palmerston area. I understand this group is a very capable, well trained confident group of brave individuals who will do Australia, their families and the Northern Territory proud. I sincerely wish them a safe tour of duty. I look forward to welcoming them back home in three months’ time in safe and healthy conditions.
Last night, I had the distinct pleasure of sneaking out of the House for a while to visit the Darwin Entertainment Centre. The Wakakirri performance was taking place at the Darwin Entertainment Centre and several schools from around the Northern Territory participated in this festival. You might ask, what is the Wakakirri Festival? I will tell you. The Wakakirri National Story Festival is an annual creative and performing arts festival for all Australian schools, both primary and secondary. Wakakirri is all about encouraging young Australians to be open-minded, confident and active through the process of creating and sharing stories. It embraces respect for others and themselves, and healthy, active, creative minds and bodies, and also environmental awareness. The philosophy of Wakakirri is that it is an affordable and accessible creative arts opportunity for every student and school in Australia. I liken it very much to the Eisteddfods that schools participate in around Australia.
There were several categories last night: story and dance; story and singing; story telling; story and film; story building; and story writing. It was amazing to see that many of the costumes and props last night were made from rubbish. For instance, there was a grand piano taken onto the stage by the students made from cans and cardboard. Another one very effective prop was, when the lights went out, iridescent cans made into aeroplanes and that was flown around under the iridescent light. It was very effective. It was terrific to see the innovation of the teachers and the students taking these props forward.
The reason I went along last night was because one of my local schools, Durack Primary School, participated. They did an outstanding job. The title of their item was ‘Tracy’ and, obviously from the title, it is understood that it was based on Cyclone Tracy. The story and dance took us through the devastating effects of the cyclone. It incorporated the family breakups, the storm itself, the devastation that it caused and it was well played out by the group. I acknowledge the coordinators, Danielle Banicek and Simone Timms. They did an outstanding job with this group of students. At one particular time, there would have been 30 to 40 students on stage. The costumes and the props and everything that went with it was just fantastic. Everyone at Durack Primary School has to be congratulated.
In the congratulations, I also acknowledge the Casuarina Street Primary School, the Clyde Fenton Primary School, the Katherine South Primary School, Macfarlane Primary School and Woodroffe Primary School. They all did similar things. Probably the most outstanding item last night was Katherine South Primary School item. They participated in three of the categories. They did a story dance, a story telling and a story singing. It was all undertaken by different students. It was all based around the green ant. I will not go into all the details, but it was basically community-minded, using the green ants community, getting the ideas across that everyone has to be safe and close together in a community. The Katherine South people did a fantastic job. I understand they found it very difficult. They got a little out of Katherine yesterday morning to travel up here for the festival and their bus broke down. They had to go back to Katherine and parents and friends brought them up to Darwin for the festival.
Everyone involved has to be congratulated, not only in getting Katherine South up here, but for the whole night. It was really well done. I understand it has been going up here for some years now - I think about five years. The whole concept, I understand, has been running Australia-wide for 15 years. It is a terrific concept and I congratulate everyone involved and look forward to popping along next year. I am going to get the word around to let everyone know that they should get along and have a look at this terrific night. It was really well done by a group of primary school students. It goes to show that some of these kids have some exceptional talent.
On Friday, 4 August, I organised a toad bust in Palmerston. I was helped extremely well by the FrogWatch people, Graeme Sawyer and Paul Cowdy. We assembled at the Palmerston Golf Club and, on the night, we probably had a group of around about 20 to 30 adults and children. We set off at approximately 7.30 pm on dark. We split up into three groups. Paul and Graeme took their groups across University Avenue into the Durack area and around the ponds and the lakes in that area. I took my group of a couple of adults and half a dozen kids to the dam at the Palmerston Golf Course. While we were scouting the edges of the dam, we came across two or three adult toads, and we duly collected them and put them in the plastic bags.
However, the most astounding thing I came across was to see the great masses of black tadpoles that had accumulated. There would have been eight to 10 masses of these tadpoles in this lake. It was just amazing to see the number of toadlets assembling in the dam. These masses would have been probably around 500 mm or 600 mm in diameter. As you shone the light in the water, if you shifted it to the side of the mass, the mass would follow the light. It was quite incredible.
I could not do much with these toadlets because we could not collect them; they were in the water. We continued around the lake. We ended up with about eight toads from that area and I took all of the information back to Graeme Sawyer. When everyone departed at the end of the night, after collecting around about 13 or 14 adult toads, Graeme and I ventured back to the lake and I showed him these masses, and he was absolutely astounded. He had never seen such a large infestation as we had seen on this day. Graeme went back the next day and took nets and the equipment needed to collect them. I understand he took about 10 000 toadlets out of this lake. That is 10 000 toadlets which will no longer be blessing the grounds within Darwin. It was a massive find. I understand Graeme has visited the lake a couple of times since to ensure that these toadlets are completely eradicated.
My congratulations go to Paul and Graeme; they do a fantastic job. I know with the recent FrogWatch toad busts they have collected over 12 000 toads over that period of a week. We really are putting a dent into it, and I am going to continue my toad watch nights. It is terrific to see the support from local people coming out and helping us. I also understand the member for Brennan had a terrific night a couple of weeks before, and he had made an impact in this area as well.
I congratulate one of my supportive Bayview constituents, the Right Reverend Dr Philip Freier. The good bishop was yesterday announced the new Archbishop Elect of Melbourne. What a wonderful achievement for a gentleman who has committed several years of fantastic service to our Territory community. Bishop Freier has been closely associated with the Nungalinya College, a theological college for training of indigenous Christian ministers. He has also overseen the ordination of many Aboriginal Territorians, men and women, to the priesthood. I also know that the bishop has been closely associated with Kormilda, where he has been the chairperson since 2001. I know from my college visits that his presence during this time has made a significant difference to the college. He is highly admired by the teachers, students and parents, and he will be a loss. I am sure the foundations he has laid can be built upon by the person who is to next fill his role. I am also aware of his fantastic work with Anglicare. He stepped into the position to find the organisation in some strife and, over time, he has restructured and organised the group into a strong viable concern.
Philip has worked with many Aboriginal people and groups throughout his time in the Northern Territory and he is admired by all throughout many indigenous groups. I could go on for some time about Philip’s achievements and the roles he plays in the various community groups, but time is a little against me. It is unfortunate that I only had the good fortune of meeting Philip on three or four occasions during my brief political career, and on these occasions I found his conversations and presence extremely rewarding.
I sincerely congratulate Philip on his appointment and wish he and his good wife, Joy, and their family all the very best in Melbourne. He will great in his new role as His Grace, the Most Reverend Dr Philip Freier, Archbishop of Melbourne. Good luck, Philip, you deserve this role and you will be a great leader for the church in Melbourne, and you will be missed in Darwin.
In closing, I would like to point out that as part of my new role as a politician I have been made patron of the Palmerston Golf and Country Club. This weekend I am running my first Patron’s Shield, and I am really looking forward to it. I am going to be teeing off with the President, Mr Merv McMaster, and one of the board members, John Tedford. I am looking forward to the day and getting involved with the club.
The club has been in a little financial difficulty over the last few years. I have met with the club on a couple of occasions and will be attending their board meetings in future in the hope that we might be able to work our way out of this problem. I am looking forward to Sunday. Perhaps I will report in another adjournment how the day went. It is great to be involved with the local community and a club like this who love their sport. I am looking forward to it and I am sure that we will have a great day.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016