2005-08-24
Madam Speaker Aagaard took the Chair at 10 am.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of NT Open Education Centre students from Namaruni, Ramingining and Wugularr community schools, accompanied by Ms Lauren Edwards; and Year 7 Marrara Christian School students accompanied by Ms Jennifer Edwards, Ms Jeanette Wright and Mr Nathan Trethewey. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to you.
Members: Hear, hear!
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that this Assembly express its deep regret at the death of Mr W Rubuntja AM, a man who, throughout his life, contributed so much to the social, political and artistic fabric of the Northern Territory, and tender its profound sympathy to his family.
Mr W Rubuntja Pengarte, a great Arrernte leader, died on Thursday 21 July. Mr Rubuntja was the first indigenous person to receive a State Funeral in the Northern Territory, and there is no doubt that he was very deserving of one.
The State Funeral was held at the Alice Springs Convention Centre to allow for the hundreds of people from around Australia and the Northern Territory who came to show their respects. The convention centre is at the foot of the MacDonnell Ranges and beside the Todd River, both places special to the Arrernte people.
In attendance were the federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Amanda Vanstone, representing the Prime Minister who was overseas; our Administrator, Ted Egan; the Deputy of the Administrator, Patricia Miller, representing the Australian Governor-General; Richard Lim MLA, representing the Northern Territory opposition; Mr Justice Eames of the Victorian Supreme Court; and many, many other dignitaries.
I have previously acknowledged the passing of Mr W Rubuntja in this House in an adjournment speech during July. As a State Funeral recipient, however, it is appropriate for this House to pay formal respects through a condolence motion to Mr Rubuntja and his family.
All of Mr Rubuntja’s achievements were driven by his genuine concern for equality and justice for his people, and for recognition of their culture and their rights. In moving this motion, I feel that it is fitting for the Legislative Assembly to provide the same kind of recognition of this great man that the speakers at the funeral displayed so movingly.
A number of speakers alluded to his extraordinary devotion to his wife, Cynthia, and their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. This was a primary aspect of his admirable personal qualities.
Because unemployment and long-term poverty were characteristic of his community, he had for many years been the key provider for the family. The income from his paintings and consultancy fees put food on the table. Despite all the work he did during his life, he had nothing in the way of material possessions; he basically owned his hat and the clothes he stood in.
Mr Rubuntja was born about 50 miles north of Alice Springs in the mid-1920s, near a creek on the northern edge of Burt Plain. He showed an early aptitude for hard work, working for builders in the early days of the construction industry in Alice Springs. In later years, he learned painting skills from his uncle, Albert Namatjira. His artwork is represented in many collections. In 1986, he was commissioned to paint a large canvas for presentation to Pope John Paul II when he visited Alice Springs.
In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, he gained wide recognition for his knowledge and leadership capacities. When traditional owners began to consider setting up their own organisation during the time of the Woodward Inquiry into Land Rights in the Northern Territory in 1973, they turned to him as the best person to help represent them in their battle for recognition of their rights in land.
He quickly rose to the position of Chairman of the Central Land Council, and helped with the lodging of the first land claims presented to Justice Ward, the Interim Land Commissioner, in 1975. He provided inspirational leadership during the period of negotiations with both the Whitlam and Fraser Commonwealth governments about the structure and details of the Northern Territory (Land Rights) Act during 1975 and 1976.
In May 1976, Mr Rubuntja led a major land rights demonstration through the streets of Alice Springs, later appearing on national television programs Four Corners and Monday Conference. This campaign culminated in a meeting of seminal importance in Australian history. Mr Rubuntja met with then Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, in Canberra. During this meeting, Prime Minister Fraser promised to support retention of the fundamental principles recommended by Justice Woodward’s Land Rights Royal Commission report, and to keep intact most of the draft land rights legislation developed by the Whitlam government.
Mr Rubuntja went on to lead negotiations with the Everingham and Tuxworth governments about implementation of the Northern Territory (Land Rights) Act after self-government, and design of the Northern Territory’s complementary legislation covering sacred sites protection, Aboriginal living areas on pastoral leases, Northern Territory government access to Aboriginal land, mining and other matters.
In the mid-1970s Mr Rubuntja also fought hard for the rights of his fellow campers in Alice Springs who had been relegated to the fringes of the town, and was one of those instrumental in establishing the Tangentyere Council. Speaking about Mr Rubuntja at the State Funeral, Justice Geoff Eames said, and I quote:
Justice Eames went on to say:
Throughout his life, Mr Rubuntja stood skilfully in both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal worlds. He set an example of leadership that has been an inspiration to the next generation of Aboriginal leaders and, hopefully, non-indigenous Australians will rise to his challenge to live our lives as though we all have a responsibility to each other’s wellbeing.
In 2002, Jenny Green and Mr Rubuntja wrote his story in a wonderful book entitled The Town Grew Up Dancing. I was invited to the book launch and joined in the celebration. It was a celebration with people like the Director of the Central Land Council, David Ross, and Channel 9’s Ray Martin who had a long friendship with Mr Rubuntja.
We will always remember this great man as a true indigenous statesman, a great Territorian and an Australian hero. As another former CLC Director and Reconciliation Council Chairman Pat Dodson put it so memorably at his State Funeral:
Madam Speaker, this House sends its sincere condolences to his wife, Cynthia, and his surviving children, Mervyn, Marlene and Sally, his 15 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and all those who remember him with such respect and fondness.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable Members, I draw your attention to the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of Ms Nerys Evans, accompanied by Ms Teresa Robson, Official Secretary to His Honour the Administrator. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend to you a warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I add my voice and the voice of the Country Liberal Party to express our sadness at the loss of this truly great Territorian.
Mr Rubuntja was born in the early 1920s in Central Australia at Mpweringke. He was born at a time when European settlement in the area was still in its infancy. He spent his formative years in the Alice Springs area, knocking about as a kid with his family, but also travelling around Central Australia for traditional reasons as well as hunting trips. His family name and songs emanated from his grandfather’s country at Urepentye.
In his early years, he became a firm friend of Bernie Kilgariff after Bernie moved to Central Australia in 1929.
During those years leading up to the Second World War, Mr Rubuntja took advantage of the limited opportunities that were available around Alice Springs, and when the Army came to town, Mr Rubuntja got a job working for them. One of the duties I am sure he would have enjoyed was the job of hunting kangaroos with some of the soldiers to provide food for the Armed Services in Alice Springs.
Mr Rubuntja was a land rights champion. He was aware of the status of his form of ownership and that it was under threat from the systems of property law that are recognised by our system of law. He knew that his songs for his land gave good title in accordance with traditional philosophy, but the recognition of songs did not give title in western law.
He also understood that it would take western law, as the dominant culture, to secure the land rights he sought. He fought hard to gain the acceptance of traditional law in western law and, with the passage of the Northern Territory (Land Rights) Act through the Commonwealth parliament, his fears were allayed.
Indeed, as the founding Chairman of the Central Land Council, he stamped his authority as the leading Aboriginal light in land rights battles for Central Australian people. He also knew that the European presence was not going anywhere, but he never indicated that non-Aboriginal people were not welcome. Indeed, he was at pains to make sure that bridges needed to be built between the two cultures.
Forever the diplomat and bridge builder, he wanted to show the rest of the people who shared his land that they were there not under sufferance, but as a people who had a right to be there as well. It is worth quoting him from 1987 when he was talking about the whitefellas around him:
I like that last line in particular, because Mr Rubuntja invited us all to dance the dance of ‘our common wealth’ as he would express it.
Although he was a man who must have seen exclusion in his life, he never became exclusive.
Mr Rubuntja was an artist of renown. He was familiar with both the Batterbee style of water colour, which he learned from his father’s cousin, Albert Namatjira, as well as the dot style that the Papunya Tula movement has made so famous around the world. Indeed, some of the major works around Alice Springs come from the hand of Mr Rubuntja.
He was commissioned for a painting that held a mirror up to the relationship between ancient Arrernte culture and the new Christian faith. The product of his work is now in the vestibule of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Alice Springs. I wonder how many people who see the stained glass window at the entrance of the Araluen Arts Centre know that that work comes from the heart and mind of Mr Rubuntja.
His paintings have been presented to prime ministers of both flavours, as well as Governors-General and, through that time, he has remained true to the core messages by which he lived his life: peaceful coexistence with a shared future for us all.
Mr Rubuntja was a great family man, and there are not many people who boast great grandfathership. He can claim it 10 times over. The sad thing is that when an old man dies in a place like Central Australia, it is felt across the community, as so many people know the deceased and so many people are related to him.
Mr Rubuntja was the linchpin in his family and, as the sun is at the centre of our solar system, this old man was at the centre of his family. With his loss, the family has to regather itself and make his memory the foundation of their relationship with him; not an easy task, and I feel for them and pray for them at this time of sadness. I also pass on to them my heartfelt sadness and I hope that they gather themselves together to remember him for the great man and great Territorian that he was.
Madam Speaker, I think about people and the impressions they leave on me and others. Occasionally, a word will spring to mind that will give us all a sense of who they were and what they stood for. In Mr Rubuntja’s case, the word comes easily to mind as I commend him to the history of the Northern Territory and the history of the Arrernte people. That word is ‘dignity’.
Ms ANDERSON (Macdonnell): Madam Speaker, today I pay tribute to the life of my pala pala, grandfather, Mr W Rubuntja Pengarte AM.
From the tjukurrpa, my pala pala and I share the fire and rain dreaming. Fire is closely connected with rain and water in a cycle whereby one renews the other. When we consider the extraordinary life and achievements of my pala pala, it is clear he lived by the tjukurrpa as he brought renewal and hope to indigenous people.
It is hard for current generations to comprehend what life was like during the welfare days, and I believe that it took real courage to stand up for our law, our land, our lives. He was one of the early activists for land rights, raising money at Amoonguna to support our other great land rights hero, Mr Vincent Lingiari and the Gurindji in the Wave Hill walk-off in the 1970s.
He led the campaign for land rights that got 1000 people through the streets of Alice Springs, and he showed Prime Minister Fraser our law and won his support for land rights.
In 1975, he undertook the awesome task of establishing secure living areas for Alice Springs town campers. He used his deep understanding of traditional relationships between groups to develop a framework that received official recognition through land grants and housing development that has now stood the test of 30 years. In 1977, through Mr Rubuntja’s tireless efforts, the representative and resource organisation Tangentyere Council was established.
Mr Rubuntja Pengarte also had a great generosity of spirit, a philosophy of reconciliation that reached out to all people and encouraged them to live up to their responsibility to our country.
[Arrernte spoken; translation below:]
For the younger generation of Aboriginal people like myself, he gave us the invaluable gift of pride. Through his actions he helped us to be proud of our law and our culture. As I said at the beginning of this speech, he was fire. He swept through the country removing the old, the inequities of the assimilation policy. He was rain. He brought new growth, revitalised and replenished the country, the principles of land rights, self-determination and reconciliation. Today, I recommit myself to these principles in honour of his memory. Rest in peace, Boss.
Mr McADAM (Local Government): Madam Speaker, the State Funeral in Alice Springs for Mr Rubuntja was an historic event for the Northern Territory, not just because it was the first time an Aboriginal Territorian had been so honoured for his life and work in the Territory; it was historic in the way it brought so many people together from all parts of Australia and from all walks of life, both indigenous and non-indigenous.
What was so striking about the day was the way so many links to the past came together in the stories that were told about this great man’s life.
It reminded me of the times when I would take him on drives around the Alice Springs town camps in the days when I worked for Tangentyere Council. As ever, Mr Rubuntja was intensely interested in the lives and problems of the many individuals and families he knew and worked with over generations. At the time, he was intensely interested in developing the Four Corners Council, a group of elders from Central Australia dedicated to building community harmony throughout the region. He saw Four Corners not as a power base or a political grouping, but as a legitimate vehicle for the role of traditional authority to build better social relationships between indigenous people, as well as between indigenous and non-indigenous people in that area.
It was an ambition to which he was eminently suited as an extraordinary negotiator and peacemaker between the different and often opposing factions. He achieved this not by finding winners or losers, but by giving satisfaction to all parties, by allowing people to save face and avoid being shamed, and by reaching solutions that contributed to mutual benefit. This capacity was so inspiring to me and many others whose lives he touched in Alice Springs and beyond.
The State Funeral, as I said, was an historic event, and it said a lot about the way in which the Territory has matured in recent times. This was well reflected in the organisation of the funeral itself. It is difficult to imagine a more complex cross-cultural event such as this, combining the emotions and wishes of Mr Rubuntja’s extended family with the formal protocols required of such a ceremony, and doing it with dignity and respect.
I believe a public event such as this could only have been possible in the Northern Territory. For this, of course, we must thank the family for agreeing to allow the Northern Territory to celebrate Mr Rubuntja’s life in such a way. It cannot be easy to host 1200 people at a time of such sadness, but it was the type of sharing that reflected the man himself.
We must also thank the many individuals and organisations that contributed: the Night Patrol and the staff of Tangentyere Council, Congress, Yipirinya School, Parks and Wildlife, Central Land Council and a host of many others. We are grateful, too, to the staff from Protocol who carried out so much of the organisation of the event as well as members of the Northern Territory Police Service who played such an important role.
In the book he wrote with Jenny Green, The Town Grew Up Dancing, Mr Rubuntja tells us that the site of his State Funeral, the convention centre and the casino, was once saltbush and sand and sites where, in olden times, ceremony was danced. Whilst there is an irony there, of course, it is also fitting that Mr Rubuntja also reminds us, even with the siting of his funeral, of the ancient landscape that lies beneath the roads, concrete and bitumen and the buildings that now cover parts of the Territory’s traditional lands and the landscape that is still alive with the stories and ceremonies of our old people. It is this reminder that the people of the Territory honoured in Alice Springs at the funeral and that is why it is so important we remember the life and inspiration of such a man as Mr Rubuntja.
Farewell, Old Man. Whilst we will not see the likes of you again, your legacy to all Territorians will not ever be forgotten.
Dr TOYNE (Central Australia): Madam Speaker, the State Funeral for Mr W Rubuntja Pengarte AM was truly a remarkable occasion in the history of Alice Springs, drawing together, as it did, between 1000 and 2000 people at our premier facility, the Alice Springs Convention Centre. We saw, through the speeches that were given during the service, so much of the history of our town laid out in front of us because it was all embodied in the life of this remarkable man.
Some of the key social initiatives over the last 50 years came from his imagination, his commitment and his talent for mobilising and inspiring people around him. We celebrated his life in the languages of Pastor Eli Rubuntja and Father Brian Healy. We were really celebrating not only the life of Mr Rubuntja, but also the richness of our community in Central Australia and in Alice Springs.
It is a truly remarkable point to reach in the maturity of our community when we can acknowledge the past with all of its inevitable mistakes or unformed understandings of relationships we need to make in any community. We can acknowledge the enormous courage and effort that it took Mr Rubuntja and all the people he inspired around him to remake that social order. Most importantly, we can acknowledge the future that he secured through his work for the people of Central Australia.
As the member for Macdonnell said, we must build on that. If I go to the essence of what Mr Rubuntja meant to me, it was way he handled, at the personal level, his working relationships with people he needed to draw around him and to influence to work on the issues he cared so much about, often by humour, by a very respectful underpinning, but by a really quirky way of operating sometimes. One of those was a case in point at the ceremony: for many years, we have seen initiated Aboriginal men referred to as boys, and in the wrong hands, that can cause a lot of ill feeling. However, Mr Rubuntja turned that right around to referring to all of us as good boys and good girls. I was very proud to be one of his good boys on some of his expeditions around Alice Springs. It made his point in a humorous way and got us thinking about those very small but very symbolic signals in the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous people in Central Australia.
We are growing up – painfully at time, but we are growing up. That ceremony, to me, said that we have reached another very important level in Central Australia.
Motion agreed to.
Members rose and observed one minute’s silence.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arts and Museums): Madam Speaker, I am delighted to be delivering my first ministerial report relating to my new portfolio of Arts and Museums. Today, I want to talk about our unique and vibrant cultural identity and the festivals that celebrate this.
The Northern Territory festival season has something for everyone: sporting events, lifestyle displays and, of course, arts and cultural show casing. Annual arts and cultural events held in the Top End at this time of the year include Wordstorm, the Northern Territory Writers Festival, the Darwin Fringe Festival, Darwin Festival, Garma Festival, Flying Fox Festival, Mahbilil Fesitval at Jabiru, and, of course, the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award.
In the Centre, we have had the fantastic Beanie Festival, a very colourful and original event, the Alice Desert Festival and the Desert Harmony Festival.
The Top End festival season commenced in June with the highly successful Wordstorm, a writer’s festival. Interstate guests this year included Frank Moorhouse, Nick Earls and John Marsden. The finale of Wordstorm was a night under the stars with some of the best song writers in the north, including Djolpa from Wildwater, Shellie Morris and John Coulehan.
The sixth Darwin International Guitar Festival held in early July brought together string musicians from all over the world, including the scintillating Saffire, Julian Byzantine and Paul Galbraith. The finale of the guitar festival was a joint concert with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra complete with duelling strings and fireworks.
The Darwin Fringe Festival, which began 18 years ago as a Fringe Club cabaret night, ran for 24 days and nights, presenting over 100 different events and performances in 12 venues. Highlights included Window of Opportunity, Blind Date, Fist Full of Films, and Multijam.
Early August saw approximately 2000 Territory, national and international visitors and indigenous people attend the Garma 2005 Festival at Gulkula in Arnhem Land. The Garma Festival is regarded as one of Australia’s most significant indigenous festivals, bringing together non-indigenous and indigenous Australians to share knowledge and culture with a strong reconciliation element.
We are currently enjoying 18 days of the Darwin Festival, which is lighting up the city. I am sure members have noticed the wonderful Star Shell venue in the George Brown Botanic Gardens. This year’s festival offers a feast of over 190 performances, interactive workshops and visual art events that incorporate the diverse culture of the Top End.
The festival is a celebration of Darwin and its unique lifestyle, with many open air events that focus on the unique traditions and cultures of the region. The Darwin Festival has something for everyone, from the Australian Central Teddy Bears Picnic, Kultura and Pesona Indonesia and the Santos concert on the Esplanade to traditional indigenous dance, contemporary dance from the Australian Dance Theatre’s Bird Brain and performances by Christine Anu, Neil Murray and George Rrurrambu at the Star Shell.
I particularly enjoyed Gary Lang’s Entrapment. Gary, who I am sure many know, is a Larrakia man who trained at the National Aboriginal and Islander Dance School and has toured the world with some of Australia’s premier dance companies. Entrapment was an extraordinary and enthralling experience, and Gary is certainly an outstanding performer. Other highlights created by our talented local artists include new productions from Tracks Dance Company and the Darwin Theatre Company.
Tracks Dance, in collaboration with new media artist, Elka Kerkhofs, will saturate the senses with Angels of Gravity performed by Trevor Patrick, Sarah Calver and Michelle Dott and featuring the Lajamanu women’s ceremonial dancers, the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service and the fantastic and energetic Grey Panthers. This performance will be held in the surrounds of the Darwin Entertainment Centre and in the Playhouse Theatre. Darwin Theatre Company’s production of Brecht’s famous Threepenny Opera will take place under the stars in the Museum Amphitheatre, making the most of our diverse facilities.
The Darwin Festival finale, Moving Images - Symphony in the Garden, will again feature Simone De Haan and indigenous musicians from Arnhem Land in a showcase of contemporary orchestral music. This is a fusion of traditional and contemporary indigenous western music, unique to the Territory.
The growth of the Territory’s festivals will build regional capacity through increased employment and economic growth for artists and associated industries and suppliers. It will also improve access to quality art products for all Territorians, as well as supporting niche tourism product, development and marketing. The Northern Territory government has provided $400 000 in additional funding to support our fantastic festivals.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, I acknowledge that the Festival of Darwin is on, and I have been to a couple of the events. However, I also acknowledge that I am the only opposition member north of Katherine, so the opposition is unable to attend all the wonderful offerings of the Festival of Darwin.
Nonetheless, the opposition clearly recognises the value of cultural events such as those described by the minister: the opportunity to engage our ethnic communities in a very proactive way; career paths into the mainstream community are offered through access to arts and music in particular.
I take this opportunity to recognise the Indigenous Music Awards. I had the opportunity last night to attend the reception at Government House. It is tremendous to see the confidence that those who have success in the realm of music carry with them, which then encourages others. The role that music plays in our remote communities should never be underestimated. There are limited opportunities for success, and it is through arts and cultural events that we have a tremendous window to provide encouragement and hope. This is a very important area.
I also acknowledge Pesona Indonesia, which I saw on Saturday night. It is great to see how we can widen the debate on Asian relations and trade through cultural events. That serves to empower and strengthen our acknowledgment of our close links to our near neighbour, Indonesia. I congratulate the organisers of that fine event on Saturday night.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I congratulate the minister on her report on the Territory’s festivals.
I, too, am one of those who would love to go to a lot more of the concerts that are on, but time just does not allow us. There is so much on, it is just incredible when you look at the calendar for the time the Darwin Festival operates, and if you add in the Fringe Festival, which occurs before that, Darwin people are very lucky because we get some top class local acts and we get some top class interstate acts coming to the Northern Territory. In years gone by, we would never have had that opportunity.
I would like to mention a couple of things, some of which I have been involved in myself. Yes, I have had to perform, if you can call it that, in the Fringe’s debate on the topic Is Aussie Language Sexy? It was a very interesting debate. It was something I probably would not take my mother to, but it was an eye opener. The good thing about it is that intellect won, and that was our side; we worked out that Aussie language is not sexy, and I would like to thank Rick Hinde for helping us out with the debate.
I also went to A Fist Full of Films, which was a great night. There were a number of short films, all local. I recognised quite a number of people in those films. I even recognised the Howard Springs Pizza Kitchen, even though the outside was used and the inside was not. It was about someone being ‘decaffitated’ by a coffee machine. There were some very unusual films in A Fist Full of Films, and they were all professionally done. They were most enjoyable and it is just great to see so much talent.
The DSO is performing on Saturday night and I am heading off to that. The other thing I enjoyed on the weekend was Poetry for Seniors at Taminmin High School. I thought it was a terrific day, and the quality of the poetry from our seniors was fantastic. It is going to be made into an anthology. They did one last year; this year will be even better. It gave me an opportunity to recite the greatest poem of all, one that the Minister for Parks and Wildlife would enjoy: Gamba Samba.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson, your time has expired.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arts and Museums): Madam Speaker, I thank both members for their contributions. There are so many events happening. Like members on the other side, we cannot get to everything because the program is jam-packed, but what I have seen, I have thoroughly enjoyed.
Just quickly, the Alice Desert Festival - for people who think that we always forget Alice Springs – will run from 2 to 11 September and promises to be more original and culturally exciting than ever before.
Alice Springs has a lot to look forward to, beginning with the famous street parade, which will feature giant puppets fashioned by Circus Solaris from Sydney. There are a number of things going on. Whilst people think it is just in the Top End, there are a number of festivals going on and the Centre will have its fair share of arts, events and culture.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery visitors who are part of the Parliament House public tour program. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to you.
Members: Hear, hear!
Dr TOYNE (Health): Madam Speaker, in April this year, my colleague, Marion Scrymgour, the then Minister for Family and Community Services, and I launched Aboriginal Health and Families: a Five-year Framework for Action.
This framework is an innovative and far-reaching reform agenda. The government believes that, over its life, it will deliver a significant contribution to the health and family well being of Aboriginal Territorians. The potential of the framework rests in its commitment to build better services and a better health system.
A central element is the move to a life course approach in planning and delivering health services for Aboriginal people. We know that ill health and disadvantage is cumulative. Health problems in early life flow on and add to the health risks in adolescence, middle age and later life.
Our framework prioritises four key life strategies: the early years, adolescence and transition from school, family years, and granny years. The evidence tells us that, if we attend well to the health and well being needs of individuals and families in these important life stages, we will give Aboriginal people the best chance at a healthy and long life.
Over the five-year life of the framework, we will build the capacity of every NT government clinic to deliver a set of core primary health care services. These core services include prevention, treatment and referral services, and will ensure that the health needs are addressed early before they can accumulate. Another feature of the core services is that health clinics will increasingly be able to contribute to the community service needs of Aboriginal communities.
Over the years, Aboriginal communities and organisations, the NT Health Department, and many professional groups have tried to find ways of delivering health and community services in a way that reflects Aboriginal culture. This is because we all know that culture impacts on people’s patterns of seeking treatment and services, their perceptions of the quality of that care, the likelihood of success, and the community’s perception of our staff and facilities. The framework takes a new approach to this issue and establishes new ways of building a cultural security of services.
Importantly, too, in all these areas the government is not acting alone. The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the NT, which represents the large Aboriginal community-controlled health sector, is taking this journey with us, sharing in the work to build the common core services and common performance indicators.
Assembling a shared services platform and a shared performance measurement will promote better accountability and improved outcomes. The Australian government, too, has joined us on a number of efforts I report on today.
In keeping with the themes of partnership and accountability, the framework also creates pathways to community control. The engagement of communities and efforts to foster better health and family wellbeing is crucial. This government has signalled that we will work with Aboriginal communities to find the right model of community engagement that suits their circumstance. This sort of innovative partnership recognises that in order to get the best results, we need to make sure that government services respond to Aboriginal health and community service needs efficiently and effectively.
Accordingly, we have established an Office of Aboriginal Health, Family and Social Policy to focus the innovation and energy of the department on Aboriginal health. Part of this is the expectation that all areas of our health system will contribute to Aboriginal health improvement as a responsibility shared.
To support this, the government has established an Aboriginal employment target for the department. By the end of the five year period at least 15% of the department’s work force will be Aboriginal. This will mean that by 2010, we expect 600 Aboriginal people to be working in the agency and we intend that Aboriginal people are properly represented across a broad cross-section of occupations and levels, and not concentrated, as they generally are now, in the lower classifications or as Aboriginal health workers. The framework also bolsters the department’s performance as a learning organisation. It creates opportunities for service providers, planners and managers to engage with each other and to borrow and learn from successes and disappointments across the health system.
Madam Speaker, this framework represents a departure from previous efforts to improve Aboriginal health. It deliberately takes a services-and-systems approach, and both need to work well if we are to see the gains that I am sure all of us in this place desire. This government is committed to ensuring that the health system and the services it provides work well for Territorians, all Territorians.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I commend the government for introducing such an innovative five-year plan to assist in Aboriginal health.
Having grown up in a third world country, I understand and appreciate the value of educating and training people living in remote areas, the value of caring for themselves. Thus, I strongly support the increase in the numbers of Aboriginal health workers.
However, this being such a significant document and initiative, whilst I try to be as positive as I can, this minister has failed Territorians by not bringing this on as a statement. It is important to talk through this and demonstrate clearly the government’s intentions. Standing for five minutes, trying to tell Territorians what the government is going to do, is unfair. The opposition has very little time to respond to this. We have not had time to look at this properly.
While I want to support the initiatives for indigenous Territorians, this is too important for a minister to get up for five minutes, rabbit on about what he thinks is the right thing to say, and then expect the opposition to respond. We cannot respond in the time that we have.
Minister, there are many issues in the bush, as you know, in living standards, nutrition, child care, hygiene, housing, water supply and the continuing care by health professionals. The way that they are going to be working and inadequate safety are very significant issues that we need to debate, and to understand from your government’s perspective what you are going to do about that.
You need to give this due time and the fact that you got up here and allocated five minutes to this shows me that you are really not serious. That is the problem. If you are, bring on a statement.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Madam Speaker, I welcome the minister’s initiative.
True, we have short notice to respond when we have just had it placed on the table, but the health resources out there in our hospitals and our communities are overstretched at the moment with the effects of some of the health problems that we all know Aboriginal communities experience. Of course, this has an enormous effect upon families and communities. It is a critical time for us to start taking positive steps.
I am pleased that the minister is saying that it is going to involve communities and all parties so that it is not going to be run in isolation through the department. It is important that we have communities on side and that they cooperate with it.
Mainstream life often takes things for granted - such as inoculation of our children, looking after our diet, doing exercise - and we do not have those messages getting through to Aboriginal people; they need to take on some of these measures to make sure they have a healthy lifestyle.
Certainly, early intervention is critical in making sure that we get better health outcomes for those communities, which are really looking for answers. I ask how the minister is going to get the message about this initiative across. Will you need some more resources to ensure that it is to be implemented in a way that will not stretch our overstretched resources? Will you involve many of the Aboriginal organisations that provide heath services within the Territory? It is a good initiative. We have to make sure it works, and that’s the most important thing. Let us make this a successful program.
Dr TOYNE (Health): Madam Speaker, I welcome contributions from members. We have five years, during which I am sure we will be debating lots of elements of this. I will certainly facilitate more detailed debate, as the member for Greatorex indicated is needed. I agree with him, but the purpose of today was to put this on the agenda of this parliament. I will welcome contributions throughout the coming years.
I invite both opposition and Independent members to join us in promoting this debate in the community. We hear all about acute care in hospitals all the time. You do not hear the same strength of debate about primary health care and preventative issues within our health system. We need to be talking a lot more about these issues because one is linked to the other; if we don’t deal with prevention, we are going to find more and more problems with acute care.
Mr McADAM (Housing): Madam Speaker, on 4 August, I attended a joint meeting of Housing, Local Government and Planning Ministers from across Australia, together with my colleague, the Minister for Planning and Lands.
This meeting represented a ground-breaking opportunity to bring together the key political players necessary for thinking about the future of affordable housing because, as you would know, being able to provide housing for low income earners is not a simple matter of constructing more houses.
Affordable housing relies on careful land, planning, development and release strategies, beneficial financial and taxation systems and a range of sound service delivery structures. We agreed, together with other ministers, to a framework for national action on affordable housing. This framework commits all ministers from across Australia to take decisive action over the next three years to address the shortfall of affordable housing.
First, we need to understand what ‘affordable’ means. As described in Home Territory 2010, the NT government’s key statement on affordable housing provisions:
According to this definition, the Northern Territory is still the most attractive place to live. We have the most affordable housing anywhere in Australia. For example, the Real Estate Institute reported the Northern Territory as being the most affordable place to purchase property in the March 2005 quarter.
Of course, the picture in relation to affordable housing is different in the Northern Territory from the larger southern states. We still have a challenge when it comes to providing enough low-cost housing to meet the needs of low income earners and other disadvantaged groups. That said, we recognise that there are places where land has increased in price for different reasons, making it difficult for low income earners and first home owners to get into the market.
We also recognise that there are disadvantaged groups like indigenous people who find it difficult to access stable housing options, and have extremely low levels of home ownership. For these reasons, it is critical that the Northern Territory participate in and continue representing the Territory’s views through our involvement in the National Affordable Housing Framework.
We have a solid path mapped out for us through the framework itself, and through Home Territory 2010. Indeed, under Home Territory 2010, we have made important headway in terms of expanding the range of affordable housing options. The revamped HomeNorth scheme has been a runaway success, more than doubling the number of low to moderate income earners purchasing their own homes through Territory Housing in the previous financial year.
Home ownership is a goal we know contributes to better health, education and employment outcomes, and it is a critical plank of the Labor government’s approach to providing low cost housing options. The Labor government has also provided 780 places for public housing residents over the last year, a direct and immediate response to our most disadvantaged residents. We also spent $8.8m on tailored upgrades as a means of upgrading public housing and encouraging sustained tenancies.
We worked across government to target land release for first home owners and low income earners. These measures have been critical in places like Alice Springs, where the median house price has put the average house out of reach of many low income earners.
We have worked together with the community to increase the number of houses head-leased to non-government organisations so as to provide a targeted response for Territorians with special needs. This has increased from 293 to 303 over the last financial year.
All of these initiatives are indicative of the path that we have taken and will continue on. I intend to continue using the Housing Minister’s Round Table to talk to key regional stakeholders across the building, development and community sectors. These consultations provide the ground for partnership between government and community that can deliver affordable housing in key areas. This forum is an excellent ground-up opportunity and provides an opportunity to hear what is going on out there from our local people.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I am pleased the minister attended the national Ministerial Council on Housing.
Obviously, we have a major issue in the Northern Territory in terms of housing, not only in the urban areas where we still have a large element of lawlessness, when you get neighbours from hell, but generally, in the bush, there is inadequate housing.
I look forward to the day when the minister can come and tell us about the amalgamation of the NAHS program with IHANT so there is some sort of rationalisation of the construction of new homes out in the bush. Obviously, that is an element of affordable housing. I have been told that to build a house in the bush now costs in the order of $300 000 to $350 000 per home, and that is an exorbitant price to pay for a three-bedroom home out in our communities. Somehow, that has to be brought under control; otherwise we are going to spend so much money to build a house when, in an urban area, it is only a fraction of what that costs.
HomeNorth was a very good program, which has been going for what six or seven years now, and continues to be improved. I congratulate the government for doing that. However, with Territory Housing rental properties, I am concerned that the waiting times have continued to increase. People who need public housing - and there are many people in the Northern Territory who do need assistance from government to have public housing - are waiting longer and longer. The wait for a three-bedroom home is well over two years in the Northern Territory. While it might be the best in the country, it is still way too long, and that is the problem; it is way too long to wait for a home.
When you come to the Northern Territory, you have no family support and you are on your own, you do need to have housing available in a shorter time than more than two years.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Madam Speaker, I welcome the report by the minister.
We are all well aware of the inadequate housing, and the lack of housing we have in communities and town camps, and for people waiting for public housing generally. Housing is not affordable for many first home buyers.
An example of how inflated prices are is a subdivision at Larapinta that was up for auction recently and was passed in. In that proposal, government had offered to buy back 12 blocks of land at $97 000 a block, and I believe that is completely out of the reach of first home buyers. If we are looking at affordable housing, we have to look at more than just in the public arena; we need to look at it across the board.
The program of initiating senior complexes is great, and it is important. We also need complexes to cater for our renal patients when they come into town so they can cluster together and have supervision that prevents humbugging by visitors.
NAHS and IHANT offer good programs and are successful in what they do. However, again, they are not reaching the required numbers in communities. We also need to look at the style of houses that are being built sometimes under NAHS and IHANT to ensure there is consultation with the people concerned so that they are getting a house that suits their needs rather than a replica of something from town.
Minister, more houses are needed. Whatever you can do to increase the federal government funds, good luck to you; I hope you achieve it. I am not quite sure when we will be able to achieve a reduction in waiting times, but a lot of people would welcome it.
Mr McADAM (Housing): Madam Speaker, I thank both members opposite for their responses. I readily acknowledge that, without a doubt, housing not only in the bush but across the Northern Territory is, indeed, one of our biggest challenges.
In respect of the bush, the member for Greatorex spoke about the IHANT/NAHS programs. Hopefully, in the next few months or so, we might be in a position to have a look at options that will perhaps bring those models together so it can be a lot more effective and a lot more relevant to the bush.
The other issue, of course, is that affordable housing is always a very fluid situation. It is not something that you sit back and put a model in place that will achieve a given outcome. I am very conscious that we need to be able to be flexible, innovative and, where necessary, creative to ensure that affordability of housing becomes a reality for people throughout the Northern Territory.
I thank both members, and I look forward to working with them to achieve these outcomes.
Reports noted pursuant to Sessional Order.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move the following motions together for the appointment of the membership, terms of reference and a matter for inquiry and report to the Sessional Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development:
That, during the present Session of the Assembly:-
Motion agreed to.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I present the first report of the Standing Orders Committee for the Tenth Assembly.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the report be printed.
Motion agreed to.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the report be adopted.
This is probably not the most voluminous report that is ever going to hit the table of this Assembly. The committee has considered, at its last meeting, two references that came before it. One was from the Independent members of the Assembly who wrote to me, as Leader of Government Business, on 30 June, requesting amendments to the Sessional Order for Ministerial Reports.
As honourable members would be aware, when the government first came to office four years ago, we introduced ministerial reports at the beginning of the parliamentary day to enable ministers to briefly advise parliament on issues that were current, and for the attention of the public via this parliament.
We had two Independents in the last parliament who were re-elected – the member for Braitling, who was Speaker of the House, and the member for Nelson who was Deputy Speaker. The standing order which gave birth to ministerial reports only allowed for the opposition member to speak for two minutes in reply.
The Independents wrote to me requesting an amendment to standing orders to recognise an Independent to speak on any ministerial report. That it is totally appropriate. The committee has considered that. This is a House of debate and, thanks to you, Madam Speaker, by leave, since we have come back after the election, Independents have been responding to ministerial reports. It is totally appropriate. Independents have an important role in this parliament. They have a mandate in their own right from their electorates to be here and I believe the broader community of the Northern Territory would certainly see it is appropriate that the Independents should be able to contribute to debates.
It was essentially a no-brainer for the committee to recognise the Independents in terms of an amendment to the standing order which will allow a member of the opposition and one Independent member to each comment for no more than two minutes on a ministerial report.
The second issue that was referenced to the committee was a letter from the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, the member for Sanderson, on 16 August asking the Standing Orders Committee for consideration of the appropriate number of members to constitute a quorum for parliamentary committees.
This issue goes back to the previous Assembly in which the government expanded the number of members constituting committee membership. During the Ninth and Tenth Assemblies, committees membership has increased from five to six to acknowledge the presence of Independents in the Chamber.
There was a bit of confusion about what should constitute a quorum, particularly given there are only two Independents and we have six or seven parliamentary committees. The issue was that an Independent may choose not to sit on the committee, so what would constitute a quorum? On advice from our good colleague and friend, the Clerk, who had a look around at what was in the standing orders of other Australian parliaments, the Senate provided an easy definition. The Senate Standing Orders provide that a quorum should be the majority of members actually appointed by the Assembly to that committee. That is a commonsense provision, one that the committee is recommending to the parliament. The reference here is to amend our standing orders to reflect the Senate provision that a quorum shall be a majority of members.
As I said, it is not going to be the most weighty or important issue that will be debated during this Assembly, but it acknowledges the role of Independents. They have a legitimate right in this parliament to speak, and a commonsense amendment to define a quorum in committees.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I want to raise a couple of issues about the two recommendations made by the Standing Orders Committee.
I did not submit a dissenting report; let us put it that way. In respect of a quorum, I agree with the recommendation. In fact, I raised the issue in the Public Accounts Committee, which triggered the letter to the Standing Orders Committee. To have fewer than a majority constituting a quorum is not true to the spirit of having a committee deliberating on significant issues. It should always be a majority of the full composition of the committee. The words recommended by the Clerk, as outlined by the Chairman of the Standing Orders Committee suit very well.
My investigations about the privilege of ministerial reports reveal that they are something that are not traditionally a practice of the Westminster system. They have never been adopted by any parliament other than a version of them in the Queensland parliament. In any Westminster system, there is usually an indication of the topic of the debate, which allows members who are not versed on the topic to prepare: to research, read up on the topic or the issue and prepare notes.
Ministerial reports as used in this place come from nowhere. They come from left field. They are something a minister will throw into this Chamber with the expectation that any other member wishing to speak to it then has to quickly gather information, if possible, or try to do something on the run. That is inappropriate and, in terms of democratic debate, it is unfair.
The other matter is the inequality of time allowance. The minister has a five-minute period in which to read a mini-statement, the opposition has two minutes and Independents have the right to comment as well.
Whilst I do not want to make an issue of whether the Independents have the right or not, if we are going to have ministerial reports, the shadow minister should respond and that should be the end of that. If you allow any other member to respond to a ministerial report, then I, as a local member, may wish to express a point about the report. However, I, as a local member, do not have an opportunity to do so. Members of the opposition will not have an opportunity as a local member to respond to the issue. We respond as the shadow minister only whereas my colleagues, the Independents, have the right to respond in any way they want. They can respond in a global way or they can respond as local members.
Let us use this example: the undergrounding of power in the Northern Territory. The minister rises to present the report and, as shadow minister, I respond to it. If I were not the shadow minister for Essential Services, but one of my colleagues is, he or she responds and that is the end of it from the opposition’s point of view. The member for Nightcliff should have the right to respond because it is about undergrounding power in Nightcliff. The Independent members could respond about undergrounding power at Bees Creek, which has gone outside the confines of the global topic of undergrounding power in the Northern Territory.
I, as the member for Greatorex, having a keen interest in undergrounding power in my electorate on the East Side, will not have an opportunity to respond. That is the unfairness of it and, somehow, that needs to be explored a bit more. Do we have just the minister and shadow minister and that is the end of it, or is it opened up to everyone?
The global time of 30 minutes would definitely restrict response times, and I notice you have been a little flexible with the time limits. In terms of full debate of ministerial reports, it is not Westminster-compliant in the sense that no other parliament in the world, apart from Queensland and us, do this. We do not have any notification of the report topics. The minister has a written mini-statement to read and the opposition has a bare two minutes to respond to it. This is the whole unjustness of the whole system.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Japanese students from Yra Cho who are visiting Nightcliff High School, accompanied by Ms Jillian Sommerville. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to our visitors.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Madam Speaker, all I can say about the member of Greatorex’s response is: how petty of the opposition. Does the member for Greatorex not realise that we are all equal in this House? We have equal rights to speak on any topic. What the opposition member is trying to do is gag the Independents. It is as simple as that ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mrs BRAHAM: I would have thought the opposition would have needed all the help they can get in their role as opposition, so member for Greatorex, let us get it right. You do not have any special place in this world; you are just a member of this House, the same as I am.
Let me just say that I appreciate the recognition the Standing Orders Committee has given to the Independents in this motion allowing us to respond to ministerial reports. In the past week what has happened is that the Independents have been able to present an alternative view from the opposition so we are able to broaden the whole debate and response. We are not confined by a narrow party line. We can offer something a bit different. Why on earth the member for Greatorex thinks that he has a greater right than me, I will never know. I was elected by members of the community of the Northern Territory to represent their views.
Okay, so he might find it difficult to respond quickly to a ministerial report, but is not that what we are supposed to be doing in this House? Should not we be able to get up and debate an issue without prepared notes, without a prepared speech? That is what democracy is about, that is what parliament is about: our ability to be able to speak ...
A member interjecting.
Mrs BRAHAM: Do you mind? The ability to be able to put our point of view across, and in some places you are not even allowed to read a speech; you have to deliver it just of the top of your head. Okay, sometimes I respond, sometimes the member for Nelson responds, the opposition has the same sort of flexibility within their ranks to respond to a ministerial report.
After four years, we might say ministerial reports are convention in this House. I wonder, if the opposition ever gets back in government, whether they will throw it out or whether they like the idea of presenting something briefly, perhaps even try to catch members off guard by not notifying them of the debate. I would like to know what topics are going to be raised. Of course, I would like to know that ...
Ms Martin: We would like to know in Question Time.
Mrs BRAHAM: Well, that is true. I would like to be able to have the opportunity to respond to those ministerial reports to which I feel I have a contribution to make either as a local member or on a broader scale.
Let us say very clearly that this report does, in fact, recognise the Independents in this House, the contribution that Independents can make in this House, and the flexibility of the House to allow members to speak. Do not let us ever gag anyone in this place. Let us make sure we remember we are a parliament, we have the right to speak. I remind the member for Greatorex that if he was in our position, I am quite sure he would want to have the right to respond.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Madam Speaker, my goodness, the member for Braitling is full of importance this morning.
You were quite right, Leader of Government Business, when you said this is not a voluminous report. I went to a committee meeting, and the next day we have a report to talk about. You are right: it is not voluminous ...
Mr Henderson: It is a very efficient committee.
Mrs MILLER: Absolutely, yes. It is going to be very interesting if this is the start of it.
I have no problem with the recommendation in respect of the quorum. It is a sensible idea to have a quorum defined as the majority members of the committee. As you know, Madam Speaker, those of us on this side have a lot of committees to which we have commitments and we cannot be wasting time. Some people are not able to attend every meeting, so a majority of members defined to constitute a quorum is a very good idea.
I found ministerial reports quite intriguing when I came into parliament because it was as though the government were trying to sabotage the lot on the other side. That was my impression of ministerial reports. The recommendation of the committee is outside the Westminster system. There is no doubt about that; it does not happen anywhere else.
Something that I have definitely noticed is that the Northern Territory tends to be different in a lot of areas. I am not sure that being different in this area is the right way to go. I am not saying that Independents do not have an important role in this democratic process; they do. However, they are not considered to be in opposition and they are not shadow ministers. This needs a little more consideration.
On the whole, ministerial reports are difficult to respond to in two minutes. The length of five minutes without notice from government to opposition does not allow the process to be comprehensive with only two minutes allocated for responses. It is a little ploy to catch people on the hop.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, how could I resist? I will deal with the technical side first. I thank the Standing Orders Committee for allowing Independents to speak for two minutes. I note that if the government had four reports and the opposition and Independents replied, and the government responded to all those replies, that makes 40 minutes. Allowing for hiccups, ‘beg your pardons’ and interruptions, I am not sure why the government cannot make the maximum time allowed for reports match the maximum number of minutes that would be required for reports, which is 40 minutes, instead of 30 minutes. That would be a commonsense approach, instead of having to cut people off while they are giving a report.
In fact, I would like to see more reports. One of the reasons for that is because Question Time is being used too much to do exactly what the ministerial reports should be used for. I am happy that the government explains why they are doing this and that – that is fine; no problem. However, I do not think Question Time should necessarily be used for that sort of thing as well …
Ms Lawrie: The public listens to Question Time.
Mr WOOD: The public does listen, but they can also get Hansard. We speak outside of Question Time, but there are times when Question Time is certainly more suited to shorter answers and less about having reports given. That is my comment.
Thankfully, that is why I am an Independent. I make those comments and ask that the minister look at whether the time should be extended to match the number of reports that you are putting forward.
I note the Chief Minister’s comment about not knowing what questions are coming during Question Time. That was in response to us saying we do not know what reports are coming from the government. I am quite happy to say that on a very few occasions, the government would not know what question I ask because I regard Question Time as a time, in general, to ask questions of the government so that the public gets a full answer from the minister. That is not always the case. Sometimes, I believe there are political questions that have to be asked of government, and it is not my job to flag them in advance. However, Question Time is about letting people know what the government’s answer is to questions in which they are interested. It would be good, even if you could give us the title of what the report is about, so we have some idea what response one should prepare. If you want to talk about the digestive system of insects and give a wonderful five-minute dissertation on that, I am sure …
Mr Henderson: Not from me, Gerry.
Dr Toyne: How did you know I was doing that tomorrow?
Mr WOOD: Well, it was the first talk I gave at horticultural school, so it came to me quickly.
I am sure the shadow minister for primary industry would find it very helpful if you had a little forewarning that you were going to deal with such a subject so she could actually research it. There is merit in the criticism that it is difficult to give a good answer if you do not what the report is going to be about. I intend that as constructive criticism because it will help the process.
I would be happy to see more reports. I would not have a problem if reports ran for an hour. If that helps people know what government is doing and gives us a chance to know what you are doing and to comment, it is all for the better of parliament.
Whether Independents should have a say, I naturally agree that they should. One difficulty that parties have with Independents is that they are like a pain in the neck …
Mr Bonson: No, one party.
Mr WOOD: Well, maybe, maybe not; it depends on which side you are at the time, I imagine.
The reality is that Independents exist and, sometimes, it does not fit the nice model of one party versus another in parliament. We exist, I suppose technically, as cross-benchers so we are a group that is neither government nor opposition. It is for the better running of this parliament that it is reflected, and it is reflected in the committee’s recommendations. It is reflected that at least one Independent may respond, which could be neither the opposition’s or the government’s opinion. That makes for better debate on some of these issues.
When we are dealing with very complicated or serious matters, I have always said that there are other opinions besides the black and the white of the argument. There are in between. If this side believes that a Toyota is better than a Holden, and I believe a Ford is better, that is three different opinions and helps the process of good debate in parliament. I do not think everything is just Labor and CLP. There are other opinions out here and that is one of the roles of the Independents: to express those views.
Generally, on reports, we will look at it from a global perspective, but it is very hard, as the member for Greatorex said, we are talking about undergrounding power in Nightcliff, that by its very topic is not global. You can turn it into a global issue or you can turn it into a local issue. So I do not think Independents should be blamed for looking at it from a local perspective. We are big enough to look at the issues from a Territory perspective.
Independents are important. For all we know, there could be a lot more Independents in parliament and, hopefully, there will be one day. In places like Tasmania, Independents control the Upper House, and that is good …
Mrs Braham: Yes, great!
Dr Burns: Do you want an Upper House?
Mr WOOD: No, it is good because they scrutinise the legislation that the party has put through and it seems to work well. It is good that Independents have control.
Minister, thank you for the changes. Please look at the total time allowed so we do not have people being cut off in reports. Look at the possibility of having a longer time for reports. If you have issues that are of interest to this parliament, why should you necessarily cut it off with a time? Maybe set an hour as the maximum time you can have, but give yourself a bit more flexibility, especially if something is very topical and worthy of debate.
There are times when reports should be statements. I have heard ministers report on some very serious matters in five minutes when that those matters should be the subject of a statement and open to debate.
Finally, Independents do have a role in ministerial reports. It is a privilege and I do not think either of the two Independents would treat that privilege with any disrespect. We are grateful that the government has given us that opportunity. We will respect that and use it for the benefit of this parliament.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, there you go. Sometimes you bring items of business on and think you will be in and out in five minutes and there is extensive debate.
These are appropriate and commonsense changes. The member for Greatorex should be aware that there are procedures for a dissenting report. I will ask the Clerk to send the relevant procedures across to the Leader of the Opposition’s office. If you want to write a report dissenting from a committee report, there are procedures for doing that whereby it can be formally recognised that the committee was not unanimous in terms of the recommendations it is making to the parliament.
The member for Greatorex argued that Independents do not have sufficient status to comment on ministerial reports. As I have said, it is a commonsense provision. Try to win that argument in the court of public opinion. If the public was interested, try going outside and saying that, as a shadow minister, you have more status than an Independent and, therefore, the Independents should not be allowed to have their say. I know what the court of public opinion would say, and that is why it is a commonsense change to the standing orders.
There is an inconsistency of saying that ministerial reports are an abuse of parliament and do not exist anywhere else - except for Queensland. Either they do not exist anywhere else or they do. They exist in Queensland and have been there for quite some time. Again, for the benefit of the member for Greatorex, procedures of parliament evolve. They are not set in stone and Westminster parliaments across the world have varying differences in their standing orders, so parliamentary procedures and practice do evolve. They should evolve. They should not be set in concrete in some sort of time warp for reflection on distant days gone by when the natural order was in place and, somehow, it has changed and it is bad and we should go back to some sort of distant natural order. They do change and the make up of parliament changes.
The Tenth Assembly, the current one, is radically different from the Ninth, which was radically different from the Eighth Assembly. It is important that the Standing Orders Committee acknowledges the changes in the make up of parliament to amend its standing orders, to ensure that, as the member for Braitling so eloquently stated, members have opportunities to speak because that is what we are elected in part to do: debate issues of the day, legislation, budgets, whatever.
The member for Katherine talked about how difficult it is for shadow ministers to make full and comprehensive comments. With due respect to the member for Katherine, those comments miss the point of ministerial reports. They are not for full and comprehensive debate; they are an opportunity for a minister with carriage of portfolio responsibilities to briefly bring the attention of the House to issues that have a level of immediate public interest or would be of interest to the parliament.
Ministerial reports are not for full and comprehensive debate, and if it is difficult to get up in a couple of minutes and make some comments, I am not going to apologise for that. It is an opportunity for members of the opposition and the Independents to make a brief comment on a ministerial report. It is certainly not for full and comprehensive debate.
The member for Nelson said that in his opinion, some of these ministerial reports should be brought on as full and comprehensive statements. That is an opinion, and quite often ministerial reports, at some time in the future, become statements. We had a good example today when the Health minister reported on the new Framework for Aboriginal Health and Families, a critical issue for the Northern Territory. It was, quite appropriately, a ministerial report bringing this strategic framework to the attention of the Northern Territory community and, of course, we will have extensive debate on that over time.
The opposition and Independents have General Business Day if you believe a ministerial report warrants further extensive debate and it was of sufficient importance to the Independents or the opposition. You could put it on the Notice Paper for the next General Business Day, and we can have a full debate if that is what you want to do.
In terms of the total time, yes, the committee did look at that. I gave a commitment as Leader of Government Business to see how this goes. Again, it is up to this parliament at any time to put a reference before the Standing Orders Committee to consider the extension of time for ministerial reports. We will look at that.
To the opposition, these are not radical changes. They are commonsense provisions, acknowledging the right of everyone to speak. I am surprised that the opposition is saying they informally dissent from the report, rejecting the notion that the Independents have a right to speak on ministerial reports. That is their prerogative, but next time, they should do it by the proper process of a formal dissenting report.
Madam Speaker, I commend the motion to the House.
Motion agreed to; report adopted.
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 repeal a number of items of obsolete and redundant legislation that remain on the statute books. Redundant or spent legislation includes consequential amendment acts which make amendments to legislation that are consequential upon the passage of an act. By way of example, the Youth Justice (Consequential Amendments) Bill proposes amendments to the Sentencing Act, which will be consequential upon passage of the Youth Justice Bill.
Also included are statute law revision acts. Such acts usually serve the purpose of carrying out a house-keeping exercise to correct errors such as typing or grammatical errors, or references to acts that may have been repealed or changed name. Other types of legislation that routinely become spent are validation acts. These acts validate some action taken or decision made that may have been in doubt due to an administrative or other oversight.
Consequential amendment acts, statute law revision acts and validation acts generally become spent as soon as they commence. Under current drafting practice, an expiry clause is incorporated into these types of acts so that they automatically expire the day after they commence. However, this has not always been the practice in the past, and to remove these acts from the statute books, they must be formally repealed. The bill repeals over 100 such acts, the details of which are set out in Schedule 1 of the bill, and in the explanatory memorandum that accompanies the bill.
This bill also provides for the repeal of some old South Australian acts that still apply in the Northern Territory. Members will be aware that, until 1911, the Northern Territory was annexed to South Australia. However, from 1 January 1911, when the Commonwealth Northern Territory Acceptance Act 1910 commenced, the Commonwealth assumed responsibility for the Northern Territory. Section 7 of the Northern Territory Acceptance Act preserved all common and statute law then in place in the Northern Territory, which included all South Australian statutes. This meant that South Australian statutes continued in their application as laws of the Northern Territory, but could be altered or repealed by a law passed by the Commonwealth.
The majority of this legislation has, over the last 94 years, been repealed either by the Commonwealth in the years prior to self-government or, subsequently, by the Northern Territory government. However, there are still a number of these South Australian acts that remain on the statute books, which have long since become redundant. In fact, many of these acts have already been repealed in South Australia and, in some cases, Commonwealth legislation effectively covers the field.
Some acts are no longer relevant to society in the 21st century, however, for whatever reason, they have not been repealed in the Northern Territory despite the fact that they have long since ceased to have any practical effect.
The South Australian acts that will be repealed by this bill include the Trade Union Act 1876, and the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1878. Issues dealt with in these acts are now dealt with by the Commonwealth Workplace Relations Act 1996 and, accordingly, these acts are redundant. The Copyright Act 1878 is also repealed, having been superseded by the Commonwealth Copyright Act 1968.
Other redundant South Australian acts repealed by this bill are the Masters and Servants Act 1878; the Carriers Act 1891; the Homestead Act 1895; Courts of Marine Inquiry Amendment Act 1897; the Transcontinental Railway Act 1902; and the Northern Territory Mining and Smelting Company Limited’s Iron Blow to Mt Ellison Tramway Act, a private act of 1904.
Madam Speaker, I take the opportunity to bring to the attention of members those South Australian acts that will remain on the statute book as laws of the Northern Territory. These include: the Mercantile Law Amendment Act 1861; the Lien of Unpaid Vendors Act 1885; and the Lien for Freight Act 1885. The repeal of these acts could require the re-enactment of certain provisions, as occurred when South Australia repealed these acts in 1936.
The detailed examination of any ongoing effect of these acts and the development of any new legislation should the acts be repealed is outside the scope of this bill.
Also retained are: the Workmen’s Liens Act 1893, which is set to be repealed by section 66 of the Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004; the Trustee Act 1893, and the Trustee Act 1907, which, together, form the current Trustee Act as amended from time to time; and the Northern Territory Surrender Act 1907 which provided for the surrender of the Northern Territory to the Commonwealth by South Australia. This act has been retained for its historical significance in the development of the Territory.
Finally, for the sake of completeness, the Standard Time Act 1898 will be repealed by the Northern Territory Standard Time Act which was passed in March 2005 and which is scheduled to commence next week, on 1 September 2005.
Madam Speaker, that concludes my explanation of the bill. I table the explanatory memorandum that accompanies the bill, and I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I should say from the outset that, initially, it was not my intention to say very much about these bills; however, I now plan to.
It was not my intention to say much because my view was that the government had flagged this legislation prior to the election and, as we can see from the seating arrangements in the Chamber, the government will, no doubt, say it has a mandate from Territorians to pass this legislation. That was the view I had prior to going through the Youth Justice Bill at great length and talking to a number of people from around the Territory who shared a number of concerns that I had, the more I got into the bill.
Whilst there is certainly nothing that I can say to prevent the bill from passing today, it is important, given the job that we have to scrutinise legislation, that I make a number of comments in relation to the bill. I apologise to the Attorney-General for not flagging this with him earlier. That is a sincere apology; we have tried to get into the practice of letting each other know how we are going to go with legislation and I simply forget. I am so sorry.
In any case, what is very obvious to me in relation to the bill is that it does not mirror what was promised prior to the election. What was promised is quite different from the contents of the bill. Members of the Chamber will not, I am sure, forget the headline from the NT News on 6 May - I have it here - and what a headline it was: ‘Crackdown on kid crims’. In the context of the lead-up to an election, I reckon that one was 10 out of 10. That was the headline that they wanted. That is what they wanted, that is what they got; everyone is happy.
My comment at the time was:
The plot thickens in that regard.
Suddenly, it seemed to me and others that there was a flourish from what is increasingly being described as the ministry of spin; that coven of media advisers that infects nearly every corner of the fifth floor. The crackdowns were announced and the phone rang hot at, no doubt, all of the media outlines. They had their scoop and the ministry of spin got their story up, an award- and election-winning performance.
The Minister for Justice and Attorney-General can be described as complicit and certainly disingenuous when he knew what was contained in the bill compared with these headlines. He must have been complicit because he said:
I will come back to that later.
In any event, no doubt there was a collective cry of ‘Hallelujah!’ from the voters of the Territory and I can understand, as indeed all politicians can, that people would be very happy about the announced crackdown on criminal youth.
However, what the ministry of spin and others did not tell the voters of the Northern Territory was very much about the content of the bill. In that regard, for instance, I refer to a couple of small paragraphs from clause 4 of the bill, which deals with a number of principles which, if memory serves me correctly, were not included in the various media releases that would have been issued. Clause 4(c) says:
And clause 4(q) says:
The flavour of those principles, and there are others, is different from the pre-election propaganda. Indeed, I cannot recall - I may be wrong; I invite the Attorney-General to tell me if I am wrong - any reference to the preamble in the legislation prior to the election. The preamble says, and I will quote it fully:
I digress briefly because, as I look up in the gallery, I see a number of young Territorians here. I say to them that their arrival is timely because this legislation, introduced by government, debated by the opposition, is all about young people in the Northern Territory and in particular young offenders, so I hope you find it interesting.
Having said that, the difference between the pre-election spin and the bill is staggering. It becomes even worse when you more fully examine the principles and compare them with the version that the ministry of spin gave to our newspapers and other media. I wonder if the media would have described the bill as a ‘crackdown’ had it known about these underlying principles. I believe that the headlines would have used other adjectives such as ‘softly’, ‘nicely’ or even perhaps the word ‘marshmallow’ had they been pointed in the right direction.
Of course, that is not the picture the government wanted to paint. No, it wanted ‘Crackdown on kid crims’, because no one likes a baddie whether they are adults or youth, and that was exactly what they wanted and, by God, they got it.
Added to that was the announcement of the doubling of maximum sentences for offenders over 15 years of age. Some would say ‘big deal’; without a mandatory minimum, the gesture is largely meaningless and courts certainly have not been demanding it. There was also the announcement of home detention with monitoring advices. That appears to be the government’s way of saying: ‘Go to your room’, which is already a sentencing option. The announcement also included information about minimum non-parole periods for offenders. I was surprised at that. I understood that this is not new. The courts have never set minimum non-parole periods. I do not think so.
The announcement also included victim-offender conferences. That already exists and I am sure that members of government have heard of a thing called a victim impact statement, hardly new.
In short, Madam Speaker, it was political puffery. It could be called, in a broader sense, a deceit. It can certainly be called, in some respects, a repackaging of what already existed, but it worked.
The ministry of spin and government got the response they wanted. The government’s traditional allies, namely those people who see young criminals as really being disenfranchised victims who commit crimes as a plea for help, were out condemning the government for its stance.
The day Labor’s electorally-driven crackdown on young offenders was made, a woman called Sara, whom I know, from the Alice Springs Youth Accommodation Service, rang ABC radio and was saying that there was no need to be tough. I mention that for a specific reason: it shows the success this headline had for government because government knows that the people of the Territory are a no-nonsense, sensible lot and that they do not subscribe to a soft approach when dealing with criminals, regardless of their age, nor should they.
They see children who commit crimes as young people who should be punished appropriately and compassionately. They should not simply be counselled and not made to face their responsibilities. It is about personal responsibility. Many people take that view, but with the spin and the information government provided, it is difficult to see that anyone could have got past a headline such as ‘Crackdown on kid crims’, but I digress.
In any case, to have the hand-wringing, left out, up-in-arms about the government being tough on crime was guaranteed to confirm that the government was, indeed, being tough. Good strategy. In short, Labor was out to be tougher than the CLP in the eyes of the public, and it worked. I commend you on your strategy. It was a sensible, thorough political strategy - tricky, arguably deceitful, but a good strategy.
Madam Speaker, the government has the two faces of Janus. In this place, their deceit is exposed only after the election when there is no political damage in it for them. Now they want to pass this legislation that, in many respects, supports a view that young criminals are victims who commit crimes as a plea for help. While it is the case that so many young offenders are victims in many ways, having regard to their own upbringing, the emphasis in this bill in the context of the pre-election propaganda about being tough on crime is curious - very curious, indeed.
In the 18 paragraphs that form the principles of this bill as outlined in clause 4, it is noteworthy that only once do the words ‘victim of crime’ appear. All other concerns are for the offender and for his or her needs. That was not something that the NT News and other media, I am sure, were told. No doubt, a fine balance is required when it comes to sentencing and punishing young people, I am the first to say that, but the difference between the pre-election propaganda and the contents of this bill is staggering.
The deceit is compounded further when one considers other parts of the bill. Clause 39 is a very interesting one. It is in Part 3 of Division 3. The whole division does all that it can to remove the power of discretion that police have in relation to offences. Clause 39 ties a police officer’s hands completely when only two criteria are met. I will read the first part of it:
In subparagraph (2), the officer must, instead of charging the youth with the offence, do one or more of the following. The young people in the gallery might well think: ‘Great! We can commit offences and we will never be charged.’ That is possibly not a bad outcome for the young people of the Northern Territory ...
Mr Henderson: You are a fool.
Ms CARNEY: However, I believe it creates some difficulties for the police, and I note the grumblings of the minister for Police. I suspect he will receive more grumblings from his officers after this bill has been passed and people start to work with it.
If those two circumstances exist then, instead of charging a youth, the officer must not charge the youth with an offence. The officer can tell him or her off, either verbally or in writing, or have a conference, or refer the youth to a diversion program. Surely, there must come a time, for instance, if the youth was charged with murder, let us say, that a criteria does not apply and, yes, it is buried in subclauses (3) and (4). There are three exceptions to the rule contained in clause 39(1). The exceptions are these: first, if the youth has committed a serious offence; second, if the youth has form; and, third, if they have left the jurisdiction. I would like to concentrate on the first item for reasons that will become obvious.
The problem with this reference to ‘serious offence’ is that there is no definition of it. There is no definition of ‘serious offence’ in this bill. Now, you could say that there is, if you look at subclause (7) of clause 39, which says:
There are no regulations, so we do not have a definition of ‘serious offence’. This legislation being pumped up in the way that it was before the election is a deceit. There is no definition of ‘serious offence’. I would like to know from the Attorney-General, and I would be grateful if he advised us all in his reply, what he thinks a serious offence is. It could well be that a serious offence, in the eyes of the government, is any offence that carries life imprisonment. Maybe that is a serious offence. I do not know.
I note that the government did not talk about this prior to the election. The only hint I can find - and if I am wrong I would be very happy for the Attorney-General to say: ‘Carney, you are wrong; I will explain it to you’ - in relation to a serious offence on my reading and those who have worked on this with me, is in another bill before the House, that is the Bail Amendment Bill (Serial 6), which defines a ‘serious offence’ as:
I ask the Attorney-General whether this is the yardstick that is going to be applied to this bill because if it is, then the deceit and trickery is of the highest order and everyone except the offender is the loser. I invite the Attorney-General to educate me if I am wrong in the course of his reply.
Madam Speaker, I have another example for you. Common assault carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment. If I am walking down the street, and some young person gives me an unprovoked smack in the mouth and if I complain to the police, as I understand this bill, they will not charge the child. Why? Because they cannot - provided they do not fall into the other exceptions in clause 39.
This is not protection. This is not a crackdown. This is not tough. This is a cop-out and, sadly, unfortunately, Territorians were not told the truth. What if dig my heels in and say to the police: ‘It is not good enough for me. I did get this unprovoked smack in the mouth. I really want you to charge the young’un who did this to me. I want to go to court. I want my day in court so that this little bloke is answerable for his actions’. I ask: what prospect of success do I have as a victim in that case?
On my reading of this bill, and the reading of others, we cannot see any prospect at all unless the young offender satisfies the three exceptions. Those three exceptions are really not significant. An unprovoked smack in the mouth whilst walking down the street by someone who is in the jurisdiction and does not have form and so on, as a victim, I reckon I would be pretty unhappy.
Under clause 44, I note that I cannot, as a victim, appeal the decision forced upon the police in any tribunal or court. As a victim of crime, I have no rights other than to participate in a conference and become part of the hand-wringing angst that keeps, some would say, the Attorney-General and others awake at night worrying about the injustices that he and others see young people are suffering.
The bill is a problem, probably not procedurally. As members know, I am happy to talk about procedures in bills that come before us. However, it is the fundamental difference between the packaging prior to the election and what is in it. A deceit has been perpetrated on Territorians.
I note that the Attorney-General will happily put his name to media releases that pull the wool over the public’s eyes because, presumably in his mind, the justification is that he will get this bill into law. I do not regard the Attorney-General as a deceitful man. However, he has become a part of a deceit, a trickery, a fraud that has been perpetrated.
It says something of the arrogance of this government that we saw before the election and since because they know best. The public really does not need to be told the truth because the government considers Territorians too stupid to understand the world in the enlightened and ennobled way that these keepers of the truth think they are. In short, the government is, on the basis of its performance with the pre-packaging and contents of the bill, a government that would deceive the innocent to protect the guilty.
At this point, it becomes clear that the government’s ministry of spin has another agenda as well. Not only did they get what they wanted from the media last time round, but they have set the stage for the next time round. Because this government is going to stop charging young people with the offences that they commit, they will be, in the future, announcing how great the reduction in juvenile crime is and how significant it is that fewer juveniles are appearing before the courts.
I am sure, in the next four years, the Attorney-General will use this Chamber and the media to say what a great job it is doing because very few children are being charged and they are not going to court. It is obvious why they are not being charged; they are being taken out of the entire system and managed some other way. I thought it appropriate that I put that on the record.
Sadly, the price that will be paid for the pre-election spin will be the victims of crime; these non-offenders, when criminals, albeit young criminals, realise that they will be able to walk all over Territorians and they will come up against a police force that will not be able to charge them unless they commit serious offences or satisfy other criteria that amount to exceptions under the aforementioned clause 39.
The government’s ministry of spin did not let Territorians know that prior to the last election. They were making damned sure that this government was seen to be the government that was tough on crime. With the words ‘crackdown’ and ‘tough’ ringing in their ears, it would have had an effect, I would have thought, on some Territory voters. It was a strong message. I can imagine at the polling booth, the Labor candidates would have said ‘tough on crime, tough on crime’ to some people. I do not know whether they had copies of these headlines tucked in their back pockets, but they were probably told to.
I wonder whether the Attorney-General and his colleagues remember the name of Pauline Joy. It does not appear he does. Pauline may not mean very much to the Attorney-General and his colleagues, but who would be surprised? She is but a victim of crime. She is the woman who runs the Groove Caf in Nightcliff. This is the caf that made the front page of the paper a week or so ago under the headline ‘Caf robbed 23 times in 2 years’ with Pauline Joy on the front page. Pauline Joy cannot get any insurance any more because she is too much of a risk, it would seem. Is this a matter for public concern? The editorial in the paper on the following day seemed to suggest it was. The editorial ends with these comments:
Magistrates and judges can only sentence in accordance with the legislation and common law precedent and so on, but the legislation that parliaments give them. Only if the legislation is right in the eyes of the community, then judges and magistrates may, it could be argued, be able to improve the perception that they do not sentence appropriately, but they only do what the rules of their job enable them to do so it comes back to governments to change the legislation if necessary.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, would you be willing to resume your comments after Question Time? You have 20 minutes to run on the clock.
Ms CARNEY: I have about two minutes.
Madam SPEAKER: Two minutes? Please continue.
Ms CARNEY: Thank you. When this bill passes, that will not be the case. It will not give the judiciary powers to bring into or to deliver on the things that government says it wants, a crackdown on kids’ crime. It simply will not be the case. Some would say that it is a form of mandatory non-sentencing. Who would have thought it? At least when the next editorial appears, Territorians can lay the blame squarely at the feet of this government.
In conclusion, Madam Speaker, the opposition is duty bound to oppose this bill. It is deceitful in its packaging and delivery to Territorians prior to the election. We would be derelict in our duty as an opposition to simply stand here and consent to everything contained in the bill. The government will say it has a mandate by dint of its numbers. It has a mandate, but it has a mandate to govern properly, to be honest with Territorians and to explain the difference between the pre-publicity and the contents of the bill.
We simply ask that this government tells the truth. I do not expect any joy in that regard. However, that concludes the comments I have to make in relation to the Youth Justice Bill.
Debate suspended until after Question Time.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Mr Charles ‘Chicka’ Dixon, former member of the Aboriginal Art Board of the Australia Council, prominent motivator in Aboriginal Affairs for the last 50 years, and a consultant to the University of New South Wales. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: I also draw your attention to the presence in the galleries of senior citizens from the electorates of Blain, Brennan, Drysdale, Karama, Nightcliff and Johnston; members of the Seniors Advisory Group; the Darwin Senior Citizens Group; and interstate visitors. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a very warm welcome to you.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I further draw your attention to the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of the former Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, Mr Terry McCarthy and former Deputy Clerk, John Pollock. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
YOUTH JUSTICE BILL (No 2)
(Serial 10)
YOUTH JUSTICE (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL (No 2)
(Serial 11)
Continued from earlier this day.
Ms LAWRIE (Family and Community Services): Madam Speaker, as Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister for Sport and Recreation, I support the bills introduced by the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General.
It is the government’s responsibility to introduce legislation that both protects and supports its citizens. For no one is this more pertinent than protecting and supporting our children and young people. The link between family breakdown and future criminal behaviour are well known and documented. My portfolio of Family and Community Services works to try to break that cycle by providing programs and services to families in the Territory.
Unfortunately, children and young people sometimes commit crimes, and we must both hold them accountable for their actions while putting in place the support and intervention to make sure they do not do it again.
The Youth Justice Bill provides a good balance between personal accountability and support. This bill will work hand-in-hand with the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Bill, which I will introduce in the coming months. While each maintains a separate focus - one on youth justice and the other on child welfare – together, they are both underpinned by a commitment to: strengthening and preserving family relationships and encouraging parents to fulfil their responsibilities; recognising racial, ethnic and cultural identity and involving a child’s own community.
Once both items of legislation are enacted, there will be important links between them to ensure appropriate consideration is given to the circumstances of children and young people.
I want to refer specifically to clause 51, Youth in Need of Protection. This clause provides that if the Youth Justice Court believes that a youth who is charged with an offence is in need of protection, then the Youth Justice Court can request an investigation be conducted by Family and Children’s Services. The Chief Executive Officer of Family and Community Services is required by the Youth Justice Court to investigate as soon as practicable, report to the Youth Justice Court on the circumstances of the youth, including whether or not the youth is a child in need of protection and any action that has been taken.
I also wish to refer to clause 206, Members of the Youth Justice Advisory Committee. As the agency responsible for the protection of children and young people, Family and Community Services will have a member on the new Youth Justice Advisory Committee, which will comprise government, non-government and community representatives. This new committee has a broader mandate than the previous Juvenile Justice Boards, which were focused on the examination and evaluation of juvenile justice programs.
I believe this new committee will encourage positive across government and community sector relationships and partnerships like the Health, Disability and Family and Community Services Advisory Councils, which provide strategic advice to the minister and the government.
The Youth Justice Bill is one of a number of items of legislation that deals with the rights and responsibilities of children and young people. The Community Welfare Act, the Education Act and the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act also reflect the value the community places on ensuring that children and young people are afforded the greatest opportunity to develop to their fullest potential.
Diversion is a key area of this act and both my portfolio areas, Family and Community Services and Sport and Recreation, play a role. For example, funding of $1m has allowed new youth services to be established right across the Territory. These services are now in place in Willowra, Borroloola, Nhulunbuy, Nightcliff, Central Australia, Katherine, Belyuen and Gunbalanya.
In Borroloola, a new service known as the Borroloola Region Youth Development Unit was established through the collaboration and partnership of the Departments of Justice, Family and Community Services and the Northern Territory Police. The police and the Department of Health and Community Services have entered into a memorandum of understanding that details this partnership arrangement.
The unit commenced operation in October 2003 under the auspice of the Borroloola Community Government Council. The FACS contribution to the service is $155 000 per annum. The unit provides case management to young people on a formal diversion program and programs for at-risk young people, aimed at increasing their participation in constructive activities and community life, and that promotes healthy lifestyle choices. The unit operates from a youth centre that includes a movie room, pool table, basketball and tennis court, BMX track and a range of sporting and educational equipment. It boasts a broad range of activities including regular discos and concerts, sporting activities including participation in competitions outside the community, fishing excursions, health promotion, open days, art and drama workshops and music courses.
Family and Community Services have increased programs that support family preservation. The intensive family support service assists children, young people and their families who continue to remain in crisis, encouraging an environment that will help kids move positively towards adulthood and families to stay together.
The Youth Beat run by Mission Australia provides a presence other than the police to deal with kids causing problems on our streets at night. This program has been very successful and an election commitment of $100 000 additional will see the expansion of this service in Darwin and Palmerston.
The Youth Justice Bill is tough - and rightly so - but it is fair. It recognises that when young people commit serious crimes, there should be serious consequences. It also recognises that young people are our future and should be supported. It does not surprise me that the opposition does not support this bill. There are no mandatory gaol sentences for children and the focus is not on retribution and revenge. The opposition is famous for its lock-em-up approach to youth problems. Whenever society has to address an issue relating to our kids, the CLP’s response is always: lock the problem away.
We have recently seen this in relation to petrol sniffing. The Leader of the Opposition introduced a bill that involved two years gaol for anyone caught sniffing, including kids. Under their plan, there would be no diversionary programs, as they announced during the election that they would cut $10m away from treatment programs and services for petrol sniffers. No treatment; just gaol. Lock the problem away. That is their approach. It has been their approach for a long time, and, hey, they are entitled to it. It is interesting to note that so early in this term and immediately following their election review, they have already decided to ramp up their lock-up-the-kids mantra.
This government is supporting our youth with legislation and vital programs. The Youth Justice Bill before us today is yet another example of that action.
I recall when Karama Neighbourhood Watch received a comprehensive briefing on this Youth Justice Bill. This is an organisation of concerned residents who look at crime prevention activities in the local area, and which has worked very hard to reduce crime around my electorate. There were a lot of interesting questions coming from that group of residents about aspects of the bill. The discussion was wholly supportive of the actions and path being taken in the direction laid out in this legislative reform. So, both from a ministerial perspective and the perspective of a local member, I am delighted to support this important raft of reforms that will deliver improved youth justice outcomes for the children of the Territory.
Bear that in mind: they are children. We have an opportunity for rehabilitation. We have an opportunity here to put them on a better path than the crime path that locked them into a downward spiral with the erroneous CLP policies of: lock-em-up, lock-em-up, and lock-em-up.
Justice is about rehabilitation. Yes, there is some stronger sentencing in these reforms, and rightly so. That is in keeping with acknowledgement that there are serious crimes being committed by young people. Importantly, there is a fair balance in the reforms proposed by our Attorney-General. I commend him for the work done. It has been a comprehensive process of community consultation. There has been a lot of discussion with all stakeholders about what is contained in this legislation. It is not legislation that was an election gimmick, it is not legislation that was rushed through. It is legislation that has been worked up consultatively at all levels of the community, including important stakeholders in the justice system, and it will be complemented and supported by our Caring for Our Children and Protection of Children legislation that I will introduce in future months.
I congratulate the Attorney-General and the staff in the Department of Justice for the hard work that they have put in to bring the Territory into line with modern justice practices when it comes to dealing with the issues of juvenile crime.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support of the Youth Justice Bills. We all know the importance of guiding, educating and encouraging our young people to take their rightful place as citizens in a democratic society, a society that encourages freedom of expression, a society that encourages choice: to choose a path that leads to a good future filled with many opportunities.
As well as providing opportunities for young people, we also need to ensure that our young people are protected from those in society who seek to exploit, manipulate, confuse and discourage our young people from the path that leads them to the many good opportunities open to them. Negative distraction for our young people has a spiral effect on their families and friends who often despair as to what they can do to help those they love.
Guidance for our young people is fundamental at all times, especially when a crime has been committed. Guidance and concern for the legal welfare of a young offender must also be balanced with the interests of victims and the community.
This bill recognises the importance of preventing young people going down the path of becoming adult offenders. Young people need to be given the opportunity to address their offending and to develop themselves in a socially responsible way. It is only when strategies fail that detention in custody may become the appropriate option for addressing offending. This concept of detention as a matter of last resort is specifically expressed as one of the new overarching, guiding principles contained in the bills.
Sadly, it is Aboriginal youth who come before the justice system more regularly than non-Aboriginal youth. We know only too well in the Northern Territory the high statistics of Aboriginal inmates in the Territory’s gaols. Aboriginal people make up nearly 30% of the Northern Territory population, yet they make up nearly 90% of the gaol population. Working with young people, diverting them from detention and into other areas of effective rehabilitation and acceptance of their responsibilities is a strong focus of these bills.
The bills recognise the success of the juvenile diversionary program by creating a presumption in favour of diversion as the appropriate response to youth offending in all cases, except those involving serious offences or those involving young people with a history of offending which makes diversion unsuitable.
A provision in the Youth Justice Bill gives the Youth Justice Court capacity to refer a young person back to diversion, even after they have started down the route of the formal court-based prosecution process. An evaluation by the Commonwealth of the Northern Territory Diversion Scheme has highlighted the success of the program, even in terms of successfully addressing recidivism. The vast majority of young people who completed diversion were not re-apprehended within a year of their initial arrest. The rate of recidivism for young people who had been diverted was lower than that of those who went through the formal court process.
The aim of the diversion scheme is to divert young people away from the formal criminal justice system. Another one of the new guiding principles for dealing with young offenders under the bill is that criminal proceedings should not be brought against a young person if there are alternative means of dealing with the matter. Diversion is certainly an important alternative to going through the formal court process.
Importantly for young people, diversionary processes provide scope for the community to become involved in responding to offending behaviour. I know that the Umbakumba community on Groote Eylandt in my electorate is involved in some positive work with young offenders who have been referred to diversion. Families say it is better to work with a young offender with elders, police and case workers present rather than seeing them end up in detention. No family wants to see their young people being taken away from their home environment to the unfamiliar surrounds of a detention centre in Darwin.
Similar diversionary options will be offered under the scheme in this bill as are available at present under the Juvenile Justice Act. These include family or victim-offender conferences, which aim to hold young offenders accountable and encourage them to accept responsibility for their behaviour while, at the same time, allowing victims to meaningfully participate in the process.
Another one of the real achievements in this bill is the amalgamation of all matters relating to young offenders in the one legislative instrument. This will make it easier for young people and people working with young people, such as the police, courts, legal personnel and social workers, to locate the law relevant to young offenders.
This bill seeks to update 20-year-old legislation, and to do it in language that is clearer and more readily understandable by the section of the community that it affects the most: young people and those who work with them. The underlying principle throughout the bill is that while young people need guidance, it is guidance that has firm foundations in encouraging youth to accept full responsibility for their behaviour. Taking full responsibility for one’s behaviour is what is expected of any person, young or old, in Australian society.
There is also an acknowledgement of a different level of maturity that needs to be taken into consideration, and this bill does just that. The bill provides for a wide range of things about youth offending to be taken into consideration, including recognising a young person’s racial, ethnic or cultural identity in dealing with the matter in a way that helps him or her develop in socially responsible ways.
We only have to read the papers or watch the television to gain an insight into the troubled lives of so many young people. You only have to talk to student counsellors and liaison officers in our schools across the Northern Territory to gain an even deeper insight into the worries we have for our young people. We need only talk to our own children, who give us an even greater insight into the circle of friends they have and the things they, as young people, get up to when adults are not around.
If it is not too hard or too far away for some of my parliamentary colleagues to think about, maybe they can recall their youth and think of the things they got up to and how, perhaps, we could have all travelled a different path that might have got us into trouble with the law at a young age were it not for the guidance of particular people in our lives who helped influence us. I can recall mine and, perhaps one day, I might share it with you - but not now.
Instead, I will share with this parliament stories from my electorate. In Arnhem, there are many too familiar stories of troubled young people caught up in the cycle of substance abuse. The media, in recent weeks, has highlighted the plight of petrol sniffers in Ngukurr. During my visit to the community, families spoke of their concern for youth. Ngukurr has led the way in tackling the problem of petrol sniffing with the introduction of Avgas in the early years to curb sniffing. Now, it is Opal fuel.
Police officers will tell you there is a clear pattern between sniffing and becoming involved in criminal behaviour, as will families. We heard recently comments made at a Coronial inquest into petrol sniffing in Alice Springs. Aboriginal people know only too well how the abnormal becomes normal in our communities in regard to social issues.
Like many communities across the Northern Territory, in the Numbulwar community there has been a sense of frustration about the lack of suitable facilities for youth. Young children turn to breaking and entering homes. In this community, it is not so much substance abuse but boredom and a sense of hopelessness felt by our youth.
Under the Labor government, the situation in Numbulwar is starting to improve. This year, the government has budgeted $1m to complete the building of a police post in that community by the end of the year. An improved police presence in Numbulwar will go a long way toward addressing issues of offending and providing a sense of security within the community.
Another bright note for Numbulwar is that young people from within the community have recently been elected onto the local council. It is very promising to see that it is the young people who are stepping up to the plate and wanting to have a say about their future. It is young people like Jocelyn Uibo and health worker Jason Pomeray, both of whom are deeply concerned about facilities for youth and are committed to bring about improvements in Numbulwar.
No family enjoys watching their son or daughter get caught up in the cycle of substance abuse, and they enjoy even less the flow-on effects of criminal behaviour that often occurs. In the past fortnight, parents in the Arnhem area have spoken to me about their worries for their children. They have told me they do not know what to do when their son or daughter gets into trouble with the law. They do not like the idea of their son or daughter being taken hundreds of kilometres away to Darwin’s Don Dale Detention Centre because, for some, it is often their first time away from family. They also worry that language is a barrier. This bill recognises that concern.
Another of the guiding principles in the bill is that a young person should be made aware of his or her obligations under the law, and of the consequences of breaking the law. In order for young offenders to be responsive to curb their offending, they must understand what is happening to them and why. This bill provides for a youth justice system that is sensitive to cultural differences and requires adults dealing with young offenders to explain what is happening at all stages of the process in language appropriate to the young person’s age, maturity, cultural background and language skills.
In my electorate, there are a number of Aboriginal languages spoken, with English as a second or third language. I take this opportunity to commend the work of the Aboriginal Interpreter Service and the people who work there, who seek to bridge the language gap between Aboriginal people and legal representatives in order to ensure a better understanding of each other. The work undertaken by the AIS staff and what they do to ensure such understanding in the legal system in the Northern Territory must never be taken for granted.
As a new member of the government, I look forward to taking every opportunity to ensure that we remain committed to continue to work with Aboriginal organisations and communities, and to build and improve on existing relationships.
New employment and training opportunities in our communities, and a sincere embracing of Aboriginal culture and language in government policies is crucial in helping to reduce the high rate of Aboriginal imprisonment overall. A new dialogue and persistence in shaping policies to reflect the cultural diversity of our regions will benefit our young people, who are indeed, Mr Deputy Speaker, our leaders of tomorrow.
Ms SACILOTTO (Port Darwin): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Youth Justice Bill. This bill is part of an overall government response to support the Northern Territory’s young people and increase safety in our community. Supporting young people should be a key priority for all governments, but nowhere is it more evident than the Northern Territory where one-third of our population is under the age of 20.
When a young person commits a crime, they should face the consequences of their behaviour, but this should be complemented with support and opportunities to make positive choices in their lives. This legislation provides the right balance between responsibility and support.
Government has demonstrated over the previous four years a consistent commitment to giving young people a good start in life through legislative reform such as the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act and the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Registration) Act and through key government policies and programs such as the Caring for Our Children reform process and Building Healthier Communities.
This government has committed significant funding to backing these strategies, from $53m to reforming our child protection system to funding to support 10 000 apprentices and trainees in the Territory over four years in addition to the 3200 trainees already in training. From 2006, 40 VET scholarship programs will be available each year with $4000 to assist students with course fees and material costs. The Youth Beat program operated by Mission Australia will receive an additional $100 000 each year to expand its services in Darwin and Palmerston.
The government is about action. These are real initiatives that support legislation and policy. While this government is certainly working hard in the areas of prevention and early intervention, the Youth Justice Bill is mainly about how we deal with those kids who are already in the criminal justice system.
I recently visited the Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre and I am pleased that the facility is focusing so much on rehabilitation and creating a positive environment in which young people can begin to address their offending behaviour. The facility is broken into two sections, one being the original part of the building and housing high security risk detainees, and the newer section, which houses the lower security graded detainees.
There is a positive reward system in place and, over a period of time, appropriately graded detainees can earn a move to a lower security area. There is a range of achievements that must be demonstrated to earn transfer to the low security area. This process is lengthy and requires consistent, positive behaviour, such as participation in programs and counselling and school attendance. Once in the lower security area, there are further benefits for young people such as access to a gardening program and activities focused on integration back into the community. These range from attending a school to accessing training or other opportunities.
While I was at the Don Dale Centre, detainees were actively participating in an in-house school focused on numeracy and literacy. While in detention, they are not only learning that they must take responsibility for their actions, they are also gaining an education and real life skills that will benefit them on release. This approach, which appears to be working positively at Don Dale, is also reflected in the amendments to the Youth Justice Bill, particularly in the adoption of important new overarching principles, which guide the operation of the legislation.
The new guiding principles set out profound statements about how the criminal justice system should deal with young people. For example, one of the key new principles is that punishment of a youth must be designed to give him or her an opportunity to develop a sense of social responsibility and otherwise to develop in beneficial and socially accepted ways. However, the bill recognises that in some circumstances, incarceration will inevitably be required to both punish the offender and protect the community. Nevertheless, the guiding principles state that young people should only be kept in custody as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
These are strong principles of which I am fully supportive. First and foremost, it should be our priority as community to ensure that in punishing young people, we are doing everything to prevent them from re-offending, and that is certainly the priority of this legislation. I am pleased to see the new guiding principles give effect to the important rights of victims. As the bill states:
This is an excellent principle. Initiatives such as victim-offender conferences, which are expanded by this bill, will help many victims achieve closure and increase their satisfaction with the legal process. It is also an important part of ensuring that young people are made to face the consequences of their actions.
In a perfect world, our children would not stray; they would not break the law. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. Our children do stray and, sometimes, young people break the law. When they do, they need access to the skills, education, opportunities and support that will ensure they do not do this again. They need individuals and systems that will support, supervise and guide them.
Madam Speaker, as a mother, Territorian and the member for Port Darwin, I strongly support the Youth Justice Bill.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I am in two minds about some of the issues that have been raised, but I say at the outset that I support the bill subject to it being reviewed in 12 months because there are some issues that the opposition raised that are very important, and I have some concerns about the principles. Notwithstanding that, it is a new bill and I know it will need some review to see whether our concerns are real or perceived.
Minister, whilst I accept that the principles laid down in the bill are very important and cover many of the issues we should look at not only for youth, but as part of anyone’s rights, we need to be careful that we do not go to the extreme whereby we lose touch with reality.
We are dealing with young people aged between 14 and 18. There are plenty of young blokes around that age who you might think fit within all these principles, but, in the end, they need a kick up the bum because they have done something that requires them to realise that there is a consequence to their action.
The member for Port Darwin spoke well, but she said one thing that, to me, is at odds with principle 4(a). She said young people must accept responsibility for their behaviour. Principle 4(a) says if a youth commits an offence, he or she must be held accountable and encouraged to accept responsibility for the behaviour. That is slightly different from being told they must accept responsibility for the behaviour.
One might ask how you make a person responsible for their behaviour. In some cases, it might be a kick up the bum or detention of some sort. I should say that I am not a great support of young people going to gaol per se, but I have said on many occasions that I do not think a slap on the wrist is always the process we should be looking at. Diversionary programs I support to an extent, but if someone has done something that they know is wrong, there needs to be a consequence to that. If someone smashes a window, it may not be regarded as a serious offence, and, of course, we do not have the definition, but it may be regarded as a fairly serious offence by the person who owns the house or shop where the window is smashed.
There needs to be something that makes the person responsible know they have done something wrong and they have to do something in consequence of that – not just say that they will be good people, but also say: ‘We will have to do community orders’. I am a great fan of community orders. I would like to ask the minister, and I may have it wrong here: can community orders be used before a person is sentenced? Can community orders be part of a diversionary program? For instance, can they go down to Freds Pass and be required to prune the trees and paint the log fences as part of a diversionary program rather than having to be sentenced and then do a diversionary program?
You talk about restitution. Could someone be required to pay restitution, if it is possible, as part of a diversionary program? In other words, they go to work, they earn some money, they pay. They do not have a criminal record per se, but can some of these things be done without having to go through the process of being convicted? Some of those programs are exactly the ones we should be looking at for young people. That they do not get off scot-free, they not just told not to do it again. There are some cases in which that would be quite suitable. We need a certain amount of stick along with the carrot. Otherwise there will be young people who will say to the police: ‘No, no, no; go away’.
My concern is that, when you look at all these principles, which sound nice - some of them to do with the victim, most of them to do with the offender - there does not seem to be anything that lays down someone being told that they have done something wrong and they will have to pay for those actions.
As I said, I am not necessarily a fan of putting all young people in gaol. That is one of the reasons I have been a supporter of Wildman River. You have been bored out of your brain, minister, listening to me on that issue, but it is an alternative. It is a detention centre that has a lot of value. Don Dale is very nice, and I have been there. When I say ‘very nice’, it is not the nicest place to be in, but it is well fitted out for the people who reside there. I do not think it is necessarily the most appropriate place, and I have said before, if you look at the BBC program about those young people that went to Utah …
Mrs Braham: The Brat Camp.
Mr WOOD: … into the bush. The Brat Camp. They went out into the bush. There are times when the bush has value for young people. It gives them time to reflect and they do some work. They were working on the barrages at Shady Camp and did some fencing around the national park. That is important.
I see that, whilst there is a role for prison, there are lots of other options. The member for Braitling spoke about whether there is any chance of detention centres in the Centre. Minister, you know I have spoken about work camps before. There are versions of work camps that could be good for youth, for instance working on cattle stations in Central Australia, having a mobile work camp where young people go out and learn the skills. They are options. They are diversionary as well as being punishment. It is punishment with a good outcome because they are learning skills. They are the sort of things we need to be looking at. I imagine it would be far better to have a work camp for young people in Alice Springs than have to bring them up to Don Dale, a place where, in theory, we were supposed to have a farm, but we do not have that farm yet. It is one of those recommendations.
As I said, I am not willing to support the bill per se. I would like to see the bill tried. I would like to see some independent evaluation of it. I would like to hear what the police have to say and people like the Palmerston Regional Business Association or the Chamber of Commerce because there are a lot of businesses that have problems with juvenile crime.
The opposition has raised the issue of clause 39, the Diversion of Youth. When I read it, you would say that unless it is a serious offence, basically, there is no chance of being convicted. You must have committed that serious offence, which is not defined yet. I am certainly interested to know what a serious offence is.
If the diversion of youth was to a work camp or to community orders or that you had to work to get restitution to pay for the damage, I would be happy. However, if there is no direct link between the consequences of your action and what you have been required to do, then I will not be particularly happy.
There are a couple of other issues I would like to raise, one being the issue about diversionary programs and who pays for them. My understanding was the Commonwealth, at the time of mandatory sentencing, put in a large amount of money to run diversionary programs. The question is: is that money still coming in? Is the Commonwealth guaranteeing that money will still come to us in the future? It is all very well to have these diversionary programs, but if you do not have any money, then they are not going to happen. I am interested to hear what the minister has to say on that issue.
As I said, diversionary programs were introduced after the death of a young person at Berrimah gaol some years ago, and to remove the process of mandatory sentencing for juveniles. I stand corrected if I am wrong, but that is the reason for their introduction. I have never been a supporter of mandatory sentencing. I have been a supporter of mandatory punishment because the punishment should be appropriate to the crime. That means you do not get off scot-free. If you do something wrong, you need to take the consequences. If you are so young that a warning is sufficient, fair enough. You cannot tell me in this day and age, a 16, 17, or 18-year-old - who is legally allowed to have sex and drive a car - does not know what is right or wrong. I will go he. If someone does something wrong at that age, they need to know that there are consequences and they will suffer those consequences. As I said, it does not have to be in the form of imprisonment. Detention at Wildman River, work camps, community orders and restitution are all good options.
There is one other little thing. I know you have set up the Youth Justice Advisory Committee. I asked at the briefing – thank you, minister, for the briefing. It is only a little thing but, in the establishment requirements it says: ‘2(a) … equal numbers of male and female members’. I know it says ‘as far as practicable’ but it seems to be one of those little anomalies that does not need to be there. In fact, if we asked what is the ratio of male to female juveniles in our court system, it would probably be more males than females. You would have to ask: why even bother having that in there? My feeling is that every person who is on this justice advisory committee should be there on merit because you want the best people on this committee.
I am not sure that stating that half should be male and half should be female is the best way to go. I am not saying there should not be male and female, of course, but in this case, it should be on merit. If two members are Aboriginal, one member is under the age of 25, who is going to be the male and who is going to be the female if only one person is selected from each group? It is just one of those things that does not need to be there. You have a look at each person who applies to be on that committee and judge them on their merit.
In summing up, I am willing to hold my fire on this legislation. When I say ‘hold my fire’, you have done a lot of good work and there are a lot of good things in the legislation. However, the principles are the basis for the legislation, and if the principles do not send a message out to young people that if you do something wrong, you will not suffer any consequences - at least consequences that will give you some feeling that you have done something wrong - then I will be concerned. That is what a lot of people are asking for.
If clause 4(a) said: ‘they must accept responsibility for their behaviour’, I would be much happier. To say ‘encouraged to accept responsibility’ seems a bit wishy-washy. Young people, like any of us, must accept responsibility for their actions. If you prang the car, you must accept the consequences. If we do something wrong, we must accept it. Surely that is the way life is. For sure, young people sometimes you have to give a chance, and we all like to give people second chances according to the circumstances. There is also a point when you say: ‘You must accept your responsibility’. If that means you have to pay for the damage, you have to go and work out at Wildman River, you have to go down to Freds Pass and mow the lawns and paint the fences, so be it. That is a far better process than just saying: ‘We will put you on a good behaviour bond, we will put you on another one, and we will put you on another’, and after a while, people will not respect the law or the process.
I am not going to give this the big tick, neither am I going to condemn it. I am going to wait and see. At our briefing, it was said that the government would certainly look reviewing this legislation. I will be very happy if it came back in 12 or even 24 months, depending on when you can get it up and running, and perhaps get an independent body to review it - someone from the legal side, from police, youth and from the local businesses – to say how they think it is running.
I thank the minister for the legislation. It is fairly detailed. It has taken, I presume, a lot of work and effort to get to this point, and that is one good reason why it should be reviewed. Sometimes you miss out on important matters when you are dealing with such comprehensive legislation.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Madam Speaker, before the member for Nelson spoke I was beginning to think I live in a different world. Previous speakers were talking about children who are different from some of the children I come across.
I have some reservations about the bill. We are still waiting to see the regulations, which are an important component of this bill. The bill is long and complicated and, to be honest, I am still coming to grips with the detail in it.
Perhaps it is my fault, but I have not had any feedback from any community organisations about this bill. I am sure the minister has, and perhaps he can explain to us who he asked, how broad the consultation was and the type of feedback he received.
We saw government rush through the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act earlier this year and, although we all welcomed it, we are still waiting for the regulations. I wonder whether we are at the same stage, whether we are pushing through this bill without the regulations and it will sit on the books for months before anything happens. I ask the minister when he thinks this bill will be enacted and when we will get the regulations so we know how we can fill in the gaps.
The community has expectations that juveniles should be held responsible for their actions. Far too often, there is a perception that the courts are lenient on juveniles who treat law and order as a joke. The Leader of the Opposition quoted the instance in the paper recently showing that. There was an incident in a supermarket recently where there were three teenagers of about 15 and 16 who verbally and physically attacked a man and his wife in front of a number of people. Their attitude was to flaunt the law: ‘What are you going to do about it?’ It was that sort of attitude. They treated it as a joke. ‘We’ll get you later’ and ‘You can’t do anything to us’. They feel almost untouchable. We have to stop the perception of young people that they have untouchable status. They just mocked when the security guards came along. They were not frightened of the police. They thought it was all a joke. This is the very response that frustrates residents and the business people of many towns in our regions.
We need to ensure that what we are introducing here makes young people understand that they must be accountable in some way, as the member for Nelson was saying. If the bill does that, good! I have concerns about some of the language in the bills about the principles. It seems to offer too many options that favour non-penalty rather than accountability.
Attorney-General, I deliberately asked the question about the detention centre. Because there is no option of a detention centre in Alice Springs, quite rightly, courts are not sending juveniles to Don Dale. You said your research showed that the numbers don’t warrant it, but perhaps that is for the simple reason that it wasn’t really an option. I am quite sure that some of these juveniles who flaunt the law may, even if they are held for just a short time in detention, receive a strong message; loss of freedom may get the message through more strongly than a diversion program.
I am of the opinion that diversion programs are far more effective than they used to be. That is good, but we need to ensure that they are effective. They need to be monitored and supervised. We have all heard stories of someone being on a diversion program, failing to turn up and nothing being done about it. I am pleased to see in this bill that if diversions are not completed, further action can be taken. That, at least, will give some comfort to business people who are trying to do the right thing when they sit down to conference, accept a diversion program and then find it is thrown in their face. That is a good aspect of the bill.
I ask the minister if he can advise on interpretation of the clause that says:
How do you define ‘public interest’? Who will define ‘public interest’? Will that be the option of the court, the prosecutor, the police or whom? We would all like to know exactly what you mean by ‘public interest’.
Will the victim of any offence be involved in this decision? Again, I cite the example of the shop keeper we heard about this morning who had been broken into many times and saw no accountability required of the offender. Would they be involved in a decision as to whether there would be court proceedings or not?
Much is made of diversionary programs. I do not think I have seen details of the programs that are offered around the Territory. It would be useful if members could have that information so we can speak with some knowledge of what you are providing by way of diversionary programs.
I am also concerned about clause 39: give the youth a verbal warning, give the youth a written warning, cause a youth justice conference involving the youth to be convened. What else? Refer the youth to a diversion program. It looks as though there are many steps before the community sees something being done.
I would be interested, as the member for Nelson is, if the Attorney-General reports back to the parliament. I would like some statistics on how many diversions have been undertaken, not just a global figure, but a breakdown of the four options and how successful the diversions have been. Do we have statistics on how many juveniles have re-offended?
Clause 89 deals with restitution. Who will be required to make restitution if ordered? If this is currently the law, how many times has it been implemented? We are talking about juveniles who are not income-earning, so how will compensation be paid? I would like clarification on that.
The Minister for Family and Community Services kept referring to ‘the children’, but we this act which applies to juveniles between the age of 14 and 18. Interestingly, you can drive a car at 16, you can leave school and have a job at 15, but you are treated as a juvenile on matters of criminality.
It seems to me that we have to stop saying, when young people get to this age, that they are children. There is an age where we have to make them understand, and we have all done it with our own children, that there is responsibility and that you must take it.
Minister, I would like to think this bill will succeed. I would like to think that it is strong enough to get a message through to juveniles, that it prescribes the right programs to ensure juveniles are given the right treatment and assistance along the way, that these juveniles will not re-offend and the whole outcome for the community is better. I know you cannot give any guarantee on that. All we can hope is that, by the time the regulations are ready, the community will be convinced that this is good legislation.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I thank all members for their contributions. I note with regret that the opposition is not prepared to support the bill, but we will press on nonetheless.
The best way to deal with the various queries in relation to the bill is to work through as best as I have been able to record, and give you some response in this part of the debate. I suggest, though, that a lot of the more detailed questions, such as the member for Braitling raising how the concept of public interest should be applied in the bill, could be dealt with in committee when we can look at clauses in more detail.
I was sorry to hear that the Leader of the Opposition is feeling a bit bitter about the use of this legislation in the context of the election. All I can say is that time will heal the wounds of defeat. Even a most cursory glance at the history of the development of this legislation will tell you it started with a working party that comprised representatives from Justice, Corrections, Police Diversionary Programs Unit and FACS. During 2002, there was initial consultation input, which resulted in a discussion paper that included the views of a wide range of people: Police, Youth Affairs, DCM, DHDS, DEET, Department of Community Development, Sport and Cultural Affairs, Office of Crime Prevention, DPP, the Legal Aid Commission, Aboriginal Legal Aid Services, AJAC, ATSIC and Juvenile Justice Boards of Management, to name a few.
All of that input went into the discussion paper which was subsequently circulated. Essentially, the exercise was presented to all stakeholders as being a review of the Juvenile Justice Act, which was out of date and many problems had been identified with it. It needed review and updating to be modern legislation, particularly in light of experiences with the old act.
That was the exercise we invited everyone into. The discussion paper went out in March 2004. We received 20 submissions, again, from a wider range of people again: members of the clergy, academics, official visitors, local businesses, Round Table of Young Territorians, ASIAS in Alice Springs made submissions. Really, the bill before us stands on a fairly long history of consultation with interested groups within our community. Whatever you can say about spins put on during elections, I daresay you could aim that accusation at any political party or any candidate, indeed, during an election.
Everyone does their best to be returned at an election; that is the whole purpose of it. Things are said in the election context. I can say this to the member for Araluen: I did several media conferences in the context of announcing the commitment to reintroduce this legislation in the next term of government. This legislation had already been introduced before the election, as you recall, and we reintroduced it for debate this time. I made very clear the full scope of the bill. While things might have been emphasised out of the total body of the bill, I certainly presented the whole proposal as best I could to the media and stakeholder groups in the context of the campaign.
You say we went out there saying we are really tough on juveniles, and then recanted that position. I would have to go to the areas that were being referred to in making those claims. They were: the power to send a young person over the age of 15 to an adult prison being retained within the bill; and the length of sentences that possible under the act being extended two years, in line with other jurisdictions around Australia. They are very real and they are right here in the legislation. There is no doubt that there are tough options being incorporated into the sentencing options that this bill will present to our courts.
Unfortunately, we will probably see a small number of very serious juvenile offenders copping a significant term of imprisonment as a result of these new provisions. I certainly would not recant any claims that we made that we will deal very seriously with serious juvenile offenders; that is very clear on the face of this bill.
I would like to deal with the concerns you have with home detention. I have seen a lot of adult home detentions. These provisions now being applied to juveniles will bring the same rigour that currently applies to home detentions for adults. Down to the personal level, when I lived at Yuendumu, I had direct involvement in home detention arrangements and I can certainly say that home detention is not a soft-belly option. It is quite difficult for the person in that regime.
I will read some details of the bill just so we are clear on what is being proposed. It introduces a new sentence of alternative detention, which can be imposed on suspending a term of detention or imprisonment. The new sentence, literally, is an alternative to detention in an institution such as Don Dale Centre or an adult prison, so it is at that level of seriousness. It is, of course, more commonly known as home detention when used in relation to adult offenders.
The new sentence is based on the home detention order available under the Sentencing Act and, whilst home detention orders under that act are not restricted to home but can be at any suitable place or premises, it is considered appropriate to take the emphasis away from home for care and protection reasons. It may not always be appropriate to put a juvenile into a home for home detention.
With home detention as an alternative to Don Dale, is likely that the home detention period would last for at least some months. A young person subject to such an order would be monitored by a surveillance officer who can enter the place where they are detained at any time and can require them to undergo drug and alcohol tests. An offender subject to home detention must comply with a range of conditions such as a curfew, which means that they only leave the place where they are detained at certain specified times and for specified purposes.
The use of home detention was strongly supported during the review of the Juvenile Justice Act as a means by which families, in particular Aboriginal people, can keep their children within their own communities, and for the community to take some responsibility in providing for the rehabilitation of the young offender.
The new sentence allows for a flexible approach in that the location of the detention need not be the young person’s usual place of residence, but could be some other venue suggested by the community as appropriate for detention and rehabilitation such as a bush setting supervised by elders or a cattle property.
It should be noted that like the Sentencing Act provisions on which the new provisions are based, the bill provides for the wearing of a monitoring device as a condition of detention as a possibility within the legislation. While these are not currently used, certainly in the future this legislation will create the possibility for those to be used. That is further information about how we see the home detention. We see it as a rigorous form of punishment at the more serious end of the scale of offending.
You drew attention to the total approach to sentencing as to whether we can provide appropriate punishment as expected by Territorians. Appropriate punishment encompasses everything from punishment for very serious crime by juveniles through to relatively minor offences. The key aim is to turn the juvenile aside from the pathway leading to the criminal justice system and try to re-engage them in the community. At that end of the spectrum, you are trying to maximise diversion back into a constructive relationship within the community, while at the other end we have allowed for sentences of up to two years in an adult prison to deal with seriously bad young people who have done terrible things in their community.
There is no question that we need to have the serious end of the range. What the bill establishes, though, is matching the full spectrum of offending behaviour so that we can give the courts a full range of options to deal with offenders.
You were asserting that the bill does not provide sufficient reference or care about the rights of victims. We did a quick scan through the bill. This bill is far more explicit than the previous Juvenile Justice Bill in emphasising the important roles victims have in responding to youth offending. You said the guiding principles only once refer to victims. In fact, the interests of victims are specifically referred to twice in the principles. The needs of the youth must be balanced against the needs of the victim and the interests of the wider community as in clause 1.4(g).
Furthermore, the remainder of the principles are not, as suggested by the member for Araluen, purely focused on the needs of the offender, but take a balanced approach between the interest of rehabilitation and keeping the young person from becoming an adult offender, and the interests of the victims and the wider community.
There is a very strong element of holding the young person accountable for their actions. This bill retains the rights of victims in terms of the consideration of victim impact statements and victim reports by courts during sentencing. Victim-offender conferencing at the pre-court diversion stage is also retained. The new provision also allows for victim-offender conferencing to be called at any stage up to sentencing, with the result that the victim’s ability to participate in the processes involving young offenders has been significantly expanded in this bill.
We are encouraged by the early trialling of victim-offender conferencing with adult offenders. We have high optimism that confronting the offender with the impact that their activities have had on a victim is a very effective way of bringing home a sense of remorse and respect. I cannot think of a more powerful way of doing that. Certainly, the results of early trials of circle sentencing and victim-offender conferencing in our adult system have given us every reason to believe that process will be effective with juveniles as well.
Dealing with clause 39, there were concerns raised by the members for Araluen and Braitling about how we are going to interpret ‘serious offence’ in the context of excluding some situations from the operation of diversion. As the bill says, and the member for Araluen pointed out, that is to be done by way of regulation.
I can assure the House that the definition of ‘serious offence’ provided for in the regulations will be based on the existing scheme under Police General Orders. That framework excludes serious offences and some examples I can give straight away are murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, home invasion, grievous bodily harm and arson. The difference between the current situation with police operating their diversionary programs and deciding whether to refer a young offender to diversion is that they are currently lodged with the administrative police orders; they are not accessible by the general public and they are not, as a matter of course, put before this Assembly for scrutiny. Putting these exemptions in place by way of regulation is far more transparent, and that is the direction we have chosen.
We will have these regulations back. I am assured by my department that the time frame is something like between now and the end of the year. We will aim at that. We will see if we can get that all back here, and it is really down to Parliamentary Counsel time and how quickly we can get them drafted, but I can assure you the starting point is Police General Orders.
The seriousness of those offences will be retained. I, as Attorney-General, will not be party to a dilution of that serious category of offence. We want to retain it at roughly the level of seriousness it has now. We will be open to argument from the police about any variation from the current line up, but that is the general intent. I can share with the House that we will not be backing off on the definition of seriousness.
In respect of clause 44, the appeal of decisions to allow diversion or decisions on whether diversion has been breached, I have already pointed out that the victim will be brought much more actively into many stages in the process by which a young offender is being dealt with. There are many opportunities for the victim to be consulted and the impact on the victim to be considered when decisions are being made. I have dealt enough with where and how that can happen, but I will say that the victim will have many areas of input right through the sentencing.
The starting point for those decisions is the current provisions, which date back to the CLP government at the time they were settling those with the Commonwealth government as part of the deal on mandatory sentencing as it impacted on juveniles at the time. The reason we have very strongly represented processes of juvenile diversion into this legislation by importing them in from the Police Administration Act is because they seem to be working in very large measure under the existing scheme. We certainly want to continue the positive effects that we are having.
An evaluation of the Northern Territory Diversion Scheme undertaken by the Commonwealth highlighted the positive results that can be achieved from this approach to youth offending. Diversion was offered to over 50% of the 4159 young people apprehended in the first three years of the scheme. The vast majority of young people offered diversion accepted this option rather than go to court, and over 95% of all diversions were completed to the satisfaction of police. They are very impressive figures, and it certainly takes care of some of the concerns that the member for Braitling expressed about how often diversions are followed up, and whether we have cases of an offender on a diversionary program who drops out of it, and whether there is follow-up. That certainly is not indicated by these figures: 50% of 4159 offenders were seen to be completed.
If there are any operational difficulties or less than complete outcomes, these are issues that can be dealt with operationally to aim at 100% coverage. It is certainly not seriously broken; it does not need serious fixing. We felt there was more than enough justification to import that scheme into the Youth Justice Bill. That covers the main areas the member for Araluen raised.
Moving now to the member for Nelson and his suggestion that we should define what a kick up the bum should mean in terms of the legislation before us. I accept that he was not suggesting that we set up a modern version of the stocks with someone in old football boots that can carry out the punishment although, having lived out bush for many years, I have seen situations that were pretty close to that.
What I would point out here is that by far the most powerful influence you can bring to bear on a young offender is family, through confronting the victim and acknowledging the harm that they have done to them through the community that they live in. That particularly applies to young indigenous offenders. There has been a huge body of work done in the Northern Territory in particular, which indicates that if you really want to shame a young offender, you do not do it through a generic process like putting a T-shirt on them with their name on it, you actually put them in front of the victim they have harmed, adult role models whose opinion they respect, and their community, and then lodge as much of the reparation and rehabilitation process in the same context – by repaying the victim, repaying the community that that young person wants to feel a member of, to make up for the harm they have visited on the community through their activities. That is tried and true, according to a vast amount of experience we have had.
The hardest punishment you can give a young person is to make them confront their community, the victim, the family, adults for whom they feel affection and from whom they want praise, and own up to the fact they have done something very wrong and agree to make reparation whether that be through a community work process or undertaking diversionary programs that are going to turn them into a more functional member of that community. The detail can vary; the process commended would always be the same. There would be a decision made community by community using, to the maximum effect, influence that can be brought to bear from family, community, adults and their peers.
The member for Nelson was concerned about the ongoing funding for juvenile diversion schemes. The Commonwealth has withdrawn funding from the administration of the current service. There is some ongoing funding for the community-based programs that are a critical part of the scheme. We are currently working on a revised model of youth diversion, which will be finalised by the end of the year in line with the commencement of the legislation and the publication of regulations that we need to add to the bill. Details have not yet been fully decided, but I have given members a very clear timetable. I certainly make an undertaking to come back and report on how we are going to proceed with juvenile diversion activities in the Northern Territory.
The scheme is clearly one that we want to retain, and we have signalled that very strongly by its inclusion in the provisions of this bill today.
To the best of my ability, I think I have covered the issues raised during the second reading debate. Again, I thank members. I still live in hope that the opposition might change its position during the committee stage, but if they cannot, that is your prerogative.
Motion agreed to; bills read a second time.
In committee:
Youth Justice Bill (No 2) (Serial 10):
Clauses 1 to 41, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 42:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I invite defeat of clause 42.
Clause defeated.
New clause 42:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.1, which inserts a new clause 42. Clause 42 provides for an extension of the limitation period in which to commence charges to be extended for youth undergoing diversion. Proceedings must be commenced within three months of diversion having being determined unsatisfactory, if later than the expiry of the relevant limitation period.
The former wording means that the extension would only apply to youth who were participating in a diversion program in accordance with clause 39(2)(d). This committee stage amendment omits clause 42 and inserts a new clause of similar intent but adding youth justice conferences so that the extension will now apply to the failure to satisfactorily complete youth justice conferences as well as diversion programs.
New clause 42 agreed to.
Clause 43:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.2. Clause 43(2) provides that information and details of a youth’s performance in a diversion program must not be published except as aggregated data for statistical purposes from which a particular youth cannot be identified. This amendment will extend this prohibition on publication to information on all types of diversion.
Clause 43, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 44 to 50, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 51:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I invite defeat of clause 51.
Clause defeated.
New clause 51:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.3. Clause 51 provides for a Youth Justice Court where it believes that there may be welfare issues in respect of the youth who is before it charged with an offence to require those issues to be looked into. Currently, it provides that if the court believes that a youth who is charged with an offence is or may be a child in need of protection within the meaning of the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Act or that there is a risk to the wellbeing of the youth within the meaning of the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Act, the Youth Justice Court may require the chief executive officer within the meaning of the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Act to investigate the circumstances of the youth and to take appropriate action to promote the youth’s wellbeing. A report is to be subsequently given to the court on the youth’s circumstances and the action that has to be taken.
As the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Bill has not yet been introduced, this amendment omits clause 51 and inserts a new clause of similar intent but based on the current Community Welfare Act.
New clause 51 agreed to.
Clauses 52 to 82, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 83:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.4. Clause 83 sets out the sentencing options the Youth Justice Court has if it finds a charge proven against a youth.
Clause 83(4) provides that if the Supreme Court remits a case to the Youth Justice Court under its powers under clause 82(1)(c), the Youth Justice Court must deal with the youth as if the youth had been convicted of the offence in that court. The reference to a conviction is inconsistent with clause 83(1) pursuant to which the Youth Justice Court, if it finds a charge proven against a youth, has a discretion whether to record a conviction or not and the terminology used elsewhere in the bill and used generally in Territory legislation.
This amendment amends the word ‘convicted’ to ‘found guilty’ such that the Youth Justice Court is to deal with the youth whose case has been remitted to the Supreme Court as though the youth had been found guilty of the offence in the Youth Justice Court.
Clause 83, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 84 to 162, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 163:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.5. Clause 163 provides for a detainee or responsible adult in respect of the youth to make a complaint about a matter that affects the youth and for the procedure to be set out in the regulations.
Clause 163(3) provides that a youth also has other avenues of complaint, namely an official visitor appointed under clause 169, the Ombudsman appointed under the Ombudsman (Northern Territory) Act, or the Children’s Commissioner appointed under the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Act. As the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Act has not yet been introduced, this amendment omits clause 163(3)(c), which refers to the Children’s Commissioner.
Clause 163, as amended, agreed to.
Clause 164:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.6. Clause 164 provides that when a detainee turns 18 years while serving a sentence of detention in a detention centre, the detainee must be transferred to a prison within 28 days after turning 18 years of age to serve the remainder of the sentence.
This amendment omits and substitutes a new subclause (1), which also includes a reference to a detainee on remand such that a detainee on remand or serving a sentence of detention must be transferred to a prison within 28 days after turning 18 years of age.
Amendment agreed to.
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.7. Clause 164, as it will be following the amendment moved as 1.6, provides that a detainee who turns 18 years while serving a sentence of detention or on remand in custody in a detention centre must, within 28 days after turning that age, be transferred to a prison to serve the remainder of the sentence or period of remand.
This amendment inserts new subclauses that give the Director of Correctional Services discretion to allow the detainee to remain in the detention centre if the detainee has six months or less to serve of the sentence or, if on remand, for the remainder of the period or a period not exceeding six months, whichever is the lesser.
In exercising the discretion the discretion, the Director must have regard to the interests of other detainees as well as the interest of the particular detainee. The Director’s decision is not subject to appeal or review.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 164, as amended, agreed to.
Remainder of the bill, by leave, taken as a whole and agreed to.
Bill to be reported with amendments.
Youth Justice (Consequential Amendments) Bill (No 2) (Serial 11):
Bill, by leave, taken as a whole and agreed to.
Bill to be reported without amendment.
Bills reported; report adopted.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bills be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bills read a third time.
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Madam Speaker, the Martin government has a fundamental and abiding commitment to improving the economic and social outcomes for all Territorians, and we believe education and training is the most important pathway to achieving that commitment. It is our No 1 priority.
This government believes that education and training provides people with both the capacity and the opportunity to achieve their goals, and we couple this belief with the view that every Territorian, no matter where they live, what their background or circumstances of birth may be, deserves the opportunity to receive a high quality education throughout all of their life.
In the statement today, I want to focus on providing capacity and opportunities through education and training to indigenous Territorians. The statement provides a framework that will form the basis of the government’s next four year strategic plan.
The Indigenous Education Strategic Plan 2000-04 provided the framework for the implementation of the recommendations contained in Learning Lessons, an independent review of indigenous education in the Territory. As such, the last four years have been a critical period in reasserting the importance of indigenous education across a broad range of fronts. This government has made indigenous education core business of the Department of Employment, Education and Training.
The efforts of teachers, principals, corporate staff, communities and students in implementing strategies and initiatives within the Indigenous Education Strategic Plan 2000-04 have led to an increase in the retention rate of indigenous students in secondary education, increased numbers of indigenous students accessing and achieving outcomes in secondary schools in remote communities in the Northern Territory, improved numbers of young indigenous children accessing preschool in remote communities, and an improvement in the number of indigenous students participating in and achieving national assessment benchmarks.
In fact, the number of indigenous students achieving the Year 3 national reading benchmark improved 31% since 2001, the Year 5 benchmark improving by 43%, and the Year 7 figures improving by 46%. The Year 3 numeracy benchmark has improved by 10%, Year 5 by 38% and Year 7 by 43%. The number of indigenous students retained from Year 8 to Year 10 has increased by 185%, and from Year 10 to Year 12 by 105% since 2001. The number of indigenous students achieving Northern Territory Certificate of Education has increased by 240%.
While the result is impressive in percentage terms, we are coming off a very low base, and that still means only 60 indigenous students in government schools received the certificate in 2004. We are proud of these achievements, showing, as they do, that a focused effort in delivering education can achieve results. At this stage, those gains can be considered tentative, and it will require ongoing and unrelenting attention if we are to see sustained and strong improvement. Over time, it is our intention to close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous outcomes, and the government is very aware that there are limited resources available for everything we do.
To ensure the funds we have are strategically focused, and in an effort to use the expertise of people working in the field, I initiated two one-day forums with senior people in the agency, practitioners of indigenous education in the field, teachers of quality and representatives from Charles Darwin University and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. Over two separate days at the end of 2004 and the beginning of this year, we worked through the critical agenda for the four year plan. Unless we have clear and achievable goals in the next four years, we will dissipate our effort and perhaps lose the opportunity to build on existing success. The decision of that group and the government is to steadfastly maintain our strong emphasis on indigenous education.
Additionally, over the next four years, a strong focus must be placed on fixing the education and training system in our major communities outside the urban areas. In other parts of Australia, these communities would be described as the townships of the Northern Territory. Many of these communities are reaching or service populations of 2000 and more. They have large and growing populations of young preschool and school-age children, and they present the best opportunity to make significant strides in regional economic development.
Government believes that the reach of government services must be extended beyond the major urban areas of Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Darwin. The major communities are an important part of the development of a strongly decentralised Territory. To that end, I will be acting to develop and grow the education and training services available in each of these places.
For the most part, these communities have schools that are described now as Community Education Centres, and it is these centres that will receive our fullest attention. In all, there are 15 government Community Education Centres in the Territory. These are: Alekarenge, Angurugu, Borroloola, Gapuwiyak, Gunbalanya, Kalkarindji, Lajamanu, Maningrida, Milingimbi, Ramingining, Ngukurr, Shepherdson College, Numbulwar, Yirrkala and Yuendumu. Over the next four years, we will work to offer effective education from preschool through to senior secondary in each of these centres, with students able to progress from there to tertiary or vocational education and training opportunities, or directly to employment.
In addition to Community Education Centres, we will redevelop other major elements of our education system over the next four years, in particular the distance education system by making it more relevant to delivering education services to remote communities; homeland centres, through the establishment of a policy for service levels; and we will develop policies and programs that address issues related to movement of people from remote communities to urban centres, often referred to as urban drift.
The Ramsey report into secondary education identified clear weaknesses in the delivery of distance eduction in the Territory, particularly the need to coordinate existing distance education services and resources. While we have not proceeded with his recommendation of abolishing the Northern Territory Open Education Centre, there is a major review of all of our distance education providers under way. It is our intention to create a distance education centre of excellence that will best meet needs of remote students.
Government believes that there is an increasingly important role for educating people in more distant communities with a mixed mode delivery. The distance education system needs to be capable of handling the role of face-to-face teaching, support for teachers on the ground supervising distance education students, and supporting the training of teachers. There is also a need for greater innovation in the use of information technology in the delivery of education and training to remote places. The government is keen to use distance delivery modes for the delivery of improved training in communities.
The delivery of educational services to homeland learning centres is a vexed issue, and one which goes to the heart of how far resources can be stretched. While we expect distance education providers to deliver more education to these communities, it is clear that we need to determine, in a more formal way, the level of infrastructure and the provision of teaching and training resources to these communities.
The issue of urban drift to major urban centres is one that presents major servicing and resourcing challenges. It bedevils countries around the world. While our focus on strengthening major communities over time will reduce it, the phenomena will continue to be with us. To adequately equip urban schools with the capacity to properly handle a changing cohort of students is critical. This will be addressed in our indigenous education strategic plan.
There are four goals we wish to achieve through our focus on these major areas: the development of an educational culture through the building of a partnership between local communities and schools, education and training; improve literacy and numeracy outcomes; access to education and training coupled with effective resourcing approaches; and a comprehensive and viable vocational education and training system in the communities.
In particular, we believe that development of a strong education culture in the major indigenous communities will be an important achievement. Often, there is a disconnection between the aspirations of the community and the direction of schooling and training, and this lack of a shared vision has meant that education and training is not valued as a tool for improving life.
I have witnessed the disconnection first-hand in schools I have visited, but I have also witnessed places where the communities, schools and teachers are working hand-in-hand, and the difference is astounding. There is a buzz and sense of purpose around those schools that is not matched by those places where the school sits within the community as an island.
To achieve this goal over the next two years, the government will undertake, in our large remote communities, the most comprehensive community education process ever conducted in our schools. Genuine community engagement will be facilitated by external consultants, separate from both the community and the government. We would expect the engagement will produce commitments from the community about their role in the education and training of their children, and from the government about our role in providing that education and training. From that engagement process, we will develop and sign an education contract with each individual community specifying those responsibilities. They will not be one-offs. They will be sustainable and sustained agreements to be revisited on a regular basis to keep them as living and breathing documents.
I would like to see contracts made explicit and hanging on the wall in a place of prominence in the school, something that will be continually referred to and reinforced as the direction of the school. For new teachers coming into the school, it will be the first document that they encounter. The subjects covered by community engagement need only be limited by the expectations of the participants and the recognition of achieving the possible, not setting impossible tasks.
The government believes that community engagement and involvement will make outcomes more achievable. When we came to office, I directed a minimum of two hours per day in every school day spent on literacy. I believe that without a minimum standard of English literacy and numeracy skills, finding meaningful paid employment is going to be unlikely.
We intend to strongly support whole-of-school approaches to literacy and numeracy teaching over the next four years. This will include a significant boost through the roll-out of accelerated literacy to 100 schools including ongoing support to teachers to maximize the benefits of this approach, revitalising bilingual education as a whole-of-school approach to improving literacy and numeracy outcomes, and maintaining the focus on preparing teachers to provide high quality teaching to students who do not have English as their first language.
Over the past few years we have seen improvements in the literacy levels of our students through the use of accelerated literacy teaching methodology. Generally, the average rate of reading improvement is one level per year. Analysis by Charles Darwin University so far shows students undertaking accelerated literacy are improving their reading ability at an average of 1.61 levels per year.
Accelerated literacy is currently provided in 20 schools, with more than 1440 students involved in the program by the end of 2004. We aim to roll the program out to 10 000 students across 100 Territory schools by 2008. That will involve 700 teachers who will be trained in the program and provided with professional support.
The government is also putting bilingual education back on the agenda. It is another important teaching methodology, with some initial evidence that results from bilingual schools appear generally better than other like schools. More evidence is being collected and evaluated. The program will be discussed within the community engagement process, not imposed on communities, and, given its resource-heavy nature, will be carefully rolled out.
We will continue a focus on attendance at school. This will be heavily influenced by the effectiveness of the engagement process. Where people see the importance and relevance of sending children to school, regular attendance should follow. Our support of bilingual education will also demonstrate to some communities our commitment to valuing an indigenous contribution to education and should itself act to improve attendance.
We are also prepared to be innovative with the school year and the school day. I accept that there are fixed aspects of our year that cannot be shifted – MAP testing times, etcetera - but there can and should be flexibility at other times. A term-by-term, 9 to 3 o’clock approach does not necessarily fit the pattern of life of indigenous communities. Where, for example, does compulsory attendance at ceremonies fit in to the school year? As part of our engagement, we will ensure that the school day and the school year is organised in a way that will best deliver educational outcomes for the students.
To improve outcomes, we will ensure that the education and training system is more relevant to indigenous students across the board. We will value indigenous student knowledge in the learning process and provide an environment at school where students are able to draw on their own knowledge throughout their learning journey.
Furthermore, we intend to have a stronger focus on valuing indigenous language and culture through the curriculum. Students in the Northern Territory will have access to and be able to gain an understanding of Australian indigenous culture. We will ensure this is evolved to match available resources. The government is currently undertaking a major rework of staff-student formulae. What is being considered in this work is the needs in any particular classroom as opposed to set student-staff ratios. It requires us to think more innovatively about what staff we will have in a classroom at any time.
We have already indicated we support a shared approach to resources enabling schools of small size to receive specialist resources shared with other schools. This approach, combined with greater distance education capacity, will start to overcome the lack of specialist resources available outside of major urban areas.
Better access to schooling must bring with it greater opportunity to access vocational education and training and higher education if our young indigenous people are to be in a stronger position to compete for employment and business opportunities in regional and remote areas. There is much work to be done in this area. It is anticipated that the community engagement process to be undertaken will address training requirements as well.
Underpinning our strategic plan will be a commitment to: more active involvement of indigenous Territorians in decision-making about employment pathways, programs and delivery; growing the participation of young people in VET and higher education; the development of delivery models based on customised training; and building links between skills development, regional and remote jobs, industries and business opportunities.
We will get better focused skills development VET programs into regional and remote schools under VET in Schools and through the current Training for Remote Youth and Building Better Schools initiatives.
We will build on the transition from school to jobs pathways by working with local employers, local industry and taking advantage of business development opportunities. We will improve the planning around community response programs and work with registered training organisations to develop effective models for delivery of better training.
We acknowledge and will act on the need for better coordination of government resources, staff, infrastructure and training dollars in regional and remote areas to build skills for real jobs and business enterprises as well as to develop a clearer focus on the goals of the community backed by government, training providers, employers and industry.
During the next four years, we also intend to look closely at employment in these major communities, particularly employment within the schools. The government will restructure the way we employ indigenous people in the agency to ensure that there are clear employment pathways. We will work with Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education to reintroduce the distance education teacher training programs. We will set goals for the number of people employed and we will engage with communities in selecting the right people to undertake these important tasks.
I am concerned in developing new secondary schooling out bush that we also develop a strong vocational educational and training program to accompany it. A focus on developing strong training centres in each of the Community Education Centres will result from this focus.
It is also my intention to open the schools to a far more innovative approach to training. The delivery of training to communities has suffered, in my view, since the removal of the old adult educator positions. I want to see the infrastructure that we provide in our schools utilised after school hours. There is no reason why distance education and training cannot be delivered to adults when the students have gone home.
The previous four year strategic plan established and resourced the Learning Lessons Committee as a means of providing advice to government on indigenous education issues. Over the next term, this organisation will be evolved into a Northern Territory Indigenous Education Council with more firmly established terms of reference and a more structured place in our education system.
The plans outlined today are merely a snapshot of those to be placed into the four year strategic plan. As I said earlier, this is the framework from which the plan will be formed. I believe the plan will continue to build on the successes of the last four years and provide a means of narrowing, and eventually closing, the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous student outcomes.
We in this House must not underestimate the importance of the task. In the decade from 2020 to 2030, the Australian work force will receive only around 170 000 new entrants, about the same as Australia currently produces in one year. The only place in Australia where the 19 to 21 year-old age group is going to be increasing at that time is here in the Northern Territory, and 75% to 80% of those young people will be indigenous Territorians. They are being born today. So it is incumbent upon us now to get it right.
I believe steps that have already been taken, but we need to turn into these into much larger strides. It can be achieved, Madam Speaker; it must be achieved. I commend the statement to the House. I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, the opposition supports the statement wholeheartedly. In respect of the framework, its aims and objectives, we can honestly stand behind each one of them.
We also wish that at the end of our time in this Chamber, there is a clear and measurable difference to this issue, which concerns all of us. No matter what side of the Chamber we sit or in which communities we work, the purpose of this Chamber is to advance the best interests of all Territorians.
If I am to make constructive suggestions and comments on the statement, I ask that the minister see these not as criticisms and qualifications, but as constructive suggestions. The way this Chamber is constructed is to allow us to advance policy development and to ensure that those who receive the decisions that we make benefit. So I ask that the minister and members opposite who are prepared to contribute to this statement view the comments from the opposition as constructive rather than being criticisms or qualifications.
It was Aristotle who said that the root of education is bitter but the fruit sweet. If we are to be actively engaged as community leaders and decision makers, we must accept, at the beginning that we are directly involved in eduction ourselves. To assist in seeing this, I imagined that my electorate, or any electorate in an urban community, had a school where not one of the students reached the national benchmark. If that occurred in Palmerston, northern suburbs, Katherine or Alice Springs - let us say it was Melbourne, let us say it was Sydney - what sort of attention would that receive? We can only imagine. We would unpack that and see the sad story behind it. What would lead to such a sad result? What does that tell you about the community?
I am sure it would galvanise action in an extraordinary way. Today Tonight would feature it, and John Laws would talk endlessly about it. This is happening day after day, year after year. In many respects, it is out of sight and out of mind. I will be honest: in my busyness it is only in recent times that I have had the opportunity to more deeply engage as I strengthen my involvement in this community and understand more about my role. I take this job, as members this side of the Chamber do, very seriously. This rises as an issue that affixes our attention most determinedly to endeavour to see beyond and to shut off the politics of it, to see whether we can actually make some real difference.
When Aristotle said ‘the root of eduction is bitter’, it is bitter for all of us. I hope when we enter this debate, we recognise that this is something that is very hard for us to swallow. If we view education differently, however, and see it externally to us, and as something that is provided to other people, it is not so bitter; it is a matter of managing and delivering service to other people.
Sadly, that is the way bureaucracy develops. We lose community; we lose the sense of personal involvement. I understand what liberal political philosophy is, and it is liberty. In considering this statement, I like to see it from the perspective of a child and a family, and walk it back from that direction, rather than from the minister all the way down to the child, back the other way. That is what we should do to help see it from another angle so that we can make sure that we are true to our obligation to make the difference to the child, to engage the aspirations of that family in a meaningful way. Then we can discharge our duties in a way that assists us to move on, knowing that we have made a difference and left a legacy. Honesty is required. This is a bitter route, this issue of education, but the fruit is sweet.
Let me start with what struck me on my second reading of this statement. I did not see it initially. I will say again that the framework is supported; we stand behind the objectives. We want to see the gap closed and the community engaged. However, on my second reading, I wondered whether this statement was an outline of a strategic plan for the Department of Employment, Education and Training or a strategic plan for education. There is a distinct difference.
Is the minister speaking for the department and its plan or for the aspirations of all Territory families, whatever school or system they choose to attend? There is a philosophical difference once we separate them by that question. If we read the statement, we will recognise that it is the department because the non-government sector is not referred to at all in this statement. It appears to be a framework established around, through and from a department delivering services.
The statement is supported - I will say if for the third time: the strategy is endorsed by opposition. I urge the minister to take one step further to include the non-government sector, to take off the departmental hat and to wear the whole-of-Territory hat. To exclude reference to the non-government sector ignores the fact that close to 80% of remote students who achieved success in Year 12 last year were from the non-government sector. The significance of the independent education sector, for many years in the Northern Territory is underscored by the majority of indigenous leaders, both in this parliament and across the country, had a private education.
An effective strategic plan must include the means to engage all sectors. I urge the minister, in the interest of advancing this issue, to establish a round table to allow representatives from all sectors to work together to increase coordination and policy development in the best interests of all students in all schools, and to advance education.
The children, whichever school they attend, are the primary responsibility of their parents. It is the aspirations of the parents, whichever school they choose for their children to attend, that must be harnessed. Two cannot walk together unless they are agreed, and there needs to be more time, care, careful and humble consideration of the very difficult issues affecting all of our families.
I say to myself as well as to the minister: there can be no winners when there is unhealthy competition between sectors. I am not beating the drum of the independent education sector; I am speaking for education. We must see beyond the department, whose primary objective is to deliver a service. They discharge that responsibility well in delivering a service, but meeting the expectation of the communities and families? Not so well. I have ears that hear. I hear from communities around our Territory. I can hear what hopelessness sounds like. I can hear disappointment and confusion. We must respond. Otherwise these leather seats here service our backsides for a few years and then we shuffle on, the disappointment increases and the problems compound. Hopelessness leads to suicide and substance abuse.
We have to make a difference. We have to change paradigms. We have to see it differently. I think it was Einstein who said that if you have no success in employing a particular method and you get outcome X, and you keep employing the same method, keep pumping the same pump, hoping that something else is going to come out it, after 20 years of doing the same thing and you get the same result, for God’s sake, stop. We have to stop and reassess.
Look at the statement; it is a good statement. However, underneath it, the underpinnings are where we need to dwell. Statements like this have been made in different forms at different times in this parliament and other parliaments, and they are good, but it is the underpinnings we need to address. It is time for reform, serious reform. It is time for deeper thinking; it is a time to engage more courageously, I argue.
There was no reference to the independent sector, which has made significant gains at great cost over many, many years in education. It needs to be absorbed into this discussion. It has aspirations as well. It has lessons to learn, but it has much to teach.
Equally, there is no reference to the motivation of students. It is admirable to provide capacity and opportunity. We all want to do that; that sounds great. We all want to. I would like to provide that for my own kids and I believe that, as a dad, I have done that - provide capacity and opportunity. I wanted to do more for my kids. I wanted to have them intrinsically motivated so that when they left the provision of the family home, they are motivated to go where I never went. There is no reference to the motivation of our students. How do we get behind the story? It is not there. It is about frameworks. It is about something that emanates from a bureaucracy. We need to get behind the veil and see the means, the keys, to motivate. They are not there.
There needs to be an equal concentration on motivating students to want to succeed in employment and in the wider Australian context. There is nothing sadder - and I see it even in my own electorate: young lads into whom I want to breathe some want to take a job, take a risk. The want is missing. We need the tools to create the want. It is so similar to sport. There are many naturally talented kids who can kick footballs around the park, but those who go on to play at the top level are those who are motivated. Beyond merely having skills, we must instil this in all our children without, of course, damaging self-confidence.
We have worked with kids, let us not get too airy-fairy about this. Young human beings, young people are resilient. We have to try pretty hard if we are genuinely motivated in the best interests of our young people to damage their self-confidence.
As I said, the root of education is bitter. There are tough lessons, but the fruit is sweet. That extra bit requires special skill. It is not good enough for so-called education experts to insinuate that motivating students to reach for the best is undesirable. Some might even call it elitist. Motivation is a magnet. It pulls the whole group together. I cannot see that. I draw members’ attention to it as a constructive comment rather than a criticism. I hope in maturity and in the best interests of what we are endeavouring to do, it will be responded to in like spirit.
We are delighted to see the gains that have been made in benchmarks, particularly in Year 3 national reading benchmarks – delighted to see that! We are equally pleased with the number of indigenous students achieving the NT Certificate of Education. We note the low base. That is a story in itself. It is easy to say they are coming from a low base, but it is a story in itself. If you have ever worked in communities where there has been very little success, success from a low base is still success. I have seen kids who have made what in a general context is a slight improvement, but in their own context, it is an enormous gain. We need sensitivity to recognise the success and gains that are made and have the means to reward and breathe some life into it.
My next statement should not be taken as a criticism of your government’s efforts, minister. It is merely an observation that I suspect you will not share with me. Teachers must continually balance the need for and their desire to encourage indigenous students to strive to do better. They must balance this with the potential for being patronising and consequently disadvantaging the very people they wish to help. It leads to the issue of teacher training.
Building capacity in our teaching profession to be prepared to serve in this very special area requires attention to teacher training. I entered the profession as a mature age student. One of my most interesting courses - one of my sub-majors was Indigenous Education – was Bilingual. I was provided with the opportunity to learn a little Pitjantjatjara language. That was my first encounter with another language. I did not realise at the time how important the learning of another language is to help me understand who I am, what culture I have and, more importantly, the cultures of others around me.
There needs to be a greater emphasis on the teaching of indigenous languages, particularly for teachers who want to serve in remote communities. If we look at different nations and all the different issues and objectives to which they have to attend, this is right up there. Our nation will be held to account for how we respond to this issue. No matter what side of politics we are on, we will be held to account, and we must support the proper preparation of teachers who work in remote areas with courses to suit the objective, including the teaching of language and recognition of service, particularly extended service, with enhanced pay and rewards for those who dedicate themselves to what is a responsibility of all of us.
We note the need for greater innovation in the use of information technology in the delivery of education and training in remote places, and we are particularly pleased to see this, as we envisage a day in the near future when remote communities are able to participate in the best schooling from around the world. It will be the choice of the customer by interactive services from broadband.
Employment is crucial, and without harping on or politicising the argument, I look forward to many of these indigenous students gaining employment in the Territory’s expanding mining industry. Industry drives this. The opening up of our economy drives this. Education must have a context, and the opening up, in this specific instance of the mining industry, provides a very important opportunity, just as the announcements that have been uttered in this Chamber today and through the media, I suspect, about the MOU with the wharf development, just as we have seen what was delivered through the railway. That provides the context for education.
I now come to an important point: the external consultant you mentioned to facilitate genuine community engagement will be a person with a practical viewpoint, not someone driven by ideology. An agent of the department, I fear, may very well disadvantage our indigenous communities.
I suggest that the education contract you intend signing with each individual community needs to have some enforceability. I am talking about mutual obligation. After all, I know of no contract that does not include penalties for non-compliance. Before you jump on that one, members opposite, please consider the tone and the spirit in which I have delivered all these comments.
This is a very difficult issue. As I said, the root of education is bitter, but the fruit is sweet. It is not easy to teach, it is not easy to learn, which is why there has to be additional consideration, otherwise it sounds great. You can put something on a wall and you can point to it – perhaps even bow to it and give it a round of applause - but it may not make one jot of difference. That is appalling. I do not want to be a part of that, and I am sure the minister does not either. It will require the cooperation of all us to ensure that we have a system in place which goes way beyond signs and wonders to practical change.
As I said at the beginning, we need to turn this around the other way and to see education from the point of view of a family in a community, to turn it upside down and to see that the department is there to serve the community, not to have service delivered to the community and then the department feel they have acquitted their duty. That is not too far from welfare. When education is supplied, welfare is supplied, it is done in the same mind-set and creates the same sad result.
We are talking about empowerment, which is why it has to be seen from the other way. Otherwise, everyone feels hunky dory and the minister feels fine. Why? Because the department has said everything is hunky-dory. You cannot hear the communities because they cannot get through to the department. They cannot tell the minister, he cannot see it, he is a busy bloke. We have to see it around the other way. Otherwise, we think we have made a difference but in our hearts we know we have not. We have to see it from the points of view of those we serve, so the people of Territory understand, so we can walk together in agreement knowing that we have made some progress, albeit small, but some progress that leads to further progress and foundations upon which we can build.
I support bilingual education. Members opposite do, too. Members of the opposition support bilingual education …
Mrs Braham: I don’t.
Mr MILLS: Other members will have an opportunity to speak on this in a moment. It provides the capacity for the establishment of meaning in a cultural context. It also provides an extended bridge whereby greater involvement at the community level can be brought into the provision of education at that community level.
I understand that, in the four years this government to deliver its responsibilities, there was a time when there was profoundly strong support for bilingual education. It seems, just in four years, there has now been reference to ‘some’ schools. It seems, behind that story, that there is some disappointment in communities that it has so jolly long when there was such an interest from members when they were in opposition.
The final comments of this statement need to be broadened so that we are talking about education and all the stakeholders from the perspective of parents, families and kids. We need to involve the independent sector. This is not about power or one sector over another. There are no winners in that competition - no winners at all. It is not about power, though, sadly, it is, but should not be. Education is what this is about. As the minister said, quoting a saying that is often referred to in education circles: education does not happen unless it happens to a child, and they see things a little differently and feel a little more empowered and more confident, and want to take the next tentative step on the path to learning. That connects to a possibility that the world, the Territory or the community offers.
When I began my more serious inquiry of where are at, it was not until I had a greater understanding of the differences between cultures that helped me to see what we are really dealing with. When I consider my upbringing and that of my children and any of my peers, we sit around the table and we are always talking about: ‘Gee whiz, you must do your homework. Don’t you know your tables? Let me help you’. You are always reinforcing, always saying the same stuff behind the scenes. ‘Let me check what you are doing for your homework. Read that to me’. You tell your kids all the time: ‘If you do not, you will not have the opportunities that you could have. So get stuck into it; make sure you pay attention in class because if you do not, you reduce your opportunities’. We say it all the time to our kids, and it is true.
I went on my first visit to a community, and I wondered why the kids were not at school. I asked, after some consideration, why they were not at school. It was a beautifully equipped school, the teachers were all raring to go, but there were only 30% in attendance. Why was that? It was because the discussions they had around their dinner tables are very different from the discussions we have around our dinner table that go on all the time about the hope for the future: get stuck into education; it will lead somewhere. We have to deal with that. We have to inject hope that education will lead somewhere. That is why the economy is so important. That is why the opening up of possibilities within our developing Territory is critical. Education must be seen in the context of a family looking ahead with hope for the future. The root of education is bitter, but the fruit is sweet.
Dr TOYNE (Health): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thought about, as I normally do when indigenous education comes before the House, what useful contribution I could make to the topic.
In previous speeches in here, I have certainly wanted to contribute from the insights I gained when I was involved in remote and indigenous education over so many years. However, today I wanted to look at some of the factors that impact education, a bit of a wider frame than the types of things that we normally hear talked about within the agency of education.
I would like to point out a few of the wider relationships needed. What do you need to successfully educate kids? You need a committed and competent teacher who regularly appears in front of a group of kids and stays more than a very short period of time in a community, stays long enough to get to know the community, the cultural and personal backgrounds of the students with whom they are working.
You need a group of kids that is teachable, is in a fit state to learn, also appearing regularly as part of that process. In behind that, you need a community that both understands and is committed to a process of school education, that there is a meaning around the education process that motivates the parents to support it - not just week by week or for a couple of months, but year after year to build on a strong education base.
Those kids, to learn, have to be in a good, healthy and well-developed state. There are all sorts of things that impair a child’s ability to learn. It sounds really simple. Probably everything else is nice to have, but that is not the core of it. I have seen really good education programs carried out in a bough shed made out of desert oak poles with spinifex cover over the top. A program ran for five years in that structure and they were getting better results than some of the schools around them that had been fully set up.
I am not indicating for a moment advocating that we abandon our school facilities and go back to boughs sheds. All I am saying is that many of the factors by which we often judge an education program are the more visible physical things. We lose sight of the fundamental, which is the basic teaching relationship between a competent, committed teacher over time and competent, teachable kids who are committed and are urged by their parents and their community to continue with that process.
Pulling and holding all that together in indigenous education is a bit like trying to build a sand castle in an inter-tidal zone. There are so many factors tearing at it the whole time. You have teachers who may or may not adapt to remote teaching situations, to remote communities or, indeed, to the particular challenges of teaching in our urban indigenous programs. They are very challenging. They confront teachers both professionally and personally to make the adjustment. Therefore, you may not have teachers there for the long periods that are needed to produce results.
There have been occasions when teachers have stayed for enormous amounts of time in communities. Wendy Baarda at Yuendumu is a case springs to mind. She has been at Yuendumu for 25 years or more now and she carries the knowledge of generations of families. She can point to adults who are well past middle age now who are ex-students from her programs. I suggest that it does not matter a damn what sort of program Wendy Baarda presented to her students over all those years, or indeed a teacher who was committed to an English-only approach; the core of it is an enormous span of consistent effort with a particular community. There is trust, there is respect and there is mutual understanding. That is the strongest base you could possibly put under an education program.
As long as we have this enormous churn in the ranks of our teachers, we are always going to struggle for the depth of commitment that the teachers to whom I refer bring to the programs they teach. I am sure there are many examples around the Northern Territory of teachers like Wendy. They are the teachers who hold community schools together, whether they are in town or in the bush.
When you look at the outcomes of education up to now, the huge challenge is to continue to ask for commitment and motivation of support from parents when they see the overall cycle in the community as a whole - and this is not just the school; this is the way in which the communities are faring over time – is not very reassuring. You put your kids through six years of primary education, often additional years of whatever post-primary and secondary education might be on offer - what do they see in graduates with that many years of schooling? I do not know that the benefit is so strong in many cases that parents will line up again to put kids of the next generation through that program.
We have to show tangible benefit of kids coming through education programs if we are going to expect parents to line up and support a school, teachers and the whole process. We have to bite down on the need to link effort to outcome in our communities. Often, there is no difference in outcome to a kid who has gone through all those years of schooling and one who has not. In the case of young men, often they end up in gaol together. That is a difficult thing to argue away when we are saying all the way through: ‘Bring your kids to school; it’s good for them and they will have a good future’. In many cases, it does occur, but not in enough cases. That leads us to this increasing challenge of getting communities to support their schools.
What is in the kids’ background? We see kids coming into a classroom who may have had a huge amount of turmoil in their home overnight with substance abuse or it may be simply that they haven’t had a decent feed. They may be there one week and gone the next. In fact, with increased mobility in remote communities, people are moving around. Families are moving around, kids are moving around the whole time, and you simply cannot get good educational outcomes if kids are only there two days a week. We have to acknowledge that and see what we can do about those factors; things that have nothing to do with the program in the school, nothing to do with training or equipment at the school. This is about how many times you see a kid over a year. You cannot teach a kid effectively if you are only going to see them 20% or 30% of the teaching time available in a school year.
We have this new nomadic lifestyle that takes people away to family visits in other communities, into town, over to sports weekends, off to Sorry Business and so on, the result being that the only way you can effectively keep up with teaching is to jump in the car with the family. Otherwise, you will only see the kids a minority of the time.
One of the most graphic things about the state that kids are often in when they are in these classrooms is health. Quite apart from obvious things like boils, which are obviously very painful - and who is going to learn effectively when they are in pain? One direct experience I had was when the National Acoustic Laboratory came to Yuendumu School to test for otitis media and other ear problems. They brought a pair of industrial earphones. They gave a 40 dB loss in each ear. You put the earphones on, and you are hearing the world exactly the same way as a kid that has otitis media with pussy ears and, often, perforated ear drums. It was a horrifying experience. There was absolutely no tonality in what you were hearing, it was dull, boring and almost indecipherable. How are we going to teach kids in that situation?
Despite all these factors, there are some amazingly good outcomes being achieved in many of our indigenous schools, as the minister said. We have to pay very close attention to wider set of factors if we are going to fight our way up to a better level of outcome. Certainly, one of them is health and that was underlined very strongly in the Collins report when it was brought down, where it was, absolutely rightly, recognised that the education department, the teachers and the schools cannot be solely responsible for turning the trends around. It has to be a whole-of-government approach. It has to be an approach that not only brings in other government agencies, but mobilises the communities around a new approach to supporting education programs.
There is such a huge body of research that says that if you send kids along at the age of 5, 6, 7 years of age to the local education program in the state that many of them are in now, you are guaranteed not to get a good outcome, no matter how much you throw at it in the way of new approaches and resources. We have to go back to look at the first five years of life leading to school, going into preschool and then on into school. If you do not have healthy mothers, you are going to have under-weight babies, you are going to have reduction in the mental development of kids of up to the age of five. We know that most brain development happens in the first five years.
We know that if we are going to try to avoid a lot of the later problems of life that the graduates of our schools are going to face in the form of chronic disease, you have to deal with early childhood infections, you have to deal with the general environment in which these kids are living. They are going back to houses where they are going to get sick, and sick kids cannot learn. We have to work hand-and-glove at the local level, between the local clinic and the local school. Thankfully, a lot of that work is starting to happen.
I would like to outline for members some of the areas that we are tackling in the way of early childhood health, which we see as an educational activity because if we can get those kids to school with a better health and development outcome, they will be more teachable and they will be happier to be in the school environment.
We are working on new models. We are looking at $2.2m going into child health funding to employ 25 child health workers. These are people like nutritionists, nurses and midwives who can work together to ensure the early development years leading up to school-aged years are going to maximise the ability of those kids to get into an education program and succeed.
We are looking at the Department of Employment, Education and Training and the Health department forming partnerships to allow our clinics to screen and pick up the sort of conditions that are impairing learning in those early primary years so that we can do something about it. We are starting to get a broader and more accurate picture of the health profiles of this age group, and that is the first step to being able to put in place initiatives that are going to improve the situation.
We are leading the nation now in child health and wellbeing initiatives. All Australian jurisdictions are now locking into this great challenge of working on early childhood health. We have provided $230 000 to phase in free hearing screening tests for every newborn baby throughout the Territory. Once this is in place, we will pick up these hearing disabilities, which often are not picked up for years at school; all you see is a child who is disinterested, under-performing and generally alienated and drops out of the program.
We have to contribute to what the minister for Education is doing in the detail of what goes on in school programs. We have to support that; we have to get other areas of the communities mobilised to help.
Child protection comes in to this. Kids are not going to be very receptive to teaching if they have been abused - whether it is physical or sexual abuse - or if they are witnessing on a nightly basis domestic violence in the household. It is commonplace around the Territory to see kids who need counselling before they need teaching so they can trust adults enough to open their thoughts to an education program. We will continue with healthy school-age kids programs, the school breakfast programs – I will not go in to details – and school readiness programs, which are screening and basically dealing with some of the known disabilities that will affect the educational outcomes of kids.
I hope I have not sounded too negative about this; I do not intend to be. There are many worthwhile activities going on in education, as the minister reported, and as I reported to this House on child maternal health. We have to put all this together, and we have to do it quickly because we are running out of chances to turn these trends around and redeem the future of our education system.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the ministerial statement on indigenous education.
There is not a person in this Assembly who would not believe that education is the most important pathway to achieving outcomes for all Territorians. It is a right of all Territorians to have access to education and training to empower them for the future. Without education, life becomes one long struggle to achieve any ambitions or goals, and to maintain self-esteem. There is no reason I can think of to exclude any Territorian from receiving education, wherever they live, and the Country Liberal Party stands by that principle.
The minister has outlined what the Education Strategic Plan for 2000-04 has achieved, and it is pleasing to see that it is showing some improvement. The fact that 60 indigenous students in government schools received their Certificate in Education in 2004 is highly commendable. Whilst this number may only be small at this stage, it is very important and I congratulate the students who have achieved this level.
There will be many challenges facing government as they implement the next four-year strategy. However, it is important that the work that has been implemented in recent years does not go by the wayside and is built upon for the future. I note in the minister’s statement that there will be an emphasis in the first four years in each of 15 Community Education Centres to increase outcomes, and I am certainly in agreement with that.
Capturing young people at the earliest age possible and ensuring they get a good start in their education is the highest priority. Without that good start in their early and formative years, children are at a disadvantage and, in so many instances as we all know, in danger of falling by the wayside or out of the education system altogether.
The member for Stuart was talking about the relationship between health and education. Health in young indigenous people does play an important part in the reasons they do not attend school. It is a damning indictment that we do not in the Northern Territory address health issues of those kids before they even get to school.
I want to address a situation that has been highlighted and would not be considered remote, but is still very important in terms of educating our young indigenous people. That is the situation at Binjari, which is near Katherine and in my electorate. Binjari has approximately 250 people and is an alcohol-free community. They have great liaison with Katherine and we meet most of the people from the Binjari in Katherine each day. One hundred of those 250 people at Binjari are children, with approximately 15 children in the Years 1 to 3 age groups. There is a school bus that comes into Katherine each day from Binjari. The problem lies in the fact that many of these kids just do not catch the bus to go to school. The excuses are all of those we have heard before: they have slept in, could not be bothered, did not have any money for lunch, parents are not organised and responsible, and the list of excuses goes on and on.
That is the reality and it is highly likely that it will not change in the foreseeable future. Therefore, government is obligated to look at alternative ways at getting these kids into early childhood education by capturing their interest and enthusiasm as early as possible and getting them used to the learning processes.
In my talks with people at Binjari about how they can overcome this problem, a couple of suggestions were proposed by the community and I will explain them. They have a very small room at Binjari which was purpose built as a schoolroom. It is only small, but it has fenced-in grounds and is kept very neat and tidy. It is presently used by the mobile preschool when it visits Binjari. The suggestion from the community is that to get the younger children to become familiar with school and get them into some sort of routine, Years 1 to 3 be educated in that schoolroom. They figure that if they could get some basic education close to home, the kids would be interested enough to want to catch the bus from Year 3 level and go into Katherine to go on with their learning.
The suggestion was that a teacher could be based in Katherine and drive out each day to Binjari as it is only around 15 km. They also suggested that the teacher could be based at one of the primary schools in Katherine and out-posted to Binjari for half a day, then return to the Katherine school as a base. While this may seem excessive for approximately 15 children, if government is genuinely interested in the literacy and numeracy of all Territorians, you really have to address each situation on its merit.
What I have outlined for Binjari would not be expensive to at least trial as the building is already there. The food for the young students would be provided by the community through a program that is running very successfully and provides and sustenance for other members of the community. So that would not be a problem.
The only other suggestion that the community made was that maybe if that teacher came out in a coaster from Katherine and picked the kids up from the houses in the north residential area and then picked the kids up from the south area, so that they still felt part of the school system and got used to getting on a bus.
It might seem like it is baby-sitting them, but it is one way of getting these children to go to school. If the teacher was based in Katherine and staffed at one of the schools with access to their resources and travelled to the community each day, the outlay of funding to run the school at Binjari certainly would not be excessive.
This suggestion by the community has merit and I encourage the department to look at the opportunity with an open mind and a genuine desire to get the younger children of Binjari interested in educational outcomes. It can only be a win-win.
Another issue I hope the government is looking very seriously at is the number of indigenous students who do not attend school in urban areas. In other words, government needs to seriously address truancy. This is one problem that is very clearly highlighted in Katherine and usually ends up with bored kids doing the sorts of thing that annoy the heck out of the rest of the community - like vandalism, shoplifting, hanging around the mall and making a lot of noise or just hanging around and generally being annoying when they should be at school. The only answer I have to this one is increasing the number of Truancy Officers in each area to try to combat this problem. There is not another obvious answer to me.
In respect of community engagement, I commend Katherine High School. The teachers with whom I have contact at Katherine High School, and one that stands out especially is Lesley Bannan, do an excellent job in engaging the Katherine community in the training of Katherine High School students. We are terribly fortunate in Katherine that we have such a commitment from the teachers and the school.
Burridj Training Centre in Katherine works very closely with Katherine High School, and I am very pleased with the results they are achieving. At the moment, VET training programs have 16 students in Year 9 doing Certificate I Education; 31 Year 10 students doing Certificate II in Rural Operations; and 35 Year 10 and 11 students doing Certificate II in Rural Operations and Maintenance. There are school-based apprenticeships, and the figure is around 35. These figures are very pleasing. The biggest challenge, of course, is ensuring that the students have enough interest from the VET courses and school-based apprenticeships that they will stay on in those areas.
The three Rs, even though they might be old fashioned in terminology, are the most important fundamental requirements for every one in life. They are reading, writing and old arithmetic. Everyone deserves the right and should have those skills to assist them through their life.
I will be watching with interest over the next four years to see the outcomes of this government’s plan. I hope that the four year strategic plan that the minister outlined today achieves the outcomes it has set. I support the minister’s statement on indigenous education.
Ms ANDERSON (Macdonnell): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the statement on Indigenous Education by the very passionate Minister for Employment, Education and Training.
This subject is very close to my heart. Over the years, I have been deeply frustrated by the refusal of successive CLP governments to invest in the future of indigenous Territorians. I have also been deeply frustrated by the continual calls for economic development in remote communities when too many of our people do not have the basic literacy and numeracy skills to access welfare payments or know when they are being ripped off by unscrupulous traders. Lack of a good education has severely hindered the development of indigenous people and our communities.
In education circles, it was a well known scandal that the Territory consistently spent the majority of its Commonwealth indigenous education grants on administration. If memory serves me correctly, the NT routinely spent over 60% on administration by comparison with 10% or less charged by other jurisdictions.
The Martin government is the first in 27 years to actually implement policies and provide the resources to improve indigenous education. Who can forget the frustration expressed by communities in the Learning Lessons report at the never-ending round of consultations that produced countless reports but never produced any concrete changes? I will quote from a submission by a remote school in Learning Lessons at page 37:
I am proud to be part of a government that is taking action rather than just talking about indigenous education. Without doubt, education is the key to our future. I would not be standing here today if I did not receive a sound education. Like my fellow indigenous colleagues in this House, I had to go to boarding school to get this education, and, like so many of our children from remote communities, I found the situation incredibly difficult. In the early years, I would run away all the time and authorities would have to track me down. Normally, they would find me hiding in the fringe camps of Alice Springs or back at Papunya, and they would take me back to school.
Our kids are still running away from boarding schools. I spent a lot of my time after hours looking for kids who have run away, talking to them and trying to encourage them to persist with their education, often with no luck. Parents do get worried about their children being so far away and prey to any number of bad influences. Too many times we have seen our kids returned to communities having developed a taste for alcohol.
The roll-out of secondary education to remote communities is one of the most significant steps to occur in indigenous education. I am also looking forward to the significant improvements in the delivery of primary and secondary education in the medium to smaller communities. The commitment of this government to increasing resources, the pooling of specialist resources for sharing among smaller centres, and the utilisation of technology for improving education in smaller centres is vital to Central Australia.
Central Australia has different settlement patterns from the north, and I am anxious that our kids down there do not miss opportunities for good primary and secondary education.
I also welcome the fact that bilingual education is back on the agenda. Many first-time teachers in remote schools have had to confront the reality that many of the kids, particularly junior primary classes, just do not understand what they are saying. This can be a terrifying prospect for young teachers, as it can be for the kids attending school for the first time, so it is important that bilingual education is back on the agenda. As the minister has said, it is important that these steps be taken through the community engagement process.
Likewise, initiatives to utilise schools to provide for adults and VET education after hours is also vital to improving the education of indigenous people. Educated adults who develop competence in the use of English will facilitate and assist the education of their kids. They will also encourage their kids to go to school. As the minister said in his statement, where people see the importance and relevance of sending children to school, regular attendance will follow.
Much has been written and spoken about the truancy rates of indigenous kids, but consider what motivation they have to go to school. If they attend school every day, their work destination is likely to be CDEP. If they do not attend school every day, their destination is still likely to be CDEP. So the minister’s announcement about vocational education and training linked to skills development, regional and remote jobs, industries and business opportunities is welcome. It will show our youth the value of attending school and taking these opportunities to learn.
An example of this is the successful Builder Trainer Program that was developed by the Central Remote Regional Council in conjunction with IHANT. This program is currently operating in five Central Australian communities has local building apprentices building two houses per year whilst undertaking their apprenticeship. Not only is this program providing full-time jobs for 20 young men in remote communities, these men are role modelling the opportunities that arise from work and education, and within their communities they are helping to create a demand for employment and training opportunities.
Such programs are important to the future economy of the Northern Territory because young indigenous kids of today are the work force of tomorrow. The indigenous population profile is quite unlike that of mainstream Australia. Our population is overwhelmingly young, and if we invest now in developing their skills, we can avoid the problems that will beset the rest of Australia with its rapidly ageing population.
I see these adult education classes as having an integral role in developing the life skills of adults in communities who missed out on a good education owing to the neglect of previous governments. With literacy and numeracy embedded in classes on topics such as how to operate phone banking, accessing your correct entitlements, consumer rights, nutrition and health, driver’s licence, road safety and a myriad of other skills, advances will be made in the quality of life for indigenous people and their families.
Finally, I welcome the minister’s announcement on the stronger focus on indigenous language and culture through the general curriculum so that students in the Northern Territory will be able to learn and gain an understanding of the oldest culture in the world. This is important for reconciliation, for creating a harmonious modern culture in the Territory, and an important legacy for our children.
The Northern Territory, under the leadership of this government, is making great strides and setting in place the framework for our future development. The indigenous education statement by the minister is a cornerstone of that future. I commend the statement to the House.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the minister and commend him on his statement.
It is about time we had some direction in where we are going in education. It is too important an area to let float along, particularly now that the minister has given us a vision for what he wants to achieve in indigenous education. I applaud him for that because it will put the emphasis back where it should be.
I spent some time in the 1970s as an early childhood advisor, travelling around to schools. Many things I found then are probably relevant today. Every community can be, in its own way, quite different, but every community also has its strengths and weaknesses. What we need to do is to lean on the ones that have the strength.
There are many schools and communities out there, as we have heard from other speakers, that are doing such good things. We should not be dwelling on the negatives of why we are not achieving outcomes. We have numerous other departments that have a role to play in all this. If we concentrate just on education and the role that department has to play in getting better outcomes in teaching children and making them literate, then we will not overload them with all the other expectations that communities have of them.
Far too often, our teachers become social workers and their prime objectives are often lost in the day-to-day management of the school, in providing showers, meals, and community support. Teachers should be focusing on education. As the minister said, we need to get the communities in partnership with schools so that the community can take on the responsibilities of many of the other areas.
We seem to have lost the generation of the 1980s and 1990s. The 1960s and 1970s generation was still going to school; they were still learning. Somewhere along the way, the 1980s and 1990s generation bombed out. They are the ones who are concerning the minister now. Who is going to take the place of members in this House in 20 years time? Will there be talented Aboriginal people out there who are literate and can take on these leadership roles? Where are we going to get them? That why it is vitally important that we make sure we are achieving results today.
It is too easy to blame and too often, we find excuses. For education, it is too easy to stay in the comfort of an office rather than getting out there and giving support to teachers. Teachers in the bush do it tough; they have so many expectations of them and so many difficulties to face. They should not become the forgotten profession; they should be valued, respected and wanted.
There were some characters around in the past in many of our bush schools, teachers who had a passion for teaching and who would stay for years and get good results and be so proud of what their students could do. We still have that drive in many of our schools, but too often, we do not give them the support they need.
I know the minister wants better literacy and numeracy results. He claims staggering improvements in reaching national benchmarks, but providing percentages does not tell us the whole story. It would have been nice if the minister had put some figures on the table of how many students he was talking about. When he is referring to those who reach Year 3 level, does he mean they are eight and nine-year-olds reaching this standard, or is he referring to a student of any age who has reached Year 3? There is quite a difference. You or I would expect our eight or nine-year-old to reach Year 3 standard, but are we talking about a 12-year-old at Yirara reaching Year 3 standard? Let us not make it all fuzzy. Let us be honest with ourselves and know where we are going.
The introduction of an Accelerated Literacy Program is good and I commend the minister for it. Most importantly, I commend him for his introduction of the Professional Training component. It is so important we make sure our teachers know how to teach. It is one of my criticisms of universities these days: they do not teach teachers how to teach. Teachers do not come out with the teaching skills they need in classrooms; universities are too busy developing the individuals instead of giving them the skills they will need later on when they get into the classroom. To ensure, when you are introducing this program, that you give teachers the professional development, minister, I commend you for that. It is the most import aspect of your statement, one for which teachers in the bush will thank you. They say: ‘Do not ask us to do something unless you give us the means to do it’. Thank you, minister. That is great.
The curriculum in schools these days is too vast, too broad. Too many other things are demanded of schools. This is what communities should be addressing in their partnership agreements. They should be saying: ‘These are our priorities. These are the things that are good’. Let us face it: music, art, sport are the things at which Aboriginal children really excel. Let us not bog them down in other subjects where they will not excel. Let us build up their self-esteem, give them confidence. A child who wants to learn needs to believe in themself.
We heard the member for Blain talking about how we immerse our children in learning, and you have probably done it with your own. I have an 11-month-old grandson and I see my daughter reading him stories, just simple ones. We immerse our kids in it. We teach them their name and the name of street they live in so they see English all around them. Learning is not easy and we need to help people to do it.
We need to make sure that what we present to Aboriginal students in schools is going to get the results we want. We should not be overloading them with what we expect them to learn. Literacy is a priority, however, I remind the minister that oral English is also a priority. Remember the good old days where for the first 20 minutes every morning in the classroom, you did oral English and you learnt how to speak it and, gradually, how to understand it? It is something we need.
I am not a supporter of bilingual education mainly because I have never seen the results that come out of it as I have seen come out of the schools that taught English, and did it well. I could read many quotes about it from the Learning Lessons report. It was not a success. We have to admit that; it was not a success. There was failure to implement for all sorts of reasons. I am not going to read them; you have seen them. If we are going to think about introducing it, what do we mean, exactly?
You need a huge amount of resources to teach English, and to teach reading in English. Are we going to provide this huge amount of resources if we are going to teach literacy bilingually? Will our children in these schools be immersed in this print they are going to be required to learn? That is part of the failure of bilingual education: they may have the oral language, but they did not see it visually. It is the visual language that you are teaching them to read. I would prefer to see much more emphasis on teaching English as a second language and teaching children to read.
Let us face it: it is probably not the teacher’s role in the school to make sure the language of the community survives. That is the place of linguists, community leaders and traditional owners. For the school to take on that responsibility is far too onerous. It is a shame if we are losing some Aboriginal languages, but I know of the great work to ensure that many of these languages are not lost.
Aboriginal language is not a written language and I wonder why on earth linguists made it so hard to read. They seem to have this conglomeration of consonants and I find it a really hard language to read ...
Mr Wood: Only in Central Australia. You can read Tiwi.
Mrs BRAHAM: Well, I do not know what they were thinking when they started putting it on paper, but they have made it difficult. It is hard enough to hear and to learn to speak without the strange phonetics they put together as language.
Minister, if you going to down the road of bilingualism, be cautious. If you are going to introduce a new program, make sure it has all the support it needs. It failed when a lot of the materials produced were home made, not as stimulating and exciting as when we are teaching our children English, we did not have the right teaching skills or the right people there to teach it. Let’s not go down this experimental path if it does not give us results. It is as simple as that.
We have talked about school attendance. I am reminded that grog and TV were not such high priorities in Aboriginal life when I travelled in the 1970s. It is only lately that they seem to have taken over. The one thing they did well in the 1970s was that children attended school. I only know of one truancy officer in Alice Springs. I do not know whether they are in the bush schools, but Western Australia tried a program whereby they tried to get the whole community on side to make sure children go to school. They put up notices. Basically, during school hours, children should be in school. If you saw a child not in school during school hours, then you were to notify the school or the police or whoever was responsible. It was a simple thing, but it highlighted to the whole community that these children should not be here. That is really important, even for communities out in the bush. If a child wanders into the store, the storekeeper says: ‘I am not serving you until after school. Go to school’. Nothing is so urgent that it cannot wait until after school. Truancy is a problem, minister, and I would like to hear how you are going to address it. It is difficult.
We have had some good schools. Alekarenge had a program whereby if you attended, you were entitled to go to the after-school care program to enjoy all the activities there. Areyonga was the first school to introduce a ‘no school, no pool’ policy. Great! Wallace Rockhole was always the school that achieved extraordinarily good results. We know they are there. Yuelamu had a wonderful program whereby everyone in the community contributed $2 a week, whether they had children or not, and mothers provided lunch for the children. The children were always so excited and happy about it, and that nutrition was something that sustained those kids throughout the day.
We do concentrate a bit too much on the doom and gloom. We should be concentrating on the wins and we should celebrate those. Minister, when you are implementing this, I wish you well and I hope the department gets behind your push for this because education is the thing that will make sure our Aboriginal people do the right thing in this century, are able to take on their leadership roles, are able to be employed. There is no point in saying we are going to create jobs if we do not have people to do them. It is a vital thing that you have introduced today. I wish you well and I commend you for it.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Mr Deputy Speaker, there is no greater challenge facing this government than to assist indigenous people in participating in the Northern Territory economy. As the minister said, this needs to be our number one priority. So much depends on it. It is an obvious fact that the extent to which people participate in the economy significantly affects their living standards, health and their happiness.
The history of government-sponsored indigenous education in the Northern Territory is not a proud one, and its sorry record has been canvassed many times in this House. I do not propose to go over that well-trodden ground. I prefer to concentrate on the positives.
The recently-completed Indigenous Education Strategic Plan 2000-04 has had an overwhelmingly positive influence on schools and students in my electorate. The plan aims at implementing the recommendations that came from the Learning Lessons review. The minister has pointed out that after years of deteriorating outcomes from a depressingly low base, this last strategic plan has ushered in significant improvements throughout the Northern Territory, including secondary retention rates, secondary success rates, increased preschool enrolment and the achievement of national assessment benchmarks.
Schools and community education centres in my electorate confirm all this. I wish to especially acknowledge the tremendous progress made in the secondary program at Maningrida, where last year we saw the first local students achieve their Northern Territory Certificate of Education. However, for me, the greatest achievement has been that this minister - and I wholeheartedly congratulate him - has made indigenous education the core business of the Department of Employment, Education and Training, which it always should have been. Forty per cent of Northern Territory school students are indigenous and that figure alone demands core business status.
I am delighted to hear, as are the school communities of Gunbalanya and Maningrida, that community education centres will be the flagships of the government’s strategy, providing indigenous communities with an educational service of a standard at least the equivalent of those our urban centres enjoy.
The Gunbalanya and Maningrida schools are both making steady progress towards being generators of employment for local people. They are establishing links with local employers and are providing their students with the skills and capacity to hold down regular employment in their communities. Previously, indigenous vocational education programs have been allowed to atrophy and deteriorate. The news that this minister is determined to revamp and make relevant again an effective distant education program with a flexible mixed-mode delivery gives hope to communities that so desperately want to see their youth go from school to training, then to employment.
For Gunbalanya, Maningrida and, indeed, for Kakadu as well, outstations and small bush communities on traditional country are the preferred living places for as many as 30% of the indigenous population. For many, outstations provide the best opportunity to keep families happy, healthy and safe. I am pleased that this minister is determined to make outstations also a good place to get a good education.
In the electorate of Arafura, there are very positive employment and enterprise developments occurring in outstation communities, especially in the areas of land care, coast watch, natural resource management and the arts. An outstation’s education system needs to respond to these invaluable employment and economic enterprise development opportunities. Yes, there will be resourcing issues. No one denies that there are significant up-front expenses associated with outstation education, but it may be that the chances of success are greater there also.
I remind this House that the world famous Western Desert Art Movement is largely a creation of a remote outstation community, as is the state-of-the-art crocodile egg collecting enterprise in Arnhem Land. For that matter, the Territory’s hardest-working and most recently successful indigenous rock band, Narbalek, works out of Manmoyi, quite a small outstation community east of Gunbalanya in my electorate.
There is noticeable urban drift occurring between my electorate and Darwin. It will continue, as will the phenomenon of urban drift in the Territory generally. More and more, people from the bush will find their way to our cities and towns. Some will be seeking access to positive and life-affirming opportunities and services. Others will, unfortunately, be seeking more negative things. Children and teenagers are inevitably going to be caught up in this urban drift. It is incumbent upon us to make sure that the progress of moving from Maningrida CEC to Karama Primary School or Sanderson High School is as seamless as possible.
The minister wants to improve opportunities for non-indigenous students to understand and appreciate indigenous culture and history. It may be that the increasing numbers of indigenous students from bush communities in urban schools will enable schools to use these skilled practitioners of indigenous culture as instructors to enhance their school program.
I encourage the development of partnerships between urban and remote schools. The objective of such partnerships will include the arranging of cultural and educational exchanges designed to facilitate mutual interaction and understanding. We would all benefit from that.
The minister has outlined the four key goals he hopes to achieve in this new four-year plan. The establishment of a strong educational culture must be the foundation of the reform of indigenous education in the Northern Territory. In my electorate, I believe we are beginning to see the emergence of such a culture. The vigorous educational debate that is at present being conducted on the Tiwi Islands regarding future education structures and direction is certainly proof of this.
An effective educational culture can only be developed when you have parents, teachers, students and community leaders questioning the status quo. Questioning that is heartfelt and reflective of a genuine desire to secure the best interest of school-aged generation reveals a community that cares. Despite all the negative media, our communities do care. We have parents out there who do care about their children’s education, and they want to make a difference. They are concerned about the all of their educational achievements and outcomes.
The Tiwi see their education system as being at the crossroads. Many on the islands want immediate change; others are more hesitant and cautious. However, there is an active debate about these matters. People are beginning to do what this minister encourages; that is, taking responsibility for and participating in the task of formulating a comprehensive strategy for their kids’ educational future. Part of that task involves an examination of why outcomes to date have not been achieved in the past. It would help the Tiwi in the development of a plan for assessing and reforming local education arrangements if they could have the assistance of an independent consultant to work with them.
In the course of the Learning Lessons review, one peak employer body said that low literacy skills are the first, second and third barrier to indigenous employment in the work force. The minister has reported improvements in literacy, which has been attributable, in the main, to the accelerated literacy teaching methodology program. I am delighted that the roll out of this program will continue.
Bilingual education is unique to the Northern Territory and we should be very proud that we, as a government and as a community, support the teaching of languages that are recognised as the oldest in the world. Educational research over recent years has demonstrated the efficacy of bilingual education as a methodology to teach other aspects of the curriculum. Burarra and the Ndjebbana speakers at Maningrida CEC, Tiwi speakers at Nguiu, Maung speakers at Warruwi, Gunwinku, Mirrar and other Bunitj speakers within Jabiru and Kakadu heartily endorse the decision to endorse bilingualism as a valuable tool in the overall educational development of their children.
Although this government is working hard to enable indigenous students to participate in the Northern Territory economy, there are often unrealistic expectations of where indigenous students should be academically at any particular time. If we do not have the right structures in place, we are kidding ourselves about the achievement of optimum results. However, I believe, minister, you have the mix right: the mix between community and school, the mix between department and out-posted staff, the mix between outstation schools and community education centres, and, most importantly of all, the balancing and matching of the respective needs and aspirations of employers and potential employees.
Ultimately, the latter will be the measure of success and failure. It is the nexus between leaving school and entering worthwhile and meaningful employment on which all these strategies, ideas and efforts focused. If young people leave formal education without the skills, knowledge and capacity to participate as workers in the mainstream Northern Territory economy, or at least in their communities, then we will have achieved little. The single most important thing we can do as a government is to bring employees together with skilled, educated, job-ready indigenous students to give them an opportunity to participate in the burgeoning Territory economy as equal and willing partners.
It is a huge task, given the decades of paternalistic neglect that have left communities with poor health, substandard housing and inadequate community infrastructure. However, the minister’s statement does give us hope, hope for system-wide reform that will benefit not only indigenous students, but all of us. I commend the minister and his statement to the House.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Deputy Speaker, I did have a written speech then I listened to the member for Macdonnell and I thought I might as well remain seated because he covered many of the issues.
Ms Scrymgour: Who?
Mr WOOD: The member Stuart, I beg your pardon. The member for Macdonnell covered many of the issues as well, but the member for Stuart covered the issues very well.
Ms Scrymgour: Stuart?
Ms Lawrie: Toynie.
Ms Scrymgour: Oh, I am sorry.
Mr Stirling: I thought you covered them on ABC this morning.
Mr WOOD: All right. The Minister for Health covered the issues well.
I did not cover all the issues on the ABC well this morning, minister. I understand that this minister has a great belief in improving the educational lot of all children in the Northern Territory.
It is a subject that if you are not a teacher or if you have not worked out bush, sometimes you feel you should not speak on the subject. Everyone has been affected by eduction because they have all gone to school. Many of us have worked out bush and seen the results of those who had a successful education and those who did not, and would have some opinion about whether where we are going and what we are doing will be successful.
I have said before that if you look at the old system and see the number of Aboriginal people who have come out of the old system, who are literate and who have good numeracy skills - and I refer especially to my wife’s family - they did come out of an old system. It is a system we do not use any more. When you suggest to people that we should use it again, they laugh as thought it is a regressive step. Really, the facts are there before us. There are good stories, and some of the good stories are our Aboriginal representatives in parliament. I am proud that I am in a parliament with so many Aboriginal representatives. It is great and it just shows you where education can take people. Without that education, it is very difficult for Aboriginal people to move.
If I were to look back over the last 20 to 25 years, I have to ask: have things got better? I would say they have not. The same applies even over the last six years since the Learning Lessons report was released.
I noticed a table in the statement, which is the percentage of NT students achieving the national reading benchmark for 1998, and it said indigenous students, non-urban schools Year 3, 6%. In 2003-04, it was 9%. There is a six-year gap during which we were supposed to be implementing some of these recommendations. We have had time to look at whether we are achieving. If you take that figure and compare it with the annual report for 2003-04, 9%! I mean, 50% is bad, but 9% is woeful.
As you said, we should not look at the bad side, but if we do not look at the bad side, how are we ever going to improve the situation? All I am asking is: does someone evaluate the programs? Has someone suggested that if all these teaching methods are only achieving 9%, they are not working? Do we need to go back to the old system? I don’t know.
As the Minister for Health said, there are other issues involved. He spoke about the health issues, hearing issues and problems at home. My wife had the same problems when teaching Aboriginal children at school in Palmerston; the same issues about children not being able to go to sleep because mum and dad are up all night either drinking or with videos going. There are difficulties.
We have introduced programs to try to encourage people to go to school. You have the ‘no school, no pool’ rule. Probably in Yuendumu and Hermannsburg, you would go ice skating in the middle of the winter, so that may not be a great benefit, but it is an attempt to try to change things. You have school breakfast so that kids go to class with a full tummy. I have heard of places where parents cannot go to the pub unless their children have gone to school. I am not sure whether that is good or bad, but people are trying to encourage children to go to school.
The Minister for Health mentioned problems at home and children not having enough time to sleep and think. In my time at Daly River, and this is not about Stolen Generation, we had an old dormitory, which was a Sidney Williams Hut. Children who came in from cattle stations would stay there with me, and they went to school. If there were problems at home with fighting and so on, at least the kids were getting breakfast in the morning and were going to school. They went home on the weekend.
I wonder whether that sends a message about whether you could have a home in the community with a foster mother to look after those kids and makes sure they get a good night’s sleep. It could be something run by the community, like a Safe House for kids if there are kids always at risk in the sense that they never had a decent night’s sleep and never were fed, where there was some place an elderly person in that community looked after those kids and gave them an opportunity. I don’t know.
Listening to what was being said, though, it came to mind that the kids I had at least went to school every day of the week. The Minister for Health also said that one thing you must have is for the kids to be at school every day, otherwise they will not learn, and for teachers to stay there week in, week out and year in, year out.
I must admit in my time at Bathurst Island that was one of the problems. Teachers went around every year. Many of them only lasted a year and then would be gone. The minister raised a good point: trying to keep teachers there long enough to know the families, the children and for them to know the teacher and to get certainty into education. I raised that issue because there may be scope for ideas like that.
The Christian school in Darwin has a facility for children who come in from communities. I think Marrara Christian School has some houses where students stay. They do not stay so much in a dormitory arrangement; they stay in a house and there are people who look after them there. They have a more homely approach. Families can come and visit them on the weekend so you are not having them totally detached from family. They can come in, away from all the problems that might be in their community so they can give their attention to study but, at the same time, not be totally isolated.
I was at Bathurst Island when bilingual teaching first started. It was controversial then and, hearing the contributions today, it remains controversial. I do not have a problem one way or the other about it, but in Learning Lessons, it takes up a lot of room in argument for and against. However, there is no good in being bilingual if a person cannot read the manual to fix the tractor. I worked in the garden. The technical manual on how to repair the tractor will be in English. It will not be in Tiwi. If you have a program, you have to show the results.
Tiwis are lucky because their language is written, and the Summer Institute of Linguistics have done an enormous amount of work on that. Marie Godfrey is just about an honorary Tiwi, she has been there that long. She will probably be buried on Bathurst Island, I would imagine. She translated the old Tiwi language. I think there is now what they call a modern Tiwi language. In some ways, the Tiwi are lucky. They have a written language. However, you have to have a good understanding of English if you are to obtain jobs.
Noel Pearson said there are many Aboriginal people who, to get a good secondary education, will have to go boarding because you are not going to get a secondary school in every community - not to the standard of a secondary school in Darwin. That would be physically impossible and very expensive. There is a type of boarding primary school near Yulara, and the name is very long so I will not attempt to pronounce it.
Ms Anderson: Ngaanyatjarra.
Mr WOOD: That’s the one! That is possibly a role model as a regional boarding school.
If you want doctors, lawyers and so on, some of the subjects you need to learn are not necessarily going to happen in post-primary or secondary education schools, which teach some of the less intense subjects such as tourism. If you want people to study law or they want to be doctors or you have to study physics and chemistry, some of those facilities will have to be in regional high schools. That is where we have to look.
We also have to remember that Aboriginal people are no different from the rest of us. They need the opportunity to say: ‘Do I go back to my community, or do I go somewhere else?’ It is a free country. If people want to move and look for other opportunities because of their education, that is the way it should be.
I applaud the goals you have proposed. The idea of having a partnership with communities is good. I heard you on the radio this morning saying that this would not be just a one-off program, that it will be a continuing program. That is the only way this will be a success. It will be hard. You are going to have to convince a lot of people that they really want education for their children, but it is worth the effort. I gather it is one of the Learning Lessons recommendations as well.
On Learning Lessons, I ask: how much emphasis has the government put on this Learning Lessons report to date? It had about 154 recommendations. It might be worth reviewing where we are in respect of those. I know you have accelerated learning programs, but of the 154 recommendations, has the government put a majority of those into place, and does it believe they are all relevant? It was a review that everyone on both sides of parliament said was worthwhile.
We have to try anything at the present time because the levels of education - 9% for Year 3 in literacy, and 20% in numeracy for Year 5 for remote indigenous students – we cannot sit by and say: ‘Oh well, too bad’. I know you have a commitment to changing things, minister. I was not trying to beat you at the statement this morning; it was just one of those things that happened and I apologise if you took it that way. I do know that you are sincere in your attempts to change what is not a satisfactory outcome for many indigenous children. I hope the goals that you have outlined will have an effect.
I especially like the last one: a comprehensive and viable vocational education and training system. Is that another way of saying ‘adult education’? Perhaps we need adult education more than ever because if these children coming through now have a very low standard of literacy, maybe they can pick it up later. In their later years, by having a good adult education program, which was a common thing in many of the communities years ago, it is the way to catch those people. I hope that really gets off the ground because it is very important.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I commend the statement and look forward to the hearing the minister’s response.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the ministerial statement on indigenous education.
I am encouraged by this statement because this government is not ashamed to show it will work with communities to have a stronger focus on valuing indigenous language and culture through the school curriculum.
Enough cannot be said of the importance of a good education; education that can allow a child of today to equally explore and develop his or her talents so they can emerge into the young men and women who will shape the society of tomorrow. What kind of leaders they will be and what kind of society will be created will depend on the quality of education we provide now.
It is something that I heard quite often as I was growing up, and usually I heard it from my own father, John McCarthy, who was a school teacher here in the Northern Territory for well over 30 years, and deeply committed to those he taught. There are some here who could, perhaps, share some stories about their memories of his teaching.
I entered politics because of my deep concern for the future of the Territory’s youth. I know that many problems that worry indigenous families stem from a lack of opportunities, which also means the lack of educational opportunities. This is so true for those who live in remote homeland areas away from the larger communities. The Ramsey report into secondary education only formalised what those in the bush already know. That is, the clear weaknesses in the delivery of distance education in the Northern Territory.
To create a distance education centre of excellence will, indeed, be an exciting challenge for this government, one that will need the support of communities from the very beginning. How successful this will be depends, first, on the community engagement process. It is here I would like to point out to this government that, after the Learning Lessons review and the Ramsey review, it is vital that the community engagement process brings results that can be seen in our communities, results where a parent can be assured that their child will not only go to early childhood, then on to primary and secondary school, but will also find work at the end of it. The member for Macdonnell said today that all Aboriginal children have to look forward to is CDEP when they finish high school, and those who do not finish high school still have CDEP to look forward to.
A job that brings personal satisfaction is what we should be encouraging and striving for, a job that will help lift each Aboriginal person out of the lower standards of living that have become so much a part of community life.
The people of the Wadeye region have documented how one successful Aboriginal person, be they a teacher or health worker, carries at least 20 people on their one salary alone. It is a documented fact in Wadeye, but a well-known practice for Aboriginal people. Any Aboriginal person can tell you that same story about the people they carry. By comparison, non-indigenous people have the luxury of caring for their own immediate family.
Within the community engagement process, there must be a determined long-term vision for the children of that community. The emphasis on career guidance must be stronger than usual than in urban schools because remote regions have their own unusual qualities and challenges to deal with that are not faced in urban areas.
The community engagement process will, no doubt, also reveal the need for local Aboriginal staff to have access to housing and other conditions afforded staff from elsewhere. We know this because the Learning Lessons review revealed it as an issue, and it still is one for many Aboriginal teachers.
The minister stated how vexed an issue the delivery of educational services to homeland learning centres is. Yet despite this difficulty, the government will move to work with the problems of service delivery so that children in those homeland centres can have access to education.
I commend this government’s plan to revitalise bilingual education as a way of demonstrating its commitment to valuing indigenous contribution to education. The maintenance of language in any culture is essential for its survival. Language strengthens the foundations of one’s identity along with the stories, songs and family kinship systems in Aboriginal society. We have witnessed, as a nation, the stripping away of identity through the past Commonwealth policies of the removal of part-Aboriginal children from their families and the legacy of great sadness, despair and confusion that such policies created for generations to follow. All of these were aimed at giving children a better chance in life with a good education. A good education is fundamental, but not at the cost of one’s identity.
The maintenance of Aboriginal languages was clearly not the agenda of the former CLP government, when in 1999, under the then minister for Education, the bilingual education program was scrapped. There was no consultation, there was no discussion. Now, communities that want bilingual education will be able to negotiate this through the community engagement process.
Already in the Ngukurr-Minyerri region, languages are being offered to the local schools, languages like the Alawa language. Language is not exclusive or sacred for Aboriginal people long to share stories in language even with non-Aboriginal people, so it can be inclusive not divisive.
There are 15 communities in my electorate of Arnhem, each with their own school. Most of the children in these schools are indigenous. There are dedicated teachers in the schools who are deeply aware of the need to ensure children receive a good education. There are dedicated staff, like the Principal of Umbakumba School, Graeme Matthews, and the three teachers who travel over a 100 km a day from Alyangula to teach the children of Umbakumba. This is because there is no teacher housing in Umbakumba, but plans were under way to change that. Some would say it is not happening quickly enough.
At Ramingining, the Accelerated Literacy Program is working well, with more children meeting national benchmarks. Such is the attendance of students in early childhood at Milingimbi that the school needs larger classrooms to cater for them. Children speak and learn in their local Yolngu language. They also speak very good English.
At Numbulwar, the school band has made its own DVD with assistance from musicians from the well known local band Yilila. Students at Milyakburra near Groote Eylandt will also benefit from such local musical knowledge when Yilila runs a music program there in two weeks’ time.
The Martin government is committed to focusing on the Northern Territory’s regions in this term of the Labor government, and this means improving educational outcomes and resources in our schools and the regions, not just in the main towns and centres. Our remote regions have been identified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the areas where the population is increasing at a rapid rate. It is a well known fact that indigenous people make up nearly 30% of the Northern Territory population. That number will certainly double in 50 years. This information sets the scene for an even greater sense of urgency in ensuring that indigenous children receive the most basic human rights: education, and not just in the context of western learning of maths, science, reading and writing, or the three Rs.
This statement on indigenous education is also about an appreciation of the educational knowledge system within Aboriginal society, knowledge about country that holds the natural ingredients of bush foods and medicine, plants and animals, knowledge that is highly sought after by academics in Australian institutions.
The Education minister has highlighted the direction this government is going in embracing and respecting such knowledge. This direction includes a major focus on communities, especially larger communities where the population is over 2000 people, in order to develop and grow the education and training services in those places.
I warmly welcome the Education minister’s goals to develop an educational culture through the building of partnerships between local communities and school education and training. Like you, minister, I have witnessed first-hand the disconnection between the aspirations of some communities and the directions of schooling and training, a disconnection that those of my family and extended family have moved to act upon for fear of the heightened hopelessness that surrounds those we love as they grow into young men and women.
I take this moment to share with you how our family here in Darwin have cared for well over 10 children from outstations in the Gulf country to provide them with the education that we know is vital in order for them to at least have a chance in life, a good chance with good opportunities and a sense of self. It is not that there is no school in Borroloola; there is. This decision had a lot to do with family cultural responsibilities and how we as a people, the Yanyuwa and Garrwa people, could ensure that our children could receive a western education within a cultural environment.
Let me explain it this way: we have a junkayi and ngimarringki as the basis of law within our culture. The junkayi is the protector of country and the ngimarringki is the owner of country. My siblings and I are the junkayi of our mother’s country and our mother is the ngimarringki. Mum is also for junkayi for her mother’s country, and my children are junkayi for my country. This is a tradition that we must pass on in order that our culture survives. It is a tradition that requires equal amount of learning in order for the passing of Yanyuwa and Garrwa traditions.
Equally important is understanding western systems of society. Customs like caring for sacred sites, hunting for foods in that area, knowing when to burn country so that it can grow again for the benefit of animals and plants alike. In the Aboriginal way, the sisters of your mother are your mothers also, just as the children of those mothers are your brothers and sisters also. It is education our family sees as just as important as western education so that each person knows how they relate to one another through kinship laws.
Here in Darwin, we care for those brothers and sisters who, in the western way, would be known as our first cousins. We do this because we know we would be failing them if we did not teach them the values and the importance of being young Yanyuwa and Garrwa people in society today and, at the same time, help them to find a balance between the western and cultural ways.
The ability to juggle two worlds is a challenge for any person, but to have this government acknowledge and respect the oldest culture in the world through its education system will go a long way to ensuring a strong and healthy future for indigenous people in the Northern Territory and, indeed, for the wider population of the Northern Territory. To have a government that encourages communities to help outline the educational directions they want for their children is equally important.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Speaker, I find it quite hard to follow so many knowledgeable and experienced speakers who have covered many of the areas on which I wanted to speak. I feel quite proud to be here with them and to be part of the government responsible for this statement.
Aboriginal communities make up more than half of my constituents in the seat of Daly and these communities are quite different. They can be outstations in the Keep River of less than a dozen people to places like Port Keats, which has over 2500, to town camps around Pine Creek, Adelaide River and Timber Creek. They are very different, and the young Aboriginal people who live in them are in various types of educational situations.
This government has moved a long way in improving indigenous education since it came to office in 2001. You heard the minister this morning talk about those results, and I would like to repeat them because they are quite impressive. The number of indigenous students achieving the Year 3 National Reading Benchmark improved by 31% since 2001, Year 5 by 43% and Year 7 by 46%. The Year 3 Numeracy Benchmark improved by 10%, Year 5 by 38% and Year 7 by 43%. The number of indigenous students who achieved the Northern Territory Certificate of Education increased by 240%. That is a result of 60 indigenous students completing the certificate, but that is such a huge change in a short period of time.
Although these results are significant, much more needs to be done. We have achieved the results in such a short period of time because the Labor government is very serious about indigenous education. At the moment, we are playing catch-up after decades of absolute neglect by previous CLP governments. They were not serious about indigenous education; they were not serious about delivering service to remote bush communities.
When the Labor government came to office in 2001, one of the largest indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, Wadeye, had no secondary school. This community had 2500 people and no secondary school, which is absolutely amazing. They had forgotten about that community and many others. There was no priority in investing in the vital life changing service that we ourselves take for granted. I can imagine this type of neglect was replicated across the Northern Territory, and what we have been left with is a generation of Aboriginal people not being provided with the same education foundation that allows mainstream Australians to participate in the wealth of our nation.
We are playing catch-up, but we are closing the gap, not as quickly as we would like, but we are closing it. I am proud to be part of this government, which has today reaffirmed its commitment to turning these abysmal results around. This government was not waiting for the 2005 election to deliver this strategy. As the minister stated, in late 2004, a group of high level stakeholders came together to look at the next step in indigenous education and training. The challenge now is to link what they talked about at that higher level to what is really happening at the community level, with the community, parents and local teaching staff. I am encouraged by the commitment to engagement with parents, communities and other stakeholders.
Engagement is vital in achieving real outcomes, and I am fortunate to have an example of whole-of-government, whole-of-community approaches in indigenous educational in my electorate. This is occurring in the COAG trial site at Wadeye, where we have the Commonwealth government, the Northern Territory government and the community in a tripartite agreement. We have a priority working group around education. Those stakeholders come together on a regular basis. They take their egos out of the room and they look at what the community wants, which is coming out gradually as they progress those meetings. They have particular circumstances in indigenous education. They have a mission school, of which there are only five in the Northern Territory, which came about at self-government when these schools were set up. It is an anomaly. It has caused some problems and presents some unique challenges. The working group is concentrating its efforts to overcome and turn things around at Wadeye.
The minister highlighted some areas that he will redevelop in the next four years and I would like to comment on these. The challenge for the future is about our decentralised population. The member for Nelson talked about boarding schools. I have one such boarding school in my electorate, that is Woolaning. They have students from Peppimenarti, Palumpa and Daly River. It is based in the northern area of Litchfield National Park and is set up by the federal government DEST, and it is a fabulous facility.
There is talk at Wadeye of setting up dormitories for these secondary students just to have a break and have a good night’s sleep. These things are not unusual. They are not a sacred cow. They are things that the community are talking about and working through how it will all work.
Distance education is a main point of this statement. It is an obvious thing for the Northern Territory; we have small communities spread all over the place. We must try to be the best distance education provider in Australia. It should be our main business because we have such great population dispersion. There will be an increasing demand for homeland centres. We have another small outstation that is growing - it went from about 30 to about 110 people in a year - at Emu Point in the Daly River Reserve where a multipurpose learning centre is being established.
Urban drift is increasing. In Katherine, where I live, it is quite common. I spent five years at Timber Creek and then came into Katherine and, more and more, I see people coming in from the VRD to set up their lives in Katherine. However, that poses challenges for kids who have been behind out bush and are trying to catch up. It poses challenges for people who have lived on outstations with family, with a lot of country around them, to be living in a suburban 600 m2 block in a township. Managing that lifestyle change is very challenging. Those people have moved in perhaps to give their kids a better education, and that will obviously continue. It is going to pose a lot of problems in the future, but I guess we will work through those.
IT is another key area. Fortunately, we have a situation at Wadeye where we have a major project of optic fibre going through. They operate from a radio transmitter, which is very old style but, hopefully, in the near future, we will have optic fibre through there so they can use the Internet, including the teaching staff. It is very awkward for them not to be able access the Internet at high speeds.
There was talk about goals for the culture of education, and that is very stark in a lot of communities. It depends on the way those communities have evolved. Communities in the VRD came through the cattle industry where education was not a big priority. We have communities such as Nauiyu, and Wadeye to a degree, which have a mission history in which education was promoted. Communities - and especially outstations - do have a culture, which is largely about families, and they have a way of behaving. Some are very industrious; some are not. The culture of seeing education as an important, empowering tool is very important. The way you do that correctly is going to be the biggest challenge.
The priorities are improving numeracy and literacy and the revitalisation of bilingual education. When I went to school, we had a choice: as a second language, we could either learn French or German. That was growing up in Tasmania. I have not been to France or Germany, but you had to do it; there was not other choice. Aboriginal people learning their own language, in an appropriate, linguistic way, helps them understand the English language, which is a problem because the English language is a Creole of German and French, and it has many anomalies. We should cherish local Aboriginal languages. I have a great desire to learn Murampatha, which stretches through the Daly River Reserve because it has currency there. I would much rather have been taught a local Australian language than French or German as I was growing up.
Access to education and training is like access to health: if you cannot get to it, something is going to go wrong. If you cannot get to a clinic, you are going to get sick. If you cannot get to education facilities, you are not going to learn.
The promotion of VET in communities is very exciting for my communities insofar as a lot of people do not want to go on to university, but they want to go to work and learn practical things. VET offers that, and it is something that will expand considerably in years to come.
Various speakers have spoken about home life, which is one of the most critical factors in indigenous education. Kids come to school, if they come to school, for perhaps six or eight hours. They spend the rest of their time in the community and it is this time which has a great impact on whether they turn up or not the next day. In my work last year at Port Keats with secondary kids, many of them did not come to school, or if they did, they slept because they had been kept up all night. It is very challenging. I, as a person who has had an education and feel able to handle myself, would find it very difficult to manage my life in Port Keats. It is amazing how resilient the children are.
We should not isolate indigenous education to the school alone; it is related through the community to the housing situation, antisocial behaviour and sporting facilities. It is inextricably linked to every other facet of their life. My wife was fortunate or perhaps not so fortunate - she is a Wardaman lady – to be sent down south for her education. She is a very smart and capable person. Her mother was removed from Pine Creek in the 1940s or 1950s and sent to Retta Dixon. She did not have a choice; she got her education and is able to read and write and handle herself. However, the one thing she complains about is that she lost a lot of her culture because she cannot speak the language. Something that is very important to Aboriginal people is their culture, and it needs to be balanced with something which we see as absolutely important, which is education, and get them both right.
Madam Speaker, I commend the minister’s statement. I am proud to be part of this government. I am very excited about and being here for the next four years, and hopefully thereafter, to promote this. It will have a huge effect on my electorate and I hope we can all share in the results.
I looked at this statement closely last night and felt a positive sense that, for the first time, this minister has taken the bit of indigenous education between his teeth and will lead indigenous Territorians in the right direction. However, I need to add, and not because I am in opposition, that the talk is in here. What I would like to now see is the walk. Not only do you talk the talk, but you walk the walk and make sure that you deliver on these promises. These promises are high aims for this government, and I commend the government for putting forth at least a road map to where it intends to go.
We all know that by 2020, almost 50% of our school-age children will be indigenous, so we have a real job to do and we can start with the foundations today, then in 15 years time or further on, the foundation will be well laid and we will have a real future.
I know we have a very small base from which to measure the outcomes we have achieved so far, hence the percentages as quoted by the minister, while very comforting, could be quite misleading. I will be coming to some specific aspects of the statement, however, I want to first put my support on the record and say that we have a good basis of where indigenous education can go. There are many aims that are highly commendable for this government.
I want to raise an issue about class sizes. Our class sizes are not well defined at the moment. Whether it be in urban or indigenous schools, we need to rationalise class sizes. Having discussed this at some length with the Australian Education Union, a system of student weighting appears to be a good way to start, whereby every child is assessed based on a weighting of one. Some children might excel in their studies and might have a weighting of 0.8 and other children with hearing difficulties, with language difficulties, with any sort of difficulties might have a weighting of two. In other words, that one child takes the time of a teacher to teach two children.
By using that, you can weight a class in such a way that every teacher has, say, a maximum of the equivalent of 23 students in the classroom. When you add the weightings together, the teacher might have only 15 physical bodies in the classroom, the total of which add to the equivalent of 23 students. That is a way to ensure that students have good exposure to one-on-one teaching from the classroom teacher. Teachers will tell you if you have a classroom with 25 or more, teachers become mini-crowd controllers. They are not able to teach effectively. If, however, you have class sizes of 20, 22 or fewer, teaching becomes effective. I ask the government to consider that.
School attendance is an issue. In urban centres, school attendance rates are high. This contrasts greatly with school attendances in remote areas. The reasons for poor school attendance among indigenous youth in remote schools are multi-factorial and range from parental considerations and nutrition issues to being personally interested in education. As I said, poor appreciation of education is a big issue. If the parents and community do not value education, children will absorb the attitude that it is not very important and not bother to go.
Cultural issues, in my mind, will be a complicating issue of school attendance and what sort of discipline you can bring to bear on the child who is not attending school.
I draw the government’s attention to the current school attendance policy. There is one. All you have to do is go to the DEET web site and you will find it quite easily. It says:
That is the current policy. Let us make sure we implement it in a way that is meaningful and that we get every child to go to school. I grew up in a third world country, and I am sure many of us in this Chamber grew up in third world conditions but, for some reason, we grasped education that was provided for us and, through that, we are in this Chamber today. If we did not have that education, where would we be? We would definitely not be here.
Teachers should be provided with good cross-cultural induction so that they understand, when they are transferred from an urban area to a remote school, what they are going to face.
We need to look at what sort of inducements you need to get the children to get them to attend school. I would love to be able to somehow link family payments to school attendance - across the nation for all I care. Do not deprive the community of the finances that can benefit a community through family payments, but use the school system. The school principal could take the school attendance and, every fortnight, send the school attendance figures to the local Centrelink office. If the federal government would cooperate, it will say: ‘Okay, this particular family is not sending their child to school’. Take the family payments from the family directly to the school to allow the principal to use that money to introduce school attendance programs, feed the children, get a bus or a small vehicle to pick up the kids for school from the community. Use the money for the benefit of the community, for the benefit of the children. It can happen, and I hope the Martin Labor government will speak with the federal government to try to push this idea. Use family payments both as a carrot and a stick so that families who are not picking up on their responsibility for sending their children to school will be deprived of family payments. It can work.
Many members have today spoken about English as a second language for many indigenous children. English was my fourth language, and I am sure for many members in this Chamber, English would have been second, third, or fourth language for them as well. What is interesting is we have all learnt English, and that is the key. The unique cultural and racial mix of the Northern Territory population lends itself to challenges in the delivery of education. Many children of preschool age would face their initial exposure to an early childhood education system that uses a language other than their mother tongue. So the question arises whether children without any basic knowledge of English need to be taught in the initial stages in their own vernacular, own language, or should they be taught in English from the very first day of exposure to preschool or school?
In the current environment of multiculturalism, there are some quarters where the teaching of English to children of a non-English speaking background is perceived as assimilationist. I believe the teaching of English as a second language to everyone in Australia, to every child in the Northern Territory, is enabling participation in the mainstream. Ultimately, education has to be delivered at nationally competitive standards to communities in urban centres as well as in the most remote parts of the Northern Territory where English is frequently a second language.
Understanding that early childhood education is of great interest to all parents and is critical to the good development of literacy and numeracy, every effort must be made to provide all children with a sound education in the language medium prevailing in the country. Unlike early childhood pupils in urban areas of the Northern Territory, the majority of students in remote areas do not have English as their primary language. In my mind, this is where you need to use bit of vernacular. Is that bilingual? I do not really call it bilingual because if you use ‘bilingual’ - and the minister spoke about communities that are now 2000 in population size – you are going to have a mixture of languages. Which do you choose as the most appropriate? How many different languages are you going to use to introduce the bilingual system in a school? In Yuendumu or Maningrida, let us say, where there are 2000 people, which language will you chose? We seriously need to look at how to do it.
I believe that English in this country is the language of participation in public life and of inter-group relations in the linguistically and culturally diverse society that we have. Regardless of whether individuals speak English as their first or subsequent language, they should have the right to attain a level of communication and competence in English that will enable them to take their rightful place in the Northern Territory. To learn more than one language is to increase one’s own capacity to comprehend and communicate. The greater capacity one has, the greater is one’s power to grasp ideas and to act upon the world. Therefore, language other than English should be encouraged.
Language preserves cultural heritage and strengthens identity, the means by which cultural meanings are transmitted and personal identity can be established. To that end, I encourage parents and community groups to take on the responsibility of promoting and maintaining language and culture, using the classroom structure where parents and community elders can provide supervised lessons as part of language other than English.
I did a bit of study about early childhood when I was shadow minister for Education, and I found that children learn languages more readily in their formative years. By the age of four, most children would have learnt, like I did, to speak in their native language while, in most instances, not being able to read or write it.
On commencing formal education, teaching should be in the official language, whatever that may be. Children learn quickly. You have your own language already established by the time you go to school, so learning a second language will not diminish your own language. Complemented with a policy of compulsory daily attendance, children can be taken through play, socialisation and alphabet recognition, phonics and writing, and that is how they will learn the other language they need to learn. In this context, it is our language, English. It will enable people to then do the things that they should be doing.
Talking to many professionals, English is the link language for all people of all languages in this country. By having that link language, we have the tools to then to be good citizens in this country. We can exploit all the benefits that this country can give us because we have the capacity to exploit it. Without the language we just cannot have it.
I do not have much time left, Madam Speaker. I would like to go to vocational education. I have said before that, in my mind, indigenous youth should now be the new wave of apprentices that this country should be fostering. They should now be grasping vocational education and training with both hands, and take up the trades that could easily earn them very good money.
Mr Stirling: Do not want doctors. Do not want lawyers. Only want mechanics.
Dr LIM: Even more money than doctors. I agree, and I pick up on the interjection from the member of Nhulunbuy. In fact, lots of plumbers and electricians are earning more money than doctors, more money, and that is all they want.
There is, obviously, a need for skills in the continued development of the Northern Territory, and we need to build up our skills base to cater for future needs. We need to understand, though, that going to university should not be the be-all-and-end-all of post-school education. Vocational education and training has a huge part to play in this country. Among the cohort of all Year 12 students, only 30% will aspire to go to university, and do you know what? Of that 30% of Year 12s, only 50% of those will graduate with a university degree. In other words, in any one year of the Year 12 cohort, 85% will not achieve or aspire to achieve a university degree. That is a big slice of our school population that should be looked after.
The rhetoric over the last decade or 15 years about going to university, unfortunately, has diminished the value of vocational education and training. It is time for us to start promoting trades and apprenticeships more strongly so that parents and students alike will want to reach out and get a trade.
Whilst I applaud the government for its aspirations to achieve 10 000 apprentices in the next four years, I need to give the minister a bit of a slap to say you will never achieve that. You should be honest with Territorians and say clearly what you are going to do. In fact, you are going to deliver something like 650 or 700 apprentices each year if you can get that far.
In respect of open education, I am glad to see that the minister has resiled from closing down the NTOEC all together. I agree, yes, you need to review the services that are being provided by the NTOEC to ensure that what they are doing for Territorians in terms of distance education is the best that this jurisdiction can offer. While the Ramsey report might have recommended otherwise, there were some flaws in that report in respect of NTOEC. I would like to have the minister’s assurance that he will put the NTOEC through a review and provide sufficient resources to the NTOEC to enable it to deliver distance education across the Territory in a productive and meaningful way.
I congratulate the minister, I seriously do. This is a step in the right direction, but it is only the talk. Now I want to see the walk. If the walk is not there, then the minister has led Territorians up the garden path with nowhere to go, and that would be a tragedy.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Madam Speaker, I contribute to this very special and important ministerial statement on indigenous education.
I know that the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, Syd Stirling, has a passion for indigenous education, particularly because his constituents are from remote areas and his background as a teacher.
This statement is about a couple of things. It is about an investment by the NT government and by the people of the NT in indigenous education, and it is about creating opportunity.
In statements and speeches I have made in this House over the last four years I have been lucky enough to represent the constituents of Millner, I have spoken about investment. If you were to ask small business owners whether investing 28% to 30% of their profit in money, time or effort, or a combination of the three, to ensure that it becomes more efficient and profitable, most would agree that it would be a wise investment. At the moment, 28% of our population is indigenous Territorians, who, for many reasons over 200 years, have not had the opportunity to contribute to the wider community and the mainstream economy. There are lots of reasons for that, and there is not really anyone to blame; it is an historical fact.
This statement identifies that as a real issue and says that the Territory government is going to invest in this area to get an outcome, which is a population dynamic that was born and bred in the Northern Territory, has been living here for generations, and has a disposable income in the Northern Territory. Thirty per cent of the Northern Territory is about 60 000 people. Some 40 000 to 50 000 people are either on CDEP or some kind of welfare in remote areas.
Imagine that we can give those individuals an opportunity get a preschool, primary and secondary education, which allows them to get employment. What happens? All of a sudden we have another 50 000 people in the Northern Territory who have a disposable income by virtue of employment. They pay their taxes, which is a win for the Territory government, and they spend money at the local shop, mechanic, entertainment area, and in their local region. At the moment, that is not happening. I commend this statement because it is an investment in the future of the Territory and it is designed to create opportunities.
The real issue, and I have spoken about this many time in this House, is that the Northern Territory government arguably is not large enough to deal with this problem; we do not have the finances or resources to attack this problem in a way that is going to fix it in the short term. Our challenge is to ensure we spend the money and resources we have efficiently and effectively, and this statement, within those parameters, says that the Northern Territory government is committed to addressing indigenous education.
Where does the money come from? As we know, nearly 83%, off the top of my head, of all money coming in to the Territory comes from the Commonwealth, and the rest is raised from taxes in the Northern Territory. The big provider to the Northern Territory is the Commonwealth, which is the big player in Australia. What we have to do is change the language we have been using in terms of indigenous people. Right now, we classify indigenous people in Australia as Aboriginal or indigenous either of the Northern Territory, New South Wales, etcetera. The reality is that they are Australian citizens who happen to be indigenous.
If you were to ask someone in New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria or Queensland who lives in a remote area with a population of 2000 or 3000: should you be getting preschool, primary school, and secondary school? The answer would be: yes. In small communities throughout the states and territories, Australian citizens have access to those opportunities. At the moment and in the past, for a variety of different reasons, this has not been happening in the Territory.
What we heard in the minister’s statement is identification of remote communities as the target of all the resources that we have available strategically aimed at dealing with the lack of educational opportunities for remote area indigenous people in preschool, primary and secondary school.
I would like to issue the challenge - and we often heard it over the term of the Ninth Assembly – for members to go hand in hand to Canberra from both sides of the Chamber and put a case to the Commonwealth saying that we need extra resources. It never occurred during the last Assembly. It is up to every member of parliament to face up to the challenges in the Northern Territory. The reality is Australian citizens who happen to be indigenous lack the opportunity for preschool, primary and secondary schools in their remote or regional areas. That is a shame job, which is the only way to put it. In a first world nation, as we are, it is a shame job.
We often talk about money being spent overseas in charitable situations, and that is fantastic; I do not detract from that, but we have people living in third world conditions in Australia, and we should be focusing on that as a nation. At the moment, we are not. This ministerial statement on indigenous education gives everyone in this House the opportunity to acknowledge that: Australian citizens, for a long period, have been discriminated against by their race, where they live, their region, age etcetera and this has to be stopped.
As I was listening to all the speakers, I thought there is probably not a person in this House who has not had an opportunity to go to high school, and having that opportunity has been, no doubt, beneficial to their life opportunities in work and the opportunity to become a parliamentarian.
From members of this parliament, I would say the figure would be up near 80% of us having a degree - black, white, green or purple. It does not matter; 80% of us have a degree. At the moment, if you are an indigenous Australian citizen and you live in the Northern Territory in a remote area, your chance of getting a degree is non-existent. The reason is that you do not have an opportunity to get to preschool, primary or high school.
I commend the referral in the statement to joint partnership. There are two issues here. I am a great believer in God helps those who help themselves. The Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments have no other responsibility to indigenous Australians except to provide services that every other Australian citizen expects, and that is the opportunity for an education. Historically, that has not happened in the Northern Territory in remote regions. What I am saying to people whenever I get the opportunity to is that it is not about giving indigenous people more than any other Australian citizen expects; it is about giving Australian citizens who happen to be indigenous the same opportunities that every other Australian citizen has. Therefore, you might get more people going through the education system. That is one side of it and is the responsibility of Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments.
The other side of it, unfortunately, and other indigenous members might have an opinion on this, is the responsibility of indigenous people to seek an education. Historic participation of indigenous people in the mainstream has been low because indigenous people often do not see the benefit. We have five parliamentarians at present participating in the mainstream through a political party called the Australian Labor Party, and they have been very successful over the many years of providing the Australian Labor Party the opportunity to have seats in parliament, and this has given indigenous people a voice.
Unfortunately, the majority of indigenous people do not believe that mainstream can offer them anything. Unlike other ethnic groups or groups that are in the same demographic in terms of wealth, housing, education and health - for example, people immigrating to this country - there is not a high level of importance placed on education simply because people do not believe there is going to be a benefit from it.
When the minister talked about partnerships, he also talked about responsibility of parents. There is no doubt that all indigenous members in this House come from strong families, with strong parents and strong influences and, therefore, they have been successful. There has to be a two-way street. All the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments have to do is to provide the opportunity they have to every Australian citizen, and then it is up to indigenous people to take those opportunities up. I look forward to that.
In this House, we have six members from the bush and, therefore, you have a strong influence on what is happening in the bush, and that is fantastic. These people, under the CLP in the past, have been ignored.
In two schools in my electorate, Ludmilla Primary School and Millner Primary School, there is a high degree of indigenous students. Some 13% of the total population in my electorate identify as indigenous and 87% non-indigenous, which is a bit different from the dynamic of electorates of other indigenous members. There are three indigenous communities that rely on these two primary schools and the high schools, which are the Nightcliff High School, Darwin High School, or Casuarina Senior College. They are the Bagot community, Kulaluk, and Minmarama Park. Not only do these communities rely on education from the schools in the area, they also struggle with shelter, job opportunity and access to health. Often, these town camps suffer very similar issues to remote areas. Much of that is based on misunderstanding or mistrust from both parties about what services can be provided.
We have the same issues about numbers of kids going to school and not going to school. We have the same issues with parents encouraging their kids to school, or not giving any encouragement whatsoever. I know that the minister, in particular, has assisted me with Ludmilla and Millner schools by providing a lot of resources to the indigenous and non-indigenous kids at these schools. There is no doubt in my mind that this has helped me be a successful member.
Madam Speaker, the minister’s statement clearly outlines our plan over the next few years and why we will implement that plan. The main issues are making investment in a section of the community that, historically, has been discriminated against and, therefore, has not been able to contribute. That is the indigenous community. One of the best forms of investment is education. This statement has identified that this is occurring in remote areas, and we need to invest in these areas to give people the opportunity to get an education and a job. It is then up to individuals to take advantage of the opportunity. Madam Speaker, I commend the statement to the House.
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I thought I should perhaps wait, given the interest of members of the Chamber to speak to it.
I genuinely appreciate the contributions by the 11 members who took the time to read the statement. I genuinely appreciate their individual perspectives on what we are trying to do in indigenous education. I will pick up some of the points made by some of the speakers as we went through.
I commence with the member for Blain because he was the first to rise to his feet. Much of what he had to say concentrated on the non-government sector and its lack of inclusion in this statement. It is ironic that just a fortnight ago, I was sitting with Jack Mechielsen and others from the Christian Schools Association. I happened to go through our thinking on the community engagement process around education, and Jack and others listened politely for some minutes while I expounded on this topic. Further, ironically and interesting to me, that what we are trying to do by way of community engagement is exactly the model employed by the Christian schools in relation to their community education centres at Gawa on Elcho Island and at Woolaning.
They refer to these as community-managed schools, but nonetheless it the same process of community engagement that we are talking about and it is an idea I think that they borrowed, in part at least, from examples they had seen and visited in both Canada and the United States.
We simply do not tell the independent schools, the non-government schools, be they Christians, the Steiners or the Catholics how they should deliver their service. It is their job to do that. I wonder whether the member for Blain seriously considers that I should gather some of the departmental heavies - I would obviously take some blokes like Glasby - and head off down to Wadeye, shove the principal out of the road, and say: ‘I am from the government and I am here to tell you how to run your school, and I am going to run the community engagement process for you’. Should I go out to Kormilda, shove Stephen Kinsella out of his office, and say: ‘I am here to run a community engagement process for you’? We simply do not do that, Madam Speaker. To do so, to put it kindly, would be very patronising at best and, at worst, absolutely insulting to the deliverers of the non-government sector.
Mr Mills interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STIRLING: He asked the question why this does not include the non-government sector, and I am putting on the record why it does not. In one case, the Christians at least, they already do it, and I did not tell them to do it. Second, it is not up to me to go to Yipirinya, Kormilda, or any of the Catholic schools and say: ‘This is how it has to be done’. Not my job. That is why they are independent schools because they opt out of the government system. They do not want the government minister for Education telling them how they should do it. Much of what the member for Blain said concentrated on the non-government sector and its lack of inclusion in the statement.
We fully fund five Catholic schools, as we would a government school. We fund all other independent schools at 22% of the per capita rate for a government school. We also fund interest and capital grants to non-government schools on an annual basis.
Be that as it may, this is the approach on which we as the government and the department will embark to revitalise indigenous education and to increase outcomes. Now is the time. There is a spirit out there, there is a real momentum gathering and a mood for positive change, and whether that is at Shepherdson College, Galiwinku or Elcho Island, my own electorate, whether it is at Yirrkala, or whether it is diverse a community such as my advisor and I visited quite recently through the Western Desert country of Central Australia, a range of smaller communities, where the common question to me as minister is: ‘When are you as a government going to provide proper secondary education to our communities?’
These are issues in themselves that are being addressed through the Building Better Schools initiative and we are going to utilise elements of distance education and visiting teachers to ensure that those smaller communities that could not justify a secondary school in their own right will be able to access, through a mixed mode of delivery, quality secondary education.
The member for Blain also raised the question of enforceability of contracts, that is, what happens if the community drops off on its side of the bargain and what penalties that might invoke. My view is, and the experience of the Christian Schools Association would be further evidence, if there has been a positive and solid, valuable process of proper, genuine and thorough community engagement process such that the community clearly understands what the school is there for, what it is trying to achieve and how it is going to help the community in pursuing its own aspirations and goals. When that is clearly understood, when they see a curriculum that is interesting and relevant, when they see outcomes strengthening, when they are actively involved in the school community itself, it far less likely that you will see that drop off.
In any event, if they do drop off, at least there will be a reference point or a benchmark to go back to the community and say: ‘Hey, guys, this is what you signed up to’ and then begin that process immediately about why it is dropping off. Has the school failed to deliver? Has the department failed to deliver? Is there disillusion about the process? What is going on? That is preferable to letting it all fall to rack and ruin as has occurred in the past.
It is important in itself that the contract is there to work through the issues: ‘This is what we said, this is what we all agreed to. We said we will do this, and you said you will do that. What’s happened here? Let us revisit this’. Then you can get back to fulfilling each side of the contract.
I visit schools frequently and a couple come to mind. Jilkminggan is one where you see the community fully engaged in the school itself. We were there coming up to morning recess, and there was a range of adult women preparing morning tea for students prior to their release for recess. It was much more than just preparing morning tea. Each of the parents who had children at the school paid money into the pool, which bought the food. The adults who were preparing the food were working toward Certificate II level in Food Preparation and Nutrition, so there was an all round learning exercise going on involving the parents of the students and the students themselves. School is like an extension of home in that situation where there were so many people actively involved in the school.
Those schools that have parents from the community and community members carrying out those sorts of tasks and many others are the schools that work best, and they are representative of what I want to see occurring in all of our remote indigenous community schools.
There are other potential elements in the contract that should drop out of the engagement process, such as accountability on the department, the teachers and schools to ensure that quality teaching, best teaching practice, against a curriculum framework is occurring. It should pick up and involve the responsibility of parents to see that their children are fed, clothed and get to school in a fit and proper state to learn.
The responsibility for quality outcomes in indigenous education has to be shared. For too long, government stood alone and tried to shoulder all of the responsibility and accountability. It does not get up to where we need to be because we are leaving out half of the equation that ought to be at the table. Without the support, commitment and understanding of our school and the education process by the parents and the community, government is never going to achieve it. Schools in isolation are never going to achieve it. It has to be, as the member for Millner said, the two-way process.
We have left communities out of the equation far too long. It works for the Christian schools. We see evidence of that at Gawa on Elcho Island. It works with the Christian schools; if it is done properly, it will work for government schools, I have no doubt. The concept is not new. Someone said we have flogged this from the Commonwealth in terms of shared responsibility agreements. Okay, some elements are common, but this engagement process goes back at least 30 years in the case of Yirrkala. The Yolngu teachers who are there today can put their hand on their heart – and do! - and articulate their forefathers’ vision for education and the role that education in the school would play in their community. They can stand there and articulate as though it occurred yesterday, and yet the people who passed on that vision are long dead. They are long gone, but the vision and memory beats as powerfully in their chests today as it did 30 years ago when it was delivered.
Now, it has not occurred. The vision has not been realised, and why not? Because teachers come and go, principals come and go, and the long ago vision, the contract as we might call it today, whilst still fresh in the minds and hearts of Yolngu was long since lost to the teaching staff of the school and the department. That is why this contract has to be an ongoing process, a living, breathing document. It has to be revisited, reappraised, amended and reaffirmed between the school and the community. If we do not ensure that, we will follow the same path of Yirrkala 30 years ago and the shared agreement, the value of the contract, will be lost in time.
The members for Katherine and Braitling referred to truancy. The problem ought to be diminishing over time with the efforts of the attendance officers. Both communities, initially, were very well served by the attendance officers in place. They were people of particular skill and proficiency, and certainly their numbers were very good. If that picture has changed at all, I have not been advised. I will seek another update on the efforts of attendance officers across the board. The first reports we were getting through from both Katherine and Alice Springs were very strong.
The member for Braitling asked about bilingual education, and other members spoke about it. I will attempt to describe why I see it as important not just in language maintenance terms, not just for cultural benefit, but solid educational reasons why bilingual teaching is important. The member for Arnhem talked about language as part of identity. The member for Greatorex touched on that point as well, part of identity, part of self and a denial of one’s own language, whether it is within the school context or any part of one’s life is not just demeaning, it is an attack on the very identity of the individual. There are compelling educational reasons to utilise bilingual programs in the early part of students’ schooling. This is a question with which I have wrestled for many years, and have been an ardent and staunch advocate of bilingual teaching, and then over the years reaching a point of questioning it, and then revisited the question and sought further information to the point where I do believe it will work for us.
If we take young Scott, five–and-a-half years old, who is off to Alawa School, Year 1, for the first time. He has done preschool and transition. He goes along to his first class at Year 1 with Miss Smith, a teacher of a few years experience, a good quality teacher, and he has 28 other five-year-olds in the class. Scott has parents who read at home. He can read himself a little. He can write his name, he can do up his shoelaces, and he takes his place with these 28 other kids in his class. To Miss Smith, that class is 28 individuals, a blank canvas on day one. Where does she start to teach? The member for Braitling asked whether we teach teachers how to teach. I remember one thing I was taught at teachers college, and that is, you teach from the known to the unknown. The great single maxim of effective teaching: you take from the known to the unknown.
Well, here she is, Miss Smith, 28 kids, blank canvas. She is able to recognise with Scott and most of the others in the class that they come from a similar socioeconomic background to herself. The school itself is not all that different from the school she went to as a five-year-old some 28 years earlier. She is able to pick up pretty quickly that the kids are similar to her own background and, within a space of days or weeks and certainly within the month, she would have a pretty good background on each of those student’s abilities. How much they can read. Can they count? Do they know their alphabet? What are their social abilities in terms of mixing and getting on with each other? How well have they socialised? All of those things she is able to map very quickly, an experienced teacher, within a few weeks and have that map in her head about those 28 kids.
She now has a benchmark from which to embark on further learning. She knows where those kids are at, and she knows what the next step in their level of education ought to be. There is a big commonality here and a tool that is able to readily help her, as a teacher, understand those 28 kids: language. They are all English-speaking kids in this 28-student classroom. They speak English at home, their parents read English, they read English a little themselves, they count in English, everything they do is in English, and away they go, hopefully, on a successful primary, secondary and, perhaps, even a tertiary education career. That is young Scott at Alawa Primary School, day one.
Then take Lalambarri from a remote homeland on the northern coast. It is his first day at school as well, and his teacher’s name is Miss Smith. She is an experienced teacher, however, she has not taught in a Yolngu community before and does not have any Yolngu Matha or any local language. Young Lalambarri is in a class, which has also 25 kids. What skills has he brought to that class in the same way that Scott brought? He does not speak English at home; his parents do not read; he has never picked up a book; he has never read a word; and he does not count. What has he been doing in the last few weeks before school started? They were at a major ceremony a week earlier. Many of the kids who are in the class were at that ceremony. He knows in his own mind his relationship to each of those children and he knows what relationship the parents of those kids are to him. At that ceremony, he danced, as a five-year-old, quite an intricate ceremonial dance. It was a major funeral and there were people from everywhere - Galiwinku, Gapuwiyak, all over north-east Arnhem Land - and he knew the relationship that he and his family had to those people, even though he only sees them infrequently and they come from 300 km away.
What young Lalambarri had in his head was an intricate map, a spider’s web of the most intricate relationships. He knows where he stands in relation to every one of those people in that classroom; their family, their mother, their father, their uncle, their aunt, their grandmother, their grandfather, and so on. It is a quite complicated mathematical formula, indeed, and yet Lalambarri stays in that school with that English teacher through Years 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and we cannot teach him maths. We struggle to teach young Lalambarri maths, yet, within his head, as I said, is this most intricate, complicated and complex mathematical formula. He went out fishing in the morning before he caught the bus to school, and he speared two salmon in the surf quite proficiently …
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, I move an extension of time for 10 minutes in order for my colleague to conclude his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr STIRLING: I apologise, Madam Speaker, I did not realise that the clock was against me. … marvellous physical prowess in the surf. He is disappointed in himself; he missed three. He brought home two to the family for breakfast, but he missed three and he is disappointed in himself. A five-year-old with a spear, and 3 kg or 4 kg salmon he has brought home to the household before he has even gone to school.
Does Miss Smith know this? She does not. Does Miss Smith know how well this kid can dance? She does not. Does Miss Smith know that there are people in that classroom that Lalambarri ought not address, speak to, or look in the face? Miss Smith does not. How could she? She has never been to a Yolngu community before and she does not understand all of these social wills, any of the customary behaviours and backgrounds and, most importantly, she has no idea of the group’s learning capacity.
Miss Smith in the classroom in Alawa, within days, knows the abilities of these kids and knows where to start teaching. Miss Smith, within weeks, becomes further confused in Lalambarri’s class because she cannot engage the kids because they are not proficient in English. They are not proficient in English and she is not proficient in their home language.
How would you break that down? The theory is that you only learn to read and write once in your lifetime and, if you learn to read and write in your own language, it will be easier and faster. Once you have the skill, you can apply it to any other language. That is clue No 1. You are readily able to transfer reading and writing skills if you have mastered it in your own language first, you can simply transfer it to another language.
Now, how might you do that? Ideally, you would have bilingual teachers so that your local Yolngu person is a fully trained teacher who can take the kids through this, get their English up to speed and off they go. Well, we do not. We do not have indigenous speaking language-trained teachers all over the Territory. We used to have. We are losing them at a fast rate of knots, and we have not been training them. So you have the bilingual process of a step method where the teacher has to rely on the Yolngu-speaking teacher assistant to work with the kids in their own language in those early stages of schooling. The teacher, Miss Smith, has to almost take a subordinate role to the Yolngu-speaking assistant teacher because she has to rely on her to deliver what she wants delivered by way of the curriculum, and she has to rely on the assistant teacher to work with her as to where these kids are up to at any point.
It might be at Year 1, as much as 10% of the curriculum is in English; by Year 2, 20% is in English; Year 3, 60%; Year 4, 80%; and Year 5, 100%. That is the model that was employed by schools teaching in bilingual in the past. It is interesting that in a fully bilingual school, if the kids are only exposed to 60% of the curriculum in English, how well are they going to do in the MAP test? Not very well, one would suspect, because English is still going to be a big struggle to them.
More interestingly, how would they do at Year 5? Well, the evidence is that they do much better. They do much better at Year 5, having gone through the bilingual program than an English only program. Now, community people say to me: ‘I do not want kids to learn language. We talk it at home, they know all about our language, our culture. We want them to learn English’. I try to explain, as gently as I can: ‘So do we, but the way to get there is to work in their own language first’.
I am going to get much better at explaining this, and I will have another go at it at another time, but that is why what the member for Arnhem said, and what the member for Greatorex touched on, about language being part of self, part of identity is absolutely true. However, there are sound educational reasons beyond those why you would adopt a bilingual model.
The member for Katherine commended Burridj Training Centre. I have been impressed many times by their efforts, and I have been at different awards nights with them. I welcome her acknowledgement of their positive achievements in the Katherine region. She touched on the three Rs. We have mandated two hours of literacy and numeracy every day in primary schools; no less than two hours every day to ensure literacy and numeracy is acquired.
The question of teacher training was raised by the member for Braitling and whether they still teach teachers how to teach is a good question. It is a long time since the member for Braitling and I were at teachers college, but I can assure you, and I know she would have been taught how to teach. We dealt extensively with pedagogy; that is what it was all about in our courses. Is that concentration on basics is still there? I will be finding out because over the next decade or so, many of our current cohort of teachers will retire to be replaced by much younger and far more recently trained graduates. I hope that they know how to teach, but it is a legitimate question.
In relation to Learning Lessons, the member for Nelson asked: ‘How much did you ever implement? Eighty per cent of the 154 recommendations were implemented, and in fact, this community engagement process is one of those recommendations that were unaddressed at the time. It was referred to in Learning Lessons, the Collins report, as ‘community controlled schools’, and we struggled with that term. As I said, the Christian School Association, with the same model, referred to ‘community managed schools’. Regardless of the title, we struggled with it. We were going to trial it in a couple of communities up the top, and a couple of communities in the middle. That seemed unfair to the rest, and it seemed to come with a big dollar cost, so we struggled with this question, and we have come back to this community engagement process. The genesis of it is another of those unaddressed recommendations from the Learning Lessons report.
Madam Speaker, I thank departmental officers, the teachers, others, including people from the non-government sector for the benefit of the member for Blain, who participated in the original workshop around the next four-year plan.
Mr Mills: They weren’t mentioned in the statement, minister.
Mr STIRLING: Yes, it was a teacher of some high quality from Catholic Education who joined that seminar and contributed to it. If he thinks that we run government schools and don’t care about the non-government sector, he is wrong, but we do not tell the non-government sector how to do its business. He would be interesting, this bloke, as the minister for Education because it would be all about non-government schools and he would ignore the government sector for which he would have primary responsibility.
Mr Mills interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STIRLING: I do thank those people because it was quite a demanding session, and what I did appreciate was the honesty from all of those participating. We had people with so much experience and accumulated wisdom. It was terrific to be a part of it. I found it hard going, but that is a necessary part of learning. The member for Blain himself said learning is bitter, but the results are sweet. I hope it is the case we have here. We have a framework from which to build on our past success.
I thank all members, the members for Blain, Stuart, Macdonnell, Arafura, Braitling, Katherine, Nelson, Daly, Arnhem, Greatorex and Millner for what were very positive contributions. I am pleased that the statement has been received in this light. There is a long way to go, Madam Speaker, and I undertake to report on a regular basis on progress as we embark on this journey of fully engaging, community by community, the Northern Territory on education.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Ms MARTIN (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I was delighted to be involved with a number of new business launches in the past few weeks, openings that are real indicators of economic growth in Darwin.
One business that has decided to construct a new, purpose-built development in Darwin is Worksense, a manufacturer and distributor of corporate uniforms and protective clothing. Theirs is a $2m investment down the Stuart Highway. It is a financial vote of confidence in the Territory economy, an economy that forecasters say will lead the nation over the next few years, as we are doing now.
The company’s Director, John Lohman, told me that they had undertaken an extensive round-Australia search for the right population centre to build their distribution facility, and Darwin won hands down partially because of the strong economic future outlook. They are a uniform manufacturer and distributor. They are very welcome to add to the business opportunities and services in Darwin and I wish Worksense a lot of luck.
There is also soon to be another exciting addition to the Darwin cityscape. It is a $100m residential development called Pandanus Apartments. The property will be managed by Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, which is a Hawaiian-based family-owned and operated company representing a range of hotel addresses in the South Pacific. They have properties in Hawaii, Australia, Guam, Fiji and New Zealand. Pandanus Darwin will be the 14th Outrigger resort in Australia, joining other properties in Queensland and New South Wales.
We are happy to welcome the Outrigger group’s hospitality and leisure expertise to the Territory. The 27-storey project will be built at 43 Knuckey Street, creating 200 to 300 jobs during construction and approximately 50 to 100 jobs once operational.
Gwelo Developments, Even Lynne’s company, is committed to using local tradespeople and is confident the project will assist in revitalising the CBD. The development features 267 apartments made up of 200 serviced holiday apartments, 55 luxury residential apartments, six exclusive sub-penthouses and six top end penthouses. Construction for Outrigger Pandanus Darwin will commence later this year and be completed by the end of 2007. It is an innovative project that helps this city deal with its lack of visitor bed space at a time when occupancy rates are soaring and room demand outstrips supply.
Following 16 months of sustained growth that saw NT Forklifts increase their turnover by a 150%, this long-time Darwin company has decided to expand its business. The forklift sales and hire business is a good indicator of general business activity because all major projects, Defence work and many small businesses require the use of forklifts. NT Forklifts sell, hires and maintains all sizes of them. I was delighted to open their new state-of-the-art $2m facility in Winnellie. It is a development the company plans to duplicate by the end of this year just across the street with another $2m facility.
The opening was attended by NT Forklifts clients like Bechtel, Alcan and many others. In attendance was Laurie Luddy, the company owner based in Perth, Scott Innes, the Darwin Branch Manager, Mike de Jonge, the group’s General Manger from Perth, Steve Stewart from Powerlift Nissan in Sydney, and from AMP, Greg Smith. I welcome the growth, as I am sure we all do, of NT Forklifts and welcome the Outrigger group and Worksense to the Northern Territory.
Now for something entirely different, but quite delightful. This year’s Tropical Garden Spectacular was held over the weekend of 6 and 7 August and was another success. It has become one of Darwin’s fabulous Dry Season events for families and singles alike. All you need is a garden and a bit of imagination.
Darwin has a great tropical lifestyle. Many of our locals have a green thumb. We have magnificent gardens throughout the whole of Darwin, Palmerston and, of course, the rural area. Our natural flora and fauna is remarkable in its diversity. Organisers are to be congratulated for the variety of experiences on offer, from food stalls to stunning floral arrangements and many things to trigger your imagination.
The George Brown Botanic Gardens is a magnificent venue for this community event. The Tropical Garden Spectacular provides a weekend of entertainment that satisfies a huge number of visitors and locals alike. Carrie Altamura helped organised the event, and exhibitor numbers were up 10% on earlier shows, offering a greater variety of plants and associated garden products than ever before. Government is proud to be an ongoing supporter of the Tropical Garden Spectacular, and I was pleased to be able to do the deed itself and hand over a cheque for $30 000 to Simon Smith, who is President of the Nursery and Garden Association and really one of the inspirations behind the Tropical Garden Spectacular.
Since it was first held in 2001, it has grown remarkably fast, and attracted over 14 500 people through the gates this year. Garden shows are very popular around Australia. The Darwin Tropical Garden Spectacular joins those that are also held in Cairns and Townsville, and are becoming an increasingly popular stop for tourists, particularly the Grey Nomads as they travel the country in the winter season. This year and last, we noticed a big increase in interstate visitors. This year, Rotary collected postcodes of visitors at the gate to get a reasonable gauge of how many interstate visitors there were.
I am confident that, together with the Nursery and Garden Association, the Tropical Garden Spectacular can really establish itself by working with the industry and government on the national, and even the international, garden show circuit. I do not know who in this House visited the Tropical Garden Spectacular.
Ms Lawrie: Did you see the cane toads?
Ms MARTIN: I did see the cane toads; that was your fault. It was inspirational. I noted the member for Nelson’s chook garden. It was very creative, though I have to say, coming around the corner to look at the various landscapes that were created, I thought, if the member for Nelson does anything, it is going to have a chook - and it did.
Mr Wood: That’s right! No imagination, the others.
Ms Scrymgour: The member for Port Darwin’s garden was good.
Ms MARTIN: The member for Port Darwin led the Labor team in their landscape.
Mr Wood: Yes, they pinched our paving stones. Dreadful!
Ms MARTIN: Say that again, sorry?
Mr Wood: They pinched our paving stones.
Ms MARTIN: They pinched your paving stones! We have a little tension between the competitors.
Mr Wood: No, no, the Labor people.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Nelson!
Ms MARTIN: Little competitions like that are always worthwhile, and those competing had a good time.
I do recommend the Tropical Garden Spectacular. It is a wonderful event. I believe it can grow and really establish Darwin as one of the major garden show spectacular on the circuit around Australia. We have a bit of a way to go to match Canberra, which I believe has over a million visitors who visit the Floriade, which happens in spring.
We have a unique environment here. We are close to Asia and we use plants from Asia all through Darwin and the rural areas. Darwin is a good introduction to the gardens of the tropical north and further north to Asia for our interstate visitors.
A local group which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary was the Ludmilla Creek Landcare Group. It is a group that has won a lot of community support. On 12 June, the Ludmilla Landcare Group celebrated its 10th birthday at the home of its President, Rex Wild QC, who lives in Ludmilla. Ludmilla Landcare started in 1995 when the first working bee was held on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend and attracted around 30 local residents who wanted to protect and enhance natural woodland. I do not think we realised at that stage how much physical work would be involved. I remember the first working bee. People were walking away from a couple of hours of work with scratches and itches after we tackled vines that had not been tackled for many years. The stronger ones wielded axes and shovels to deal with things that needed to be moved and pruned. That was 10 years ago.
The inspiration over those 10 years has been the project’s coordinator, Fiona Douglas. Dr Fiona Douglas really is an inspiration. She has become, over those 10 years, passionate and incredibly well informed about the flora and fauna of Ludmilla Creek. Without Fiona’s inspiration, many of us might have wandered away. If you do try to wander away, Fiona will soon catch you and bring you back!
The group has turned rubbish tips and weed infested areas into showcases for Top End native plants in a variety of habitats along the creek. Mangrove edges, fringing grassland and woodlands have been protected by removing introduced grasses and woody weeds, and revealed and enhanced by strategic planting of trees and shrubs.
Furthermore, fire hazards have been dramatically reduced. Paths have been established, allowing local residents to enjoy the woodland much more. I invite anyone to go down and take a wander through the Ludmilla Creek area. It has become, over those 10 years, well cared for. The trees have grown, the weeds have gone, and it really is a beautiful area of Darwin. I pay tribute to those constant workers in the Landcare group and, again, to the indomitable Fiona Douglas. She will hate me when she has hears that I have said that about her.
One major project for the Ludmilla Landcare Group was the Ludmilla Creek Environment Park, which adjoins Nemarluk School and Ludmilla Primary School. This park has been well used by the schools during most of the year. The paths take wheelchairs, which of course is a great benefit to the Nemarluk School.
The Ludmilla Landcare Group holds monthly work days. Those days, particularly tree planting days, attract up to 50 people - usually 50 sweaty people because the high activity time for the group is during the Wet Season. The group engages in broader things than maintenance of the landscape; it comments on planning matters and, very creatively, has accessed funding from various sources and collaborates with other agencies. It has received grants from the federal and Territory governments, as well as private sponsorship money.
The group has won two NT Landcare awards: the Catchment Award in 1999 and the Nature Conservation Award in 2003. Anyone who wants to be inspired by a local group that works and by people who get sweaty and dirty, but really have a good time and a beer afterwards, then I recommend the Ludmilla Landcare Group.
In the time I have left, I want to talk briefly about one of the great successes of the Dry Season, and that is the Carlton Draught Darwin Cup Carnival, which ran from Saturday, 2 July to Monday, 1 August.
This year, attendance at the carnival was up by 15% according to Des Friedrich, who is the very hardworking and very successful CEO of the Turf Club. Carnival sponsors brought significant numbers of people to the event. Attendance being up by 15% meant that there were record numbers through the gates and in catering and bar sales, and all the business units exceeded previous years’ figures.
One of the highlights this year was the changes to the centre field where attendance there was up by 10%. There was a new layout and Des said there was a lot of positive feedback on the new look. There was an increased number of bookmakers this year, and the highlight of that was Robbie Waterhouse’s appearance from Sydney.
Everyone generally had a good time, particularly with greater areas of shade, which is something that the Turf Club is really concentrating on. Des said he aims to have further improved shade at next year’s carnival. One of the hazards of going to the Cup, of course, is the traffic. Many people take the free buses, which is terrific, but traffic flow can sometimes become difficult around the Turf Club area. The Turf Club worked with Darwin City Council, government and the police, and most people got in and out of the track fairly smoothly this year.
Interstate visitors to the Carnival are growing and it is estimated that one-third of Darwin Cup racegoers were from interstate. That amounts to approximately 6000 coming here for the Darwin Cup Carnival. Some 2000 people attended the Gala Ball at SKYCITY, and that is a record number; last year, it was about 1700. For anyone who has gone, it is a spectacular evening. It is interesting that many interstate visitors were there; we had a good lot of locals but when you walked through the tables, there were a lot of faces you did not know which indicated a significant attendance from interstate.
These things of course cannot happen without the sponsors: Fosters Australia, Cadbury Schweppes, Sportingbet Australia, SKYCITY, Qantas, and - very proudly - the Northern Territory government.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I would like to share with the House a small trip I did around the top of the Northern Territory on the same weekend as the Darwin Cup …
Ms Martin: Oh, member for Nelson!
Mr WOOD: Don’t worry, I dropped in to the Katherine TAB and put my bets on. I got the second horse!
You might say I had a working holiday on that weekend. I went down to Butterfly Gorge, where I have never been before, and Douglas Hot Springs, which I found a very pleasant area. Many Darwin people go down to the hot springs, but I had not done the trek up to Butterfly Gorge. It is certainly a beautiful area. If people have not been there, I recommend that they do.
Douglas Hot Springs has a camping area and, while it is fairly basic, you can always go for a jump in the river, which provides anything from cool to warm waters because the hot springs are nearby. One of the prettiest scenes is very early in the morning when the mist rises from the hot springs through the trees. As the sun comes up, it is a spectacular scene, especially in an area that is bone dry at that time of year.
I noticed that there has been some work done at Butterfly Gorge. There is a track to the main pool that requires a bit of rock climbing. There is also a new track there. While the Minister for Parks and Wildlife is here, I suggest that staff look at upgrading some of the maps. The maps that describe where to walk have been there for a fair while and someone has marked it up with a texta colour to show people the new trail. If that had not been marked on the map, you might not realise there is a new track that takes you up to the top of the hill, and you can go down towards the main pool at Butterfly Gorge.
The same applies to signs at Douglas Hot Springs. The sign there shows there is a trail around the hot springs, a one or two kilometre walk, but the walk is not there any more. It was there some years ago, and it needs someone to take a look at signage to see whether it is up to date, especially because we are getting interstate tourists to that part of the world.
I also visited some of the farms on the Douglas Daly, which of course is an area of interest to this parliament. It was interesting to see the number of watermelons coming off the land at the moment; there were two farms at the Douglas Daly growing watermelons, a large amount of hay and quite a few cattle. There is still a fair amount of activity there, and the watermelons were certainly looking good. Farmers were employing quite a few backpackers in the process of harvesting those watermelons.
I also went down to Umbrawarra Gorge, a place that I have always passed because you are always in a hurry going down the track, and that, too, is a beautiful area. I said that I was going to Umbrawarra Gorge and a lot of people said that they had never been there. Again, another beaut little Northern Territory park. You certainly get your certificate in bolder-hopping because it is not a simple case of walking down the Umbrawarra Gorge; there are a lot of rocks and boulders and you have to swim in parts to get across the other side, but it is worth every minute of it. I have to go back because I believe I did not go the full distance. It is longer than you think. That might be a case of I was exhausted or was operating at city speed, and thought that was far enough. It is a place to which I will return.
While I was there, the next morning I went down to see the manager of Jindare Station. I thought I would take the opportunity to talk to one of the local landowners, one of the cattle managers. He manages the station for Malaysian owners, that come from Cebu, and they come out to Jindare Station a number of times each year.
It was interesting. Sitting in the homestead, he was telling me where the Australia Day flood came up. The water came into the house, and they are miles from the river, so when the Katherine and Daly Rivers broke their banks, they certainly travelled a long way. We had discussions about what pastures he uses, and that is where the issue of the old gamba grass came up because it is certainly grown that far south, and he swears by it as valuable fodder.
I popped down to the Flora River Nature Park. This is another place I have driven past on my way to Kununurra and never bothered to stop into. It has an excellent gravel road into the park, which is about 40 km off the Victoria Highway. The turn-off is about 80 km from Katherine. It is a beautiful park. Admittedly, you would not want to dive into the water. There are some large salt water crocs, and they warn you very well not to go too close to the edge. It has the limestone waterfalls that are the result of limestone and roots of trees. There are some small walks, and it is a very pleasant place.
The wallabies are the fattest I have ever seen. Living close to the river, there would be plenty of feed. There were hundreds of wallabies, especially around sunset. It has very good facilities in the parking area. There are showers using solar hot water, although I advise people to take their shower before the night because if you try to do it in the morning, as I did, there is no hot water left. You pay $6 for the facilities; a good camping area, very clean. The local community, the name of which escapes me at the moment, looks after the park. If you enjoy unusual vegetation, there are very large palms there, Livistonia, they are like a tree and grow on the banks of the Flora River.
You can go fishing there as well, so I recommend to people if you have a small boat - I think you can have a maximum of 15 horse power motor on that section of the Flora River - it certainly is a great place to take your boat and do some fishing, but watch out for the crocs.
I spent a little time in Katherine looking at the farms around Fox Road. It was very good to see the horticulture there. Citrus is not the greatest thing this far north, but the citrus I saw on Fox Road was quite healthy. Again, quite a large number of watermelon being grown and harvested, and, of course, the normal mango plantations as well. I had not been, in all the time I have been in the Territory, to see the farms there, and there is certainly quite a bit of horticultural activity in that area.
I dropped in at Emerald Springs, which is one of these places I do not think I have dropped into for 20 years, but it has been reopened. The wife of the original owner is there. I must admit you will not get any accommodation. I am not sure if they intend to re-open it for that purpose, but you can certainly get one of the best steaks around. It is becoming attractive again to people who just want to sit down and have a meal. It is good to see little places like Emerald Springs start up again. Of course, they depend on the tourists a lot, but it is certainly a good place to stop.
I did have a chance to talk to other people, like Brian Hill and his wife, Stephanie. They run Manbulloo Homestead, and have a caravan park, which they run on the bank of the Katherine River. It is a very pleasant place to stay. The only thing that wakes you at night is the sound of thump, thump, thump. There are wallabies everywhere in that part of the world; in fact, they hardly have a garden left because they eat everything that looks green. It was a very popular place. I spoke to some of the tourists and they certainly enjoyed the caravan park because it was away from the traffic, it was all under the shade of some huge big mahogany trees. It was a pleasant area and it was nice to catch up with Brian Hill, whom I have known since my days at Landcare, and catch up on some of the local issues around Katherine.
Last Monday, 16 August 2005, the Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage, and Arts, officially opened the new Interpretive Centre at Strauss Airstrip, which was a very important occasion. We were fortunate to have visitors from the United States there who were related to Clyde Barnett, the pilot who flew from Strauss Airstrip during the war. He is better known than a lot of the other people because he took colour photographs of Strauss Airstrip when he was stationed there. They are published in Bob Alford’s book called Darwin’s Air War 1942-1945. In the centre pages of that book, you will find these beautiful coloured photographs of the Strauss Airstrip. You would think they were taken yesterday.
His daughter, Lyn Barnett, her husband, Jim Mahoney, and her son, Brian, were at the official opening and that certainly made the occasion very special. I was hoping Judy and Paden Green, who came to Australia last year from Ohio, the niece and grandniece of Captain Strauss after whom the airstrip is named, could also attend, but they could not because of work commitments in their little town of Marysville in Ohio so they were not able to attend.
It was a great day. There were people from the Department of Environment and Heritage, Bob Alford and Peter Radtke who are involved in the Aviation Museum, Kim Roe and others from Taminmin High School attending. There were quite a few visitors. There were some other people from the United States who attended.
Of course, the Interpretive Centre is something very special; it is very different. It has three model cut-outs, you might say, of planes that used Strauss Airstrip. They aren’t quite full size, and someone said that was a little disappointing, they thought they might have made them the full size, but they are still good, they still look like the real thing. There has been a lot of work and a lot of effort put in to actually painting them in such a manner as you really think they are three dimensional. There is a replica of a P40, which was a pursuit plane. I believe one is a Kitty Hawk and the other is a Spitfire because they were the main aircraft that took off from Strauss.
There is also a new car park and an Interpretive Centre to give you a history of Strauss Airstrip and a little bit more history about the war and how it affected the Top End. Visitors can now turn off the Stuart Highway, park the car in the car park, walk over and have a look at the Interpretive Centre, which I certainly believe will be a good tourist attraction.
Minister, I do believe it may be worthwhile, and I have probably said this most about most of our airstrips and some of our heritage sites, to look at fencing them off so people can park their car and they can walk. There is a danger of vandalism or you will get people doing silly things with vehicles and knocking over these wonderful looking replicas of the World War II aircraft.
I would also like to thank all the people who completed the development in time; put together the car park and put up the infrastructure for the interpretative centre. They had to do it in a very short time. It was Ostojic Transport. Old Thommo was tearing his hair out about a week before wondering how it would all happen. Fortunately, by Monday, it was all together.
I read the speech from the minister recently and, whilst I believe it is a great speech, I think sometimes history changes a little as time goes on. I know the government said that it supported the development of Strauss Airstrip, but I remember standing on that airstrip 18 months ago with people from the government’s Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, and was told that the road would go through Strauss Airstrip. I had been told that by the department under the previous government. It was not entirely because the government changed its mind that we saved that airstrip; it was because of a lot of people. I remember making a speech in parliament, mentioning the importance of that airstrip and how both sides of parliament agreed. From that, there was a lot of input into trying to get the money to move the Stuart Highway to the other side of the road so that the strip it would not be destroyed.
There was a lot of effort from the Commonwealth government as well, from people like Nigel Scullion. I, at least, had something to say about saving that airstrip. So I do not think it was just a matter of the government saying: ‘We did it’. There was a lot of effort put in to saving it - 10 years of effort, in fact. It should at least be on record that a lot of people made an effort to save the airstrip, and we thank everyone for making that effort to save the airstrip.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson, your time has expired.
Mr STIRLING (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I want to put on the record comments in relation to the death of Mr Dhurrkay, who was born on 4 March 1974.
After realising his dream of reaching the elite level of the AFL, Mr Dhurrkay realised something else; that there is no place like home. After spending five seasons with the Fremantle Dockers, Mr Dhurrkay moved to the Kangaroos and went on to become one of their most exciting players. He played 51 games with the Dockers between 1995 and 1998, before registering 21 games with the Roos.
In 2000, after two seasons at North Melbourne, he surprised everyone by announcing his retirement from the game at age 26. He said:
Home was, of course, Nhulunbuy country in north-east Arnhem Land:
Far from taking the back seat after retirement, he became the Chairman of a new association called Yiwarr, which has been established to address issues of importance to the Yolngu. He said:
He maintained an involvement with the AFL, coaching the Gopu Football Club, and had plenty of memories from his playing days:
While he received plenty of cheers for his on-field exploits, the move that Mr Dhurrkay will best be remembered for is his decision to step away from the limelight and devote himself to the advancement of his community. Mr Dhurrkay was 31 years old. Rest in peace, Mr Dhurrkay.
I have pleasure in congratulating artists from my electorate who have been successful in Australia’s premiere annual showcase of indigenous art, the Telstra award.
Winners from two of the categories were from Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre at Yirrkala. I congratulate Banduk Marika, Best Bark Painting and Naminapu Maymuru-White on the Wandjuk Marika Memorial Award for Three Dimensional Art.
Banduk Marika is a senior Rirratjingu clan elder who has been an established artist for over 20 years. She is a pioneer of both indigenous print making and Landcare. In 2000, she was awarded the Annual Red Ochre Award for a lifetime of achievement as an artist.
Naminapu Maymuru-White is also a long-established artist with a history as a print maker and previously won the 1996 Telstra Best Work on Paper Award, and was runner up in the National Indigenous Heritage Art Award.
The quality of work out of Yirrkala is terrific. It is fantastic to see two people who have worked so hard to get such well-deserved recognition, and I wholeheartedly congratulate them both.
It was pleasing to see the community rally to assist when 70 passengers were stranded in Nhulunbuy after several flight delays recently. Three flights were delayed after a plane experienced technical difficulties, leaving passengers stranded.
Amongst the stranded were two groups of children heading of on their yearly school trips; one from Nhulunbuy Primary going to Canberra and the other from the Laynhapuy Homelands going to Tinaroo Dam north of Cairns.
Congratulations to the school children on their exemplary behaviour as they waited during an uncertain time. Thank you to Alcan G3, which was able to assist with accommodation, and to the off duty catering staff who responded to the call for help. I am pleased to report that the children from Nhulunbuy Primary School were able to make up the day lost and complete their tour of Parliament House.
The famous indigenous group Yothu Yindi from my electorate joined forces with a number of entertainers to perform in the Solomon Islands last month. They were there primarily to perform for the Australian Defence Forces based there. During the five day tour, Yothu Yindi performed for students at the King George VI School in Honiara. Yothu Yindi’s lead singer, Mandawuy Yunupingu, was the first qualified indigenous school principal in the Northern Territory. Performing at schools remains dear to his heart.
One of my constituents has just returned from the 2005 World Masters Games in Edmonton, Canada. She played with the Australian Butterflies Basketball team, which won all its games and placed it on first on the ladder and made them strong contenders for the finals and the gold medal. Unfortunately, they were beaten by Canada in the last 11 seconds 44 to 42. The team are proud silver medallists. Congratulations to Andrea Collins and all the team members.
I was pleased to attend a small but nonetheless important occasion on Monday morning: the signing of an MOU between Charles Darwin University and Batchelor Institute. The MOU is a significant milestone for tertiary education in the Territory and will enable Charles Darwin University and Batchelor Institute to collaborate in key areas of tertiary education delivery and research. I want to acknowledge the role Charles Darwin University’s Vice-Chancellor Helen Garnett played in the development of the MOU. I also acknowledge the role that Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Council played in moving this agenda forward under the leadership and vision of Rose Kunoth-Monks. Thanks, too, to the Interim Director, John Ingram, for his work over the last few months.
Others at the signing who played an important roles in putting the MOU together included: Ken Simpson, the Acting Chief Executive of DEET; Ken Davies, Deputy Chief Executive, CDU; and staff, Don Zoellner, Pro Vice-Chancellor Community and Access; Maryann Bin-Sallik, Professor and Dean of Indigenous Research and Education; and Margeret Friel, Coordinator Indigenous Academic Support Unit, CDU.
The signing marked a critical step toward achieving better education outcomes. As minister for Education, I am keen to see results both in the short and long term from the cooperation between the two institutions, particularly in advancements in the delivery of education and training outcomes to indigenous Territorians in regional and remote areas.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I was taken by an article in The Australian on 4 June this year entitled Fair or Foul, out you go by Michael Bachelard on the question of unfair dismissal laws under industrial relations.
There are stark examples of the law giving proper redress to the victims of acts of bastardry by employers. In the case of Vickery v Assetta, Geoffrey Vickery was profoundly deaf, intellectually disabled and dyslexic. Admirably, he sought and found work. He worked hard and enthusiastically in a number of jobs, most recently at a car wash. When the car wash was sold to Andrew Assetta in June 2003, Vickery’s one day a week job became a full-time. For his 45 hour week, he should have been paid $556. It quickly became clear that Assetta was underpaying him by hundreds of dollars. Vickery’s mother complained to the Disability Employment Action Centre, which wrote to Assetta with its concerns.
A furious Assetta tore up the letter in front of Vickery. In the following days he became abusive, ridiculing and laughing at the disabled man. Other employees were encouraged to do the same. Ten days later, Vickery, distressed and confused, was sacked.
In his judgment in the unfair dismissal action, the Federal Court’s Justice Ray Finklestein said he was in no doubt that Vickery’s ‘despicable’ sacking was ‘because of his physical or mental disability’.
Finklestein found. Vickery was awarded $3000 in addition to $3457.41 in lieu of notice. Importantly, Mr Deputy Speaker, under Howard’s new industrial relations laws, Vickery would have had no right to challenge.
As the author points out:
In the case of Mr Vickery, physically and mentally disabled, exploited and ripped off by his employer, there will be no recourse, and that is a very sad day indeed.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I want to talk about Aboriginal customary law as it is applied in the courts of the Northern Territory.
Yesterday, I was heartened to hear what the Attorney-General had to say in answer to a question I asked of him in relation to this issue. I have communicated with him privately about that matter, however, it is appropriate, in light of the case last week to which my question related, that I once again put on the Parliamentary Record my position in relation to this matter.
I will be doing a great deal of quoting during the next 15 minutes in order not only put on the record but persuade government to do the right thing in relation to customary law. I quote from today’s The Australian, an article written by Janet Albrechtsen and entitled ‘Cultural assault on human rights’. It is a very good article, and I commend it to members of the Assembly. Some of the quotes will be a little lengthy, and I ask members to bear with me. Her article starts as follows:
That is the end of that quote. Janet Albrechtsen went on to say, and I am skipping a few paragraphs here, and I quote:
Janet Albrechtsen, in her article in today’s Australian, went on to refer to some earlier cases, one in 1969, one in 1974, and one two years ago. I am sure there have been more. In relation to the case two years ago, known to many of us as the Jackie Pascoe case, Janet Albrechtsen says the following:
What I propose to do is repeat my calls for this government to specifically introduce a bill, or to somehow support the one of which I will give notice at the next sittings whereby I will propose, again, as I did in August 2003, an amendment to the Sentencing Act so that violent men who hide behind the veil of customary law when they appear before courts on criminal charges, including sexual and physical violence, are not afforded that protection.
Members who were present in the last Assembly will recall that I introduced a bill to amend the Sentencing Act and an amendment to the Criminal Code. The amendment to the Criminal Code was, for the most part, remedied as a result of the Law Reform Bill, commonly referred to as the Gay Law Reform Bill. In any event, the defects that exist when it comes to customary law in the Sentencing Act still exist, and I will give notice in due course of trying again to introduce a bill with a view to having it passed, such is my devotion to this issue.
Whilst I am heartened by the Attorney-General’s response to my question yesterday, I can do nothing more than introduce a bill to this parliament.
At the risk of repeating what I said in August 2003, but perhaps for the benefit of new members and for anyone else who is listening, I would like to quote some of what I said in my second reading speech when I introduced my proposal to amend the Sentencing Act on 13 August 2003. I referred to the Sentencing Act and the Criminal Code:
Elsewhere in my second reading speech, I said:
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I have referred to this matter, I might say, since August 2003. You will be aware that I have raised it on numerous occasions.
I say again that at the next sittings, I will give notice of introducing an amendment to the Sentencing Act. In essence, I will try again.
I am not prepared to sit by and watch this happen. I am not prepared to be complicit in this misery and this injustice. I need to go to bed at night knowing that I have done whatever I can. As an elected member of this parliament, as leader of my party, to the extent that I am able to do anything, I will give it another go.
Put simply, I am not able to sit by and watch this happen. I will give it another go, and I implore government members to support me.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arafura): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, last week in my adjournment, I spoke about Gunbalanya Open Day, which I attended last Saturday.
As usual, the open day was a success. I opened the day with Jacob Nyangal, who is a senior traditional owner in the Oenpelli region. Certainly, the sports carnival, football and basketball, was well attended by a number of visiting schools, St John’s, Marrara Christian School and many others.
This year, visitor numbers were down, but I think the day clashed with a number of other events. There were certainly some visitors who went on to Garma and some who had been to other festivals went to Gunbalanya.
I want to quickly acknowledge Esther Djayhgurrnga, the Principal of Gunbalanya CEC, Joe Singh, Barbara Walker, Council Clerk Bill Medley and the many staff out there, Anthony Murphy from Injalak Arts and Crafts, and particularly noting the role, as usual every year, doing an efficient job of MC, talking to visitors and letting them know where all the different events were was Andy Ralph.
I had the task of having to judge the artworks done by the Preschool-Transition class and the various other classes up to Year 7 and that was not an easy job, I can tell you. We were supposed to give First and Second and Great Effort prizes to three of the students, but we ended up going a bit overboard, particularly with Preschool and Transition, given that they had put such a big effort into some of their artworks. We decided to extend the prizes for Preschool and Transition entries, and it was a great pleasure to be able to do that.
Into the afternoon, and with the stalls and people looking at the various items that were on offer at Gunbalanya, Neil Murray played at the club that night. Wildflower and the fantastic Letterstickband played on into the night, and I think it was until midnight. I am sure my colleague, the member for Johnston, has heard of the Letterstick band.
Dr Burns: A good band!
Ms SCRYMGOUR: Last year, there were so many deaths amongst that band and it was sad that Mr Wilson, who both the member for Johnston and I knew quite well, passed away last year at such a young age, was not part of that band any more. Letterstick is now going on a big dedication tour for the three young men who lost their lives over the last year and a half.
I went back to Jabiru for the night and then went back to Gunbalanya in the morning on Sunday. I know that every member in this parliament is enthralled by their electorate and its beauty and the wonder. I know that there is beauty in every electorate, but I am constantly amazed by Cahill’s Crossing, the escarpment and the beauty of Arnhem Land. It puts into perspective your work as a member in this House and what you are doing.
The member for Macdonnell came with me on the Sunday. I am sure that she saw the great beauty, too. Central Australia has great beauty in the desert and out in some of those communities. When we look at some of those Top End communities, the beauty of the escarpment, the salt water, the swamp lands are a fantastic sight.
One of the most spectacular views I saw was on the return trip to Jabiru. We had to pull up at Cahill’s Crossing for a couple of hours because the East Alligator is tidal, and the water had come over Cahill’s Crossing. We waited there for about an hour for the tide to recede before we crossed, and we saw massive crocodiles on the side of Cahill’s Crossing. One of them, a quite big black crocodile notoriously known as Eric, frequents the crossing and was grabbing the many fish as they jumped was a sight that had to be seen to be believed.
The many tourists and other people who were standing at the crossing had videos and cameras rolling and clicking. You can only stand back in awe at these creatures in the water and note the link to the prehistoric times. As I said, it had to be seen to be believed.
It was a great day, as usual. It is always good to get out to the electorate. I am certainly looking forward to going back in another week to the Mahbilil Festival, which will be in Jabiru.
Moving on from that, someone I would like to mention, and I know my constituents at Gunbalanya and the Tiwi Islands would want me to acknowledge Mark Ramjan who was working in Minister Toyne’s office but has now left. Mark and his family have gone travelling around Australia. I wish Mark and his family all the best. I do not think I have ever met someone with his commitment to Aboriginal health and to its people. There are very few people with his type of dedication, commitment and professionalism, and I want to put on record that I hope Mark and his family stay well and return to the Northern Territory.
Moving on, this morning I presented a ministerial report on fantastic Territory festivals, and I have just finished talking about Gunbalanya and Mahbilil, which we enjoy. I want to pay tribute to the wonderful team of volunteers who support these events and the arts generally. It is not possible to single out individuals because the list of names would literally run in to the hundreds.
The government is proud to support the work of festivals and the arts community, but every event, whether it is planning, programming, costuming, liaising with groups and local government, writing funding submissions, performing, providing space, advertising or whatever the job is, it happens because of the commitment of these individuals.
I am hosting a reception in Darwin for some of the arts volunteers at the end of August, and I hope to do this throughout the Territory in recognition of the wonderful work done by those community members. Whether in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Darwin or the Daly, arts volunteers give generously of their time and expertise. Without them, none of these shows would go on. Because of them, we are the richer.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Deputy Speaker, I want to speak about an event which is taking place in Alice Springs right at this moment. It is the National Road Transport Hall of Fame Reunion 2005.
Today was registration day, and I understand there are some 6500 people registered for this year’s reunion. That is a huge influx of people in to town; every motel room is booked and I hear about people trying to make bookings in Alice Springs who cannot get in this week; it is filled to capacity.
They had a sausage sizzle tonight at the Hall of Fame grounds, which is nearly finished except for those who are going to stay behind and party on. Tomorrow, starting at 9.00 am, registration will continue and there will be a set-up day at the Hall of Fame. Tomorrow night, there will be a barbeque and entertainment put on with a fun cabaret for all in a family-friendly manner.
Friday starts with a breakfast for Transport Women Australia Limited, and then there will be fun and games through the day and the whole of the Hall of Fame will be open for public inspection. I imagine there will be truck and vintage vehicle enthusiasts running around the site that has been wonderfully done up by the committee and the many volunteers who have shared in the work at the Hall of Fame.
I will come back to one particular person who has been involved more than anyone. Friday night is the Cummings Cup, which will be a twilight race meeting at Pioneer Park from 3 pm until 7 pm. My understanding is that the Acting Mayor will be welcoming everyone and addressing the crowd.
On Saturday, there will be the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame induction ceremony, and I am told there so many people being inducted. I know things are going to happen fairly smoothly if I know the people who organise it and how they do things.
At 12.30 pm on Saturday, there will be a Meet the Mile Makers lunch in the Hall of Fame grounds, with an opportunity for people to catch up with this country’s unsung heroes and transport pioneers. Music will be put on by Ian Castles. There will also be a reptile show.
On Saturday night will be the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame induction spectacular. Obviously, Shell Rimula is the sponsoring company. There will be entertainment going on at the same time.
Sunday is sponsored by Kenworth. There will be a truck parade from the Shell truck stop to the Hall of Fame grounds between 9 am and 11 am, and I am sure all of Alice Springs will be out there to see the parade. I am sure that the Alice Springs Sunday mall market will be held to coincide with the increasing numbers of tourists and people taking part in the National Road Transport Hall of Fame reunion.
Then, between 11 am and 6 pm there will be a public open day at the Hall of Fame for viewing the biggest array of vintage trucks ever. Obviously, there will be food and drinks available as well. The Home for Bertha pavilion will also be opened and a new calendar will be launched on Sunday.
Monday, between 9 am and 5 pm, will be an opportunity for all the participants to be networking and catching up with old stories and mates who have been part of this transport industry for so many years around Australia.
The lynchpin to this whole function is a lady by the name of Liz Martin. She has been there as custodian, manager, general dogsbody and gofer. She has done so much work with her partner, Kel Davis.
Many years ago, I spoke about Liz Martin. You will not recall because you were not here then, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker. In 1995, she was nominated by the Victorian Road Transport Association in recognition of her work in her role as the Vice-President of the Northern Territory Road Transport Association and representative of the Central Australian Road Transport industry on the national body, and had been a liaison officer between the industry and government on specifications, regulations and awareness programs with regards to the transport industry.
Following her nomination by the Victorian Road Transport Association, she went to a gala dinner at the World Congress Centre in Melbourne in about October 1995 where, in front of 3000 of Australia’s leading transport identities, Liz was presented with the Australian Freight Industry Award for Outstanding Contribution to Road Transport in Australia, the first Territorian to win such a prestigious national award.
Liz is the author of this book, Australia’s Road Transport Heritage, which she published in 1995. I draw members’ attention to a tribute that I made in November 1995 following the launch of this book, which I was privileged to have the pleasure of launching for Liz at the Australian Road Transport Hall of Fame. In my adjournment in 1995, I read some of the preface about the author, and I would like to add some more to the Hansard.
I will continue here at the last three or four paragraphs of the preface. As we all know, Liz was born in Katherine in the 1950s and has had a long association with the road transport industry. I quote:
Obviously, this reunion is very significant. The Road Transport Hall of Fame began as an idea way back in 1992. Road transport has come a long way in the last 100 years, from the horse and cart to early transport and the steam engine. Now we have very highly refined technology that drives prime movers across the Territory.
People in Alice Springs spoke about doing something to collect the history of road transport because it served Alice Springs for so long. A way of doing that was to try to get memorabilia together so that children could at least learn and appreciate what it meant at a time when Alice Springs did not have much transport infrastructure.
In early 1992, Alice Springs local historian, Judy Robinson, called a public meeting out of concern that Australia’s transport heritage was being lost, many of the old timers were starting to pass away and many of the old trucks were lying rusting away in paddocks on cattle properties and rubbish dumps across the country. Fewer than 20 people attended the first meeting held on 28 February 1992 at the Alice Springs Town Council. There was unanimous agreement that, yes, they would do something. The concept of a transport or road train museum in the NT was born.
Quickly, by word of mouth and a small circular, people were informed and the excitement was quite significant. As word kept spreading, road train pioneers from all around the place started to write in, wanting to be involved. Road train pioneer Kurt Johannsen kicked off the kitty with a donation of $500 towards the building fund, and from there the whole concept grew and the money came pouring in. The Northern Territory government of the day supported the project very strongly. I take up the story from the book written by Liz Martin:
I do not recall having tabled a copy of this for Hansard. If I have, I will ask for this back. If not, I seek leave to table it. As I said, it is a document that Hansard may have for future reference. It is a great book with the history of the trucking industry in Central Australia. It is a good read. The many identities that were involved in the trucking industry are in there, from people like Kurt Johannsen and Dave Baldock; there is a big picture of Noel Buntine in here; Joe Patten, Ted Smith, Ian Cawood, whom I spoke about; Liz Martin, Judy Robinson, and Les Hodge; identities such as Len and Phyllis Kittle. As you all know, Len passed away not so long ago. Debbie ‘The Camel Lady’ Robinson and Ronnie Tilmouth are in there, and I am sure if Ronnie had heard that I have spoken of him today, he would be thrilled.
I encourage members to have a look through this book. It is a worthwhile book to read. It gives you a great description of transport around the world and the impact that heavy transport has on Central Australia from our humble beginnings until today.
Dr BURNS (Johnston): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, picking up on the member for Greatorex, I will be at the Road Transport Hall of Fame this weekend to join with them in their celebrations. I would like to endorse what the member for Greatorex said. They are a great group and they have achieved a lot. It certainly is a showcase for the transport history of the Northern Territory.
As an old semitrailer driver myself, who still has a semitrailer licence, I get a big kick out of - there is another semitrailer driver in the Chair - I having a really close look at the exhibition. Some of the exhibits are quite rare and very inspiring. It is inspiring just thinking about the pioneers like Kurt Johannsen and all the yards that he made and the hardship and deprivation that people suffered when they were bringing supplies into Central Australia. I will be joining with people on Saturday night.
Tonight, I speak on the long-term contribution to the work of the Northern Territory government that Ms Christine McIntyre has made over a period of 32 years. Christine McIntyre resigned from her Accounts Officer position at DCIS Darwin on 19 August 2005 and plans to retire from the work force.
She commenced employment with the Commonwealth Department of Education as a clerk in 1973 before transferring to the Northern Territory Department of Education in July 1979. Along with other staff in the Salaries section, Christine McIntyre worked in trying conditions immediately after Cyclone Tracy, ensuring that teachers’ salaries continued to be processed.
Whilst with the Northern Territory Department of Education, Christine McIntyre had a varied and interesting career, which included human resources and payroll services, various administrative officer roles, and budget and financial management roles.
In 1998 when DCIS was formed, Christine transferred to the Accounting Services Branch and quickly settled into the role of Supervisor in the Accounts Receivable Unit. After 2 years, she transferred to the Accounts Payable Unit as Vendor Maintenance and Reconciliation Officer until she retired.
Outside of work, Christine has been a stalwart supporter of the Waratahs Football Club for over 30 years, and I commend her loyalty and endeavours.
I thank Christine McIntyre for her contribution to the Northern Territory government over 32 years, and I am sure all members wish her well in her retirement.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I also want to speak tonight on the long-term contribution to the work of the government that Ms Pauline Hodgson has made over a period of 30 years. Pauline resigned from her Accounts Officer position at DCIS Casuarina on 26 July this year.
She commenced work with the Commonwealth Department of Housing and Construction as a Personnel Registry Officer in 1975. In the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy, the office was relocated to Brisbane, as the devastated city’s infrastructure made it too difficult to carry out services from Darwin. Pauline Hodgson relocated her family to Queensland, where she operated in her position servicing the Territory for three years until the office was relocated back to Darwin.
As a compulsory transferee in 1978, Pauline Hodgson joined the Northern Territory public sector with the Department of Transport and Works. Between 1975 and 1995, she enjoyed several positions within the department, also enjoying a long maternity leave break to welcome two children into the world.
She returned to the work force in 1995 in the Personnel-Registry area of the Department of Transport and Works and, in her final year with the department, moved to the Finance area to re-skill in Accounts operations.
On the inception of DCIS in 1998, Pauline transferred to the Casuarina Accounts Payable team, servicing the Department of Health and Community Services and Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
Although very satisfied with her current position within DCIS Financial Services, she has decided to take her available retirement option. She has great plans to travel and visit family she has not seen for some time before returning to the Territory and continuing to raise her children and contribute to the local community.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I am sure all members join me in thanking Pauline for her contribution to the Northern Territory Public Service and government over 30 years, and we wish her well in her retirement.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I want to pick up where I left off last night on the issue of antisocial behaviour in Katherine. I spoke about the wonderful program that Sheila Millar from Dillinya is running, and I want to talk about other issues in Katherine.
One of the rising problems in our community, which has moved from remote communities into towns, is petrol sniffing. I have it on reliable authority that there has been a significant increase in petrol sniffers in Katherine over the past couple of weeks. They are moving in from their community, which has had Opal fuel introduced. It was bound to happen. As with alcohol-free communities, people just move into regional towns like Katherine and move the problem from their community into the town.
Government must be fully aware of this problem and should be introducing the Volatile Substance legislation in this Assembly as a matter of urgency. Why wait a moment longer? In recent times, there has been an assault in Katherine’s main street, which was unprovoked and has resulted in considerable stress for the victim and his family.
Just 12 months ago, a similar incident occurred with another Katherine young person, and the concerns that have been raised by some residents in Katherine call for the police to have a stronger presence in the main street, especially during busier times such as Friday and Saturday nights.
One of the suggestions I proposed at our main street meeting is that the police be in attendance at the club, which is situated in the main street. If they could be there half an hour before closing time, so that there is a presence, and stay in the area for at least half an hour afterwards, their presence will be a deterrent to some of the behaviour that has been happening.
There has been considerable publicity about these issues over the last couple of days and, of course, today’s Katherine Times has it reinforced on the front page. Naturally, the family of this young person in the most recent assault are fairly distressed. I know that they have expressed their concerns to the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, to the police and, of course, they have expressed them to me.
I want to say here and now that I acknowledge the magnificent work that our police force does, and in most cases it is a thankless task. They are a dedicated and committed force and have a wide range of challenges to deal with on any given day.
My concern – and, I might add, confusion - is over the number of police that are said to be assigned to Katherine. In estimates, were given the figure of 54. A reliable source has told me there are 66. When the officer-in-charge of Katherine Police Station was asked on ABC radio on Monday how many are stationed at Katherine, he couldn’t say. What is the big secret? In this open and accountable government, are they trying to hide something - and why? It begs the question that there is something to hide and there is no figure that can be verified.
Following on from that assault incident, to improve safety in the main street, some community members in Katherine have called for CCTV cameras to be installed along Katherine Terrace to monitor activity. In the past, this was seen as an intrusion on people’s privacy or as ineffective, among a few other excuses. Of course, since the horror of the London bombings when CCTV proved to an extremely effective way of identifying the suspects, it has been recognised again as being probably desirable to have. CCTV would also be valuable in assisting the police to identify culprits of unlawful behaviour in Katherine Terrace.
In the pursuit of this government’s Building Safer Communities strategy, how much would government assist Katherine Town Council in the funding of CCTV in Katherine? Surely, it fits the criteria, or is Building Safer Communities just a feel good statement?
There is much, much more to be said about making our community safer, and there will be much, much more said well into the future, I am sure. I would, however, like some answers to what I have put tonight to see how serious this government is about making Katherine a safer community.
Mr BURKE (Brennan): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I recently attended the Defence Officers’ Ball, which was hosted by Commodore Cam Darby and his wife, Sharni. The table at which I was sitting was hosted by Group Captain Mark Kelton and his wife, Jane. It was a great evening. Group Captain Kelton and his wife were great company, as were the other members of our table and other guests on the night.
As you would expect from a military evening, it worked like a well-oiled machine. Entertainment was provided by the Army Band. I think they may be in danger of having some of their musicians and singers poached by professional bands because they put on a really great show.
Also there was a telescope. The viewing that evening, through the telescope, was rather special. I understand that it is difficult up here because there are not too many clear nights, but on that Saturday evening we were blessed with a clear night and guests were privileged to have a wonderful sight of the crest of the moon through the telescope. That is something I have not seen before.
I raise the Defence Officers’ Ball not just in recognition of the fabulous event, but because we all know the importance of the military to the Territory, and that should also be recognised. Defence is a significant contributor to the Territory economy, injecting about $1bn a year; $500m in wages alone. The military are very much a part of our community, especially in my area of the Territory in Palmerston. Between 700 and 1000 Australian Defence Force personnel are posted to the Territory each year for an average two-year posting, although with some finagling, people can secure postings for a greater length of time by transferring between units stationed here.
There are a considerable number of Defence families living in my electorate; children whose parents or parent work in the Defence Force attend local schools. Bakewell Primary School is an example, with a significant proportion of children from Defence families. Spouses of Defence personnel often work in local businesses or support the local community in other ways.
The Martin government is committed to providing assistance to Defence families to ensure that their time in the Territory, however long, is as enjoyable and well supported as possible. Members will recall that the government announced three new initiatives during the election, and they are worth repeating. The first was a Welcome to Territory Expo held for Defence families in their home state in the event of a major relocation, such as the 1st Aviation Regiment moving to Robertson Barracks in support of the Tiger helicopters, which start arriving this year. The expos provide information about life in the Territory, including schools, child care services, job opportunities, recreation and health services to make it easier for families to settle into the Top End. This will be in addition to the welcome and support provided to Defence families when they arrive in the Territory.
On the issue of child care services, although not a government service, I understand that Defence is looking at expanding its network across Australia to almost double the number of child care centres, which will, as I understood from the presentation, double the child care centres in the Territory. Those will, of course, be run by the private operator that the Department of Defence has contracted.
There will be $100 000 allocated to a new bus service trial to military bases, initially in the Darwin and Palmerston areas, with possible expansion to include the Tindal RAAF Base. The initiative was developed in response to feedback from Defence families and will make it easier for them to make the most of Top End life off the base, including shopping, recreation and sport. The routes and times of buses will be finalised in consultation with Defence authorities and families. That is an example of how this government seeks to engage with not just Defence through official channels, but also families directly.
There was the announcement of a new Defence Force Liaison Officer position, providing a single point of contact for Defence Force families to get information about services to help make their posting as smooth as possible, and to provide advice to government agencies on practical issues impacting Defence families. The new position will be based within the Defence Support Division of the Department of Business, Economic and Regional Development, and will work closely with the Defence Housing Authority, Defence Community Organisation, and the Defence Families Association.
Relocation of the 1st Aviation Regiment and their families from Queensland to Robertson Barracks will add further to our Defence family population, which is currently approximately 13 000, a significant proportion of our community. The government allocated $570 000 to the Defence Support Division in Budget 2005 to continue to promote and support securing Defence-related contracts by Territory businesses.
The Australian government recently committed to a major upgrade of its hardware in agreeing to purchase 59 Abrams tanks from our ally, the United States. This is a major investment. It will hopefully provide great benefits for Darwin business. These tanks and other Defence hardware require through-life support, TLS, or perhaps it might be more appropriate to say TLC.
The NT government is supporting local contractors in their bid to win maintenance contracts. The Defence Forces use state-of-the-art equipment. If our local businesses can win contracts to maintain and repair this equipment, it will not only have monetary benefits, but skill benefits, too. It will hopefully lead to the creation of more apprenticeships and traineeships as these businesses commit to training up local people.
Along with other members, I recently attended the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II at the Cenotaph on the Esplanade. In attendance was Rear Admiral Michael Le Fever of the United States Marines along with a host of Australian and US military personnel and Consul Karen Ogle from the United States Consulate. Members will recall that Consul Ogle and other dignitaries visited Parliament House.
Another event I had occasion to attend was the unveiling of the Stolen Generations monument in the George Brown Botanic Gardens on 30 July, which was Darwin Cup long weekend. It was a very emotional unveiling and it was well attended. Other members of this Assembly attended, and there were some very moving speeches given by Top End members of the indigenous community as well as those from other areas of the Territory. Archie Roach spoke at the unveiling.
As I have said, it was a very moving ceremony and for anyone who has not gone to look at the monument, I encourage them to do so because the Stolen Generations are part of our local history. It is something we need to address and recognise because it has affected so many of our population both indigenous and non-indigenous.
On 14 August 2005, I was pleased to be invited to a reunion for staff at the Government House hosted by the His Honour the Administrator. There were many people in attendance, going all the way back to administrations as early as 1912. For me personally, it was a chance to catch up with Michael and Ann Barrett whom I had not seen for quite some time. These people are great Territorians and they, too, visited Parliament House, as members will recall.
I first met Michael and Ann when we were island hopping on the Indonesian motor vessel Kelimutu starting off in Kupang and travelling progressively east across the archipelago. People may remember that Michael, in addition to his position at Government House, ended up as Director of Red Cross for a number of years. It was a great time to catch up with them both.
I should make mention of a couple of events coming up for honourable members’ to be aware of if they are not already. Of course, this weekend we have the Taste of Italy festival and the Barrio Fiesta, two significant events for the communities hosting them. I look forward to attending those functions and meeting many Territorians there.
Finally, I want to mention the Seniors’ Month Concert at the Palmerston High School this Sunday, which is part of the celebrations that have been held specifically in and around Palmerston. I know, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I can look forward to seeing you there, along with many of the Seniors who live in and around the area.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I would like to share with the House news of my trip to Katherine on the weekend for a football grand final played with great flair and speed. I went to this game because football players from my electorate were in the grand final; the Arnhem Crows.
The match was between the Arnhem Crows, who took on the Lajamanu Swans. There were people everywhere at the Katherine show grounds, all dressed in the colours of their teams. I think there may have been around 1000 people who attended the event. Think of the Adelaide Crows colours and you have the Arnhem Crows and for Lajamanu, it was the yellow and white that stood out the most. People had traveled the 650 km from Lajamanu to support their team in the grand final in Katherine, especially after the team only just lost the grand final to the Ngukurr Bulldogs last year.
People are sports fanatics out on the communities, so much so that they do travel these great distances to play football. Each week during the AFL season in Katherine, which starts in April, the Lajamanu team travels the 650 km to Katherine for the game, then turns around straight after the game to travel the 650 km home again. To put it into perspective, that means travelling between Darwin and Katherine at least four times in one day just to get to a football match.
The Lajamanu team leaves on a Friday afternoon. They have a break at Top Springs in the Victoria River District and then complete the rest of the journey on Saturday morning, the day of the footy match. They then turn around that evening and get back to Lajamanu on Sunday morning.
The other team that travels the long distance to Katherine, but not quite as far away as Lajamanu, is the Ngukurr Bulldogs, again from my electorate of Arnhem. They have 350 km to travel just to get to Katherine, but the other big challenge for these footballers is the crossing of the Roper and Wilton Rivers. It often includes barge travel up river to where the bus is waiting to take them to Katherine. They play their game and then return to Ngukurr, finally reaching home about 2 o’clock on a Sunday morning.
This gives you an idea of the distances and the passion involved in competing in AFL Katherine. Each week, these teams travel the distances between April and August to be one of the five regional communities involved in Katherine AFL. The teams in the competition other than Lajamanu, Ngukurr and the Arnhem Crows are Kalano Community and Tindal RAAF Base.
AFL Katherine is the first competition to go dry. As a result, there were no fights on or off the field this weekend. It was a great family atmosphere and an evening that was enjoyed by many, especially the children who got to watch their dads, uncles, brothers and cousins playing on the field.
I had the pleasure of tossing the coin at the beginning of the match. Arnhem Crows won the toss, but unfortunately lost the match - do not put that down to me tossing the coin! The skill levels of both teams were very high and, indeed, incredibly fast. I might add that perhaps they were a little faster than AFL NT footballers, but maybe we will check that one day.
The margin was 10 points, although the lead changed about 20 times throughout the game. Dion Kelly from Lajamanu won the Hourglass Medal for Best on Ground, and the umpires did a great job.
Grog is not allowed at any AFL Katherine matches since the no alcohol initiative was adopted at the beginning of season 2004. This has also meant of loss of $30 000 in sponsorship income for AFL Katherine, however the league believes the long term benefits to the game far outweighs this initial loss. It is a courageous move, and one that most definitely needs to be supported.
I commend AFL Katherine for continuing on this path of no alcohol, as it is the long term benefits we need to keep focused on. Sporting matches should be something all people can go to and enjoy without feeling hassled, or families feeling it is unsafe. Whilst there is a large loss in sponsorship, in two years, player reports have reduced significantly and no incidents have occurred off field. This policy has also resulted in families coming to the games.
In season 2004, games are also being played out in communities as part of their local festival activities, which has benefited the communities greatly. This year, AFL Katherine matches were played at Barunga, Tindal and Kalano. Recently, a pilot junior competition commenced and this is being played as a curtain raiser to the senior competition. AFL Katherine is hopeful that, with financial assistance, this competition involving youth from regional communities in the area will become a regular competition.
AFL Katherine and the AFLNT recognise the need to improve the lifestyles and opportunities of local youth and are encouraged by the results achieved to date. Two players from the competition have been referred to an AFL club for consideration. In addition, a number of young players from Barunga have been playing in the local Geelong league in Victoria.
In 2004, AFL Katherine beat the AFL Gove and AFL Tiwi leagues in Gove and Darwin at Marrara respectively. On the Friday night prior to the grand final, which was organised by Janie McCullagh and Denis Coburn on behalf of the AFL Katherine Board, the Best and Fairest Award, the Brently Hughes Medal count was held. This was won by Ronnie Ah Fat from the Arnhem Crows. Mitchell Hall won the Doug Kelly Medal for kicking 57 goals throughout the season. Despite the $30 000 loss in sponsorship, AFL Katherine still encourages local charities to be involved. The RSPCA raised $3000 through the canteen at the football games.
Getting back to the grand final between Lajamanu Swans and Arnhem Crows, Lajamanu won 18-11-119 to Arnhem Crows’ 16-13-109. I take this opportunity to congratulate AFL Katherine President Dennis Rebbeck on a fantastic event on the weekend, and for the courage shown by the AFL in Katherine to provide a healthier environment for football players and spectators at the games.
In closing, I encourage all members of parliament to go along to next year’s AFL Katherine grand final and show them your support.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I will cover two issues tonight, both local: one involving the local markets and some feathery friends that are causing concern; and a red-suited, bearded gentleman by the name of Mr John Wilson who has been appearing as Santa Claus for many years.
The revamped markets at Palmerston are receiving very strong support from locals, including thousands of noisy rainbow red-collared lorikeets. Some call it a beautiful noise, including myself, but the birds are so noisy that, on opening night the Palmerston Senior Songsters and the Children of Palmerston and Beyond Youth Band could not be heard above the raucous screeching of thousands of lorikeets. Carols by Candlelight a couple of years ago had to be cancelled because of these noisy lorikeets.
Those who campaigned against the removal of Goyder Hill argued that the loss of trees would destroy the roosts of our noisy and feathery fellow residents. The removal of trees has resulted in a concentration of birds in the remaining trees. Are the birds a problem? Unfortunately, they are – not just because they drown out the chatter and music of humans and damage the trees, but bird droppings present a serious health risk in an area where food is served and consumed.
What is the answer? Rainbow lorikeets are social animals and creatures of habit. While no one wants to harm them, they need to be given a reason to move on and settle elsewhere. Some have suggested disco warfare with strobe lights to unsettle them, an idea that may work as strobe lights would stop me from spending time in discos.
Perhaps other tropical cities have lessons for us. I contacted Townsville City Council. They tackled a similar problem head on; they gave the birds a reason to move on by introducing a predator. Snakes and pythons eat birds so, if snakes were placed in the trees, the birds would then move to snake-free trees. A number of rubber snakes were tied to the tops of the trees, and I guess the originator of the idea got the job. Guess what? These birds were smart. They could tell rubber from real snakes and continued their noisy ways alongside the fake snakes.
Extraordinarily patient people have proposed the planting of lorikeet-tempting trees nearby, while a cynic has suggested the only remedy, of course, is drafting very strong legislation to send a firm message to these feathery troublemakers!
Of course, this approach involves flying up a gaggle of southern galahs, and the extension of the brief to include all irritating animals before Territorians are engaged in comprehensive community consultation. This will result in a media conference, four-point or even five-point action plan, glossy brochures and one or two large signs erected in the area to promote government. The birds will remain for at least four years. Well, yes, I guess so, but if the trees become too crowded, they will have a couple of large signs to roost on.
On a more serious note, and while all this is being considered, the Palmerston Council should ensure that no food is prepared under the trees, and that patrons consume food away from them. Second, heaving pruning of all roosting sites in the area should be undertaken. Finally, the Townsville snakes-in-the-trees initiative is true, believe it or not.
Now I would like to turn to Mr John Wilson. Do not tell anyone that I have told you this but his full name is John Desmond Lachlan Wilson, born 16 July 1933. He is an outstanding gentleman who has made, and continues to make, a great difference to Palmerston.
John Desmond Lachlan Wilson, also known as Pastry Wilson, was born in Wagga Wagga on 16 July 1933, the eldest of five children. He was apprenticed to a pastry cook in Wagga, hence the nickname Pastry. When he was in his 20s and still a pastry cook, he decided he would like to join the NT Police Force. The NT Police Force was actively recruiting at the time in New South Wales. Pastry applied and, to his horror, was rejected as recruits had to be a minimum of 5’8”, and he was only 5’7”. He stayed at his job and practised with weights, worked out in the gym and did running, and anything he could think of that might make him grow an extra half an inch.
Six months later, the same recruiting ad was in the paper so again he applied. The same people were in charge, and the police officer remembered him and asked him if he had grown any more. So John told him all the exercise and weights that he had done, and sat all the tests again and then went back to work. A couple of weeks later, he was advised that he was in. On 28 August 1958, at the age of 25, he arrived in Darwin in a new intake of recruits.
After the first few weeks of training, he was sent to Tennant Creek and then to Rankin River, where he was the last person stationed there. He then opened the Avon Downs Police Station. He was made a special border constable who travelled as far as Camooweal and Mt Isa in Queensland and then back again.
In the meantime, he married an English nurse and they eventually had four little Territorians, two of whom still live in the Territory. John also has five grandchildren. He returned to Darwin from Avon Downs and worked in the Missing Persons Section until he resigned on 12 March 1970.
John was editor of a magazine for the Police and Citizens Youth Club whilst in Canberra for 18 months; Secretary and Life Member of the Darwin Aviation Club in the 1970s; Foundation Life Member for the Darwin Police Club where he managed the bar for a number of years; member of the Northern Territory Police Museum and Historical Society Incorporated; and President, formerly Public Officer and member of the Welfare Subcommittee for the Retired Police Association for the Northern Territory.
John has been the pen behind the popular bi-weekly column Palmerston and Beyond, which ran for 11 years without missing a single issue. Prior to that, he was with the Litchfield Times. Thirty five years ago, he was asked to be Santa for the Police Children’s Christmas Party. He did so and has been playing Father Christmas to children in Darwin, Palmerston and the rural area since 1986, apart from a year he spent in Canberra.
The first year he was Santa, he made a mistake of telling the sergeant’s two children that yes, they would get new bikes. And he did not make the same mistake of promising anything ever again. He almost lost his job and the taste of playing Santa.
That was a start of a new annual career for John who adored the children and still does. John always borrowed the boots needed to make the outfit more authentic from firemen who in the year of Cyclone Tracy became rather tired of him always borrowing boots so the Darwin firies presented him with his very own boots, which he still has and wears to this day.
His bell, which is very large and very loud, was presented to him by a group of admirers from Mobil a few years ago. This is brought out and polished every year. Children love the sound of the bell because they know something magical is about to happen.
John has arrived at his destination by fire trucks with sirens going, police cars with flashing lights and sirens, helicopters, and his favourite, on the back of a Harley Davidson motor bike. John still arrives in a police car at the annual Police Children’s Christmas party.
Because of health problems, John has slowed down in the last couple of years, but still managed to attend up to 20 different playgroups, preschools, and church groups as well as being the Santa in a local shopping centre. When he was younger, he would play Santa upwards to 40 different times a year whilst still being in the shopping centre.
John was with the Nightcliff Lions for seven years where he won many awards and was the club bulletin editor for 1973-79. He was a member of the Palmerston Kiwanis for a number of years; Secretary-Treasurer of the Rotary Club of Litchfield-Palmerston for three years and continued as Secretary for two years. During his time at Rotary, he approached the management of the local shopping centre to see if he could run a rotary wheel selling meat tray tickets as a fundraiser for Rotary. The answer was yes. A great deal of money was raised for Rotary over the five years he did the meat tray wheel. Every Saturday morning without fail he was there.
He was also the organiser for the Rotary Horticultural Show held at Freds Pass Reserve during that time. When John left Rotary, the shopping centre management would not let anyone else take over John’s place at the wheel. John’s daughter-in–law, Lyn Hull, made a suggestion over lunch one day that it seemed a dreadful shame that the wheel would not be reactivated and renamed the Palmerston Shopping Centre Community Wheel with funds raised going back to the community groups in the form of grants. John took this idea that centre management who thought it wonderful. Each Saturday morning, including this coming Saturday morning, John is at the shopping centre from 7.15am until midday or later. He also has to see to the ordering of meat trays from both Coles and the butcher in the shopping centre.
During the time the community wheel has been running, funds have gone to Bakewell School, Palmerston Christian School, Woodroffe Primary School to help the children go to Paralympics. These children have all been actively fundraising for the trip so the community wheel topped up what they need. Funds have gone to the Alexandra Day Club, Palmerston Leisure Centre for the wheelchair lift, the Palmerston Seniors for Seniors Week, the Palmerston Seniors Songsters, Simply Crafts, Palmerston Lions, Playgroup NT for their annual sausage sizzle, Smile-a-Mile, Variety Bash, swimming club, the Sharks, country music singer and backing group for Karen O’Shea, and many more.
John’s main hobby is gardening or just talking to people, or abusing people in a good natured way, particularly myself. John is also on the management committee of Smile-a-Mile fun bus where he has been Public Officer for the last 18 months.
John, as the current Palmerston Citizen of the Year, is also on the Palmerston Awards Committee. He has always been ready to give a hand to the Salvation Army and Red Cross with their door-knock appeals or even sitting and collecting for them. He also takes his turn at the Cancer Council Daffodil Day with the morning spent sitting, talking and, most importantly, helping with fundraising.
I congratulate you, John. You make Palmerston proud.
Ms SACILOTTO (Port Darwin): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight, I would like to talk about the great, supportive constituents in the Port Darwin electorate. Since winning the seat, I have been presented with a number of opportunities to get out and about in Port Darwin, to meet residents and be a part of my community.
First, I would like to acknowledge the Larrakeyah Primary School. I attended the school council meeting on 2 August and met a wonderful group of committed parents and friends. Those attending included Wendy Alp, Charles Staples, Richard Wiltshire, Michael Calwell, Jo McLatchey, Bertram Birk, Grace Matarazzo, Jo Wynn, Juliet Cooper, Emma Liveris, Robyn Appleby, Jane Cuthall, Julie Pudney, and Susan Propt.
A welcome is extended to Michael Calwell who has taken up the position of Assistant Principal to assist Jo Wynn, the Principal. Michael came from Jingili Primary School.
New students at Larrakeyah were also welcomed via the newsletter. They were Brendan Learoyd and Luke Magnusson attending preschool and Chelsey Wangurru, who is in Walsh 1. Some Larrakeyah students attended the City Cluster Athletics on 11 August. Congratulations must go to Dylan Elford who was selected in the City Cluster team.
The school camp is looming and students from Year 6-7 will take off to Lake Bennett and are looking forward to this annual event.
On 23 September, there is a casual dress day, and this is to raise fund to support the Baguia Orphanage. The dress theme is Careers; for students to come dressed as they wish to be in the future. This should be fun and may cause some concerns for parents - for example, a lion tamer, a fairy princess or a politician.
A book review by two Year 4-5 classes was very interesting reading. Recognised class achievements were by the following students: Lyne Lee, Anthony, Cara, Alannah, Brenton, Neka, Jarrod and Siobhan. One book title that I am relating to is Tucking in Mummy. The reviewer, Anthony, said:
My son, Luca, does that on a regular basis.
Lorraine Watts has been nominated by her school community at Larrakeyah for the National Excellence Awards in Teaching. The nomination has been in recognition of her excellent teaching skills and Lorraine has been presented with a certificate of nomination.
Larrakeyah is reviewing its school uniform in consultation with parents, friends and students. I am sure a great new look will be forthcoming.
Larrakeyah Preschool indicated they had started the new semester with large numbers, and the children had taken to learning the school routine without too many setbacks. A high point this semester will be the preschool attending gymnastics on four alternate Wednesdays. These lessons will be held at the Marrara Sporting complex and - who knows? - there could be an Australian champion amongst them.
I happily accepted an invitation to visit the Stuart Park Primary School. I was very impressed with a particular piece of class work on democracy. I was advised that after a visit to the Legislative Assembly, Stuart Park Primary School student Zac Menzies initiated a campaign to bring back the Australian flat that flew over Darwin and was damaged under fire during the first World War II bombings at Government House.
He recently presented his case to the Darwin City Council and a conference of Social Education teachers. In support of his request, Zac created a large poster to advertise his campaign and placed petitions in Darwin businesses, which have been very supportive of his action. I am informed that Zac will travel to Canberra to present his petitions to the Prime Minister. Zac is also being strongly supported by his mother, Judi Menzies.
Stuart Park has a nomination in the Australian Teacher Excellence Awards and their nomination is Richard Woodside. Mr Woodside, by the way, was my Grade 5 teacher.
Like Larrakeyah, Stuart Park Primary School also participated in the City Cluster games, and three students - Yainni Stefanidakis, Clare Darben and Bradley Sneddon - were successful in making the team, with the prospect of later being selected for the Pacific School Games in December this year.
To celebrate the end of Term 2, the school had a concert, which took the form of a circus spectacular. All classes worked hard learning circus skills such as juggling, acrobatics and uni-cycling. The uni-cycling was a great hit with the students, and Miss Deb is now conducting lessons two afternoons a week after school for the many willing participants.
A coming event is the fancy dress parade, and this will include the whole school dressing up as their favourite book character. Teachers are wondering how many Harry Potters there will be. I am advised that the Chief Minister has agreed to be one of the judges - not an easy task.
On 20 August, I attended the Seniors Expo at Spillett House. This day was primarily an information day for the seniors of our community to meet each other to gain and exchange information on various services that are available to them. A special mention must go to Ken Mildred, who is the Publicity Officer with Darwin Senior Citizens, for a successful expo. He is also a tireless worker and supporter of the Darwin Neighbourhood Watch group. Some of the exhibiters were U3A, the University of the Third Age, Neighbourhood Watch, NT Carers, St John, Red Cross, Heart Foundation, CWA and COTA.
Whilst there, I was able to purchase some very beautiful tea towels from the Mothers Union Stall. Robyn Pinkerton was the stall organiser and she is also the President of the Mothers Union. This organisation is a group of women from the Church of England, and they contribute enormously to our community by knitting for Royal Darwin Hospital. Some of their works are garments for premature bubs and trauma teddies. They are always looking for knitters and have patterns and wool available. Ms Pinkerton also advised me that the organisation was formed in England in 1876 by Mary Somner. The first Australian branch was in Tasmania and formed in 1892. Currently in Darwin, they have 25 members and are always encouraging others to join. Ms Pinkerton said that the union is now open to men, as another function is to support families in their community.
In closing, I am pleased to announce that the Port Darwin electorate will be involved in this year’s World’s Largest Lunch. This event is to support the Leukemia Foundation in raising funds and awareness in the community. The lunch, for all those interested, will be held between 10 and 18 September this year, which will enable many interested people and organisations to pick a day that is suitable to their circumstances.
If you wish to host a lunch, Simmone Jarvis, the Community Relations Coordinator for the Northern Territory, is the coordinator for this event and is contactable on 8927 5677. If you are too busy to host your own Leukaemia World’s Largest Lunch on behalf of the Leukaemia Foundation, the Port Darwin electorate office is in the planning stage and extends an invitation to all members and staff of the House to attend this worthwhile lunch: spend a gold coin and an hour supporting the Leukaemia Foundation.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of NT Open Education Centre students from Namaruni, Ramingining and Wugularr community schools, accompanied by Ms Lauren Edwards; and Year 7 Marrara Christian School students accompanied by Ms Jennifer Edwards, Ms Jeanette Wright and Mr Nathan Trethewey. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to you.
Members: Hear, hear!
CONDOLENCE MOTION
Mr W Rubuntja AM
Mr W Rubuntja AM
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that this Assembly express its deep regret at the death of Mr W Rubuntja AM, a man who, throughout his life, contributed so much to the social, political and artistic fabric of the Northern Territory, and tender its profound sympathy to his family.
Mr W Rubuntja Pengarte, a great Arrernte leader, died on Thursday 21 July. Mr Rubuntja was the first indigenous person to receive a State Funeral in the Northern Territory, and there is no doubt that he was very deserving of one.
The State Funeral was held at the Alice Springs Convention Centre to allow for the hundreds of people from around Australia and the Northern Territory who came to show their respects. The convention centre is at the foot of the MacDonnell Ranges and beside the Todd River, both places special to the Arrernte people.
In attendance were the federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Amanda Vanstone, representing the Prime Minister who was overseas; our Administrator, Ted Egan; the Deputy of the Administrator, Patricia Miller, representing the Australian Governor-General; Richard Lim MLA, representing the Northern Territory opposition; Mr Justice Eames of the Victorian Supreme Court; and many, many other dignitaries.
I have previously acknowledged the passing of Mr W Rubuntja in this House in an adjournment speech during July. As a State Funeral recipient, however, it is appropriate for this House to pay formal respects through a condolence motion to Mr Rubuntja and his family.
All of Mr Rubuntja’s achievements were driven by his genuine concern for equality and justice for his people, and for recognition of their culture and their rights. In moving this motion, I feel that it is fitting for the Legislative Assembly to provide the same kind of recognition of this great man that the speakers at the funeral displayed so movingly.
A number of speakers alluded to his extraordinary devotion to his wife, Cynthia, and their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. This was a primary aspect of his admirable personal qualities.
Because unemployment and long-term poverty were characteristic of his community, he had for many years been the key provider for the family. The income from his paintings and consultancy fees put food on the table. Despite all the work he did during his life, he had nothing in the way of material possessions; he basically owned his hat and the clothes he stood in.
Mr Rubuntja was born about 50 miles north of Alice Springs in the mid-1920s, near a creek on the northern edge of Burt Plain. He showed an early aptitude for hard work, working for builders in the early days of the construction industry in Alice Springs. In later years, he learned painting skills from his uncle, Albert Namatjira. His artwork is represented in many collections. In 1986, he was commissioned to paint a large canvas for presentation to Pope John Paul II when he visited Alice Springs.
In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, he gained wide recognition for his knowledge and leadership capacities. When traditional owners began to consider setting up their own organisation during the time of the Woodward Inquiry into Land Rights in the Northern Territory in 1973, they turned to him as the best person to help represent them in their battle for recognition of their rights in land.
He quickly rose to the position of Chairman of the Central Land Council, and helped with the lodging of the first land claims presented to Justice Ward, the Interim Land Commissioner, in 1975. He provided inspirational leadership during the period of negotiations with both the Whitlam and Fraser Commonwealth governments about the structure and details of the Northern Territory (Land Rights) Act during 1975 and 1976.
In May 1976, Mr Rubuntja led a major land rights demonstration through the streets of Alice Springs, later appearing on national television programs Four Corners and Monday Conference. This campaign culminated in a meeting of seminal importance in Australian history. Mr Rubuntja met with then Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, in Canberra. During this meeting, Prime Minister Fraser promised to support retention of the fundamental principles recommended by Justice Woodward’s Land Rights Royal Commission report, and to keep intact most of the draft land rights legislation developed by the Whitlam government.
Mr Rubuntja went on to lead negotiations with the Everingham and Tuxworth governments about implementation of the Northern Territory (Land Rights) Act after self-government, and design of the Northern Territory’s complementary legislation covering sacred sites protection, Aboriginal living areas on pastoral leases, Northern Territory government access to Aboriginal land, mining and other matters.
In the mid-1970s Mr Rubuntja also fought hard for the rights of his fellow campers in Alice Springs who had been relegated to the fringes of the town, and was one of those instrumental in establishing the Tangentyere Council. Speaking about Mr Rubuntja at the State Funeral, Justice Geoff Eames said, and I quote:
- He was one of the great mediators of disputes because his personal integrity and his courage were never disputed by
Aboriginal people, and no matter how angry and frustrated people might be, Mr Rubuntja always remained calm and
respectful of their opinions.
Justice Eames went on to say:
- He was a great believer in education for Aboriginal people, having himself been denied that opportunity. He thought people
should learn about each other’s culture and history. I hope that in years to come Mr Rubuntja will be known to school children
throughout Australia as one the nation’s greatest leaders.
Throughout his life, Mr Rubuntja stood skilfully in both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal worlds. He set an example of leadership that has been an inspiration to the next generation of Aboriginal leaders and, hopefully, non-indigenous Australians will rise to his challenge to live our lives as though we all have a responsibility to each other’s wellbeing.
In 2002, Jenny Green and Mr Rubuntja wrote his story in a wonderful book entitled The Town Grew Up Dancing. I was invited to the book launch and joined in the celebration. It was a celebration with people like the Director of the Central Land Council, David Ross, and Channel 9’s Ray Martin who had a long friendship with Mr Rubuntja.
We will always remember this great man as a true indigenous statesman, a great Territorian and an Australian hero. As another former CLC Director and Reconciliation Council Chairman Pat Dodson put it so memorably at his State Funeral:
- He was our champion, our leader, and our boss.
Madam Speaker, this House sends its sincere condolences to his wife, Cynthia, and his surviving children, Mervyn, Marlene and Sally, his 15 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and all those who remember him with such respect and fondness.
___________________
Distinguished Visitor
Ms Nerys Evans
Distinguished Visitor
Ms Nerys Evans
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable Members, I draw your attention to the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of Ms Nerys Evans, accompanied by Ms Teresa Robson, Official Secretary to His Honour the Administrator. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend to you a warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
___________________
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I add my voice and the voice of the Country Liberal Party to express our sadness at the loss of this truly great Territorian.
Mr Rubuntja was born in the early 1920s in Central Australia at Mpweringke. He was born at a time when European settlement in the area was still in its infancy. He spent his formative years in the Alice Springs area, knocking about as a kid with his family, but also travelling around Central Australia for traditional reasons as well as hunting trips. His family name and songs emanated from his grandfather’s country at Urepentye.
In his early years, he became a firm friend of Bernie Kilgariff after Bernie moved to Central Australia in 1929.
During those years leading up to the Second World War, Mr Rubuntja took advantage of the limited opportunities that were available around Alice Springs, and when the Army came to town, Mr Rubuntja got a job working for them. One of the duties I am sure he would have enjoyed was the job of hunting kangaroos with some of the soldiers to provide food for the Armed Services in Alice Springs.
Mr Rubuntja was a land rights champion. He was aware of the status of his form of ownership and that it was under threat from the systems of property law that are recognised by our system of law. He knew that his songs for his land gave good title in accordance with traditional philosophy, but the recognition of songs did not give title in western law.
He also understood that it would take western law, as the dominant culture, to secure the land rights he sought. He fought hard to gain the acceptance of traditional law in western law and, with the passage of the Northern Territory (Land Rights) Act through the Commonwealth parliament, his fears were allayed.
Indeed, as the founding Chairman of the Central Land Council, he stamped his authority as the leading Aboriginal light in land rights battles for Central Australian people. He also knew that the European presence was not going anywhere, but he never indicated that non-Aboriginal people were not welcome. Indeed, he was at pains to make sure that bridges needed to be built between the two cultures.
Forever the diplomat and bridge builder, he wanted to show the rest of the people who shared his land that they were there not under sufferance, but as a people who had a right to be there as well. It is worth quoting him from 1987 when he was talking about the whitefellas around him:
- We don’t call them foreigners. We don’t ask: ‘Where’s your country? Where’s your father from?’ They have been born here.
Their mother’s blood is in the country. This is their country, too, now, so all of us have to live together. We look after each other.
We have to share this country. This means respecting each other’s laws and culture. We have to work out a way of sharing this
country. There has to be an understanding of and respect for culture and law. When they see us dance, we can celebrate that
we all belong to the songs that cross the whole of this country.
I like that last line in particular, because Mr Rubuntja invited us all to dance the dance of ‘our common wealth’ as he would express it.
Although he was a man who must have seen exclusion in his life, he never became exclusive.
Mr Rubuntja was an artist of renown. He was familiar with both the Batterbee style of water colour, which he learned from his father’s cousin, Albert Namatjira, as well as the dot style that the Papunya Tula movement has made so famous around the world. Indeed, some of the major works around Alice Springs come from the hand of Mr Rubuntja.
He was commissioned for a painting that held a mirror up to the relationship between ancient Arrernte culture and the new Christian faith. The product of his work is now in the vestibule of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Alice Springs. I wonder how many people who see the stained glass window at the entrance of the Araluen Arts Centre know that that work comes from the heart and mind of Mr Rubuntja.
His paintings have been presented to prime ministers of both flavours, as well as Governors-General and, through that time, he has remained true to the core messages by which he lived his life: peaceful coexistence with a shared future for us all.
Mr Rubuntja was a great family man, and there are not many people who boast great grandfathership. He can claim it 10 times over. The sad thing is that when an old man dies in a place like Central Australia, it is felt across the community, as so many people know the deceased and so many people are related to him.
Mr Rubuntja was the linchpin in his family and, as the sun is at the centre of our solar system, this old man was at the centre of his family. With his loss, the family has to regather itself and make his memory the foundation of their relationship with him; not an easy task, and I feel for them and pray for them at this time of sadness. I also pass on to them my heartfelt sadness and I hope that they gather themselves together to remember him for the great man and great Territorian that he was.
Madam Speaker, I think about people and the impressions they leave on me and others. Occasionally, a word will spring to mind that will give us all a sense of who they were and what they stood for. In Mr Rubuntja’s case, the word comes easily to mind as I commend him to the history of the Northern Territory and the history of the Arrernte people. That word is ‘dignity’.
Ms ANDERSON (Macdonnell): Madam Speaker, today I pay tribute to the life of my pala pala, grandfather, Mr W Rubuntja Pengarte AM.
From the tjukurrpa, my pala pala and I share the fire and rain dreaming. Fire is closely connected with rain and water in a cycle whereby one renews the other. When we consider the extraordinary life and achievements of my pala pala, it is clear he lived by the tjukurrpa as he brought renewal and hope to indigenous people.
It is hard for current generations to comprehend what life was like during the welfare days, and I believe that it took real courage to stand up for our law, our land, our lives. He was one of the early activists for land rights, raising money at Amoonguna to support our other great land rights hero, Mr Vincent Lingiari and the Gurindji in the Wave Hill walk-off in the 1970s.
He led the campaign for land rights that got 1000 people through the streets of Alice Springs, and he showed Prime Minister Fraser our law and won his support for land rights.
In 1975, he undertook the awesome task of establishing secure living areas for Alice Springs town campers. He used his deep understanding of traditional relationships between groups to develop a framework that received official recognition through land grants and housing development that has now stood the test of 30 years. In 1977, through Mr Rubuntja’s tireless efforts, the representative and resource organisation Tangentyere Council was established.
Mr Rubuntja Pengarte also had a great generosity of spirit, a philosophy of reconciliation that reached out to all people and encouraged them to live up to their responsibility to our country.
[Arrernte spoken; translation below:]
- Today there are lots of people living in this country, people who have come from all over the world. We don’t call them foreigners.
We don’t ask: ‘Where’s your country? Where’s your father from?’ They have been born here. Their mother’s blood is in this
country. This is their country, too, now. So all of us have to live together. We have to look after each other. We have to share
this country and this means respecting each other’s laws and culture. We have to work out a way of sharing this country. But there
has to be an understanding of and respect for our culture and law. W Rubuntja, 1988.
For the younger generation of Aboriginal people like myself, he gave us the invaluable gift of pride. Through his actions he helped us to be proud of our law and our culture. As I said at the beginning of this speech, he was fire. He swept through the country removing the old, the inequities of the assimilation policy. He was rain. He brought new growth, revitalised and replenished the country, the principles of land rights, self-determination and reconciliation. Today, I recommit myself to these principles in honour of his memory. Rest in peace, Boss.
Mr McADAM (Local Government): Madam Speaker, the State Funeral in Alice Springs for Mr Rubuntja was an historic event for the Northern Territory, not just because it was the first time an Aboriginal Territorian had been so honoured for his life and work in the Territory; it was historic in the way it brought so many people together from all parts of Australia and from all walks of life, both indigenous and non-indigenous.
What was so striking about the day was the way so many links to the past came together in the stories that were told about this great man’s life.
It reminded me of the times when I would take him on drives around the Alice Springs town camps in the days when I worked for Tangentyere Council. As ever, Mr Rubuntja was intensely interested in the lives and problems of the many individuals and families he knew and worked with over generations. At the time, he was intensely interested in developing the Four Corners Council, a group of elders from Central Australia dedicated to building community harmony throughout the region. He saw Four Corners not as a power base or a political grouping, but as a legitimate vehicle for the role of traditional authority to build better social relationships between indigenous people, as well as between indigenous and non-indigenous people in that area.
It was an ambition to which he was eminently suited as an extraordinary negotiator and peacemaker between the different and often opposing factions. He achieved this not by finding winners or losers, but by giving satisfaction to all parties, by allowing people to save face and avoid being shamed, and by reaching solutions that contributed to mutual benefit. This capacity was so inspiring to me and many others whose lives he touched in Alice Springs and beyond.
The State Funeral, as I said, was an historic event, and it said a lot about the way in which the Territory has matured in recent times. This was well reflected in the organisation of the funeral itself. It is difficult to imagine a more complex cross-cultural event such as this, combining the emotions and wishes of Mr Rubuntja’s extended family with the formal protocols required of such a ceremony, and doing it with dignity and respect.
I believe a public event such as this could only have been possible in the Northern Territory. For this, of course, we must thank the family for agreeing to allow the Northern Territory to celebrate Mr Rubuntja’s life in such a way. It cannot be easy to host 1200 people at a time of such sadness, but it was the type of sharing that reflected the man himself.
We must also thank the many individuals and organisations that contributed: the Night Patrol and the staff of Tangentyere Council, Congress, Yipirinya School, Parks and Wildlife, Central Land Council and a host of many others. We are grateful, too, to the staff from Protocol who carried out so much of the organisation of the event as well as members of the Northern Territory Police Service who played such an important role.
In the book he wrote with Jenny Green, The Town Grew Up Dancing, Mr Rubuntja tells us that the site of his State Funeral, the convention centre and the casino, was once saltbush and sand and sites where, in olden times, ceremony was danced. Whilst there is an irony there, of course, it is also fitting that Mr Rubuntja also reminds us, even with the siting of his funeral, of the ancient landscape that lies beneath the roads, concrete and bitumen and the buildings that now cover parts of the Territory’s traditional lands and the landscape that is still alive with the stories and ceremonies of our old people. It is this reminder that the people of the Territory honoured in Alice Springs at the funeral and that is why it is so important we remember the life and inspiration of such a man as Mr Rubuntja.
Farewell, Old Man. Whilst we will not see the likes of you again, your legacy to all Territorians will not ever be forgotten.
Dr TOYNE (Central Australia): Madam Speaker, the State Funeral for Mr W Rubuntja Pengarte AM was truly a remarkable occasion in the history of Alice Springs, drawing together, as it did, between 1000 and 2000 people at our premier facility, the Alice Springs Convention Centre. We saw, through the speeches that were given during the service, so much of the history of our town laid out in front of us because it was all embodied in the life of this remarkable man.
Some of the key social initiatives over the last 50 years came from his imagination, his commitment and his talent for mobilising and inspiring people around him. We celebrated his life in the languages of Pastor Eli Rubuntja and Father Brian Healy. We were really celebrating not only the life of Mr Rubuntja, but also the richness of our community in Central Australia and in Alice Springs.
It is a truly remarkable point to reach in the maturity of our community when we can acknowledge the past with all of its inevitable mistakes or unformed understandings of relationships we need to make in any community. We can acknowledge the enormous courage and effort that it took Mr Rubuntja and all the people he inspired around him to remake that social order. Most importantly, we can acknowledge the future that he secured through his work for the people of Central Australia.
As the member for Macdonnell said, we must build on that. If I go to the essence of what Mr Rubuntja meant to me, it was way he handled, at the personal level, his working relationships with people he needed to draw around him and to influence to work on the issues he cared so much about, often by humour, by a very respectful underpinning, but by a really quirky way of operating sometimes. One of those was a case in point at the ceremony: for many years, we have seen initiated Aboriginal men referred to as boys, and in the wrong hands, that can cause a lot of ill feeling. However, Mr Rubuntja turned that right around to referring to all of us as good boys and good girls. I was very proud to be one of his good boys on some of his expeditions around Alice Springs. It made his point in a humorous way and got us thinking about those very small but very symbolic signals in the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous people in Central Australia.
We are growing up – painfully at time, but we are growing up. That ceremony, to me, said that we have reached another very important level in Central Australia.
Motion agreed to.
Members rose and observed one minute’s silence.
MINISTERIAL REPORTS
Northern Territory Festivals
Northern Territory Festivals
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arts and Museums): Madam Speaker, I am delighted to be delivering my first ministerial report relating to my new portfolio of Arts and Museums. Today, I want to talk about our unique and vibrant cultural identity and the festivals that celebrate this.
The Northern Territory festival season has something for everyone: sporting events, lifestyle displays and, of course, arts and cultural show casing. Annual arts and cultural events held in the Top End at this time of the year include Wordstorm, the Northern Territory Writers Festival, the Darwin Fringe Festival, Darwin Festival, Garma Festival, Flying Fox Festival, Mahbilil Fesitval at Jabiru, and, of course, the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award.
In the Centre, we have had the fantastic Beanie Festival, a very colourful and original event, the Alice Desert Festival and the Desert Harmony Festival.
The Top End festival season commenced in June with the highly successful Wordstorm, a writer’s festival. Interstate guests this year included Frank Moorhouse, Nick Earls and John Marsden. The finale of Wordstorm was a night under the stars with some of the best song writers in the north, including Djolpa from Wildwater, Shellie Morris and John Coulehan.
The sixth Darwin International Guitar Festival held in early July brought together string musicians from all over the world, including the scintillating Saffire, Julian Byzantine and Paul Galbraith. The finale of the guitar festival was a joint concert with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra complete with duelling strings and fireworks.
The Darwin Fringe Festival, which began 18 years ago as a Fringe Club cabaret night, ran for 24 days and nights, presenting over 100 different events and performances in 12 venues. Highlights included Window of Opportunity, Blind Date, Fist Full of Films, and Multijam.
Early August saw approximately 2000 Territory, national and international visitors and indigenous people attend the Garma 2005 Festival at Gulkula in Arnhem Land. The Garma Festival is regarded as one of Australia’s most significant indigenous festivals, bringing together non-indigenous and indigenous Australians to share knowledge and culture with a strong reconciliation element.
We are currently enjoying 18 days of the Darwin Festival, which is lighting up the city. I am sure members have noticed the wonderful Star Shell venue in the George Brown Botanic Gardens. This year’s festival offers a feast of over 190 performances, interactive workshops and visual art events that incorporate the diverse culture of the Top End.
The festival is a celebration of Darwin and its unique lifestyle, with many open air events that focus on the unique traditions and cultures of the region. The Darwin Festival has something for everyone, from the Australian Central Teddy Bears Picnic, Kultura and Pesona Indonesia and the Santos concert on the Esplanade to traditional indigenous dance, contemporary dance from the Australian Dance Theatre’s Bird Brain and performances by Christine Anu, Neil Murray and George Rrurrambu at the Star Shell.
I particularly enjoyed Gary Lang’s Entrapment. Gary, who I am sure many know, is a Larrakia man who trained at the National Aboriginal and Islander Dance School and has toured the world with some of Australia’s premier dance companies. Entrapment was an extraordinary and enthralling experience, and Gary is certainly an outstanding performer. Other highlights created by our talented local artists include new productions from Tracks Dance Company and the Darwin Theatre Company.
Tracks Dance, in collaboration with new media artist, Elka Kerkhofs, will saturate the senses with Angels of Gravity performed by Trevor Patrick, Sarah Calver and Michelle Dott and featuring the Lajamanu women’s ceremonial dancers, the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service and the fantastic and energetic Grey Panthers. This performance will be held in the surrounds of the Darwin Entertainment Centre and in the Playhouse Theatre. Darwin Theatre Company’s production of Brecht’s famous Threepenny Opera will take place under the stars in the Museum Amphitheatre, making the most of our diverse facilities.
The Darwin Festival finale, Moving Images - Symphony in the Garden, will again feature Simone De Haan and indigenous musicians from Arnhem Land in a showcase of contemporary orchestral music. This is a fusion of traditional and contemporary indigenous western music, unique to the Territory.
The growth of the Territory’s festivals will build regional capacity through increased employment and economic growth for artists and associated industries and suppliers. It will also improve access to quality art products for all Territorians, as well as supporting niche tourism product, development and marketing. The Northern Territory government has provided $400 000 in additional funding to support our fantastic festivals.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, I acknowledge that the Festival of Darwin is on, and I have been to a couple of the events. However, I also acknowledge that I am the only opposition member north of Katherine, so the opposition is unable to attend all the wonderful offerings of the Festival of Darwin.
Nonetheless, the opposition clearly recognises the value of cultural events such as those described by the minister: the opportunity to engage our ethnic communities in a very proactive way; career paths into the mainstream community are offered through access to arts and music in particular.
I take this opportunity to recognise the Indigenous Music Awards. I had the opportunity last night to attend the reception at Government House. It is tremendous to see the confidence that those who have success in the realm of music carry with them, which then encourages others. The role that music plays in our remote communities should never be underestimated. There are limited opportunities for success, and it is through arts and cultural events that we have a tremendous window to provide encouragement and hope. This is a very important area.
I also acknowledge Pesona Indonesia, which I saw on Saturday night. It is great to see how we can widen the debate on Asian relations and trade through cultural events. That serves to empower and strengthen our acknowledgment of our close links to our near neighbour, Indonesia. I congratulate the organisers of that fine event on Saturday night.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I congratulate the minister on her report on the Territory’s festivals.
I, too, am one of those who would love to go to a lot more of the concerts that are on, but time just does not allow us. There is so much on, it is just incredible when you look at the calendar for the time the Darwin Festival operates, and if you add in the Fringe Festival, which occurs before that, Darwin people are very lucky because we get some top class local acts and we get some top class interstate acts coming to the Northern Territory. In years gone by, we would never have had that opportunity.
I would like to mention a couple of things, some of which I have been involved in myself. Yes, I have had to perform, if you can call it that, in the Fringe’s debate on the topic Is Aussie Language Sexy? It was a very interesting debate. It was something I probably would not take my mother to, but it was an eye opener. The good thing about it is that intellect won, and that was our side; we worked out that Aussie language is not sexy, and I would like to thank Rick Hinde for helping us out with the debate.
I also went to A Fist Full of Films, which was a great night. There were a number of short films, all local. I recognised quite a number of people in those films. I even recognised the Howard Springs Pizza Kitchen, even though the outside was used and the inside was not. It was about someone being ‘decaffitated’ by a coffee machine. There were some very unusual films in A Fist Full of Films, and they were all professionally done. They were most enjoyable and it is just great to see so much talent.
The DSO is performing on Saturday night and I am heading off to that. The other thing I enjoyed on the weekend was Poetry for Seniors at Taminmin High School. I thought it was a terrific day, and the quality of the poetry from our seniors was fantastic. It is going to be made into an anthology. They did one last year; this year will be even better. It gave me an opportunity to recite the greatest poem of all, one that the Minister for Parks and Wildlife would enjoy: Gamba Samba.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson, your time has expired.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arts and Museums): Madam Speaker, I thank both members for their contributions. There are so many events happening. Like members on the other side, we cannot get to everything because the program is jam-packed, but what I have seen, I have thoroughly enjoyed.
Just quickly, the Alice Desert Festival - for people who think that we always forget Alice Springs – will run from 2 to 11 September and promises to be more original and culturally exciting than ever before.
Alice Springs has a lot to look forward to, beginning with the famous street parade, which will feature giant puppets fashioned by Circus Solaris from Sydney. There are a number of things going on. Whilst people think it is just in the Top End, there are a number of festivals going on and the Centre will have its fair share of arts, events and culture.
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Visitors
Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery visitors who are part of the Parliament House public tour program. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to you.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Aboriginal Health Services
Dr TOYNE (Health): Madam Speaker, in April this year, my colleague, Marion Scrymgour, the then Minister for Family and Community Services, and I launched Aboriginal Health and Families: a Five-year Framework for Action.
This framework is an innovative and far-reaching reform agenda. The government believes that, over its life, it will deliver a significant contribution to the health and family well being of Aboriginal Territorians. The potential of the framework rests in its commitment to build better services and a better health system.
A central element is the move to a life course approach in planning and delivering health services for Aboriginal people. We know that ill health and disadvantage is cumulative. Health problems in early life flow on and add to the health risks in adolescence, middle age and later life.
Our framework prioritises four key life strategies: the early years, adolescence and transition from school, family years, and granny years. The evidence tells us that, if we attend well to the health and well being needs of individuals and families in these important life stages, we will give Aboriginal people the best chance at a healthy and long life.
Over the five-year life of the framework, we will build the capacity of every NT government clinic to deliver a set of core primary health care services. These core services include prevention, treatment and referral services, and will ensure that the health needs are addressed early before they can accumulate. Another feature of the core services is that health clinics will increasingly be able to contribute to the community service needs of Aboriginal communities.
Over the years, Aboriginal communities and organisations, the NT Health Department, and many professional groups have tried to find ways of delivering health and community services in a way that reflects Aboriginal culture. This is because we all know that culture impacts on people’s patterns of seeking treatment and services, their perceptions of the quality of that care, the likelihood of success, and the community’s perception of our staff and facilities. The framework takes a new approach to this issue and establishes new ways of building a cultural security of services.
Importantly, too, in all these areas the government is not acting alone. The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the NT, which represents the large Aboriginal community-controlled health sector, is taking this journey with us, sharing in the work to build the common core services and common performance indicators.
Assembling a shared services platform and a shared performance measurement will promote better accountability and improved outcomes. The Australian government, too, has joined us on a number of efforts I report on today.
In keeping with the themes of partnership and accountability, the framework also creates pathways to community control. The engagement of communities and efforts to foster better health and family wellbeing is crucial. This government has signalled that we will work with Aboriginal communities to find the right model of community engagement that suits their circumstance. This sort of innovative partnership recognises that in order to get the best results, we need to make sure that government services respond to Aboriginal health and community service needs efficiently and effectively.
Accordingly, we have established an Office of Aboriginal Health, Family and Social Policy to focus the innovation and energy of the department on Aboriginal health. Part of this is the expectation that all areas of our health system will contribute to Aboriginal health improvement as a responsibility shared.
To support this, the government has established an Aboriginal employment target for the department. By the end of the five year period at least 15% of the department’s work force will be Aboriginal. This will mean that by 2010, we expect 600 Aboriginal people to be working in the agency and we intend that Aboriginal people are properly represented across a broad cross-section of occupations and levels, and not concentrated, as they generally are now, in the lower classifications or as Aboriginal health workers. The framework also bolsters the department’s performance as a learning organisation. It creates opportunities for service providers, planners and managers to engage with each other and to borrow and learn from successes and disappointments across the health system.
Madam Speaker, this framework represents a departure from previous efforts to improve Aboriginal health. It deliberately takes a services-and-systems approach, and both need to work well if we are to see the gains that I am sure all of us in this place desire. This government is committed to ensuring that the health system and the services it provides work well for Territorians, all Territorians.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I commend the government for introducing such an innovative five-year plan to assist in Aboriginal health.
Having grown up in a third world country, I understand and appreciate the value of educating and training people living in remote areas, the value of caring for themselves. Thus, I strongly support the increase in the numbers of Aboriginal health workers.
However, this being such a significant document and initiative, whilst I try to be as positive as I can, this minister has failed Territorians by not bringing this on as a statement. It is important to talk through this and demonstrate clearly the government’s intentions. Standing for five minutes, trying to tell Territorians what the government is going to do, is unfair. The opposition has very little time to respond to this. We have not had time to look at this properly.
While I want to support the initiatives for indigenous Territorians, this is too important for a minister to get up for five minutes, rabbit on about what he thinks is the right thing to say, and then expect the opposition to respond. We cannot respond in the time that we have.
Minister, there are many issues in the bush, as you know, in living standards, nutrition, child care, hygiene, housing, water supply and the continuing care by health professionals. The way that they are going to be working and inadequate safety are very significant issues that we need to debate, and to understand from your government’s perspective what you are going to do about that.
You need to give this due time and the fact that you got up here and allocated five minutes to this shows me that you are really not serious. That is the problem. If you are, bring on a statement.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Madam Speaker, I welcome the minister’s initiative.
True, we have short notice to respond when we have just had it placed on the table, but the health resources out there in our hospitals and our communities are overstretched at the moment with the effects of some of the health problems that we all know Aboriginal communities experience. Of course, this has an enormous effect upon families and communities. It is a critical time for us to start taking positive steps.
I am pleased that the minister is saying that it is going to involve communities and all parties so that it is not going to be run in isolation through the department. It is important that we have communities on side and that they cooperate with it.
Mainstream life often takes things for granted - such as inoculation of our children, looking after our diet, doing exercise - and we do not have those messages getting through to Aboriginal people; they need to take on some of these measures to make sure they have a healthy lifestyle.
Certainly, early intervention is critical in making sure that we get better health outcomes for those communities, which are really looking for answers. I ask how the minister is going to get the message about this initiative across. Will you need some more resources to ensure that it is to be implemented in a way that will not stretch our overstretched resources? Will you involve many of the Aboriginal organisations that provide heath services within the Territory? It is a good initiative. We have to make sure it works, and that’s the most important thing. Let us make this a successful program.
Dr TOYNE (Health): Madam Speaker, I welcome contributions from members. We have five years, during which I am sure we will be debating lots of elements of this. I will certainly facilitate more detailed debate, as the member for Greatorex indicated is needed. I agree with him, but the purpose of today was to put this on the agenda of this parliament. I will welcome contributions throughout the coming years.
I invite both opposition and Independent members to join us in promoting this debate in the community. We hear all about acute care in hospitals all the time. You do not hear the same strength of debate about primary health care and preventative issues within our health system. We need to be talking a lot more about these issues because one is linked to the other; if we don’t deal with prevention, we are going to find more and more problems with acute care.
Public Housing – National
Affordable Housing Framework
Affordable Housing Framework
Mr McADAM (Housing): Madam Speaker, on 4 August, I attended a joint meeting of Housing, Local Government and Planning Ministers from across Australia, together with my colleague, the Minister for Planning and Lands.
This meeting represented a ground-breaking opportunity to bring together the key political players necessary for thinking about the future of affordable housing because, as you would know, being able to provide housing for low income earners is not a simple matter of constructing more houses.
Affordable housing relies on careful land, planning, development and release strategies, beneficial financial and taxation systems and a range of sound service delivery structures. We agreed, together with other ministers, to a framework for national action on affordable housing. This framework commits all ministers from across Australia to take decisive action over the next three years to address the shortfall of affordable housing.
First, we need to understand what ‘affordable’ means. As described in Home Territory 2010, the NT government’s key statement on affordable housing provisions:
- Affordable housing is a property that can be purchased or rented so that people aren’t paying more than 30% of their income.
According to this definition, the Northern Territory is still the most attractive place to live. We have the most affordable housing anywhere in Australia. For example, the Real Estate Institute reported the Northern Territory as being the most affordable place to purchase property in the March 2005 quarter.
Of course, the picture in relation to affordable housing is different in the Northern Territory from the larger southern states. We still have a challenge when it comes to providing enough low-cost housing to meet the needs of low income earners and other disadvantaged groups. That said, we recognise that there are places where land has increased in price for different reasons, making it difficult for low income earners and first home owners to get into the market.
We also recognise that there are disadvantaged groups like indigenous people who find it difficult to access stable housing options, and have extremely low levels of home ownership. For these reasons, it is critical that the Northern Territory participate in and continue representing the Territory’s views through our involvement in the National Affordable Housing Framework.
We have a solid path mapped out for us through the framework itself, and through Home Territory 2010. Indeed, under Home Territory 2010, we have made important headway in terms of expanding the range of affordable housing options. The revamped HomeNorth scheme has been a runaway success, more than doubling the number of low to moderate income earners purchasing their own homes through Territory Housing in the previous financial year.
Home ownership is a goal we know contributes to better health, education and employment outcomes, and it is a critical plank of the Labor government’s approach to providing low cost housing options. The Labor government has also provided 780 places for public housing residents over the last year, a direct and immediate response to our most disadvantaged residents. We also spent $8.8m on tailored upgrades as a means of upgrading public housing and encouraging sustained tenancies.
We worked across government to target land release for first home owners and low income earners. These measures have been critical in places like Alice Springs, where the median house price has put the average house out of reach of many low income earners.
We have worked together with the community to increase the number of houses head-leased to non-government organisations so as to provide a targeted response for Territorians with special needs. This has increased from 293 to 303 over the last financial year.
All of these initiatives are indicative of the path that we have taken and will continue on. I intend to continue using the Housing Minister’s Round Table to talk to key regional stakeholders across the building, development and community sectors. These consultations provide the ground for partnership between government and community that can deliver affordable housing in key areas. This forum is an excellent ground-up opportunity and provides an opportunity to hear what is going on out there from our local people.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I am pleased the minister attended the national Ministerial Council on Housing.
Obviously, we have a major issue in the Northern Territory in terms of housing, not only in the urban areas where we still have a large element of lawlessness, when you get neighbours from hell, but generally, in the bush, there is inadequate housing.
I look forward to the day when the minister can come and tell us about the amalgamation of the NAHS program with IHANT so there is some sort of rationalisation of the construction of new homes out in the bush. Obviously, that is an element of affordable housing. I have been told that to build a house in the bush now costs in the order of $300 000 to $350 000 per home, and that is an exorbitant price to pay for a three-bedroom home out in our communities. Somehow, that has to be brought under control; otherwise we are going to spend so much money to build a house when, in an urban area, it is only a fraction of what that costs.
HomeNorth was a very good program, which has been going for what six or seven years now, and continues to be improved. I congratulate the government for doing that. However, with Territory Housing rental properties, I am concerned that the waiting times have continued to increase. People who need public housing - and there are many people in the Northern Territory who do need assistance from government to have public housing - are waiting longer and longer. The wait for a three-bedroom home is well over two years in the Northern Territory. While it might be the best in the country, it is still way too long, and that is the problem; it is way too long to wait for a home.
When you come to the Northern Territory, you have no family support and you are on your own, you do need to have housing available in a shorter time than more than two years.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Madam Speaker, I welcome the report by the minister.
We are all well aware of the inadequate housing, and the lack of housing we have in communities and town camps, and for people waiting for public housing generally. Housing is not affordable for many first home buyers.
An example of how inflated prices are is a subdivision at Larapinta that was up for auction recently and was passed in. In that proposal, government had offered to buy back 12 blocks of land at $97 000 a block, and I believe that is completely out of the reach of first home buyers. If we are looking at affordable housing, we have to look at more than just in the public arena; we need to look at it across the board.
The program of initiating senior complexes is great, and it is important. We also need complexes to cater for our renal patients when they come into town so they can cluster together and have supervision that prevents humbugging by visitors.
NAHS and IHANT offer good programs and are successful in what they do. However, again, they are not reaching the required numbers in communities. We also need to look at the style of houses that are being built sometimes under NAHS and IHANT to ensure there is consultation with the people concerned so that they are getting a house that suits their needs rather than a replica of something from town.
Minister, more houses are needed. Whatever you can do to increase the federal government funds, good luck to you; I hope you achieve it. I am not quite sure when we will be able to achieve a reduction in waiting times, but a lot of people would welcome it.
Mr McADAM (Housing): Madam Speaker, I thank both members opposite for their responses. I readily acknowledge that, without a doubt, housing not only in the bush but across the Northern Territory is, indeed, one of our biggest challenges.
In respect of the bush, the member for Greatorex spoke about the IHANT/NAHS programs. Hopefully, in the next few months or so, we might be in a position to have a look at options that will perhaps bring those models together so it can be a lot more effective and a lot more relevant to the bush.
The other issue, of course, is that affordable housing is always a very fluid situation. It is not something that you sit back and put a model in place that will achieve a given outcome. I am very conscious that we need to be able to be flexible, innovative and, where necessary, creative to ensure that affordability of housing becomes a reality for people throughout the Northern Territory.
I thank both members, and I look forward to working with them to achieve these outcomes.
Reports noted pursuant to Sessional Order.
MOTION
Sessional Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development – Appointment of Membership, Terms of Reference and a Reference for Inquiry and Report
Sessional Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development – Appointment of Membership, Terms of Reference and a Reference for Inquiry and Report
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move the following motions together for the appointment of the membership, terms of reference and a matter for inquiry and report to the Sessional Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development:
APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERSHIP
That, during the present Session of the Assembly:-
- 1. A sessional committee to be known as the Environment and Sustainable Development
Committee be appointed in accordance with the terms of reference circulated to members;
2. The membership of the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee comprise three
government members, two members of the opposition and one Independent member nominated
to the Speaker;
3. The following members, unless otherwise ordered, be appointed to the committee: Mr T Warren,
Mr R Knight, Mr M Bonson, Dr R Lim, Mrs F Miller and Mr G Wood; and
4. The committee shall elect a government member as chairman.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
1 The Environment and Sustainable Development Committee shall be empowered, unless
otherwise ordered, to inquire into and from time to time report upon and make recommendations
on matters referred to it by the relevant minister or resolution of the Legislative Assembly:
- (a) any matter concerned with the environment or how the quality of the environment
might be protected or improved; and
(b) any matter concerned with the sustainable development of the Northern Territory.
private session notwithstanding any adjournment of the Assembly, to adjourn from place to place
and have leave to report from time to time its proceedings and the evidence taken and make
such interim recommendations as it may deem fit, and to publish information pertaining to its activities
from time to time;
3 The committee be empowered to consider, disclose and publish the minutes of proceedings, evidence
taken and records of similar committees appointed in previous Assemblies;
4 The committee be empowered to publish from day to day such papers and evidence as may be ordered
by it and, unless otherwise ordered by the committee, a Daily Hansard be published of such proceedings
as to take place in public;
5 The committee have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of two or more of its members and to refer
to any such subcommittee any matter which the committee is empowered to examine and that the quorum
of a subcommittee shall be two; and
6 The foregoing provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders,
have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders.
REFERENCE - INVASIVE SPECIES AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
- 1 The Northern Territory’s capacity to prevent new incursions of invasive species, and to implement effective
eradication and management programs for such species already present; and
2 That the committee in its inquiry will:
- (a) begin its investigations by engaging the scientific community to conduct a scientific summit
on invasive species;
(b) use case studies to inform the analysis, and will draw its case studies from a range of invasive
species;
(c) while investigating the value of control programs, focus on community based management
programs for weeds and feral animal control; and
(d) as a result of its investigations and analysis will recommend relevant strategies and protocols
for government in dealing with future incursions and current problem species.
Motion agreed to.
TABLED PAPER
Standing Orders Committee – First Report of the Tenth Assembly
Standing Orders Committee – First Report of the Tenth Assembly
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I present the first report of the Standing Orders Committee for the Tenth Assembly.
MOTION
Print Paper – Standing Orders Committee – First Report of the Tenth Assembly
Print Paper – Standing Orders Committee – First Report of the Tenth Assembly
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the report be printed.
Motion agreed to.
MOTION
Adopt Report – Standing Orders Committee – First Report of the Tenth Assembly
Adopt Report – Standing Orders Committee – First Report of the Tenth Assembly
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the report be adopted.
This is probably not the most voluminous report that is ever going to hit the table of this Assembly. The committee has considered, at its last meeting, two references that came before it. One was from the Independent members of the Assembly who wrote to me, as Leader of Government Business, on 30 June, requesting amendments to the Sessional Order for Ministerial Reports.
As honourable members would be aware, when the government first came to office four years ago, we introduced ministerial reports at the beginning of the parliamentary day to enable ministers to briefly advise parliament on issues that were current, and for the attention of the public via this parliament.
We had two Independents in the last parliament who were re-elected – the member for Braitling, who was Speaker of the House, and the member for Nelson who was Deputy Speaker. The standing order which gave birth to ministerial reports only allowed for the opposition member to speak for two minutes in reply.
The Independents wrote to me requesting an amendment to standing orders to recognise an Independent to speak on any ministerial report. That it is totally appropriate. The committee has considered that. This is a House of debate and, thanks to you, Madam Speaker, by leave, since we have come back after the election, Independents have been responding to ministerial reports. It is totally appropriate. Independents have an important role in this parliament. They have a mandate in their own right from their electorates to be here and I believe the broader community of the Northern Territory would certainly see it is appropriate that the Independents should be able to contribute to debates.
It was essentially a no-brainer for the committee to recognise the Independents in terms of an amendment to the standing order which will allow a member of the opposition and one Independent member to each comment for no more than two minutes on a ministerial report.
The second issue that was referenced to the committee was a letter from the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, the member for Sanderson, on 16 August asking the Standing Orders Committee for consideration of the appropriate number of members to constitute a quorum for parliamentary committees.
This issue goes back to the previous Assembly in which the government expanded the number of members constituting committee membership. During the Ninth and Tenth Assemblies, committees membership has increased from five to six to acknowledge the presence of Independents in the Chamber.
There was a bit of confusion about what should constitute a quorum, particularly given there are only two Independents and we have six or seven parliamentary committees. The issue was that an Independent may choose not to sit on the committee, so what would constitute a quorum? On advice from our good colleague and friend, the Clerk, who had a look around at what was in the standing orders of other Australian parliaments, the Senate provided an easy definition. The Senate Standing Orders provide that a quorum should be the majority of members actually appointed by the Assembly to that committee. That is a commonsense provision, one that the committee is recommending to the parliament. The reference here is to amend our standing orders to reflect the Senate provision that a quorum shall be a majority of members.
As I said, it is not going to be the most weighty or important issue that will be debated during this Assembly, but it acknowledges the role of Independents. They have a legitimate right in this parliament to speak, and a commonsense amendment to define a quorum in committees.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I want to raise a couple of issues about the two recommendations made by the Standing Orders Committee.
I did not submit a dissenting report; let us put it that way. In respect of a quorum, I agree with the recommendation. In fact, I raised the issue in the Public Accounts Committee, which triggered the letter to the Standing Orders Committee. To have fewer than a majority constituting a quorum is not true to the spirit of having a committee deliberating on significant issues. It should always be a majority of the full composition of the committee. The words recommended by the Clerk, as outlined by the Chairman of the Standing Orders Committee suit very well.
My investigations about the privilege of ministerial reports reveal that they are something that are not traditionally a practice of the Westminster system. They have never been adopted by any parliament other than a version of them in the Queensland parliament. In any Westminster system, there is usually an indication of the topic of the debate, which allows members who are not versed on the topic to prepare: to research, read up on the topic or the issue and prepare notes.
Ministerial reports as used in this place come from nowhere. They come from left field. They are something a minister will throw into this Chamber with the expectation that any other member wishing to speak to it then has to quickly gather information, if possible, or try to do something on the run. That is inappropriate and, in terms of democratic debate, it is unfair.
The other matter is the inequality of time allowance. The minister has a five-minute period in which to read a mini-statement, the opposition has two minutes and Independents have the right to comment as well.
Whilst I do not want to make an issue of whether the Independents have the right or not, if we are going to have ministerial reports, the shadow minister should respond and that should be the end of that. If you allow any other member to respond to a ministerial report, then I, as a local member, may wish to express a point about the report. However, I, as a local member, do not have an opportunity to do so. Members of the opposition will not have an opportunity as a local member to respond to the issue. We respond as the shadow minister only whereas my colleagues, the Independents, have the right to respond in any way they want. They can respond in a global way or they can respond as local members.
Let us use this example: the undergrounding of power in the Northern Territory. The minister rises to present the report and, as shadow minister, I respond to it. If I were not the shadow minister for Essential Services, but one of my colleagues is, he or she responds and that is the end of it from the opposition’s point of view. The member for Nightcliff should have the right to respond because it is about undergrounding power in Nightcliff. The Independent members could respond about undergrounding power at Bees Creek, which has gone outside the confines of the global topic of undergrounding power in the Northern Territory.
I, as the member for Greatorex, having a keen interest in undergrounding power in my electorate on the East Side, will not have an opportunity to respond. That is the unfairness of it and, somehow, that needs to be explored a bit more. Do we have just the minister and shadow minister and that is the end of it, or is it opened up to everyone?
The global time of 30 minutes would definitely restrict response times, and I notice you have been a little flexible with the time limits. In terms of full debate of ministerial reports, it is not Westminster-compliant in the sense that no other parliament in the world, apart from Queensland and us, do this. We do not have any notification of the report topics. The minister has a written mini-statement to read and the opposition has a bare two minutes to respond to it. This is the whole unjustness of the whole system.
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Visitors
Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Japanese students from Yra Cho who are visiting Nightcliff High School, accompanied by Ms Jillian Sommerville. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to our visitors.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Madam Speaker, all I can say about the member of Greatorex’s response is: how petty of the opposition. Does the member for Greatorex not realise that we are all equal in this House? We have equal rights to speak on any topic. What the opposition member is trying to do is gag the Independents. It is as simple as that ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mrs BRAHAM: I would have thought the opposition would have needed all the help they can get in their role as opposition, so member for Greatorex, let us get it right. You do not have any special place in this world; you are just a member of this House, the same as I am.
Let me just say that I appreciate the recognition the Standing Orders Committee has given to the Independents in this motion allowing us to respond to ministerial reports. In the past week what has happened is that the Independents have been able to present an alternative view from the opposition so we are able to broaden the whole debate and response. We are not confined by a narrow party line. We can offer something a bit different. Why on earth the member for Greatorex thinks that he has a greater right than me, I will never know. I was elected by members of the community of the Northern Territory to represent their views.
Okay, so he might find it difficult to respond quickly to a ministerial report, but is not that what we are supposed to be doing in this House? Should not we be able to get up and debate an issue without prepared notes, without a prepared speech? That is what democracy is about, that is what parliament is about: our ability to be able to speak ...
A member interjecting.
Mrs BRAHAM: Do you mind? The ability to be able to put our point of view across, and in some places you are not even allowed to read a speech; you have to deliver it just of the top of your head. Okay, sometimes I respond, sometimes the member for Nelson responds, the opposition has the same sort of flexibility within their ranks to respond to a ministerial report.
After four years, we might say ministerial reports are convention in this House. I wonder, if the opposition ever gets back in government, whether they will throw it out or whether they like the idea of presenting something briefly, perhaps even try to catch members off guard by not notifying them of the debate. I would like to know what topics are going to be raised. Of course, I would like to know that ...
Ms Martin: We would like to know in Question Time.
Mrs BRAHAM: Well, that is true. I would like to be able to have the opportunity to respond to those ministerial reports to which I feel I have a contribution to make either as a local member or on a broader scale.
Let us say very clearly that this report does, in fact, recognise the Independents in this House, the contribution that Independents can make in this House, and the flexibility of the House to allow members to speak. Do not let us ever gag anyone in this place. Let us make sure we remember we are a parliament, we have the right to speak. I remind the member for Greatorex that if he was in our position, I am quite sure he would want to have the right to respond.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Madam Speaker, my goodness, the member for Braitling is full of importance this morning.
You were quite right, Leader of Government Business, when you said this is not a voluminous report. I went to a committee meeting, and the next day we have a report to talk about. You are right: it is not voluminous ...
Mr Henderson: It is a very efficient committee.
Mrs MILLER: Absolutely, yes. It is going to be very interesting if this is the start of it.
I have no problem with the recommendation in respect of the quorum. It is a sensible idea to have a quorum defined as the majority members of the committee. As you know, Madam Speaker, those of us on this side have a lot of committees to which we have commitments and we cannot be wasting time. Some people are not able to attend every meeting, so a majority of members defined to constitute a quorum is a very good idea.
I found ministerial reports quite intriguing when I came into parliament because it was as though the government were trying to sabotage the lot on the other side. That was my impression of ministerial reports. The recommendation of the committee is outside the Westminster system. There is no doubt about that; it does not happen anywhere else.
Something that I have definitely noticed is that the Northern Territory tends to be different in a lot of areas. I am not sure that being different in this area is the right way to go. I am not saying that Independents do not have an important role in this democratic process; they do. However, they are not considered to be in opposition and they are not shadow ministers. This needs a little more consideration.
On the whole, ministerial reports are difficult to respond to in two minutes. The length of five minutes without notice from government to opposition does not allow the process to be comprehensive with only two minutes allocated for responses. It is a little ploy to catch people on the hop.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, how could I resist? I will deal with the technical side first. I thank the Standing Orders Committee for allowing Independents to speak for two minutes. I note that if the government had four reports and the opposition and Independents replied, and the government responded to all those replies, that makes 40 minutes. Allowing for hiccups, ‘beg your pardons’ and interruptions, I am not sure why the government cannot make the maximum time allowed for reports match the maximum number of minutes that would be required for reports, which is 40 minutes, instead of 30 minutes. That would be a commonsense approach, instead of having to cut people off while they are giving a report.
In fact, I would like to see more reports. One of the reasons for that is because Question Time is being used too much to do exactly what the ministerial reports should be used for. I am happy that the government explains why they are doing this and that – that is fine; no problem. However, I do not think Question Time should necessarily be used for that sort of thing as well …
Ms Lawrie: The public listens to Question Time.
Mr WOOD: The public does listen, but they can also get Hansard. We speak outside of Question Time, but there are times when Question Time is certainly more suited to shorter answers and less about having reports given. That is my comment.
Thankfully, that is why I am an Independent. I make those comments and ask that the minister look at whether the time should be extended to match the number of reports that you are putting forward.
I note the Chief Minister’s comment about not knowing what questions are coming during Question Time. That was in response to us saying we do not know what reports are coming from the government. I am quite happy to say that on a very few occasions, the government would not know what question I ask because I regard Question Time as a time, in general, to ask questions of the government so that the public gets a full answer from the minister. That is not always the case. Sometimes, I believe there are political questions that have to be asked of government, and it is not my job to flag them in advance. However, Question Time is about letting people know what the government’s answer is to questions in which they are interested. It would be good, even if you could give us the title of what the report is about, so we have some idea what response one should prepare. If you want to talk about the digestive system of insects and give a wonderful five-minute dissertation on that, I am sure …
Mr Henderson: Not from me, Gerry.
Dr Toyne: How did you know I was doing that tomorrow?
Mr WOOD: Well, it was the first talk I gave at horticultural school, so it came to me quickly.
I am sure the shadow minister for primary industry would find it very helpful if you had a little forewarning that you were going to deal with such a subject so she could actually research it. There is merit in the criticism that it is difficult to give a good answer if you do not what the report is going to be about. I intend that as constructive criticism because it will help the process.
I would be happy to see more reports. I would not have a problem if reports ran for an hour. If that helps people know what government is doing and gives us a chance to know what you are doing and to comment, it is all for the better of parliament.
Whether Independents should have a say, I naturally agree that they should. One difficulty that parties have with Independents is that they are like a pain in the neck …
Mr Bonson: No, one party.
Mr WOOD: Well, maybe, maybe not; it depends on which side you are at the time, I imagine.
The reality is that Independents exist and, sometimes, it does not fit the nice model of one party versus another in parliament. We exist, I suppose technically, as cross-benchers so we are a group that is neither government nor opposition. It is for the better running of this parliament that it is reflected, and it is reflected in the committee’s recommendations. It is reflected that at least one Independent may respond, which could be neither the opposition’s or the government’s opinion. That makes for better debate on some of these issues.
When we are dealing with very complicated or serious matters, I have always said that there are other opinions besides the black and the white of the argument. There are in between. If this side believes that a Toyota is better than a Holden, and I believe a Ford is better, that is three different opinions and helps the process of good debate in parliament. I do not think everything is just Labor and CLP. There are other opinions out here and that is one of the roles of the Independents: to express those views.
Generally, on reports, we will look at it from a global perspective, but it is very hard, as the member for Greatorex said, we are talking about undergrounding power in Nightcliff, that by its very topic is not global. You can turn it into a global issue or you can turn it into a local issue. So I do not think Independents should be blamed for looking at it from a local perspective. We are big enough to look at the issues from a Territory perspective.
Independents are important. For all we know, there could be a lot more Independents in parliament and, hopefully, there will be one day. In places like Tasmania, Independents control the Upper House, and that is good …
Mrs Braham: Yes, great!
Dr Burns: Do you want an Upper House?
Mr WOOD: No, it is good because they scrutinise the legislation that the party has put through and it seems to work well. It is good that Independents have control.
Minister, thank you for the changes. Please look at the total time allowed so we do not have people being cut off in reports. Look at the possibility of having a longer time for reports. If you have issues that are of interest to this parliament, why should you necessarily cut it off with a time? Maybe set an hour as the maximum time you can have, but give yourself a bit more flexibility, especially if something is very topical and worthy of debate.
There are times when reports should be statements. I have heard ministers report on some very serious matters in five minutes when that those matters should be the subject of a statement and open to debate.
Finally, Independents do have a role in ministerial reports. It is a privilege and I do not think either of the two Independents would treat that privilege with any disrespect. We are grateful that the government has given us that opportunity. We will respect that and use it for the benefit of this parliament.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, there you go. Sometimes you bring items of business on and think you will be in and out in five minutes and there is extensive debate.
These are appropriate and commonsense changes. The member for Greatorex should be aware that there are procedures for a dissenting report. I will ask the Clerk to send the relevant procedures across to the Leader of the Opposition’s office. If you want to write a report dissenting from a committee report, there are procedures for doing that whereby it can be formally recognised that the committee was not unanimous in terms of the recommendations it is making to the parliament.
The member for Greatorex argued that Independents do not have sufficient status to comment on ministerial reports. As I have said, it is a commonsense provision. Try to win that argument in the court of public opinion. If the public was interested, try going outside and saying that, as a shadow minister, you have more status than an Independent and, therefore, the Independents should not be allowed to have their say. I know what the court of public opinion would say, and that is why it is a commonsense change to the standing orders.
There is an inconsistency of saying that ministerial reports are an abuse of parliament and do not exist anywhere else - except for Queensland. Either they do not exist anywhere else or they do. They exist in Queensland and have been there for quite some time. Again, for the benefit of the member for Greatorex, procedures of parliament evolve. They are not set in stone and Westminster parliaments across the world have varying differences in their standing orders, so parliamentary procedures and practice do evolve. They should evolve. They should not be set in concrete in some sort of time warp for reflection on distant days gone by when the natural order was in place and, somehow, it has changed and it is bad and we should go back to some sort of distant natural order. They do change and the make up of parliament changes.
The Tenth Assembly, the current one, is radically different from the Ninth, which was radically different from the Eighth Assembly. It is important that the Standing Orders Committee acknowledges the changes in the make up of parliament to amend its standing orders, to ensure that, as the member for Braitling so eloquently stated, members have opportunities to speak because that is what we are elected in part to do: debate issues of the day, legislation, budgets, whatever.
The member for Katherine talked about how difficult it is for shadow ministers to make full and comprehensive comments. With due respect to the member for Katherine, those comments miss the point of ministerial reports. They are not for full and comprehensive debate; they are an opportunity for a minister with carriage of portfolio responsibilities to briefly bring the attention of the House to issues that have a level of immediate public interest or would be of interest to the parliament.
Ministerial reports are not for full and comprehensive debate, and if it is difficult to get up in a couple of minutes and make some comments, I am not going to apologise for that. It is an opportunity for members of the opposition and the Independents to make a brief comment on a ministerial report. It is certainly not for full and comprehensive debate.
The member for Nelson said that in his opinion, some of these ministerial reports should be brought on as full and comprehensive statements. That is an opinion, and quite often ministerial reports, at some time in the future, become statements. We had a good example today when the Health minister reported on the new Framework for Aboriginal Health and Families, a critical issue for the Northern Territory. It was, quite appropriately, a ministerial report bringing this strategic framework to the attention of the Northern Territory community and, of course, we will have extensive debate on that over time.
The opposition and Independents have General Business Day if you believe a ministerial report warrants further extensive debate and it was of sufficient importance to the Independents or the opposition. You could put it on the Notice Paper for the next General Business Day, and we can have a full debate if that is what you want to do.
In terms of the total time, yes, the committee did look at that. I gave a commitment as Leader of Government Business to see how this goes. Again, it is up to this parliament at any time to put a reference before the Standing Orders Committee to consider the extension of time for ministerial reports. We will look at that.
To the opposition, these are not radical changes. They are commonsense provisions, acknowledging the right of everyone to speak. I am surprised that the opposition is saying they informally dissent from the report, rejecting the notion that the Independents have a right to speak on ministerial reports. That is their prerogative, but next time, they should do it by the proper process of a formal dissenting report.
Madam Speaker, I commend the motion to the House.
Motion agreed to; report adopted.
LEGISLATION REPEAL BILL
(Serial 18)
(Serial 18)
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 repeal a number of items of obsolete and redundant legislation that remain on the statute books. Redundant or spent legislation includes consequential amendment acts which make amendments to legislation that are consequential upon the passage of an act. By way of example, the Youth Justice (Consequential Amendments) Bill proposes amendments to the Sentencing Act, which will be consequential upon passage of the Youth Justice Bill.
Also included are statute law revision acts. Such acts usually serve the purpose of carrying out a house-keeping exercise to correct errors such as typing or grammatical errors, or references to acts that may have been repealed or changed name. Other types of legislation that routinely become spent are validation acts. These acts validate some action taken or decision made that may have been in doubt due to an administrative or other oversight.
Consequential amendment acts, statute law revision acts and validation acts generally become spent as soon as they commence. Under current drafting practice, an expiry clause is incorporated into these types of acts so that they automatically expire the day after they commence. However, this has not always been the practice in the past, and to remove these acts from the statute books, they must be formally repealed. The bill repeals over 100 such acts, the details of which are set out in Schedule 1 of the bill, and in the explanatory memorandum that accompanies the bill.
This bill also provides for the repeal of some old South Australian acts that still apply in the Northern Territory. Members will be aware that, until 1911, the Northern Territory was annexed to South Australia. However, from 1 January 1911, when the Commonwealth Northern Territory Acceptance Act 1910 commenced, the Commonwealth assumed responsibility for the Northern Territory. Section 7 of the Northern Territory Acceptance Act preserved all common and statute law then in place in the Northern Territory, which included all South Australian statutes. This meant that South Australian statutes continued in their application as laws of the Northern Territory, but could be altered or repealed by a law passed by the Commonwealth.
The majority of this legislation has, over the last 94 years, been repealed either by the Commonwealth in the years prior to self-government or, subsequently, by the Northern Territory government. However, there are still a number of these South Australian acts that remain on the statute books, which have long since become redundant. In fact, many of these acts have already been repealed in South Australia and, in some cases, Commonwealth legislation effectively covers the field.
Some acts are no longer relevant to society in the 21st century, however, for whatever reason, they have not been repealed in the Northern Territory despite the fact that they have long since ceased to have any practical effect.
The South Australian acts that will be repealed by this bill include the Trade Union Act 1876, and the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1878. Issues dealt with in these acts are now dealt with by the Commonwealth Workplace Relations Act 1996 and, accordingly, these acts are redundant. The Copyright Act 1878 is also repealed, having been superseded by the Commonwealth Copyright Act 1968.
Other redundant South Australian acts repealed by this bill are the Masters and Servants Act 1878; the Carriers Act 1891; the Homestead Act 1895; Courts of Marine Inquiry Amendment Act 1897; the Transcontinental Railway Act 1902; and the Northern Territory Mining and Smelting Company Limited’s Iron Blow to Mt Ellison Tramway Act, a private act of 1904.
Madam Speaker, I take the opportunity to bring to the attention of members those South Australian acts that will remain on the statute book as laws of the Northern Territory. These include: the Mercantile Law Amendment Act 1861; the Lien of Unpaid Vendors Act 1885; and the Lien for Freight Act 1885. The repeal of these acts could require the re-enactment of certain provisions, as occurred when South Australia repealed these acts in 1936.
The detailed examination of any ongoing effect of these acts and the development of any new legislation should the acts be repealed is outside the scope of this bill.
Also retained are: the Workmen’s Liens Act 1893, which is set to be repealed by section 66 of the Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004; the Trustee Act 1893, and the Trustee Act 1907, which, together, form the current Trustee Act as amended from time to time; and the Northern Territory Surrender Act 1907 which provided for the surrender of the Northern Territory to the Commonwealth by South Australia. This act has been retained for its historical significance in the development of the Territory.
Finally, for the sake of completeness, the Standard Time Act 1898 will be repealed by the Northern Territory Standard Time Act which was passed in March 2005 and which is scheduled to commence next week, on 1 September 2005.
Madam Speaker, that concludes my explanation of the bill. I table the explanatory memorandum that accompanies the bill, and I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
YOUTH JUSTICE BILL (No 2)
(Serial 10)
YOUTH JUSTICE (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL (No 2)
(Serial 11)
(Serial 10)
YOUTH JUSTICE (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL (No 2)
(Serial 11)
- Continued from 30 June 2005.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I should say from the outset that, initially, it was not my intention to say very much about these bills; however, I now plan to.
It was not my intention to say much because my view was that the government had flagged this legislation prior to the election and, as we can see from the seating arrangements in the Chamber, the government will, no doubt, say it has a mandate from Territorians to pass this legislation. That was the view I had prior to going through the Youth Justice Bill at great length and talking to a number of people from around the Territory who shared a number of concerns that I had, the more I got into the bill.
Whilst there is certainly nothing that I can say to prevent the bill from passing today, it is important, given the job that we have to scrutinise legislation, that I make a number of comments in relation to the bill. I apologise to the Attorney-General for not flagging this with him earlier. That is a sincere apology; we have tried to get into the practice of letting each other know how we are going to go with legislation and I simply forget. I am so sorry.
In any case, what is very obvious to me in relation to the bill is that it does not mirror what was promised prior to the election. What was promised is quite different from the contents of the bill. Members of the Chamber will not, I am sure, forget the headline from the NT News on 6 May - I have it here - and what a headline it was: ‘Crackdown on kid crims’. In the context of the lead-up to an election, I reckon that one was 10 out of 10. That was the headline that they wanted. That is what they wanted, that is what they got; everyone is happy.
My comment at the time was:
The changes were an election eve response to Labor polling that shows Territorians were concerned about juvenile crime.
The plot thickens in that regard.
Suddenly, it seemed to me and others that there was a flourish from what is increasingly being described as the ministry of spin; that coven of media advisers that infects nearly every corner of the fifth floor. The crackdowns were announced and the phone rang hot at, no doubt, all of the media outlines. They had their scoop and the ministry of spin got their story up, an award- and election-winning performance.
The Minister for Justice and Attorney-General can be described as complicit and certainly disingenuous when he knew what was contained in the bill compared with these headlines. He must have been complicit because he said:
- If you commit a serious crime, you can expect serious punishment.
I will come back to that later.
In any event, no doubt there was a collective cry of ‘Hallelujah!’ from the voters of the Territory and I can understand, as indeed all politicians can, that people would be very happy about the announced crackdown on criminal youth.
However, what the ministry of spin and others did not tell the voters of the Northern Territory was very much about the content of the bill. In that regard, for instance, I refer to a couple of small paragraphs from clause 4 of the bill, which deals with a number of principles which, if memory serves me correctly, were not included in the various media releases that would have been issued. Clause 4(c) says:
- a youth should only be kept in custody for an offence whether on arrest, in remand or under sentence as a last resort and
for the shortest possible time;
And clause 4(q) says:
- unless the public interest requires otherwise, criminal proceedings should not be instituted or continued against a youth if
there are alternative means of dealing with the matter.
The flavour of those principles, and there are others, is different from the pre-election propaganda. Indeed, I cannot recall - I may be wrong; I invite the Attorney-General to tell me if I am wrong - any reference to the preamble in the legislation prior to the election. The preamble says, and I will quote it fully:
- A bill for an act providing for justice in relation to youths who have committed or are alleged to have committed offences and
for related matters.
I digress briefly because, as I look up in the gallery, I see a number of young Territorians here. I say to them that their arrival is timely because this legislation, introduced by government, debated by the opposition, is all about young people in the Northern Territory and in particular young offenders, so I hope you find it interesting.
Having said that, the difference between the pre-election spin and the bill is staggering. It becomes even worse when you more fully examine the principles and compare them with the version that the ministry of spin gave to our newspapers and other media. I wonder if the media would have described the bill as a ‘crackdown’ had it known about these underlying principles. I believe that the headlines would have used other adjectives such as ‘softly’, ‘nicely’ or even perhaps the word ‘marshmallow’ had they been pointed in the right direction.
Of course, that is not the picture the government wanted to paint. No, it wanted ‘Crackdown on kid crims’, because no one likes a baddie whether they are adults or youth, and that was exactly what they wanted and, by God, they got it.
Added to that was the announcement of the doubling of maximum sentences for offenders over 15 years of age. Some would say ‘big deal’; without a mandatory minimum, the gesture is largely meaningless and courts certainly have not been demanding it. There was also the announcement of home detention with monitoring advices. That appears to be the government’s way of saying: ‘Go to your room’, which is already a sentencing option. The announcement also included information about minimum non-parole periods for offenders. I was surprised at that. I understood that this is not new. The courts have never set minimum non-parole periods. I do not think so.
The announcement also included victim-offender conferences. That already exists and I am sure that members of government have heard of a thing called a victim impact statement, hardly new.
In short, Madam Speaker, it was political puffery. It could be called, in a broader sense, a deceit. It can certainly be called, in some respects, a repackaging of what already existed, but it worked.
The ministry of spin and government got the response they wanted. The government’s traditional allies, namely those people who see young criminals as really being disenfranchised victims who commit crimes as a plea for help, were out condemning the government for its stance.
The day Labor’s electorally-driven crackdown on young offenders was made, a woman called Sara, whom I know, from the Alice Springs Youth Accommodation Service, rang ABC radio and was saying that there was no need to be tough. I mention that for a specific reason: it shows the success this headline had for government because government knows that the people of the Territory are a no-nonsense, sensible lot and that they do not subscribe to a soft approach when dealing with criminals, regardless of their age, nor should they.
They see children who commit crimes as young people who should be punished appropriately and compassionately. They should not simply be counselled and not made to face their responsibilities. It is about personal responsibility. Many people take that view, but with the spin and the information government provided, it is difficult to see that anyone could have got past a headline such as ‘Crackdown on kid crims’, but I digress.
In any case, to have the hand-wringing, left out, up-in-arms about the government being tough on crime was guaranteed to confirm that the government was, indeed, being tough. Good strategy. In short, Labor was out to be tougher than the CLP in the eyes of the public, and it worked. I commend you on your strategy. It was a sensible, thorough political strategy - tricky, arguably deceitful, but a good strategy.
Madam Speaker, the government has the two faces of Janus. In this place, their deceit is exposed only after the election when there is no political damage in it for them. Now they want to pass this legislation that, in many respects, supports a view that young criminals are victims who commit crimes as a plea for help. While it is the case that so many young offenders are victims in many ways, having regard to their own upbringing, the emphasis in this bill in the context of the pre-election propaganda about being tough on crime is curious - very curious, indeed.
In the 18 paragraphs that form the principles of this bill as outlined in clause 4, it is noteworthy that only once do the words ‘victim of crime’ appear. All other concerns are for the offender and for his or her needs. That was not something that the NT News and other media, I am sure, were told. No doubt, a fine balance is required when it comes to sentencing and punishing young people, I am the first to say that, but the difference between the pre-election propaganda and the contents of this bill is staggering.
The deceit is compounded further when one considers other parts of the bill. Clause 39 is a very interesting one. It is in Part 3 of Division 3. The whole division does all that it can to remove the power of discretion that police have in relation to offences. Clause 39 ties a police officer’s hands completely when only two criteria are met. I will read the first part of it:
This section applies if a police officer believes on reasonable grounds that:
- (a) a person has committed an offence; and
(b) the person is a youth or was a youth when the offence was committed.
In subparagraph (2), the officer must, instead of charging the youth with the offence, do one or more of the following. The young people in the gallery might well think: ‘Great! We can commit offences and we will never be charged.’ That is possibly not a bad outcome for the young people of the Northern Territory ...
Mr Henderson: You are a fool.
Ms CARNEY: However, I believe it creates some difficulties for the police, and I note the grumblings of the minister for Police. I suspect he will receive more grumblings from his officers after this bill has been passed and people start to work with it.
If those two circumstances exist then, instead of charging a youth, the officer must not charge the youth with an offence. The officer can tell him or her off, either verbally or in writing, or have a conference, or refer the youth to a diversion program. Surely, there must come a time, for instance, if the youth was charged with murder, let us say, that a criteria does not apply and, yes, it is buried in subclauses (3) and (4). There are three exceptions to the rule contained in clause 39(1). The exceptions are these: first, if the youth has committed a serious offence; second, if the youth has form; and, third, if they have left the jurisdiction. I would like to concentrate on the first item for reasons that will become obvious.
The problem with this reference to ‘serious offence’ is that there is no definition of it. There is no definition of ‘serious offence’ in this bill. Now, you could say that there is, if you look at subclause (7) of clause 39, which says:
- ‘serious offence’ means an offence prescribed by the regulations for this section.
There are no regulations, so we do not have a definition of ‘serious offence’. This legislation being pumped up in the way that it was before the election is a deceit. There is no definition of ‘serious offence’. I would like to know from the Attorney-General, and I would be grateful if he advised us all in his reply, what he thinks a serious offence is. It could well be that a serious offence, in the eyes of the government, is any offence that carries life imprisonment. Maybe that is a serious offence. I do not know.
I note that the government did not talk about this prior to the election. The only hint I can find - and if I am wrong I would be very happy for the Attorney-General to say: ‘Carney, you are wrong; I will explain it to you’ - in relation to a serious offence on my reading and those who have worked on this with me, is in another bill before the House, that is the Bail Amendment Bill (Serial 6), which defines a ‘serious offence’ as:
- an offence which attracts a penalty of five or more years imprisonment.
I ask the Attorney-General whether this is the yardstick that is going to be applied to this bill because if it is, then the deceit and trickery is of the highest order and everyone except the offender is the loser. I invite the Attorney-General to educate me if I am wrong in the course of his reply.
Madam Speaker, I have another example for you. Common assault carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment. If I am walking down the street, and some young person gives me an unprovoked smack in the mouth and if I complain to the police, as I understand this bill, they will not charge the child. Why? Because they cannot - provided they do not fall into the other exceptions in clause 39.
This is not protection. This is not a crackdown. This is not tough. This is a cop-out and, sadly, unfortunately, Territorians were not told the truth. What if dig my heels in and say to the police: ‘It is not good enough for me. I did get this unprovoked smack in the mouth. I really want you to charge the young’un who did this to me. I want to go to court. I want my day in court so that this little bloke is answerable for his actions’. I ask: what prospect of success do I have as a victim in that case?
On my reading of this bill, and the reading of others, we cannot see any prospect at all unless the young offender satisfies the three exceptions. Those three exceptions are really not significant. An unprovoked smack in the mouth whilst walking down the street by someone who is in the jurisdiction and does not have form and so on, as a victim, I reckon I would be pretty unhappy.
Under clause 44, I note that I cannot, as a victim, appeal the decision forced upon the police in any tribunal or court. As a victim of crime, I have no rights other than to participate in a conference and become part of the hand-wringing angst that keeps, some would say, the Attorney-General and others awake at night worrying about the injustices that he and others see young people are suffering.
The bill is a problem, probably not procedurally. As members know, I am happy to talk about procedures in bills that come before us. However, it is the fundamental difference between the packaging prior to the election and what is in it. A deceit has been perpetrated on Territorians.
I note that the Attorney-General will happily put his name to media releases that pull the wool over the public’s eyes because, presumably in his mind, the justification is that he will get this bill into law. I do not regard the Attorney-General as a deceitful man. However, he has become a part of a deceit, a trickery, a fraud that has been perpetrated.
It says something of the arrogance of this government that we saw before the election and since because they know best. The public really does not need to be told the truth because the government considers Territorians too stupid to understand the world in the enlightened and ennobled way that these keepers of the truth think they are. In short, the government is, on the basis of its performance with the pre-packaging and contents of the bill, a government that would deceive the innocent to protect the guilty.
At this point, it becomes clear that the government’s ministry of spin has another agenda as well. Not only did they get what they wanted from the media last time round, but they have set the stage for the next time round. Because this government is going to stop charging young people with the offences that they commit, they will be, in the future, announcing how great the reduction in juvenile crime is and how significant it is that fewer juveniles are appearing before the courts.
I am sure, in the next four years, the Attorney-General will use this Chamber and the media to say what a great job it is doing because very few children are being charged and they are not going to court. It is obvious why they are not being charged; they are being taken out of the entire system and managed some other way. I thought it appropriate that I put that on the record.
Sadly, the price that will be paid for the pre-election spin will be the victims of crime; these non-offenders, when criminals, albeit young criminals, realise that they will be able to walk all over Territorians and they will come up against a police force that will not be able to charge them unless they commit serious offences or satisfy other criteria that amount to exceptions under the aforementioned clause 39.
The government’s ministry of spin did not let Territorians know that prior to the last election. They were making damned sure that this government was seen to be the government that was tough on crime. With the words ‘crackdown’ and ‘tough’ ringing in their ears, it would have had an effect, I would have thought, on some Territory voters. It was a strong message. I can imagine at the polling booth, the Labor candidates would have said ‘tough on crime, tough on crime’ to some people. I do not know whether they had copies of these headlines tucked in their back pockets, but they were probably told to.
I wonder whether the Attorney-General and his colleagues remember the name of Pauline Joy. It does not appear he does. Pauline may not mean very much to the Attorney-General and his colleagues, but who would be surprised? She is but a victim of crime. She is the woman who runs the Groove Caf in Nightcliff. This is the caf that made the front page of the paper a week or so ago under the headline ‘Caf robbed 23 times in 2 years’ with Pauline Joy on the front page. Pauline Joy cannot get any insurance any more because she is too much of a risk, it would seem. Is this a matter for public concern? The editorial in the paper on the following day seemed to suggest it was. The editorial ends with these comments:
- … but one thing can be done: magistrates and judges can acknowledge a growing intolerance of criminals and
sentence accordingly.
Magistrates and judges can only sentence in accordance with the legislation and common law precedent and so on, but the legislation that parliaments give them. Only if the legislation is right in the eyes of the community, then judges and magistrates may, it could be argued, be able to improve the perception that they do not sentence appropriately, but they only do what the rules of their job enable them to do so it comes back to governments to change the legislation if necessary.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, would you be willing to resume your comments after Question Time? You have 20 minutes to run on the clock.
Ms CARNEY: I have about two minutes.
Madam SPEAKER: Two minutes? Please continue.
Ms CARNEY: Thank you. When this bill passes, that will not be the case. It will not give the judiciary powers to bring into or to deliver on the things that government says it wants, a crackdown on kids’ crime. It simply will not be the case. Some would say that it is a form of mandatory non-sentencing. Who would have thought it? At least when the next editorial appears, Territorians can lay the blame squarely at the feet of this government.
In conclusion, Madam Speaker, the opposition is duty bound to oppose this bill. It is deceitful in its packaging and delivery to Territorians prior to the election. We would be derelict in our duty as an opposition to simply stand here and consent to everything contained in the bill. The government will say it has a mandate by dint of its numbers. It has a mandate, but it has a mandate to govern properly, to be honest with Territorians and to explain the difference between the pre-publicity and the contents of the bill.
We simply ask that this government tells the truth. I do not expect any joy in that regard. However, that concludes the comments I have to make in relation to the Youth Justice Bill.
Debate suspended until after Question Time.
DISTINGUISHED VISITOR
Mr Charles ‘Chicka’ Dixon
Mr Charles ‘Chicka’ Dixon
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Mr Charles ‘Chicka’ Dixon, former member of the Aboriginal Art Board of the Australia Council, prominent motivator in Aboriginal Affairs for the last 50 years, and a consultant to the University of New South Wales. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: I also draw your attention to the presence in the galleries of senior citizens from the electorates of Blain, Brennan, Drysdale, Karama, Nightcliff and Johnston; members of the Seniors Advisory Group; the Darwin Senior Citizens Group; and interstate visitors. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a very warm welcome to you.
Members: Hear, hear!
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
Mr Terry McCarthy and
Mr John Pollock
Mr Terry McCarthy and
Mr John Pollock
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I further draw your attention to the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of the former Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, Mr Terry McCarthy and former Deputy Clerk, John Pollock. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
YOUTH JUSTICE BILL (No 2)
(Serial 10)
YOUTH JUSTICE (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL (No 2)
(Serial 11)
Continued from earlier this day.
Ms LAWRIE (Family and Community Services): Madam Speaker, as Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister for Sport and Recreation, I support the bills introduced by the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General.
It is the government’s responsibility to introduce legislation that both protects and supports its citizens. For no one is this more pertinent than protecting and supporting our children and young people. The link between family breakdown and future criminal behaviour are well known and documented. My portfolio of Family and Community Services works to try to break that cycle by providing programs and services to families in the Territory.
Unfortunately, children and young people sometimes commit crimes, and we must both hold them accountable for their actions while putting in place the support and intervention to make sure they do not do it again.
The Youth Justice Bill provides a good balance between personal accountability and support. This bill will work hand-in-hand with the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Bill, which I will introduce in the coming months. While each maintains a separate focus - one on youth justice and the other on child welfare – together, they are both underpinned by a commitment to: strengthening and preserving family relationships and encouraging parents to fulfil their responsibilities; recognising racial, ethnic and cultural identity and involving a child’s own community.
Once both items of legislation are enacted, there will be important links between them to ensure appropriate consideration is given to the circumstances of children and young people.
I want to refer specifically to clause 51, Youth in Need of Protection. This clause provides that if the Youth Justice Court believes that a youth who is charged with an offence is in need of protection, then the Youth Justice Court can request an investigation be conducted by Family and Children’s Services. The Chief Executive Officer of Family and Community Services is required by the Youth Justice Court to investigate as soon as practicable, report to the Youth Justice Court on the circumstances of the youth, including whether or not the youth is a child in need of protection and any action that has been taken.
I also wish to refer to clause 206, Members of the Youth Justice Advisory Committee. As the agency responsible for the protection of children and young people, Family and Community Services will have a member on the new Youth Justice Advisory Committee, which will comprise government, non-government and community representatives. This new committee has a broader mandate than the previous Juvenile Justice Boards, which were focused on the examination and evaluation of juvenile justice programs.
I believe this new committee will encourage positive across government and community sector relationships and partnerships like the Health, Disability and Family and Community Services Advisory Councils, which provide strategic advice to the minister and the government.
The Youth Justice Bill is one of a number of items of legislation that deals with the rights and responsibilities of children and young people. The Community Welfare Act, the Education Act and the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act also reflect the value the community places on ensuring that children and young people are afforded the greatest opportunity to develop to their fullest potential.
Diversion is a key area of this act and both my portfolio areas, Family and Community Services and Sport and Recreation, play a role. For example, funding of $1m has allowed new youth services to be established right across the Territory. These services are now in place in Willowra, Borroloola, Nhulunbuy, Nightcliff, Central Australia, Katherine, Belyuen and Gunbalanya.
In Borroloola, a new service known as the Borroloola Region Youth Development Unit was established through the collaboration and partnership of the Departments of Justice, Family and Community Services and the Northern Territory Police. The police and the Department of Health and Community Services have entered into a memorandum of understanding that details this partnership arrangement.
The unit commenced operation in October 2003 under the auspice of the Borroloola Community Government Council. The FACS contribution to the service is $155 000 per annum. The unit provides case management to young people on a formal diversion program and programs for at-risk young people, aimed at increasing their participation in constructive activities and community life, and that promotes healthy lifestyle choices. The unit operates from a youth centre that includes a movie room, pool table, basketball and tennis court, BMX track and a range of sporting and educational equipment. It boasts a broad range of activities including regular discos and concerts, sporting activities including participation in competitions outside the community, fishing excursions, health promotion, open days, art and drama workshops and music courses.
Family and Community Services have increased programs that support family preservation. The intensive family support service assists children, young people and their families who continue to remain in crisis, encouraging an environment that will help kids move positively towards adulthood and families to stay together.
The Youth Beat run by Mission Australia provides a presence other than the police to deal with kids causing problems on our streets at night. This program has been very successful and an election commitment of $100 000 additional will see the expansion of this service in Darwin and Palmerston.
The Youth Justice Bill is tough - and rightly so - but it is fair. It recognises that when young people commit serious crimes, there should be serious consequences. It also recognises that young people are our future and should be supported. It does not surprise me that the opposition does not support this bill. There are no mandatory gaol sentences for children and the focus is not on retribution and revenge. The opposition is famous for its lock-em-up approach to youth problems. Whenever society has to address an issue relating to our kids, the CLP’s response is always: lock the problem away.
We have recently seen this in relation to petrol sniffing. The Leader of the Opposition introduced a bill that involved two years gaol for anyone caught sniffing, including kids. Under their plan, there would be no diversionary programs, as they announced during the election that they would cut $10m away from treatment programs and services for petrol sniffers. No treatment; just gaol. Lock the problem away. That is their approach. It has been their approach for a long time, and, hey, they are entitled to it. It is interesting to note that so early in this term and immediately following their election review, they have already decided to ramp up their lock-up-the-kids mantra.
This government is supporting our youth with legislation and vital programs. The Youth Justice Bill before us today is yet another example of that action.
I recall when Karama Neighbourhood Watch received a comprehensive briefing on this Youth Justice Bill. This is an organisation of concerned residents who look at crime prevention activities in the local area, and which has worked very hard to reduce crime around my electorate. There were a lot of interesting questions coming from that group of residents about aspects of the bill. The discussion was wholly supportive of the actions and path being taken in the direction laid out in this legislative reform. So, both from a ministerial perspective and the perspective of a local member, I am delighted to support this important raft of reforms that will deliver improved youth justice outcomes for the children of the Territory.
Bear that in mind: they are children. We have an opportunity for rehabilitation. We have an opportunity here to put them on a better path than the crime path that locked them into a downward spiral with the erroneous CLP policies of: lock-em-up, lock-em-up, and lock-em-up.
Justice is about rehabilitation. Yes, there is some stronger sentencing in these reforms, and rightly so. That is in keeping with acknowledgement that there are serious crimes being committed by young people. Importantly, there is a fair balance in the reforms proposed by our Attorney-General. I commend him for the work done. It has been a comprehensive process of community consultation. There has been a lot of discussion with all stakeholders about what is contained in this legislation. It is not legislation that was an election gimmick, it is not legislation that was rushed through. It is legislation that has been worked up consultatively at all levels of the community, including important stakeholders in the justice system, and it will be complemented and supported by our Caring for Our Children and Protection of Children legislation that I will introduce in future months.
I congratulate the Attorney-General and the staff in the Department of Justice for the hard work that they have put in to bring the Territory into line with modern justice practices when it comes to dealing with the issues of juvenile crime.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support of the Youth Justice Bills. We all know the importance of guiding, educating and encouraging our young people to take their rightful place as citizens in a democratic society, a society that encourages freedom of expression, a society that encourages choice: to choose a path that leads to a good future filled with many opportunities.
As well as providing opportunities for young people, we also need to ensure that our young people are protected from those in society who seek to exploit, manipulate, confuse and discourage our young people from the path that leads them to the many good opportunities open to them. Negative distraction for our young people has a spiral effect on their families and friends who often despair as to what they can do to help those they love.
Guidance for our young people is fundamental at all times, especially when a crime has been committed. Guidance and concern for the legal welfare of a young offender must also be balanced with the interests of victims and the community.
This bill recognises the importance of preventing young people going down the path of becoming adult offenders. Young people need to be given the opportunity to address their offending and to develop themselves in a socially responsible way. It is only when strategies fail that detention in custody may become the appropriate option for addressing offending. This concept of detention as a matter of last resort is specifically expressed as one of the new overarching, guiding principles contained in the bills.
Sadly, it is Aboriginal youth who come before the justice system more regularly than non-Aboriginal youth. We know only too well in the Northern Territory the high statistics of Aboriginal inmates in the Territory’s gaols. Aboriginal people make up nearly 30% of the Northern Territory population, yet they make up nearly 90% of the gaol population. Working with young people, diverting them from detention and into other areas of effective rehabilitation and acceptance of their responsibilities is a strong focus of these bills.
The bills recognise the success of the juvenile diversionary program by creating a presumption in favour of diversion as the appropriate response to youth offending in all cases, except those involving serious offences or those involving young people with a history of offending which makes diversion unsuitable.
A provision in the Youth Justice Bill gives the Youth Justice Court capacity to refer a young person back to diversion, even after they have started down the route of the formal court-based prosecution process. An evaluation by the Commonwealth of the Northern Territory Diversion Scheme has highlighted the success of the program, even in terms of successfully addressing recidivism. The vast majority of young people who completed diversion were not re-apprehended within a year of their initial arrest. The rate of recidivism for young people who had been diverted was lower than that of those who went through the formal court process.
The aim of the diversion scheme is to divert young people away from the formal criminal justice system. Another one of the new guiding principles for dealing with young offenders under the bill is that criminal proceedings should not be brought against a young person if there are alternative means of dealing with the matter. Diversion is certainly an important alternative to going through the formal court process.
Importantly for young people, diversionary processes provide scope for the community to become involved in responding to offending behaviour. I know that the Umbakumba community on Groote Eylandt in my electorate is involved in some positive work with young offenders who have been referred to diversion. Families say it is better to work with a young offender with elders, police and case workers present rather than seeing them end up in detention. No family wants to see their young people being taken away from their home environment to the unfamiliar surrounds of a detention centre in Darwin.
Similar diversionary options will be offered under the scheme in this bill as are available at present under the Juvenile Justice Act. These include family or victim-offender conferences, which aim to hold young offenders accountable and encourage them to accept responsibility for their behaviour while, at the same time, allowing victims to meaningfully participate in the process.
Another one of the real achievements in this bill is the amalgamation of all matters relating to young offenders in the one legislative instrument. This will make it easier for young people and people working with young people, such as the police, courts, legal personnel and social workers, to locate the law relevant to young offenders.
This bill seeks to update 20-year-old legislation, and to do it in language that is clearer and more readily understandable by the section of the community that it affects the most: young people and those who work with them. The underlying principle throughout the bill is that while young people need guidance, it is guidance that has firm foundations in encouraging youth to accept full responsibility for their behaviour. Taking full responsibility for one’s behaviour is what is expected of any person, young or old, in Australian society.
There is also an acknowledgement of a different level of maturity that needs to be taken into consideration, and this bill does just that. The bill provides for a wide range of things about youth offending to be taken into consideration, including recognising a young person’s racial, ethnic or cultural identity in dealing with the matter in a way that helps him or her develop in socially responsible ways.
We only have to read the papers or watch the television to gain an insight into the troubled lives of so many young people. You only have to talk to student counsellors and liaison officers in our schools across the Northern Territory to gain an even deeper insight into the worries we have for our young people. We need only talk to our own children, who give us an even greater insight into the circle of friends they have and the things they, as young people, get up to when adults are not around.
If it is not too hard or too far away for some of my parliamentary colleagues to think about, maybe they can recall their youth and think of the things they got up to and how, perhaps, we could have all travelled a different path that might have got us into trouble with the law at a young age were it not for the guidance of particular people in our lives who helped influence us. I can recall mine and, perhaps one day, I might share it with you - but not now.
Instead, I will share with this parliament stories from my electorate. In Arnhem, there are many too familiar stories of troubled young people caught up in the cycle of substance abuse. The media, in recent weeks, has highlighted the plight of petrol sniffers in Ngukurr. During my visit to the community, families spoke of their concern for youth. Ngukurr has led the way in tackling the problem of petrol sniffing with the introduction of Avgas in the early years to curb sniffing. Now, it is Opal fuel.
Police officers will tell you there is a clear pattern between sniffing and becoming involved in criminal behaviour, as will families. We heard recently comments made at a Coronial inquest into petrol sniffing in Alice Springs. Aboriginal people know only too well how the abnormal becomes normal in our communities in regard to social issues.
Like many communities across the Northern Territory, in the Numbulwar community there has been a sense of frustration about the lack of suitable facilities for youth. Young children turn to breaking and entering homes. In this community, it is not so much substance abuse but boredom and a sense of hopelessness felt by our youth.
Under the Labor government, the situation in Numbulwar is starting to improve. This year, the government has budgeted $1m to complete the building of a police post in that community by the end of the year. An improved police presence in Numbulwar will go a long way toward addressing issues of offending and providing a sense of security within the community.
Another bright note for Numbulwar is that young people from within the community have recently been elected onto the local council. It is very promising to see that it is the young people who are stepping up to the plate and wanting to have a say about their future. It is young people like Jocelyn Uibo and health worker Jason Pomeray, both of whom are deeply concerned about facilities for youth and are committed to bring about improvements in Numbulwar.
No family enjoys watching their son or daughter get caught up in the cycle of substance abuse, and they enjoy even less the flow-on effects of criminal behaviour that often occurs. In the past fortnight, parents in the Arnhem area have spoken to me about their worries for their children. They have told me they do not know what to do when their son or daughter gets into trouble with the law. They do not like the idea of their son or daughter being taken hundreds of kilometres away to Darwin’s Don Dale Detention Centre because, for some, it is often their first time away from family. They also worry that language is a barrier. This bill recognises that concern.
Another of the guiding principles in the bill is that a young person should be made aware of his or her obligations under the law, and of the consequences of breaking the law. In order for young offenders to be responsive to curb their offending, they must understand what is happening to them and why. This bill provides for a youth justice system that is sensitive to cultural differences and requires adults dealing with young offenders to explain what is happening at all stages of the process in language appropriate to the young person’s age, maturity, cultural background and language skills.
In my electorate, there are a number of Aboriginal languages spoken, with English as a second or third language. I take this opportunity to commend the work of the Aboriginal Interpreter Service and the people who work there, who seek to bridge the language gap between Aboriginal people and legal representatives in order to ensure a better understanding of each other. The work undertaken by the AIS staff and what they do to ensure such understanding in the legal system in the Northern Territory must never be taken for granted.
As a new member of the government, I look forward to taking every opportunity to ensure that we remain committed to continue to work with Aboriginal organisations and communities, and to build and improve on existing relationships.
New employment and training opportunities in our communities, and a sincere embracing of Aboriginal culture and language in government policies is crucial in helping to reduce the high rate of Aboriginal imprisonment overall. A new dialogue and persistence in shaping policies to reflect the cultural diversity of our regions will benefit our young people, who are indeed, Mr Deputy Speaker, our leaders of tomorrow.
Ms SACILOTTO (Port Darwin): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Youth Justice Bill. This bill is part of an overall government response to support the Northern Territory’s young people and increase safety in our community. Supporting young people should be a key priority for all governments, but nowhere is it more evident than the Northern Territory where one-third of our population is under the age of 20.
When a young person commits a crime, they should face the consequences of their behaviour, but this should be complemented with support and opportunities to make positive choices in their lives. This legislation provides the right balance between responsibility and support.
Government has demonstrated over the previous four years a consistent commitment to giving young people a good start in life through legislative reform such as the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act and the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Registration) Act and through key government policies and programs such as the Caring for Our Children reform process and Building Healthier Communities.
This government has committed significant funding to backing these strategies, from $53m to reforming our child protection system to funding to support 10 000 apprentices and trainees in the Territory over four years in addition to the 3200 trainees already in training. From 2006, 40 VET scholarship programs will be available each year with $4000 to assist students with course fees and material costs. The Youth Beat program operated by Mission Australia will receive an additional $100 000 each year to expand its services in Darwin and Palmerston.
The government is about action. These are real initiatives that support legislation and policy. While this government is certainly working hard in the areas of prevention and early intervention, the Youth Justice Bill is mainly about how we deal with those kids who are already in the criminal justice system.
I recently visited the Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre and I am pleased that the facility is focusing so much on rehabilitation and creating a positive environment in which young people can begin to address their offending behaviour. The facility is broken into two sections, one being the original part of the building and housing high security risk detainees, and the newer section, which houses the lower security graded detainees.
There is a positive reward system in place and, over a period of time, appropriately graded detainees can earn a move to a lower security area. There is a range of achievements that must be demonstrated to earn transfer to the low security area. This process is lengthy and requires consistent, positive behaviour, such as participation in programs and counselling and school attendance. Once in the lower security area, there are further benefits for young people such as access to a gardening program and activities focused on integration back into the community. These range from attending a school to accessing training or other opportunities.
While I was at the Don Dale Centre, detainees were actively participating in an in-house school focused on numeracy and literacy. While in detention, they are not only learning that they must take responsibility for their actions, they are also gaining an education and real life skills that will benefit them on release. This approach, which appears to be working positively at Don Dale, is also reflected in the amendments to the Youth Justice Bill, particularly in the adoption of important new overarching principles, which guide the operation of the legislation.
The new guiding principles set out profound statements about how the criminal justice system should deal with young people. For example, one of the key new principles is that punishment of a youth must be designed to give him or her an opportunity to develop a sense of social responsibility and otherwise to develop in beneficial and socially accepted ways. However, the bill recognises that in some circumstances, incarceration will inevitably be required to both punish the offender and protect the community. Nevertheless, the guiding principles state that young people should only be kept in custody as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
These are strong principles of which I am fully supportive. First and foremost, it should be our priority as community to ensure that in punishing young people, we are doing everything to prevent them from re-offending, and that is certainly the priority of this legislation. I am pleased to see the new guiding principles give effect to the important rights of victims. As the bill states:
- A victim of an offence committed by a youth should be given the opportunity to participate in the process of dealing with
the youth for the offence.
This is an excellent principle. Initiatives such as victim-offender conferences, which are expanded by this bill, will help many victims achieve closure and increase their satisfaction with the legal process. It is also an important part of ensuring that young people are made to face the consequences of their actions.
In a perfect world, our children would not stray; they would not break the law. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. Our children do stray and, sometimes, young people break the law. When they do, they need access to the skills, education, opportunities and support that will ensure they do not do this again. They need individuals and systems that will support, supervise and guide them.
Madam Speaker, as a mother, Territorian and the member for Port Darwin, I strongly support the Youth Justice Bill.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I am in two minds about some of the issues that have been raised, but I say at the outset that I support the bill subject to it being reviewed in 12 months because there are some issues that the opposition raised that are very important, and I have some concerns about the principles. Notwithstanding that, it is a new bill and I know it will need some review to see whether our concerns are real or perceived.
Minister, whilst I accept that the principles laid down in the bill are very important and cover many of the issues we should look at not only for youth, but as part of anyone’s rights, we need to be careful that we do not go to the extreme whereby we lose touch with reality.
We are dealing with young people aged between 14 and 18. There are plenty of young blokes around that age who you might think fit within all these principles, but, in the end, they need a kick up the bum because they have done something that requires them to realise that there is a consequence to their action.
The member for Port Darwin spoke well, but she said one thing that, to me, is at odds with principle 4(a). She said young people must accept responsibility for their behaviour. Principle 4(a) says if a youth commits an offence, he or she must be held accountable and encouraged to accept responsibility for the behaviour. That is slightly different from being told they must accept responsibility for the behaviour.
One might ask how you make a person responsible for their behaviour. In some cases, it might be a kick up the bum or detention of some sort. I should say that I am not a great support of young people going to gaol per se, but I have said on many occasions that I do not think a slap on the wrist is always the process we should be looking at. Diversionary programs I support to an extent, but if someone has done something that they know is wrong, there needs to be a consequence to that. If someone smashes a window, it may not be regarded as a serious offence, and, of course, we do not have the definition, but it may be regarded as a fairly serious offence by the person who owns the house or shop where the window is smashed.
There needs to be something that makes the person responsible know they have done something wrong and they have to do something in consequence of that – not just say that they will be good people, but also say: ‘We will have to do community orders’. I am a great fan of community orders. I would like to ask the minister, and I may have it wrong here: can community orders be used before a person is sentenced? Can community orders be part of a diversionary program? For instance, can they go down to Freds Pass and be required to prune the trees and paint the log fences as part of a diversionary program rather than having to be sentenced and then do a diversionary program?
You talk about restitution. Could someone be required to pay restitution, if it is possible, as part of a diversionary program? In other words, they go to work, they earn some money, they pay. They do not have a criminal record per se, but can some of these things be done without having to go through the process of being convicted? Some of those programs are exactly the ones we should be looking at for young people. That they do not get off scot-free, they not just told not to do it again. There are some cases in which that would be quite suitable. We need a certain amount of stick along with the carrot. Otherwise there will be young people who will say to the police: ‘No, no, no; go away’.
My concern is that, when you look at all these principles, which sound nice - some of them to do with the victim, most of them to do with the offender - there does not seem to be anything that lays down someone being told that they have done something wrong and they will have to pay for those actions.
As I said, I am not necessarily a fan of putting all young people in gaol. That is one of the reasons I have been a supporter of Wildman River. You have been bored out of your brain, minister, listening to me on that issue, but it is an alternative. It is a detention centre that has a lot of value. Don Dale is very nice, and I have been there. When I say ‘very nice’, it is not the nicest place to be in, but it is well fitted out for the people who reside there. I do not think it is necessarily the most appropriate place, and I have said before, if you look at the BBC program about those young people that went to Utah …
Mrs Braham: The Brat Camp.
Mr WOOD: … into the bush. The Brat Camp. They went out into the bush. There are times when the bush has value for young people. It gives them time to reflect and they do some work. They were working on the barrages at Shady Camp and did some fencing around the national park. That is important.
I see that, whilst there is a role for prison, there are lots of other options. The member for Braitling spoke about whether there is any chance of detention centres in the Centre. Minister, you know I have spoken about work camps before. There are versions of work camps that could be good for youth, for instance working on cattle stations in Central Australia, having a mobile work camp where young people go out and learn the skills. They are options. They are diversionary as well as being punishment. It is punishment with a good outcome because they are learning skills. They are the sort of things we need to be looking at. I imagine it would be far better to have a work camp for young people in Alice Springs than have to bring them up to Don Dale, a place where, in theory, we were supposed to have a farm, but we do not have that farm yet. It is one of those recommendations.
As I said, I am not willing to support the bill per se. I would like to see the bill tried. I would like to see some independent evaluation of it. I would like to hear what the police have to say and people like the Palmerston Regional Business Association or the Chamber of Commerce because there are a lot of businesses that have problems with juvenile crime.
The opposition has raised the issue of clause 39, the Diversion of Youth. When I read it, you would say that unless it is a serious offence, basically, there is no chance of being convicted. You must have committed that serious offence, which is not defined yet. I am certainly interested to know what a serious offence is.
If the diversion of youth was to a work camp or to community orders or that you had to work to get restitution to pay for the damage, I would be happy. However, if there is no direct link between the consequences of your action and what you have been required to do, then I will not be particularly happy.
There are a couple of other issues I would like to raise, one being the issue about diversionary programs and who pays for them. My understanding was the Commonwealth, at the time of mandatory sentencing, put in a large amount of money to run diversionary programs. The question is: is that money still coming in? Is the Commonwealth guaranteeing that money will still come to us in the future? It is all very well to have these diversionary programs, but if you do not have any money, then they are not going to happen. I am interested to hear what the minister has to say on that issue.
As I said, diversionary programs were introduced after the death of a young person at Berrimah gaol some years ago, and to remove the process of mandatory sentencing for juveniles. I stand corrected if I am wrong, but that is the reason for their introduction. I have never been a supporter of mandatory sentencing. I have been a supporter of mandatory punishment because the punishment should be appropriate to the crime. That means you do not get off scot-free. If you do something wrong, you need to take the consequences. If you are so young that a warning is sufficient, fair enough. You cannot tell me in this day and age, a 16, 17, or 18-year-old - who is legally allowed to have sex and drive a car - does not know what is right or wrong. I will go he. If someone does something wrong at that age, they need to know that there are consequences and they will suffer those consequences. As I said, it does not have to be in the form of imprisonment. Detention at Wildman River, work camps, community orders and restitution are all good options.
There is one other little thing. I know you have set up the Youth Justice Advisory Committee. I asked at the briefing – thank you, minister, for the briefing. It is only a little thing but, in the establishment requirements it says: ‘2(a) … equal numbers of male and female members’. I know it says ‘as far as practicable’ but it seems to be one of those little anomalies that does not need to be there. In fact, if we asked what is the ratio of male to female juveniles in our court system, it would probably be more males than females. You would have to ask: why even bother having that in there? My feeling is that every person who is on this justice advisory committee should be there on merit because you want the best people on this committee.
I am not sure that stating that half should be male and half should be female is the best way to go. I am not saying there should not be male and female, of course, but in this case, it should be on merit. If two members are Aboriginal, one member is under the age of 25, who is going to be the male and who is going to be the female if only one person is selected from each group? It is just one of those things that does not need to be there. You have a look at each person who applies to be on that committee and judge them on their merit.
In summing up, I am willing to hold my fire on this legislation. When I say ‘hold my fire’, you have done a lot of good work and there are a lot of good things in the legislation. However, the principles are the basis for the legislation, and if the principles do not send a message out to young people that if you do something wrong, you will not suffer any consequences - at least consequences that will give you some feeling that you have done something wrong - then I will be concerned. That is what a lot of people are asking for.
If clause 4(a) said: ‘they must accept responsibility for their behaviour’, I would be much happier. To say ‘encouraged to accept responsibility’ seems a bit wishy-washy. Young people, like any of us, must accept responsibility for their actions. If you prang the car, you must accept the consequences. If we do something wrong, we must accept it. Surely that is the way life is. For sure, young people sometimes you have to give a chance, and we all like to give people second chances according to the circumstances. There is also a point when you say: ‘You must accept your responsibility’. If that means you have to pay for the damage, you have to go and work out at Wildman River, you have to go down to Freds Pass and mow the lawns and paint the fences, so be it. That is a far better process than just saying: ‘We will put you on a good behaviour bond, we will put you on another one, and we will put you on another’, and after a while, people will not respect the law or the process.
I am not going to give this the big tick, neither am I going to condemn it. I am going to wait and see. At our briefing, it was said that the government would certainly look reviewing this legislation. I will be very happy if it came back in 12 or even 24 months, depending on when you can get it up and running, and perhaps get an independent body to review it - someone from the legal side, from police, youth and from the local businesses – to say how they think it is running.
I thank the minister for the legislation. It is fairly detailed. It has taken, I presume, a lot of work and effort to get to this point, and that is one good reason why it should be reviewed. Sometimes you miss out on important matters when you are dealing with such comprehensive legislation.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Madam Speaker, before the member for Nelson spoke I was beginning to think I live in a different world. Previous speakers were talking about children who are different from some of the children I come across.
I have some reservations about the bill. We are still waiting to see the regulations, which are an important component of this bill. The bill is long and complicated and, to be honest, I am still coming to grips with the detail in it.
Perhaps it is my fault, but I have not had any feedback from any community organisations about this bill. I am sure the minister has, and perhaps he can explain to us who he asked, how broad the consultation was and the type of feedback he received.
We saw government rush through the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act earlier this year and, although we all welcomed it, we are still waiting for the regulations. I wonder whether we are at the same stage, whether we are pushing through this bill without the regulations and it will sit on the books for months before anything happens. I ask the minister when he thinks this bill will be enacted and when we will get the regulations so we know how we can fill in the gaps.
The community has expectations that juveniles should be held responsible for their actions. Far too often, there is a perception that the courts are lenient on juveniles who treat law and order as a joke. The Leader of the Opposition quoted the instance in the paper recently showing that. There was an incident in a supermarket recently where there were three teenagers of about 15 and 16 who verbally and physically attacked a man and his wife in front of a number of people. Their attitude was to flaunt the law: ‘What are you going to do about it?’ It was that sort of attitude. They treated it as a joke. ‘We’ll get you later’ and ‘You can’t do anything to us’. They feel almost untouchable. We have to stop the perception of young people that they have untouchable status. They just mocked when the security guards came along. They were not frightened of the police. They thought it was all a joke. This is the very response that frustrates residents and the business people of many towns in our regions.
We need to ensure that what we are introducing here makes young people understand that they must be accountable in some way, as the member for Nelson was saying. If the bill does that, good! I have concerns about some of the language in the bills about the principles. It seems to offer too many options that favour non-penalty rather than accountability.
Attorney-General, I deliberately asked the question about the detention centre. Because there is no option of a detention centre in Alice Springs, quite rightly, courts are not sending juveniles to Don Dale. You said your research showed that the numbers don’t warrant it, but perhaps that is for the simple reason that it wasn’t really an option. I am quite sure that some of these juveniles who flaunt the law may, even if they are held for just a short time in detention, receive a strong message; loss of freedom may get the message through more strongly than a diversion program.
I am of the opinion that diversion programs are far more effective than they used to be. That is good, but we need to ensure that they are effective. They need to be monitored and supervised. We have all heard stories of someone being on a diversion program, failing to turn up and nothing being done about it. I am pleased to see in this bill that if diversions are not completed, further action can be taken. That, at least, will give some comfort to business people who are trying to do the right thing when they sit down to conference, accept a diversion program and then find it is thrown in their face. That is a good aspect of the bill.
I ask the minister if he can advise on interpretation of the clause that says:
- Unless the public interest requires otherwise, criminal proceedings should not be instituted against a youth if there is an
alternative means of dealing with the matter.
How do you define ‘public interest’? Who will define ‘public interest’? Will that be the option of the court, the prosecutor, the police or whom? We would all like to know exactly what you mean by ‘public interest’.
Will the victim of any offence be involved in this decision? Again, I cite the example of the shop keeper we heard about this morning who had been broken into many times and saw no accountability required of the offender. Would they be involved in a decision as to whether there would be court proceedings or not?
Much is made of diversionary programs. I do not think I have seen details of the programs that are offered around the Territory. It would be useful if members could have that information so we can speak with some knowledge of what you are providing by way of diversionary programs.
I am also concerned about clause 39: give the youth a verbal warning, give the youth a written warning, cause a youth justice conference involving the youth to be convened. What else? Refer the youth to a diversion program. It looks as though there are many steps before the community sees something being done.
I would be interested, as the member for Nelson is, if the Attorney-General reports back to the parliament. I would like some statistics on how many diversions have been undertaken, not just a global figure, but a breakdown of the four options and how successful the diversions have been. Do we have statistics on how many juveniles have re-offended?
Clause 89 deals with restitution. Who will be required to make restitution if ordered? If this is currently the law, how many times has it been implemented? We are talking about juveniles who are not income-earning, so how will compensation be paid? I would like clarification on that.
The Minister for Family and Community Services kept referring to ‘the children’, but we this act which applies to juveniles between the age of 14 and 18. Interestingly, you can drive a car at 16, you can leave school and have a job at 15, but you are treated as a juvenile on matters of criminality.
It seems to me that we have to stop saying, when young people get to this age, that they are children. There is an age where we have to make them understand, and we have all done it with our own children, that there is responsibility and that you must take it.
Minister, I would like to think this bill will succeed. I would like to think that it is strong enough to get a message through to juveniles, that it prescribes the right programs to ensure juveniles are given the right treatment and assistance along the way, that these juveniles will not re-offend and the whole outcome for the community is better. I know you cannot give any guarantee on that. All we can hope is that, by the time the regulations are ready, the community will be convinced that this is good legislation.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I thank all members for their contributions. I note with regret that the opposition is not prepared to support the bill, but we will press on nonetheless.
The best way to deal with the various queries in relation to the bill is to work through as best as I have been able to record, and give you some response in this part of the debate. I suggest, though, that a lot of the more detailed questions, such as the member for Braitling raising how the concept of public interest should be applied in the bill, could be dealt with in committee when we can look at clauses in more detail.
I was sorry to hear that the Leader of the Opposition is feeling a bit bitter about the use of this legislation in the context of the election. All I can say is that time will heal the wounds of defeat. Even a most cursory glance at the history of the development of this legislation will tell you it started with a working party that comprised representatives from Justice, Corrections, Police Diversionary Programs Unit and FACS. During 2002, there was initial consultation input, which resulted in a discussion paper that included the views of a wide range of people: Police, Youth Affairs, DCM, DHDS, DEET, Department of Community Development, Sport and Cultural Affairs, Office of Crime Prevention, DPP, the Legal Aid Commission, Aboriginal Legal Aid Services, AJAC, ATSIC and Juvenile Justice Boards of Management, to name a few.
All of that input went into the discussion paper which was subsequently circulated. Essentially, the exercise was presented to all stakeholders as being a review of the Juvenile Justice Act, which was out of date and many problems had been identified with it. It needed review and updating to be modern legislation, particularly in light of experiences with the old act.
That was the exercise we invited everyone into. The discussion paper went out in March 2004. We received 20 submissions, again, from a wider range of people again: members of the clergy, academics, official visitors, local businesses, Round Table of Young Territorians, ASIAS in Alice Springs made submissions. Really, the bill before us stands on a fairly long history of consultation with interested groups within our community. Whatever you can say about spins put on during elections, I daresay you could aim that accusation at any political party or any candidate, indeed, during an election.
Everyone does their best to be returned at an election; that is the whole purpose of it. Things are said in the election context. I can say this to the member for Araluen: I did several media conferences in the context of announcing the commitment to reintroduce this legislation in the next term of government. This legislation had already been introduced before the election, as you recall, and we reintroduced it for debate this time. I made very clear the full scope of the bill. While things might have been emphasised out of the total body of the bill, I certainly presented the whole proposal as best I could to the media and stakeholder groups in the context of the campaign.
You say we went out there saying we are really tough on juveniles, and then recanted that position. I would have to go to the areas that were being referred to in making those claims. They were: the power to send a young person over the age of 15 to an adult prison being retained within the bill; and the length of sentences that possible under the act being extended two years, in line with other jurisdictions around Australia. They are very real and they are right here in the legislation. There is no doubt that there are tough options being incorporated into the sentencing options that this bill will present to our courts.
Unfortunately, we will probably see a small number of very serious juvenile offenders copping a significant term of imprisonment as a result of these new provisions. I certainly would not recant any claims that we made that we will deal very seriously with serious juvenile offenders; that is very clear on the face of this bill.
I would like to deal with the concerns you have with home detention. I have seen a lot of adult home detentions. These provisions now being applied to juveniles will bring the same rigour that currently applies to home detentions for adults. Down to the personal level, when I lived at Yuendumu, I had direct involvement in home detention arrangements and I can certainly say that home detention is not a soft-belly option. It is quite difficult for the person in that regime.
I will read some details of the bill just so we are clear on what is being proposed. It introduces a new sentence of alternative detention, which can be imposed on suspending a term of detention or imprisonment. The new sentence, literally, is an alternative to detention in an institution such as Don Dale Centre or an adult prison, so it is at that level of seriousness. It is, of course, more commonly known as home detention when used in relation to adult offenders.
The new sentence is based on the home detention order available under the Sentencing Act and, whilst home detention orders under that act are not restricted to home but can be at any suitable place or premises, it is considered appropriate to take the emphasis away from home for care and protection reasons. It may not always be appropriate to put a juvenile into a home for home detention.
With home detention as an alternative to Don Dale, is likely that the home detention period would last for at least some months. A young person subject to such an order would be monitored by a surveillance officer who can enter the place where they are detained at any time and can require them to undergo drug and alcohol tests. An offender subject to home detention must comply with a range of conditions such as a curfew, which means that they only leave the place where they are detained at certain specified times and for specified purposes.
The use of home detention was strongly supported during the review of the Juvenile Justice Act as a means by which families, in particular Aboriginal people, can keep their children within their own communities, and for the community to take some responsibility in providing for the rehabilitation of the young offender.
The new sentence allows for a flexible approach in that the location of the detention need not be the young person’s usual place of residence, but could be some other venue suggested by the community as appropriate for detention and rehabilitation such as a bush setting supervised by elders or a cattle property.
It should be noted that like the Sentencing Act provisions on which the new provisions are based, the bill provides for the wearing of a monitoring device as a condition of detention as a possibility within the legislation. While these are not currently used, certainly in the future this legislation will create the possibility for those to be used. That is further information about how we see the home detention. We see it as a rigorous form of punishment at the more serious end of the scale of offending.
You drew attention to the total approach to sentencing as to whether we can provide appropriate punishment as expected by Territorians. Appropriate punishment encompasses everything from punishment for very serious crime by juveniles through to relatively minor offences. The key aim is to turn the juvenile aside from the pathway leading to the criminal justice system and try to re-engage them in the community. At that end of the spectrum, you are trying to maximise diversion back into a constructive relationship within the community, while at the other end we have allowed for sentences of up to two years in an adult prison to deal with seriously bad young people who have done terrible things in their community.
There is no question that we need to have the serious end of the range. What the bill establishes, though, is matching the full spectrum of offending behaviour so that we can give the courts a full range of options to deal with offenders.
You were asserting that the bill does not provide sufficient reference or care about the rights of victims. We did a quick scan through the bill. This bill is far more explicit than the previous Juvenile Justice Bill in emphasising the important roles victims have in responding to youth offending. You said the guiding principles only once refer to victims. In fact, the interests of victims are specifically referred to twice in the principles. The needs of the youth must be balanced against the needs of the victim and the interests of the wider community as in clause 1.4(g).
- Victims should be given the opportunity to participate in youth justice processes.
Furthermore, the remainder of the principles are not, as suggested by the member for Araluen, purely focused on the needs of the offender, but take a balanced approach between the interest of rehabilitation and keeping the young person from becoming an adult offender, and the interests of the victims and the wider community.
There is a very strong element of holding the young person accountable for their actions. This bill retains the rights of victims in terms of the consideration of victim impact statements and victim reports by courts during sentencing. Victim-offender conferencing at the pre-court diversion stage is also retained. The new provision also allows for victim-offender conferencing to be called at any stage up to sentencing, with the result that the victim’s ability to participate in the processes involving young offenders has been significantly expanded in this bill.
We are encouraged by the early trialling of victim-offender conferencing with adult offenders. We have high optimism that confronting the offender with the impact that their activities have had on a victim is a very effective way of bringing home a sense of remorse and respect. I cannot think of a more powerful way of doing that. Certainly, the results of early trials of circle sentencing and victim-offender conferencing in our adult system have given us every reason to believe that process will be effective with juveniles as well.
Dealing with clause 39, there were concerns raised by the members for Araluen and Braitling about how we are going to interpret ‘serious offence’ in the context of excluding some situations from the operation of diversion. As the bill says, and the member for Araluen pointed out, that is to be done by way of regulation.
I can assure the House that the definition of ‘serious offence’ provided for in the regulations will be based on the existing scheme under Police General Orders. That framework excludes serious offences and some examples I can give straight away are murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, home invasion, grievous bodily harm and arson. The difference between the current situation with police operating their diversionary programs and deciding whether to refer a young offender to diversion is that they are currently lodged with the administrative police orders; they are not accessible by the general public and they are not, as a matter of course, put before this Assembly for scrutiny. Putting these exemptions in place by way of regulation is far more transparent, and that is the direction we have chosen.
We will have these regulations back. I am assured by my department that the time frame is something like between now and the end of the year. We will aim at that. We will see if we can get that all back here, and it is really down to Parliamentary Counsel time and how quickly we can get them drafted, but I can assure you the starting point is Police General Orders.
The seriousness of those offences will be retained. I, as Attorney-General, will not be party to a dilution of that serious category of offence. We want to retain it at roughly the level of seriousness it has now. We will be open to argument from the police about any variation from the current line up, but that is the general intent. I can share with the House that we will not be backing off on the definition of seriousness.
In respect of clause 44, the appeal of decisions to allow diversion or decisions on whether diversion has been breached, I have already pointed out that the victim will be brought much more actively into many stages in the process by which a young offender is being dealt with. There are many opportunities for the victim to be consulted and the impact on the victim to be considered when decisions are being made. I have dealt enough with where and how that can happen, but I will say that the victim will have many areas of input right through the sentencing.
The starting point for those decisions is the current provisions, which date back to the CLP government at the time they were settling those with the Commonwealth government as part of the deal on mandatory sentencing as it impacted on juveniles at the time. The reason we have very strongly represented processes of juvenile diversion into this legislation by importing them in from the Police Administration Act is because they seem to be working in very large measure under the existing scheme. We certainly want to continue the positive effects that we are having.
An evaluation of the Northern Territory Diversion Scheme undertaken by the Commonwealth highlighted the positive results that can be achieved from this approach to youth offending. Diversion was offered to over 50% of the 4159 young people apprehended in the first three years of the scheme. The vast majority of young people offered diversion accepted this option rather than go to court, and over 95% of all diversions were completed to the satisfaction of police. They are very impressive figures, and it certainly takes care of some of the concerns that the member for Braitling expressed about how often diversions are followed up, and whether we have cases of an offender on a diversionary program who drops out of it, and whether there is follow-up. That certainly is not indicated by these figures: 50% of 4159 offenders were seen to be completed.
If there are any operational difficulties or less than complete outcomes, these are issues that can be dealt with operationally to aim at 100% coverage. It is certainly not seriously broken; it does not need serious fixing. We felt there was more than enough justification to import that scheme into the Youth Justice Bill. That covers the main areas the member for Araluen raised.
Moving now to the member for Nelson and his suggestion that we should define what a kick up the bum should mean in terms of the legislation before us. I accept that he was not suggesting that we set up a modern version of the stocks with someone in old football boots that can carry out the punishment although, having lived out bush for many years, I have seen situations that were pretty close to that.
What I would point out here is that by far the most powerful influence you can bring to bear on a young offender is family, through confronting the victim and acknowledging the harm that they have done to them through the community that they live in. That particularly applies to young indigenous offenders. There has been a huge body of work done in the Northern Territory in particular, which indicates that if you really want to shame a young offender, you do not do it through a generic process like putting a T-shirt on them with their name on it, you actually put them in front of the victim they have harmed, adult role models whose opinion they respect, and their community, and then lodge as much of the reparation and rehabilitation process in the same context – by repaying the victim, repaying the community that that young person wants to feel a member of, to make up for the harm they have visited on the community through their activities. That is tried and true, according to a vast amount of experience we have had.
The hardest punishment you can give a young person is to make them confront their community, the victim, the family, adults for whom they feel affection and from whom they want praise, and own up to the fact they have done something very wrong and agree to make reparation whether that be through a community work process or undertaking diversionary programs that are going to turn them into a more functional member of that community. The detail can vary; the process commended would always be the same. There would be a decision made community by community using, to the maximum effect, influence that can be brought to bear from family, community, adults and their peers.
The member for Nelson was concerned about the ongoing funding for juvenile diversion schemes. The Commonwealth has withdrawn funding from the administration of the current service. There is some ongoing funding for the community-based programs that are a critical part of the scheme. We are currently working on a revised model of youth diversion, which will be finalised by the end of the year in line with the commencement of the legislation and the publication of regulations that we need to add to the bill. Details have not yet been fully decided, but I have given members a very clear timetable. I certainly make an undertaking to come back and report on how we are going to proceed with juvenile diversion activities in the Northern Territory.
The scheme is clearly one that we want to retain, and we have signalled that very strongly by its inclusion in the provisions of this bill today.
To the best of my ability, I think I have covered the issues raised during the second reading debate. Again, I thank members. I still live in hope that the opposition might change its position during the committee stage, but if they cannot, that is your prerogative.
Motion agreed to; bills read a second time.
In committee:
Youth Justice Bill (No 2) (Serial 10):
Clauses 1 to 41, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 42:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I invite defeat of clause 42.
Clause defeated.
New clause 42:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.1, which inserts a new clause 42. Clause 42 provides for an extension of the limitation period in which to commence charges to be extended for youth undergoing diversion. Proceedings must be commenced within three months of diversion having being determined unsatisfactory, if later than the expiry of the relevant limitation period.
The former wording means that the extension would only apply to youth who were participating in a diversion program in accordance with clause 39(2)(d). This committee stage amendment omits clause 42 and inserts a new clause of similar intent but adding youth justice conferences so that the extension will now apply to the failure to satisfactorily complete youth justice conferences as well as diversion programs.
New clause 42 agreed to.
Clause 43:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.2. Clause 43(2) provides that information and details of a youth’s performance in a diversion program must not be published except as aggregated data for statistical purposes from which a particular youth cannot be identified. This amendment will extend this prohibition on publication to information on all types of diversion.
Clause 43, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 44 to 50, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 51:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I invite defeat of clause 51.
Clause defeated.
New clause 51:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.3. Clause 51 provides for a Youth Justice Court where it believes that there may be welfare issues in respect of the youth who is before it charged with an offence to require those issues to be looked into. Currently, it provides that if the court believes that a youth who is charged with an offence is or may be a child in need of protection within the meaning of the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Act or that there is a risk to the wellbeing of the youth within the meaning of the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Act, the Youth Justice Court may require the chief executive officer within the meaning of the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Act to investigate the circumstances of the youth and to take appropriate action to promote the youth’s wellbeing. A report is to be subsequently given to the court on the youth’s circumstances and the action that has to be taken.
As the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Bill has not yet been introduced, this amendment omits clause 51 and inserts a new clause of similar intent but based on the current Community Welfare Act.
New clause 51 agreed to.
Clauses 52 to 82, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 83:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.4. Clause 83 sets out the sentencing options the Youth Justice Court has if it finds a charge proven against a youth.
Clause 83(4) provides that if the Supreme Court remits a case to the Youth Justice Court under its powers under clause 82(1)(c), the Youth Justice Court must deal with the youth as if the youth had been convicted of the offence in that court. The reference to a conviction is inconsistent with clause 83(1) pursuant to which the Youth Justice Court, if it finds a charge proven against a youth, has a discretion whether to record a conviction or not and the terminology used elsewhere in the bill and used generally in Territory legislation.
This amendment amends the word ‘convicted’ to ‘found guilty’ such that the Youth Justice Court is to deal with the youth whose case has been remitted to the Supreme Court as though the youth had been found guilty of the offence in the Youth Justice Court.
Clause 83, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 84 to 162, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 163:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.5. Clause 163 provides for a detainee or responsible adult in respect of the youth to make a complaint about a matter that affects the youth and for the procedure to be set out in the regulations.
Clause 163(3) provides that a youth also has other avenues of complaint, namely an official visitor appointed under clause 169, the Ombudsman appointed under the Ombudsman (Northern Territory) Act, or the Children’s Commissioner appointed under the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Act. As the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Act has not yet been introduced, this amendment omits clause 163(3)(c), which refers to the Children’s Commissioner.
Clause 163, as amended, agreed to.
Clause 164:
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.6. Clause 164 provides that when a detainee turns 18 years while serving a sentence of detention in a detention centre, the detainee must be transferred to a prison within 28 days after turning 18 years of age to serve the remainder of the sentence.
This amendment omits and substitutes a new subclause (1), which also includes a reference to a detainee on remand such that a detainee on remand or serving a sentence of detention must be transferred to a prison within 28 days after turning 18 years of age.
Amendment agreed to.
Dr TOYNE: Mr Chairman, I move amendment 1.7. Clause 164, as it will be following the amendment moved as 1.6, provides that a detainee who turns 18 years while serving a sentence of detention or on remand in custody in a detention centre must, within 28 days after turning that age, be transferred to a prison to serve the remainder of the sentence or period of remand.
This amendment inserts new subclauses that give the Director of Correctional Services discretion to allow the detainee to remain in the detention centre if the detainee has six months or less to serve of the sentence or, if on remand, for the remainder of the period or a period not exceeding six months, whichever is the lesser.
In exercising the discretion the discretion, the Director must have regard to the interests of other detainees as well as the interest of the particular detainee. The Director’s decision is not subject to appeal or review.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 164, as amended, agreed to.
Remainder of the bill, by leave, taken as a whole and agreed to.
Bill to be reported with amendments.
Youth Justice (Consequential Amendments) Bill (No 2) (Serial 11):
Bill, by leave, taken as a whole and agreed to.
Bill to be reported without amendment.
Bills reported; report adopted.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bills be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bills read a third time.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Indigenous Education and Training
Indigenous Education and Training
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Madam Speaker, the Martin government has a fundamental and abiding commitment to improving the economic and social outcomes for all Territorians, and we believe education and training is the most important pathway to achieving that commitment. It is our No 1 priority.
This government believes that education and training provides people with both the capacity and the opportunity to achieve their goals, and we couple this belief with the view that every Territorian, no matter where they live, what their background or circumstances of birth may be, deserves the opportunity to receive a high quality education throughout all of their life.
In the statement today, I want to focus on providing capacity and opportunities through education and training to indigenous Territorians. The statement provides a framework that will form the basis of the government’s next four year strategic plan.
The Indigenous Education Strategic Plan 2000-04 provided the framework for the implementation of the recommendations contained in Learning Lessons, an independent review of indigenous education in the Territory. As such, the last four years have been a critical period in reasserting the importance of indigenous education across a broad range of fronts. This government has made indigenous education core business of the Department of Employment, Education and Training.
The efforts of teachers, principals, corporate staff, communities and students in implementing strategies and initiatives within the Indigenous Education Strategic Plan 2000-04 have led to an increase in the retention rate of indigenous students in secondary education, increased numbers of indigenous students accessing and achieving outcomes in secondary schools in remote communities in the Northern Territory, improved numbers of young indigenous children accessing preschool in remote communities, and an improvement in the number of indigenous students participating in and achieving national assessment benchmarks.
In fact, the number of indigenous students achieving the Year 3 national reading benchmark improved 31% since 2001, the Year 5 benchmark improving by 43%, and the Year 7 figures improving by 46%. The Year 3 numeracy benchmark has improved by 10%, Year 5 by 38% and Year 7 by 43%. The number of indigenous students retained from Year 8 to Year 10 has increased by 185%, and from Year 10 to Year 12 by 105% since 2001. The number of indigenous students achieving Northern Territory Certificate of Education has increased by 240%.
While the result is impressive in percentage terms, we are coming off a very low base, and that still means only 60 indigenous students in government schools received the certificate in 2004. We are proud of these achievements, showing, as they do, that a focused effort in delivering education can achieve results. At this stage, those gains can be considered tentative, and it will require ongoing and unrelenting attention if we are to see sustained and strong improvement. Over time, it is our intention to close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous outcomes, and the government is very aware that there are limited resources available for everything we do.
To ensure the funds we have are strategically focused, and in an effort to use the expertise of people working in the field, I initiated two one-day forums with senior people in the agency, practitioners of indigenous education in the field, teachers of quality and representatives from Charles Darwin University and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. Over two separate days at the end of 2004 and the beginning of this year, we worked through the critical agenda for the four year plan. Unless we have clear and achievable goals in the next four years, we will dissipate our effort and perhaps lose the opportunity to build on existing success. The decision of that group and the government is to steadfastly maintain our strong emphasis on indigenous education.
Additionally, over the next four years, a strong focus must be placed on fixing the education and training system in our major communities outside the urban areas. In other parts of Australia, these communities would be described as the townships of the Northern Territory. Many of these communities are reaching or service populations of 2000 and more. They have large and growing populations of young preschool and school-age children, and they present the best opportunity to make significant strides in regional economic development.
Government believes that the reach of government services must be extended beyond the major urban areas of Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Darwin. The major communities are an important part of the development of a strongly decentralised Territory. To that end, I will be acting to develop and grow the education and training services available in each of these places.
For the most part, these communities have schools that are described now as Community Education Centres, and it is these centres that will receive our fullest attention. In all, there are 15 government Community Education Centres in the Territory. These are: Alekarenge, Angurugu, Borroloola, Gapuwiyak, Gunbalanya, Kalkarindji, Lajamanu, Maningrida, Milingimbi, Ramingining, Ngukurr, Shepherdson College, Numbulwar, Yirrkala and Yuendumu. Over the next four years, we will work to offer effective education from preschool through to senior secondary in each of these centres, with students able to progress from there to tertiary or vocational education and training opportunities, or directly to employment.
In addition to Community Education Centres, we will redevelop other major elements of our education system over the next four years, in particular the distance education system by making it more relevant to delivering education services to remote communities; homeland centres, through the establishment of a policy for service levels; and we will develop policies and programs that address issues related to movement of people from remote communities to urban centres, often referred to as urban drift.
The Ramsey report into secondary education identified clear weaknesses in the delivery of distance eduction in the Territory, particularly the need to coordinate existing distance education services and resources. While we have not proceeded with his recommendation of abolishing the Northern Territory Open Education Centre, there is a major review of all of our distance education providers under way. It is our intention to create a distance education centre of excellence that will best meet needs of remote students.
Government believes that there is an increasingly important role for educating people in more distant communities with a mixed mode delivery. The distance education system needs to be capable of handling the role of face-to-face teaching, support for teachers on the ground supervising distance education students, and supporting the training of teachers. There is also a need for greater innovation in the use of information technology in the delivery of education and training to remote places. The government is keen to use distance delivery modes for the delivery of improved training in communities.
The delivery of educational services to homeland learning centres is a vexed issue, and one which goes to the heart of how far resources can be stretched. While we expect distance education providers to deliver more education to these communities, it is clear that we need to determine, in a more formal way, the level of infrastructure and the provision of teaching and training resources to these communities.
The issue of urban drift to major urban centres is one that presents major servicing and resourcing challenges. It bedevils countries around the world. While our focus on strengthening major communities over time will reduce it, the phenomena will continue to be with us. To adequately equip urban schools with the capacity to properly handle a changing cohort of students is critical. This will be addressed in our indigenous education strategic plan.
There are four goals we wish to achieve through our focus on these major areas: the development of an educational culture through the building of a partnership between local communities and schools, education and training; improve literacy and numeracy outcomes; access to education and training coupled with effective resourcing approaches; and a comprehensive and viable vocational education and training system in the communities.
In particular, we believe that development of a strong education culture in the major indigenous communities will be an important achievement. Often, there is a disconnection between the aspirations of the community and the direction of schooling and training, and this lack of a shared vision has meant that education and training is not valued as a tool for improving life.
I have witnessed the disconnection first-hand in schools I have visited, but I have also witnessed places where the communities, schools and teachers are working hand-in-hand, and the difference is astounding. There is a buzz and sense of purpose around those schools that is not matched by those places where the school sits within the community as an island.
To achieve this goal over the next two years, the government will undertake, in our large remote communities, the most comprehensive community education process ever conducted in our schools. Genuine community engagement will be facilitated by external consultants, separate from both the community and the government. We would expect the engagement will produce commitments from the community about their role in the education and training of their children, and from the government about our role in providing that education and training. From that engagement process, we will develop and sign an education contract with each individual community specifying those responsibilities. They will not be one-offs. They will be sustainable and sustained agreements to be revisited on a regular basis to keep them as living and breathing documents.
I would like to see contracts made explicit and hanging on the wall in a place of prominence in the school, something that will be continually referred to and reinforced as the direction of the school. For new teachers coming into the school, it will be the first document that they encounter. The subjects covered by community engagement need only be limited by the expectations of the participants and the recognition of achieving the possible, not setting impossible tasks.
The government believes that community engagement and involvement will make outcomes more achievable. When we came to office, I directed a minimum of two hours per day in every school day spent on literacy. I believe that without a minimum standard of English literacy and numeracy skills, finding meaningful paid employment is going to be unlikely.
We intend to strongly support whole-of-school approaches to literacy and numeracy teaching over the next four years. This will include a significant boost through the roll-out of accelerated literacy to 100 schools including ongoing support to teachers to maximize the benefits of this approach, revitalising bilingual education as a whole-of-school approach to improving literacy and numeracy outcomes, and maintaining the focus on preparing teachers to provide high quality teaching to students who do not have English as their first language.
Over the past few years we have seen improvements in the literacy levels of our students through the use of accelerated literacy teaching methodology. Generally, the average rate of reading improvement is one level per year. Analysis by Charles Darwin University so far shows students undertaking accelerated literacy are improving their reading ability at an average of 1.61 levels per year.
Accelerated literacy is currently provided in 20 schools, with more than 1440 students involved in the program by the end of 2004. We aim to roll the program out to 10 000 students across 100 Territory schools by 2008. That will involve 700 teachers who will be trained in the program and provided with professional support.
The government is also putting bilingual education back on the agenda. It is another important teaching methodology, with some initial evidence that results from bilingual schools appear generally better than other like schools. More evidence is being collected and evaluated. The program will be discussed within the community engagement process, not imposed on communities, and, given its resource-heavy nature, will be carefully rolled out.
We will continue a focus on attendance at school. This will be heavily influenced by the effectiveness of the engagement process. Where people see the importance and relevance of sending children to school, regular attendance should follow. Our support of bilingual education will also demonstrate to some communities our commitment to valuing an indigenous contribution to education and should itself act to improve attendance.
We are also prepared to be innovative with the school year and the school day. I accept that there are fixed aspects of our year that cannot be shifted – MAP testing times, etcetera - but there can and should be flexibility at other times. A term-by-term, 9 to 3 o’clock approach does not necessarily fit the pattern of life of indigenous communities. Where, for example, does compulsory attendance at ceremonies fit in to the school year? As part of our engagement, we will ensure that the school day and the school year is organised in a way that will best deliver educational outcomes for the students.
To improve outcomes, we will ensure that the education and training system is more relevant to indigenous students across the board. We will value indigenous student knowledge in the learning process and provide an environment at school where students are able to draw on their own knowledge throughout their learning journey.
Furthermore, we intend to have a stronger focus on valuing indigenous language and culture through the curriculum. Students in the Northern Territory will have access to and be able to gain an understanding of Australian indigenous culture. We will ensure this is evolved to match available resources. The government is currently undertaking a major rework of staff-student formulae. What is being considered in this work is the needs in any particular classroom as opposed to set student-staff ratios. It requires us to think more innovatively about what staff we will have in a classroom at any time.
We have already indicated we support a shared approach to resources enabling schools of small size to receive specialist resources shared with other schools. This approach, combined with greater distance education capacity, will start to overcome the lack of specialist resources available outside of major urban areas.
Better access to schooling must bring with it greater opportunity to access vocational education and training and higher education if our young indigenous people are to be in a stronger position to compete for employment and business opportunities in regional and remote areas. There is much work to be done in this area. It is anticipated that the community engagement process to be undertaken will address training requirements as well.
Underpinning our strategic plan will be a commitment to: more active involvement of indigenous Territorians in decision-making about employment pathways, programs and delivery; growing the participation of young people in VET and higher education; the development of delivery models based on customised training; and building links between skills development, regional and remote jobs, industries and business opportunities.
We will get better focused skills development VET programs into regional and remote schools under VET in Schools and through the current Training for Remote Youth and Building Better Schools initiatives.
We will build on the transition from school to jobs pathways by working with local employers, local industry and taking advantage of business development opportunities. We will improve the planning around community response programs and work with registered training organisations to develop effective models for delivery of better training.
We acknowledge and will act on the need for better coordination of government resources, staff, infrastructure and training dollars in regional and remote areas to build skills for real jobs and business enterprises as well as to develop a clearer focus on the goals of the community backed by government, training providers, employers and industry.
During the next four years, we also intend to look closely at employment in these major communities, particularly employment within the schools. The government will restructure the way we employ indigenous people in the agency to ensure that there are clear employment pathways. We will work with Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education to reintroduce the distance education teacher training programs. We will set goals for the number of people employed and we will engage with communities in selecting the right people to undertake these important tasks.
I am concerned in developing new secondary schooling out bush that we also develop a strong vocational educational and training program to accompany it. A focus on developing strong training centres in each of the Community Education Centres will result from this focus.
It is also my intention to open the schools to a far more innovative approach to training. The delivery of training to communities has suffered, in my view, since the removal of the old adult educator positions. I want to see the infrastructure that we provide in our schools utilised after school hours. There is no reason why distance education and training cannot be delivered to adults when the students have gone home.
The previous four year strategic plan established and resourced the Learning Lessons Committee as a means of providing advice to government on indigenous education issues. Over the next term, this organisation will be evolved into a Northern Territory Indigenous Education Council with more firmly established terms of reference and a more structured place in our education system.
The plans outlined today are merely a snapshot of those to be placed into the four year strategic plan. As I said earlier, this is the framework from which the plan will be formed. I believe the plan will continue to build on the successes of the last four years and provide a means of narrowing, and eventually closing, the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous student outcomes.
We in this House must not underestimate the importance of the task. In the decade from 2020 to 2030, the Australian work force will receive only around 170 000 new entrants, about the same as Australia currently produces in one year. The only place in Australia where the 19 to 21 year-old age group is going to be increasing at that time is here in the Northern Territory, and 75% to 80% of those young people will be indigenous Territorians. They are being born today. So it is incumbent upon us now to get it right.
I believe steps that have already been taken, but we need to turn into these into much larger strides. It can be achieved, Madam Speaker; it must be achieved. I commend the statement to the House. I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, the opposition supports the statement wholeheartedly. In respect of the framework, its aims and objectives, we can honestly stand behind each one of them.
We also wish that at the end of our time in this Chamber, there is a clear and measurable difference to this issue, which concerns all of us. No matter what side of the Chamber we sit or in which communities we work, the purpose of this Chamber is to advance the best interests of all Territorians.
If I am to make constructive suggestions and comments on the statement, I ask that the minister see these not as criticisms and qualifications, but as constructive suggestions. The way this Chamber is constructed is to allow us to advance policy development and to ensure that those who receive the decisions that we make benefit. So I ask that the minister and members opposite who are prepared to contribute to this statement view the comments from the opposition as constructive rather than being criticisms or qualifications.
It was Aristotle who said that the root of education is bitter but the fruit sweet. If we are to be actively engaged as community leaders and decision makers, we must accept, at the beginning that we are directly involved in eduction ourselves. To assist in seeing this, I imagined that my electorate, or any electorate in an urban community, had a school where not one of the students reached the national benchmark. If that occurred in Palmerston, northern suburbs, Katherine or Alice Springs - let us say it was Melbourne, let us say it was Sydney - what sort of attention would that receive? We can only imagine. We would unpack that and see the sad story behind it. What would lead to such a sad result? What does that tell you about the community?
I am sure it would galvanise action in an extraordinary way. Today Tonight would feature it, and John Laws would talk endlessly about it. This is happening day after day, year after year. In many respects, it is out of sight and out of mind. I will be honest: in my busyness it is only in recent times that I have had the opportunity to more deeply engage as I strengthen my involvement in this community and understand more about my role. I take this job, as members this side of the Chamber do, very seriously. This rises as an issue that affixes our attention most determinedly to endeavour to see beyond and to shut off the politics of it, to see whether we can actually make some real difference.
When Aristotle said ‘the root of eduction is bitter’, it is bitter for all of us. I hope when we enter this debate, we recognise that this is something that is very hard for us to swallow. If we view education differently, however, and see it externally to us, and as something that is provided to other people, it is not so bitter; it is a matter of managing and delivering service to other people.
Sadly, that is the way bureaucracy develops. We lose community; we lose the sense of personal involvement. I understand what liberal political philosophy is, and it is liberty. In considering this statement, I like to see it from the perspective of a child and a family, and walk it back from that direction, rather than from the minister all the way down to the child, back the other way. That is what we should do to help see it from another angle so that we can make sure that we are true to our obligation to make the difference to the child, to engage the aspirations of that family in a meaningful way. Then we can discharge our duties in a way that assists us to move on, knowing that we have made a difference and left a legacy. Honesty is required. This is a bitter route, this issue of education, but the fruit is sweet.
Let me start with what struck me on my second reading of this statement. I did not see it initially. I will say again that the framework is supported; we stand behind the objectives. We want to see the gap closed and the community engaged. However, on my second reading, I wondered whether this statement was an outline of a strategic plan for the Department of Employment, Education and Training or a strategic plan for education. There is a distinct difference.
Is the minister speaking for the department and its plan or for the aspirations of all Territory families, whatever school or system they choose to attend? There is a philosophical difference once we separate them by that question. If we read the statement, we will recognise that it is the department because the non-government sector is not referred to at all in this statement. It appears to be a framework established around, through and from a department delivering services.
The statement is supported - I will say if for the third time: the strategy is endorsed by opposition. I urge the minister to take one step further to include the non-government sector, to take off the departmental hat and to wear the whole-of-Territory hat. To exclude reference to the non-government sector ignores the fact that close to 80% of remote students who achieved success in Year 12 last year were from the non-government sector. The significance of the independent education sector, for many years in the Northern Territory is underscored by the majority of indigenous leaders, both in this parliament and across the country, had a private education.
An effective strategic plan must include the means to engage all sectors. I urge the minister, in the interest of advancing this issue, to establish a round table to allow representatives from all sectors to work together to increase coordination and policy development in the best interests of all students in all schools, and to advance education.
The children, whichever school they attend, are the primary responsibility of their parents. It is the aspirations of the parents, whichever school they choose for their children to attend, that must be harnessed. Two cannot walk together unless they are agreed, and there needs to be more time, care, careful and humble consideration of the very difficult issues affecting all of our families.
I say to myself as well as to the minister: there can be no winners when there is unhealthy competition between sectors. I am not beating the drum of the independent education sector; I am speaking for education. We must see beyond the department, whose primary objective is to deliver a service. They discharge that responsibility well in delivering a service, but meeting the expectation of the communities and families? Not so well. I have ears that hear. I hear from communities around our Territory. I can hear what hopelessness sounds like. I can hear disappointment and confusion. We must respond. Otherwise these leather seats here service our backsides for a few years and then we shuffle on, the disappointment increases and the problems compound. Hopelessness leads to suicide and substance abuse.
We have to make a difference. We have to change paradigms. We have to see it differently. I think it was Einstein who said that if you have no success in employing a particular method and you get outcome X, and you keep employing the same method, keep pumping the same pump, hoping that something else is going to come out it, after 20 years of doing the same thing and you get the same result, for God’s sake, stop. We have to stop and reassess.
Look at the statement; it is a good statement. However, underneath it, the underpinnings are where we need to dwell. Statements like this have been made in different forms at different times in this parliament and other parliaments, and they are good, but it is the underpinnings we need to address. It is time for reform, serious reform. It is time for deeper thinking; it is a time to engage more courageously, I argue.
There was no reference to the independent sector, which has made significant gains at great cost over many, many years in education. It needs to be absorbed into this discussion. It has aspirations as well. It has lessons to learn, but it has much to teach.
Equally, there is no reference to the motivation of students. It is admirable to provide capacity and opportunity. We all want to do that; that sounds great. We all want to. I would like to provide that for my own kids and I believe that, as a dad, I have done that - provide capacity and opportunity. I wanted to do more for my kids. I wanted to have them intrinsically motivated so that when they left the provision of the family home, they are motivated to go where I never went. There is no reference to the motivation of our students. How do we get behind the story? It is not there. It is about frameworks. It is about something that emanates from a bureaucracy. We need to get behind the veil and see the means, the keys, to motivate. They are not there.
There needs to be an equal concentration on motivating students to want to succeed in employment and in the wider Australian context. There is nothing sadder - and I see it even in my own electorate: young lads into whom I want to breathe some want to take a job, take a risk. The want is missing. We need the tools to create the want. It is so similar to sport. There are many naturally talented kids who can kick footballs around the park, but those who go on to play at the top level are those who are motivated. Beyond merely having skills, we must instil this in all our children without, of course, damaging self-confidence.
We have worked with kids, let us not get too airy-fairy about this. Young human beings, young people are resilient. We have to try pretty hard if we are genuinely motivated in the best interests of our young people to damage their self-confidence.
As I said, the root of education is bitter. There are tough lessons, but the fruit is sweet. That extra bit requires special skill. It is not good enough for so-called education experts to insinuate that motivating students to reach for the best is undesirable. Some might even call it elitist. Motivation is a magnet. It pulls the whole group together. I cannot see that. I draw members’ attention to it as a constructive comment rather than a criticism. I hope in maturity and in the best interests of what we are endeavouring to do, it will be responded to in like spirit.
We are delighted to see the gains that have been made in benchmarks, particularly in Year 3 national reading benchmarks – delighted to see that! We are equally pleased with the number of indigenous students achieving the NT Certificate of Education. We note the low base. That is a story in itself. It is easy to say they are coming from a low base, but it is a story in itself. If you have ever worked in communities where there has been very little success, success from a low base is still success. I have seen kids who have made what in a general context is a slight improvement, but in their own context, it is an enormous gain. We need sensitivity to recognise the success and gains that are made and have the means to reward and breathe some life into it.
My next statement should not be taken as a criticism of your government’s efforts, minister. It is merely an observation that I suspect you will not share with me. Teachers must continually balance the need for and their desire to encourage indigenous students to strive to do better. They must balance this with the potential for being patronising and consequently disadvantaging the very people they wish to help. It leads to the issue of teacher training.
Building capacity in our teaching profession to be prepared to serve in this very special area requires attention to teacher training. I entered the profession as a mature age student. One of my most interesting courses - one of my sub-majors was Indigenous Education – was Bilingual. I was provided with the opportunity to learn a little Pitjantjatjara language. That was my first encounter with another language. I did not realise at the time how important the learning of another language is to help me understand who I am, what culture I have and, more importantly, the cultures of others around me.
There needs to be a greater emphasis on the teaching of indigenous languages, particularly for teachers who want to serve in remote communities. If we look at different nations and all the different issues and objectives to which they have to attend, this is right up there. Our nation will be held to account for how we respond to this issue. No matter what side of politics we are on, we will be held to account, and we must support the proper preparation of teachers who work in remote areas with courses to suit the objective, including the teaching of language and recognition of service, particularly extended service, with enhanced pay and rewards for those who dedicate themselves to what is a responsibility of all of us.
We note the need for greater innovation in the use of information technology in the delivery of education and training in remote places, and we are particularly pleased to see this, as we envisage a day in the near future when remote communities are able to participate in the best schooling from around the world. It will be the choice of the customer by interactive services from broadband.
Employment is crucial, and without harping on or politicising the argument, I look forward to many of these indigenous students gaining employment in the Territory’s expanding mining industry. Industry drives this. The opening up of our economy drives this. Education must have a context, and the opening up, in this specific instance of the mining industry, provides a very important opportunity, just as the announcements that have been uttered in this Chamber today and through the media, I suspect, about the MOU with the wharf development, just as we have seen what was delivered through the railway. That provides the context for education.
I now come to an important point: the external consultant you mentioned to facilitate genuine community engagement will be a person with a practical viewpoint, not someone driven by ideology. An agent of the department, I fear, may very well disadvantage our indigenous communities.
I suggest that the education contract you intend signing with each individual community needs to have some enforceability. I am talking about mutual obligation. After all, I know of no contract that does not include penalties for non-compliance. Before you jump on that one, members opposite, please consider the tone and the spirit in which I have delivered all these comments.
This is a very difficult issue. As I said, the root of education is bitter, but the fruit is sweet. It is not easy to teach, it is not easy to learn, which is why there has to be additional consideration, otherwise it sounds great. You can put something on a wall and you can point to it – perhaps even bow to it and give it a round of applause - but it may not make one jot of difference. That is appalling. I do not want to be a part of that, and I am sure the minister does not either. It will require the cooperation of all us to ensure that we have a system in place which goes way beyond signs and wonders to practical change.
As I said at the beginning, we need to turn this around the other way and to see education from the point of view of a family in a community, to turn it upside down and to see that the department is there to serve the community, not to have service delivered to the community and then the department feel they have acquitted their duty. That is not too far from welfare. When education is supplied, welfare is supplied, it is done in the same mind-set and creates the same sad result.
We are talking about empowerment, which is why it has to be seen from the other way. Otherwise, everyone feels hunky dory and the minister feels fine. Why? Because the department has said everything is hunky-dory. You cannot hear the communities because they cannot get through to the department. They cannot tell the minister, he cannot see it, he is a busy bloke. We have to see it around the other way. Otherwise, we think we have made a difference but in our hearts we know we have not. We have to see it from the points of view of those we serve, so the people of Territory understand, so we can walk together in agreement knowing that we have made some progress, albeit small, but some progress that leads to further progress and foundations upon which we can build.
I support bilingual education. Members opposite do, too. Members of the opposition support bilingual education …
Mrs Braham: I don’t.
Mr MILLS: Other members will have an opportunity to speak on this in a moment. It provides the capacity for the establishment of meaning in a cultural context. It also provides an extended bridge whereby greater involvement at the community level can be brought into the provision of education at that community level.
I understand that, in the four years this government to deliver its responsibilities, there was a time when there was profoundly strong support for bilingual education. It seems, just in four years, there has now been reference to ‘some’ schools. It seems, behind that story, that there is some disappointment in communities that it has so jolly long when there was such an interest from members when they were in opposition.
The final comments of this statement need to be broadened so that we are talking about education and all the stakeholders from the perspective of parents, families and kids. We need to involve the independent sector. This is not about power or one sector over another. There are no winners in that competition - no winners at all. It is not about power, though, sadly, it is, but should not be. Education is what this is about. As the minister said, quoting a saying that is often referred to in education circles: education does not happen unless it happens to a child, and they see things a little differently and feel a little more empowered and more confident, and want to take the next tentative step on the path to learning. That connects to a possibility that the world, the Territory or the community offers.
When I began my more serious inquiry of where are at, it was not until I had a greater understanding of the differences between cultures that helped me to see what we are really dealing with. When I consider my upbringing and that of my children and any of my peers, we sit around the table and we are always talking about: ‘Gee whiz, you must do your homework. Don’t you know your tables? Let me help you’. You are always reinforcing, always saying the same stuff behind the scenes. ‘Let me check what you are doing for your homework. Read that to me’. You tell your kids all the time: ‘If you do not, you will not have the opportunities that you could have. So get stuck into it; make sure you pay attention in class because if you do not, you reduce your opportunities’. We say it all the time to our kids, and it is true.
I went on my first visit to a community, and I wondered why the kids were not at school. I asked, after some consideration, why they were not at school. It was a beautifully equipped school, the teachers were all raring to go, but there were only 30% in attendance. Why was that? It was because the discussions they had around their dinner tables are very different from the discussions we have around our dinner table that go on all the time about the hope for the future: get stuck into education; it will lead somewhere. We have to deal with that. We have to inject hope that education will lead somewhere. That is why the economy is so important. That is why the opening up of possibilities within our developing Territory is critical. Education must be seen in the context of a family looking ahead with hope for the future. The root of education is bitter, but the fruit is sweet.
Dr TOYNE (Health): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thought about, as I normally do when indigenous education comes before the House, what useful contribution I could make to the topic.
In previous speeches in here, I have certainly wanted to contribute from the insights I gained when I was involved in remote and indigenous education over so many years. However, today I wanted to look at some of the factors that impact education, a bit of a wider frame than the types of things that we normally hear talked about within the agency of education.
I would like to point out a few of the wider relationships needed. What do you need to successfully educate kids? You need a committed and competent teacher who regularly appears in front of a group of kids and stays more than a very short period of time in a community, stays long enough to get to know the community, the cultural and personal backgrounds of the students with whom they are working.
You need a group of kids that is teachable, is in a fit state to learn, also appearing regularly as part of that process. In behind that, you need a community that both understands and is committed to a process of school education, that there is a meaning around the education process that motivates the parents to support it - not just week by week or for a couple of months, but year after year to build on a strong education base.
Those kids, to learn, have to be in a good, healthy and well-developed state. There are all sorts of things that impair a child’s ability to learn. It sounds really simple. Probably everything else is nice to have, but that is not the core of it. I have seen really good education programs carried out in a bough shed made out of desert oak poles with spinifex cover over the top. A program ran for five years in that structure and they were getting better results than some of the schools around them that had been fully set up.
I am not indicating for a moment advocating that we abandon our school facilities and go back to boughs sheds. All I am saying is that many of the factors by which we often judge an education program are the more visible physical things. We lose sight of the fundamental, which is the basic teaching relationship between a competent, committed teacher over time and competent, teachable kids who are committed and are urged by their parents and their community to continue with that process.
Pulling and holding all that together in indigenous education is a bit like trying to build a sand castle in an inter-tidal zone. There are so many factors tearing at it the whole time. You have teachers who may or may not adapt to remote teaching situations, to remote communities or, indeed, to the particular challenges of teaching in our urban indigenous programs. They are very challenging. They confront teachers both professionally and personally to make the adjustment. Therefore, you may not have teachers there for the long periods that are needed to produce results.
There have been occasions when teachers have stayed for enormous amounts of time in communities. Wendy Baarda at Yuendumu is a case springs to mind. She has been at Yuendumu for 25 years or more now and she carries the knowledge of generations of families. She can point to adults who are well past middle age now who are ex-students from her programs. I suggest that it does not matter a damn what sort of program Wendy Baarda presented to her students over all those years, or indeed a teacher who was committed to an English-only approach; the core of it is an enormous span of consistent effort with a particular community. There is trust, there is respect and there is mutual understanding. That is the strongest base you could possibly put under an education program.
As long as we have this enormous churn in the ranks of our teachers, we are always going to struggle for the depth of commitment that the teachers to whom I refer bring to the programs they teach. I am sure there are many examples around the Northern Territory of teachers like Wendy. They are the teachers who hold community schools together, whether they are in town or in the bush.
When you look at the outcomes of education up to now, the huge challenge is to continue to ask for commitment and motivation of support from parents when they see the overall cycle in the community as a whole - and this is not just the school; this is the way in which the communities are faring over time – is not very reassuring. You put your kids through six years of primary education, often additional years of whatever post-primary and secondary education might be on offer - what do they see in graduates with that many years of schooling? I do not know that the benefit is so strong in many cases that parents will line up again to put kids of the next generation through that program.
We have to show tangible benefit of kids coming through education programs if we are going to expect parents to line up and support a school, teachers and the whole process. We have to bite down on the need to link effort to outcome in our communities. Often, there is no difference in outcome to a kid who has gone through all those years of schooling and one who has not. In the case of young men, often they end up in gaol together. That is a difficult thing to argue away when we are saying all the way through: ‘Bring your kids to school; it’s good for them and they will have a good future’. In many cases, it does occur, but not in enough cases. That leads us to this increasing challenge of getting communities to support their schools.
What is in the kids’ background? We see kids coming into a classroom who may have had a huge amount of turmoil in their home overnight with substance abuse or it may be simply that they haven’t had a decent feed. They may be there one week and gone the next. In fact, with increased mobility in remote communities, people are moving around. Families are moving around, kids are moving around the whole time, and you simply cannot get good educational outcomes if kids are only there two days a week. We have to acknowledge that and see what we can do about those factors; things that have nothing to do with the program in the school, nothing to do with training or equipment at the school. This is about how many times you see a kid over a year. You cannot teach a kid effectively if you are only going to see them 20% or 30% of the teaching time available in a school year.
We have this new nomadic lifestyle that takes people away to family visits in other communities, into town, over to sports weekends, off to Sorry Business and so on, the result being that the only way you can effectively keep up with teaching is to jump in the car with the family. Otherwise, you will only see the kids a minority of the time.
One of the most graphic things about the state that kids are often in when they are in these classrooms is health. Quite apart from obvious things like boils, which are obviously very painful - and who is going to learn effectively when they are in pain? One direct experience I had was when the National Acoustic Laboratory came to Yuendumu School to test for otitis media and other ear problems. They brought a pair of industrial earphones. They gave a 40 dB loss in each ear. You put the earphones on, and you are hearing the world exactly the same way as a kid that has otitis media with pussy ears and, often, perforated ear drums. It was a horrifying experience. There was absolutely no tonality in what you were hearing, it was dull, boring and almost indecipherable. How are we going to teach kids in that situation?
Despite all these factors, there are some amazingly good outcomes being achieved in many of our indigenous schools, as the minister said. We have to pay very close attention to wider set of factors if we are going to fight our way up to a better level of outcome. Certainly, one of them is health and that was underlined very strongly in the Collins report when it was brought down, where it was, absolutely rightly, recognised that the education department, the teachers and the schools cannot be solely responsible for turning the trends around. It has to be a whole-of-government approach. It has to be an approach that not only brings in other government agencies, but mobilises the communities around a new approach to supporting education programs.
There is such a huge body of research that says that if you send kids along at the age of 5, 6, 7 years of age to the local education program in the state that many of them are in now, you are guaranteed not to get a good outcome, no matter how much you throw at it in the way of new approaches and resources. We have to go back to look at the first five years of life leading to school, going into preschool and then on into school. If you do not have healthy mothers, you are going to have under-weight babies, you are going to have reduction in the mental development of kids of up to the age of five. We know that most brain development happens in the first five years.
We know that if we are going to try to avoid a lot of the later problems of life that the graduates of our schools are going to face in the form of chronic disease, you have to deal with early childhood infections, you have to deal with the general environment in which these kids are living. They are going back to houses where they are going to get sick, and sick kids cannot learn. We have to work hand-and-glove at the local level, between the local clinic and the local school. Thankfully, a lot of that work is starting to happen.
I would like to outline for members some of the areas that we are tackling in the way of early childhood health, which we see as an educational activity because if we can get those kids to school with a better health and development outcome, they will be more teachable and they will be happier to be in the school environment.
We are working on new models. We are looking at $2.2m going into child health funding to employ 25 child health workers. These are people like nutritionists, nurses and midwives who can work together to ensure the early development years leading up to school-aged years are going to maximise the ability of those kids to get into an education program and succeed.
We are looking at the Department of Employment, Education and Training and the Health department forming partnerships to allow our clinics to screen and pick up the sort of conditions that are impairing learning in those early primary years so that we can do something about it. We are starting to get a broader and more accurate picture of the health profiles of this age group, and that is the first step to being able to put in place initiatives that are going to improve the situation.
We are leading the nation now in child health and wellbeing initiatives. All Australian jurisdictions are now locking into this great challenge of working on early childhood health. We have provided $230 000 to phase in free hearing screening tests for every newborn baby throughout the Territory. Once this is in place, we will pick up these hearing disabilities, which often are not picked up for years at school; all you see is a child who is disinterested, under-performing and generally alienated and drops out of the program.
We have to contribute to what the minister for Education is doing in the detail of what goes on in school programs. We have to support that; we have to get other areas of the communities mobilised to help.
Child protection comes in to this. Kids are not going to be very receptive to teaching if they have been abused - whether it is physical or sexual abuse - or if they are witnessing on a nightly basis domestic violence in the household. It is commonplace around the Territory to see kids who need counselling before they need teaching so they can trust adults enough to open their thoughts to an education program. We will continue with healthy school-age kids programs, the school breakfast programs – I will not go in to details – and school readiness programs, which are screening and basically dealing with some of the known disabilities that will affect the educational outcomes of kids.
I hope I have not sounded too negative about this; I do not intend to be. There are many worthwhile activities going on in education, as the minister reported, and as I reported to this House on child maternal health. We have to put all this together, and we have to do it quickly because we are running out of chances to turn these trends around and redeem the future of our education system.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the ministerial statement on indigenous education.
There is not a person in this Assembly who would not believe that education is the most important pathway to achieving outcomes for all Territorians. It is a right of all Territorians to have access to education and training to empower them for the future. Without education, life becomes one long struggle to achieve any ambitions or goals, and to maintain self-esteem. There is no reason I can think of to exclude any Territorian from receiving education, wherever they live, and the Country Liberal Party stands by that principle.
The minister has outlined what the Education Strategic Plan for 2000-04 has achieved, and it is pleasing to see that it is showing some improvement. The fact that 60 indigenous students in government schools received their Certificate in Education in 2004 is highly commendable. Whilst this number may only be small at this stage, it is very important and I congratulate the students who have achieved this level.
There will be many challenges facing government as they implement the next four-year strategy. However, it is important that the work that has been implemented in recent years does not go by the wayside and is built upon for the future. I note in the minister’s statement that there will be an emphasis in the first four years in each of 15 Community Education Centres to increase outcomes, and I am certainly in agreement with that.
Capturing young people at the earliest age possible and ensuring they get a good start in their education is the highest priority. Without that good start in their early and formative years, children are at a disadvantage and, in so many instances as we all know, in danger of falling by the wayside or out of the education system altogether.
The member for Stuart was talking about the relationship between health and education. Health in young indigenous people does play an important part in the reasons they do not attend school. It is a damning indictment that we do not in the Northern Territory address health issues of those kids before they even get to school.
I want to address a situation that has been highlighted and would not be considered remote, but is still very important in terms of educating our young indigenous people. That is the situation at Binjari, which is near Katherine and in my electorate. Binjari has approximately 250 people and is an alcohol-free community. They have great liaison with Katherine and we meet most of the people from the Binjari in Katherine each day. One hundred of those 250 people at Binjari are children, with approximately 15 children in the Years 1 to 3 age groups. There is a school bus that comes into Katherine each day from Binjari. The problem lies in the fact that many of these kids just do not catch the bus to go to school. The excuses are all of those we have heard before: they have slept in, could not be bothered, did not have any money for lunch, parents are not organised and responsible, and the list of excuses goes on and on.
That is the reality and it is highly likely that it will not change in the foreseeable future. Therefore, government is obligated to look at alternative ways at getting these kids into early childhood education by capturing their interest and enthusiasm as early as possible and getting them used to the learning processes.
In my talks with people at Binjari about how they can overcome this problem, a couple of suggestions were proposed by the community and I will explain them. They have a very small room at Binjari which was purpose built as a schoolroom. It is only small, but it has fenced-in grounds and is kept very neat and tidy. It is presently used by the mobile preschool when it visits Binjari. The suggestion from the community is that to get the younger children to become familiar with school and get them into some sort of routine, Years 1 to 3 be educated in that schoolroom. They figure that if they could get some basic education close to home, the kids would be interested enough to want to catch the bus from Year 3 level and go into Katherine to go on with their learning.
The suggestion was that a teacher could be based in Katherine and drive out each day to Binjari as it is only around 15 km. They also suggested that the teacher could be based at one of the primary schools in Katherine and out-posted to Binjari for half a day, then return to the Katherine school as a base. While this may seem excessive for approximately 15 children, if government is genuinely interested in the literacy and numeracy of all Territorians, you really have to address each situation on its merit.
What I have outlined for Binjari would not be expensive to at least trial as the building is already there. The food for the young students would be provided by the community through a program that is running very successfully and provides and sustenance for other members of the community. So that would not be a problem.
The only other suggestion that the community made was that maybe if that teacher came out in a coaster from Katherine and picked the kids up from the houses in the north residential area and then picked the kids up from the south area, so that they still felt part of the school system and got used to getting on a bus.
It might seem like it is baby-sitting them, but it is one way of getting these children to go to school. If the teacher was based in Katherine and staffed at one of the schools with access to their resources and travelled to the community each day, the outlay of funding to run the school at Binjari certainly would not be excessive.
This suggestion by the community has merit and I encourage the department to look at the opportunity with an open mind and a genuine desire to get the younger children of Binjari interested in educational outcomes. It can only be a win-win.
Another issue I hope the government is looking very seriously at is the number of indigenous students who do not attend school in urban areas. In other words, government needs to seriously address truancy. This is one problem that is very clearly highlighted in Katherine and usually ends up with bored kids doing the sorts of thing that annoy the heck out of the rest of the community - like vandalism, shoplifting, hanging around the mall and making a lot of noise or just hanging around and generally being annoying when they should be at school. The only answer I have to this one is increasing the number of Truancy Officers in each area to try to combat this problem. There is not another obvious answer to me.
In respect of community engagement, I commend Katherine High School. The teachers with whom I have contact at Katherine High School, and one that stands out especially is Lesley Bannan, do an excellent job in engaging the Katherine community in the training of Katherine High School students. We are terribly fortunate in Katherine that we have such a commitment from the teachers and the school.
Burridj Training Centre in Katherine works very closely with Katherine High School, and I am very pleased with the results they are achieving. At the moment, VET training programs have 16 students in Year 9 doing Certificate I Education; 31 Year 10 students doing Certificate II in Rural Operations; and 35 Year 10 and 11 students doing Certificate II in Rural Operations and Maintenance. There are school-based apprenticeships, and the figure is around 35. These figures are very pleasing. The biggest challenge, of course, is ensuring that the students have enough interest from the VET courses and school-based apprenticeships that they will stay on in those areas.
The three Rs, even though they might be old fashioned in terminology, are the most important fundamental requirements for every one in life. They are reading, writing and old arithmetic. Everyone deserves the right and should have those skills to assist them through their life.
I will be watching with interest over the next four years to see the outcomes of this government’s plan. I hope that the four year strategic plan that the minister outlined today achieves the outcomes it has set. I support the minister’s statement on indigenous education.
Ms ANDERSON (Macdonnell): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the statement on Indigenous Education by the very passionate Minister for Employment, Education and Training.
This subject is very close to my heart. Over the years, I have been deeply frustrated by the refusal of successive CLP governments to invest in the future of indigenous Territorians. I have also been deeply frustrated by the continual calls for economic development in remote communities when too many of our people do not have the basic literacy and numeracy skills to access welfare payments or know when they are being ripped off by unscrupulous traders. Lack of a good education has severely hindered the development of indigenous people and our communities.
In education circles, it was a well known scandal that the Territory consistently spent the majority of its Commonwealth indigenous education grants on administration. If memory serves me correctly, the NT routinely spent over 60% on administration by comparison with 10% or less charged by other jurisdictions.
The Martin government is the first in 27 years to actually implement policies and provide the resources to improve indigenous education. Who can forget the frustration expressed by communities in the Learning Lessons report at the never-ending round of consultations that produced countless reports but never produced any concrete changes? I will quote from a submission by a remote school in Learning Lessons at page 37:
- But now we think that no one in the Education Department has read our reports because now you are paying people to come
and ask us what we want again. Every year you ask us and every year we tell you but you don’t listen to what we say. Some
community members say that you will keep asking until we tell you that we want to be Balanda, then you’ll stop asking.
We are not Balanda, our skin will always be black.
I am proud to be part of a government that is taking action rather than just talking about indigenous education. Without doubt, education is the key to our future. I would not be standing here today if I did not receive a sound education. Like my fellow indigenous colleagues in this House, I had to go to boarding school to get this education, and, like so many of our children from remote communities, I found the situation incredibly difficult. In the early years, I would run away all the time and authorities would have to track me down. Normally, they would find me hiding in the fringe camps of Alice Springs or back at Papunya, and they would take me back to school.
Our kids are still running away from boarding schools. I spent a lot of my time after hours looking for kids who have run away, talking to them and trying to encourage them to persist with their education, often with no luck. Parents do get worried about their children being so far away and prey to any number of bad influences. Too many times we have seen our kids returned to communities having developed a taste for alcohol.
The roll-out of secondary education to remote communities is one of the most significant steps to occur in indigenous education. I am also looking forward to the significant improvements in the delivery of primary and secondary education in the medium to smaller communities. The commitment of this government to increasing resources, the pooling of specialist resources for sharing among smaller centres, and the utilisation of technology for improving education in smaller centres is vital to Central Australia.
Central Australia has different settlement patterns from the north, and I am anxious that our kids down there do not miss opportunities for good primary and secondary education.
I also welcome the fact that bilingual education is back on the agenda. Many first-time teachers in remote schools have had to confront the reality that many of the kids, particularly junior primary classes, just do not understand what they are saying. This can be a terrifying prospect for young teachers, as it can be for the kids attending school for the first time, so it is important that bilingual education is back on the agenda. As the minister has said, it is important that these steps be taken through the community engagement process.
Likewise, initiatives to utilise schools to provide for adults and VET education after hours is also vital to improving the education of indigenous people. Educated adults who develop competence in the use of English will facilitate and assist the education of their kids. They will also encourage their kids to go to school. As the minister said in his statement, where people see the importance and relevance of sending children to school, regular attendance will follow.
Much has been written and spoken about the truancy rates of indigenous kids, but consider what motivation they have to go to school. If they attend school every day, their work destination is likely to be CDEP. If they do not attend school every day, their destination is still likely to be CDEP. So the minister’s announcement about vocational education and training linked to skills development, regional and remote jobs, industries and business opportunities is welcome. It will show our youth the value of attending school and taking these opportunities to learn.
An example of this is the successful Builder Trainer Program that was developed by the Central Remote Regional Council in conjunction with IHANT. This program is currently operating in five Central Australian communities has local building apprentices building two houses per year whilst undertaking their apprenticeship. Not only is this program providing full-time jobs for 20 young men in remote communities, these men are role modelling the opportunities that arise from work and education, and within their communities they are helping to create a demand for employment and training opportunities.
Such programs are important to the future economy of the Northern Territory because young indigenous kids of today are the work force of tomorrow. The indigenous population profile is quite unlike that of mainstream Australia. Our population is overwhelmingly young, and if we invest now in developing their skills, we can avoid the problems that will beset the rest of Australia with its rapidly ageing population.
I see these adult education classes as having an integral role in developing the life skills of adults in communities who missed out on a good education owing to the neglect of previous governments. With literacy and numeracy embedded in classes on topics such as how to operate phone banking, accessing your correct entitlements, consumer rights, nutrition and health, driver’s licence, road safety and a myriad of other skills, advances will be made in the quality of life for indigenous people and their families.
Finally, I welcome the minister’s announcement on the stronger focus on indigenous language and culture through the general curriculum so that students in the Northern Territory will be able to learn and gain an understanding of the oldest culture in the world. This is important for reconciliation, for creating a harmonious modern culture in the Territory, and an important legacy for our children.
The Northern Territory, under the leadership of this government, is making great strides and setting in place the framework for our future development. The indigenous education statement by the minister is a cornerstone of that future. I commend the statement to the House.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the minister and commend him on his statement.
It is about time we had some direction in where we are going in education. It is too important an area to let float along, particularly now that the minister has given us a vision for what he wants to achieve in indigenous education. I applaud him for that because it will put the emphasis back where it should be.
I spent some time in the 1970s as an early childhood advisor, travelling around to schools. Many things I found then are probably relevant today. Every community can be, in its own way, quite different, but every community also has its strengths and weaknesses. What we need to do is to lean on the ones that have the strength.
There are many schools and communities out there, as we have heard from other speakers, that are doing such good things. We should not be dwelling on the negatives of why we are not achieving outcomes. We have numerous other departments that have a role to play in all this. If we concentrate just on education and the role that department has to play in getting better outcomes in teaching children and making them literate, then we will not overload them with all the other expectations that communities have of them.
Far too often, our teachers become social workers and their prime objectives are often lost in the day-to-day management of the school, in providing showers, meals, and community support. Teachers should be focusing on education. As the minister said, we need to get the communities in partnership with schools so that the community can take on the responsibilities of many of the other areas.
We seem to have lost the generation of the 1980s and 1990s. The 1960s and 1970s generation was still going to school; they were still learning. Somewhere along the way, the 1980s and 1990s generation bombed out. They are the ones who are concerning the minister now. Who is going to take the place of members in this House in 20 years time? Will there be talented Aboriginal people out there who are literate and can take on these leadership roles? Where are we going to get them? That why it is vitally important that we make sure we are achieving results today.
It is too easy to blame and too often, we find excuses. For education, it is too easy to stay in the comfort of an office rather than getting out there and giving support to teachers. Teachers in the bush do it tough; they have so many expectations of them and so many difficulties to face. They should not become the forgotten profession; they should be valued, respected and wanted.
There were some characters around in the past in many of our bush schools, teachers who had a passion for teaching and who would stay for years and get good results and be so proud of what their students could do. We still have that drive in many of our schools, but too often, we do not give them the support they need.
I know the minister wants better literacy and numeracy results. He claims staggering improvements in reaching national benchmarks, but providing percentages does not tell us the whole story. It would have been nice if the minister had put some figures on the table of how many students he was talking about. When he is referring to those who reach Year 3 level, does he mean they are eight and nine-year-olds reaching this standard, or is he referring to a student of any age who has reached Year 3? There is quite a difference. You or I would expect our eight or nine-year-old to reach Year 3 standard, but are we talking about a 12-year-old at Yirara reaching Year 3 standard? Let us not make it all fuzzy. Let us be honest with ourselves and know where we are going.
The introduction of an Accelerated Literacy Program is good and I commend the minister for it. Most importantly, I commend him for his introduction of the Professional Training component. It is so important we make sure our teachers know how to teach. It is one of my criticisms of universities these days: they do not teach teachers how to teach. Teachers do not come out with the teaching skills they need in classrooms; universities are too busy developing the individuals instead of giving them the skills they will need later on when they get into the classroom. To ensure, when you are introducing this program, that you give teachers the professional development, minister, I commend you for that. It is the most import aspect of your statement, one for which teachers in the bush will thank you. They say: ‘Do not ask us to do something unless you give us the means to do it’. Thank you, minister. That is great.
The curriculum in schools these days is too vast, too broad. Too many other things are demanded of schools. This is what communities should be addressing in their partnership agreements. They should be saying: ‘These are our priorities. These are the things that are good’. Let us face it: music, art, sport are the things at which Aboriginal children really excel. Let us not bog them down in other subjects where they will not excel. Let us build up their self-esteem, give them confidence. A child who wants to learn needs to believe in themself.
We heard the member for Blain talking about how we immerse our children in learning, and you have probably done it with your own. I have an 11-month-old grandson and I see my daughter reading him stories, just simple ones. We immerse our kids in it. We teach them their name and the name of street they live in so they see English all around them. Learning is not easy and we need to help people to do it.
We need to make sure that what we present to Aboriginal students in schools is going to get the results we want. We should not be overloading them with what we expect them to learn. Literacy is a priority, however, I remind the minister that oral English is also a priority. Remember the good old days where for the first 20 minutes every morning in the classroom, you did oral English and you learnt how to speak it and, gradually, how to understand it? It is something we need.
I am not a supporter of bilingual education mainly because I have never seen the results that come out of it as I have seen come out of the schools that taught English, and did it well. I could read many quotes about it from the Learning Lessons report. It was not a success. We have to admit that; it was not a success. There was failure to implement for all sorts of reasons. I am not going to read them; you have seen them. If we are going to think about introducing it, what do we mean, exactly?
You need a huge amount of resources to teach English, and to teach reading in English. Are we going to provide this huge amount of resources if we are going to teach literacy bilingually? Will our children in these schools be immersed in this print they are going to be required to learn? That is part of the failure of bilingual education: they may have the oral language, but they did not see it visually. It is the visual language that you are teaching them to read. I would prefer to see much more emphasis on teaching English as a second language and teaching children to read.
Let us face it: it is probably not the teacher’s role in the school to make sure the language of the community survives. That is the place of linguists, community leaders and traditional owners. For the school to take on that responsibility is far too onerous. It is a shame if we are losing some Aboriginal languages, but I know of the great work to ensure that many of these languages are not lost.
Aboriginal language is not a written language and I wonder why on earth linguists made it so hard to read. They seem to have this conglomeration of consonants and I find it a really hard language to read ...
Mr Wood: Only in Central Australia. You can read Tiwi.
Mrs BRAHAM: Well, I do not know what they were thinking when they started putting it on paper, but they have made it difficult. It is hard enough to hear and to learn to speak without the strange phonetics they put together as language.
Minister, if you going to down the road of bilingualism, be cautious. If you are going to introduce a new program, make sure it has all the support it needs. It failed when a lot of the materials produced were home made, not as stimulating and exciting as when we are teaching our children English, we did not have the right teaching skills or the right people there to teach it. Let’s not go down this experimental path if it does not give us results. It is as simple as that.
We have talked about school attendance. I am reminded that grog and TV were not such high priorities in Aboriginal life when I travelled in the 1970s. It is only lately that they seem to have taken over. The one thing they did well in the 1970s was that children attended school. I only know of one truancy officer in Alice Springs. I do not know whether they are in the bush schools, but Western Australia tried a program whereby they tried to get the whole community on side to make sure children go to school. They put up notices. Basically, during school hours, children should be in school. If you saw a child not in school during school hours, then you were to notify the school or the police or whoever was responsible. It was a simple thing, but it highlighted to the whole community that these children should not be here. That is really important, even for communities out in the bush. If a child wanders into the store, the storekeeper says: ‘I am not serving you until after school. Go to school’. Nothing is so urgent that it cannot wait until after school. Truancy is a problem, minister, and I would like to hear how you are going to address it. It is difficult.
We have had some good schools. Alekarenge had a program whereby if you attended, you were entitled to go to the after-school care program to enjoy all the activities there. Areyonga was the first school to introduce a ‘no school, no pool’ policy. Great! Wallace Rockhole was always the school that achieved extraordinarily good results. We know they are there. Yuelamu had a wonderful program whereby everyone in the community contributed $2 a week, whether they had children or not, and mothers provided lunch for the children. The children were always so excited and happy about it, and that nutrition was something that sustained those kids throughout the day.
We do concentrate a bit too much on the doom and gloom. We should be concentrating on the wins and we should celebrate those. Minister, when you are implementing this, I wish you well and I hope the department gets behind your push for this because education is the thing that will make sure our Aboriginal people do the right thing in this century, are able to take on their leadership roles, are able to be employed. There is no point in saying we are going to create jobs if we do not have people to do them. It is a vital thing that you have introduced today. I wish you well and I commend you for it.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Mr Deputy Speaker, there is no greater challenge facing this government than to assist indigenous people in participating in the Northern Territory economy. As the minister said, this needs to be our number one priority. So much depends on it. It is an obvious fact that the extent to which people participate in the economy significantly affects their living standards, health and their happiness.
The history of government-sponsored indigenous education in the Northern Territory is not a proud one, and its sorry record has been canvassed many times in this House. I do not propose to go over that well-trodden ground. I prefer to concentrate on the positives.
The recently-completed Indigenous Education Strategic Plan 2000-04 has had an overwhelmingly positive influence on schools and students in my electorate. The plan aims at implementing the recommendations that came from the Learning Lessons review. The minister has pointed out that after years of deteriorating outcomes from a depressingly low base, this last strategic plan has ushered in significant improvements throughout the Northern Territory, including secondary retention rates, secondary success rates, increased preschool enrolment and the achievement of national assessment benchmarks.
Schools and community education centres in my electorate confirm all this. I wish to especially acknowledge the tremendous progress made in the secondary program at Maningrida, where last year we saw the first local students achieve their Northern Territory Certificate of Education. However, for me, the greatest achievement has been that this minister - and I wholeheartedly congratulate him - has made indigenous education the core business of the Department of Employment, Education and Training, which it always should have been. Forty per cent of Northern Territory school students are indigenous and that figure alone demands core business status.
I am delighted to hear, as are the school communities of Gunbalanya and Maningrida, that community education centres will be the flagships of the government’s strategy, providing indigenous communities with an educational service of a standard at least the equivalent of those our urban centres enjoy.
The Gunbalanya and Maningrida schools are both making steady progress towards being generators of employment for local people. They are establishing links with local employers and are providing their students with the skills and capacity to hold down regular employment in their communities. Previously, indigenous vocational education programs have been allowed to atrophy and deteriorate. The news that this minister is determined to revamp and make relevant again an effective distant education program with a flexible mixed-mode delivery gives hope to communities that so desperately want to see their youth go from school to training, then to employment.
For Gunbalanya, Maningrida and, indeed, for Kakadu as well, outstations and small bush communities on traditional country are the preferred living places for as many as 30% of the indigenous population. For many, outstations provide the best opportunity to keep families happy, healthy and safe. I am pleased that this minister is determined to make outstations also a good place to get a good education.
In the electorate of Arafura, there are very positive employment and enterprise developments occurring in outstation communities, especially in the areas of land care, coast watch, natural resource management and the arts. An outstation’s education system needs to respond to these invaluable employment and economic enterprise development opportunities. Yes, there will be resourcing issues. No one denies that there are significant up-front expenses associated with outstation education, but it may be that the chances of success are greater there also.
I remind this House that the world famous Western Desert Art Movement is largely a creation of a remote outstation community, as is the state-of-the-art crocodile egg collecting enterprise in Arnhem Land. For that matter, the Territory’s hardest-working and most recently successful indigenous rock band, Narbalek, works out of Manmoyi, quite a small outstation community east of Gunbalanya in my electorate.
There is noticeable urban drift occurring between my electorate and Darwin. It will continue, as will the phenomenon of urban drift in the Territory generally. More and more, people from the bush will find their way to our cities and towns. Some will be seeking access to positive and life-affirming opportunities and services. Others will, unfortunately, be seeking more negative things. Children and teenagers are inevitably going to be caught up in this urban drift. It is incumbent upon us to make sure that the progress of moving from Maningrida CEC to Karama Primary School or Sanderson High School is as seamless as possible.
The minister wants to improve opportunities for non-indigenous students to understand and appreciate indigenous culture and history. It may be that the increasing numbers of indigenous students from bush communities in urban schools will enable schools to use these skilled practitioners of indigenous culture as instructors to enhance their school program.
I encourage the development of partnerships between urban and remote schools. The objective of such partnerships will include the arranging of cultural and educational exchanges designed to facilitate mutual interaction and understanding. We would all benefit from that.
The minister has outlined the four key goals he hopes to achieve in this new four-year plan. The establishment of a strong educational culture must be the foundation of the reform of indigenous education in the Northern Territory. In my electorate, I believe we are beginning to see the emergence of such a culture. The vigorous educational debate that is at present being conducted on the Tiwi Islands regarding future education structures and direction is certainly proof of this.
An effective educational culture can only be developed when you have parents, teachers, students and community leaders questioning the status quo. Questioning that is heartfelt and reflective of a genuine desire to secure the best interest of school-aged generation reveals a community that cares. Despite all the negative media, our communities do care. We have parents out there who do care about their children’s education, and they want to make a difference. They are concerned about the all of their educational achievements and outcomes.
The Tiwi see their education system as being at the crossroads. Many on the islands want immediate change; others are more hesitant and cautious. However, there is an active debate about these matters. People are beginning to do what this minister encourages; that is, taking responsibility for and participating in the task of formulating a comprehensive strategy for their kids’ educational future. Part of that task involves an examination of why outcomes to date have not been achieved in the past. It would help the Tiwi in the development of a plan for assessing and reforming local education arrangements if they could have the assistance of an independent consultant to work with them.
In the course of the Learning Lessons review, one peak employer body said that low literacy skills are the first, second and third barrier to indigenous employment in the work force. The minister has reported improvements in literacy, which has been attributable, in the main, to the accelerated literacy teaching methodology program. I am delighted that the roll out of this program will continue.
Bilingual education is unique to the Northern Territory and we should be very proud that we, as a government and as a community, support the teaching of languages that are recognised as the oldest in the world. Educational research over recent years has demonstrated the efficacy of bilingual education as a methodology to teach other aspects of the curriculum. Burarra and the Ndjebbana speakers at Maningrida CEC, Tiwi speakers at Nguiu, Maung speakers at Warruwi, Gunwinku, Mirrar and other Bunitj speakers within Jabiru and Kakadu heartily endorse the decision to endorse bilingualism as a valuable tool in the overall educational development of their children.
Although this government is working hard to enable indigenous students to participate in the Northern Territory economy, there are often unrealistic expectations of where indigenous students should be academically at any particular time. If we do not have the right structures in place, we are kidding ourselves about the achievement of optimum results. However, I believe, minister, you have the mix right: the mix between community and school, the mix between department and out-posted staff, the mix between outstation schools and community education centres, and, most importantly of all, the balancing and matching of the respective needs and aspirations of employers and potential employees.
Ultimately, the latter will be the measure of success and failure. It is the nexus between leaving school and entering worthwhile and meaningful employment on which all these strategies, ideas and efforts focused. If young people leave formal education without the skills, knowledge and capacity to participate as workers in the mainstream Northern Territory economy, or at least in their communities, then we will have achieved little. The single most important thing we can do as a government is to bring employees together with skilled, educated, job-ready indigenous students to give them an opportunity to participate in the burgeoning Territory economy as equal and willing partners.
It is a huge task, given the decades of paternalistic neglect that have left communities with poor health, substandard housing and inadequate community infrastructure. However, the minister’s statement does give us hope, hope for system-wide reform that will benefit not only indigenous students, but all of us. I commend the minister and his statement to the House.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Deputy Speaker, I did have a written speech then I listened to the member for Macdonnell and I thought I might as well remain seated because he covered many of the issues.
Ms Scrymgour: Who?
Mr WOOD: The member Stuart, I beg your pardon. The member for Macdonnell covered many of the issues as well, but the member for Stuart covered the issues very well.
Ms Scrymgour: Stuart?
Ms Lawrie: Toynie.
Ms Scrymgour: Oh, I am sorry.
Mr Stirling: I thought you covered them on ABC this morning.
Mr WOOD: All right. The Minister for Health covered the issues well.
I did not cover all the issues on the ABC well this morning, minister. I understand that this minister has a great belief in improving the educational lot of all children in the Northern Territory.
It is a subject that if you are not a teacher or if you have not worked out bush, sometimes you feel you should not speak on the subject. Everyone has been affected by eduction because they have all gone to school. Many of us have worked out bush and seen the results of those who had a successful education and those who did not, and would have some opinion about whether where we are going and what we are doing will be successful.
I have said before that if you look at the old system and see the number of Aboriginal people who have come out of the old system, who are literate and who have good numeracy skills - and I refer especially to my wife’s family - they did come out of an old system. It is a system we do not use any more. When you suggest to people that we should use it again, they laugh as thought it is a regressive step. Really, the facts are there before us. There are good stories, and some of the good stories are our Aboriginal representatives in parliament. I am proud that I am in a parliament with so many Aboriginal representatives. It is great and it just shows you where education can take people. Without that education, it is very difficult for Aboriginal people to move.
If I were to look back over the last 20 to 25 years, I have to ask: have things got better? I would say they have not. The same applies even over the last six years since the Learning Lessons report was released.
I noticed a table in the statement, which is the percentage of NT students achieving the national reading benchmark for 1998, and it said indigenous students, non-urban schools Year 3, 6%. In 2003-04, it was 9%. There is a six-year gap during which we were supposed to be implementing some of these recommendations. We have had time to look at whether we are achieving. If you take that figure and compare it with the annual report for 2003-04, 9%! I mean, 50% is bad, but 9% is woeful.
As you said, we should not look at the bad side, but if we do not look at the bad side, how are we ever going to improve the situation? All I am asking is: does someone evaluate the programs? Has someone suggested that if all these teaching methods are only achieving 9%, they are not working? Do we need to go back to the old system? I don’t know.
As the Minister for Health said, there are other issues involved. He spoke about the health issues, hearing issues and problems at home. My wife had the same problems when teaching Aboriginal children at school in Palmerston; the same issues about children not being able to go to sleep because mum and dad are up all night either drinking or with videos going. There are difficulties.
We have introduced programs to try to encourage people to go to school. You have the ‘no school, no pool’ rule. Probably in Yuendumu and Hermannsburg, you would go ice skating in the middle of the winter, so that may not be a great benefit, but it is an attempt to try to change things. You have school breakfast so that kids go to class with a full tummy. I have heard of places where parents cannot go to the pub unless their children have gone to school. I am not sure whether that is good or bad, but people are trying to encourage children to go to school.
The Minister for Health mentioned problems at home and children not having enough time to sleep and think. In my time at Daly River, and this is not about Stolen Generation, we had an old dormitory, which was a Sidney Williams Hut. Children who came in from cattle stations would stay there with me, and they went to school. If there were problems at home with fighting and so on, at least the kids were getting breakfast in the morning and were going to school. They went home on the weekend.
I wonder whether that sends a message about whether you could have a home in the community with a foster mother to look after those kids and makes sure they get a good night’s sleep. It could be something run by the community, like a Safe House for kids if there are kids always at risk in the sense that they never had a decent night’s sleep and never were fed, where there was some place an elderly person in that community looked after those kids and gave them an opportunity. I don’t know.
Listening to what was being said, though, it came to mind that the kids I had at least went to school every day of the week. The Minister for Health also said that one thing you must have is for the kids to be at school every day, otherwise they will not learn, and for teachers to stay there week in, week out and year in, year out.
I must admit in my time at Bathurst Island that was one of the problems. Teachers went around every year. Many of them only lasted a year and then would be gone. The minister raised a good point: trying to keep teachers there long enough to know the families, the children and for them to know the teacher and to get certainty into education. I raised that issue because there may be scope for ideas like that.
The Christian school in Darwin has a facility for children who come in from communities. I think Marrara Christian School has some houses where students stay. They do not stay so much in a dormitory arrangement; they stay in a house and there are people who look after them there. They have a more homely approach. Families can come and visit them on the weekend so you are not having them totally detached from family. They can come in, away from all the problems that might be in their community so they can give their attention to study but, at the same time, not be totally isolated.
I was at Bathurst Island when bilingual teaching first started. It was controversial then and, hearing the contributions today, it remains controversial. I do not have a problem one way or the other about it, but in Learning Lessons, it takes up a lot of room in argument for and against. However, there is no good in being bilingual if a person cannot read the manual to fix the tractor. I worked in the garden. The technical manual on how to repair the tractor will be in English. It will not be in Tiwi. If you have a program, you have to show the results.
Tiwis are lucky because their language is written, and the Summer Institute of Linguistics have done an enormous amount of work on that. Marie Godfrey is just about an honorary Tiwi, she has been there that long. She will probably be buried on Bathurst Island, I would imagine. She translated the old Tiwi language. I think there is now what they call a modern Tiwi language. In some ways, the Tiwi are lucky. They have a written language. However, you have to have a good understanding of English if you are to obtain jobs.
Noel Pearson said there are many Aboriginal people who, to get a good secondary education, will have to go boarding because you are not going to get a secondary school in every community - not to the standard of a secondary school in Darwin. That would be physically impossible and very expensive. There is a type of boarding primary school near Yulara, and the name is very long so I will not attempt to pronounce it.
Ms Anderson: Ngaanyatjarra.
Mr WOOD: That’s the one! That is possibly a role model as a regional boarding school.
If you want doctors, lawyers and so on, some of the subjects you need to learn are not necessarily going to happen in post-primary or secondary education schools, which teach some of the less intense subjects such as tourism. If you want people to study law or they want to be doctors or you have to study physics and chemistry, some of those facilities will have to be in regional high schools. That is where we have to look.
We also have to remember that Aboriginal people are no different from the rest of us. They need the opportunity to say: ‘Do I go back to my community, or do I go somewhere else?’ It is a free country. If people want to move and look for other opportunities because of their education, that is the way it should be.
I applaud the goals you have proposed. The idea of having a partnership with communities is good. I heard you on the radio this morning saying that this would not be just a one-off program, that it will be a continuing program. That is the only way this will be a success. It will be hard. You are going to have to convince a lot of people that they really want education for their children, but it is worth the effort. I gather it is one of the Learning Lessons recommendations as well.
On Learning Lessons, I ask: how much emphasis has the government put on this Learning Lessons report to date? It had about 154 recommendations. It might be worth reviewing where we are in respect of those. I know you have accelerated learning programs, but of the 154 recommendations, has the government put a majority of those into place, and does it believe they are all relevant? It was a review that everyone on both sides of parliament said was worthwhile.
We have to try anything at the present time because the levels of education - 9% for Year 3 in literacy, and 20% in numeracy for Year 5 for remote indigenous students – we cannot sit by and say: ‘Oh well, too bad’. I know you have a commitment to changing things, minister. I was not trying to beat you at the statement this morning; it was just one of those things that happened and I apologise if you took it that way. I do know that you are sincere in your attempts to change what is not a satisfactory outcome for many indigenous children. I hope the goals that you have outlined will have an effect.
I especially like the last one: a comprehensive and viable vocational education and training system. Is that another way of saying ‘adult education’? Perhaps we need adult education more than ever because if these children coming through now have a very low standard of literacy, maybe they can pick it up later. In their later years, by having a good adult education program, which was a common thing in many of the communities years ago, it is the way to catch those people. I hope that really gets off the ground because it is very important.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I commend the statement and look forward to the hearing the minister’s response.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the ministerial statement on indigenous education.
I am encouraged by this statement because this government is not ashamed to show it will work with communities to have a stronger focus on valuing indigenous language and culture through the school curriculum.
Enough cannot be said of the importance of a good education; education that can allow a child of today to equally explore and develop his or her talents so they can emerge into the young men and women who will shape the society of tomorrow. What kind of leaders they will be and what kind of society will be created will depend on the quality of education we provide now.
It is something that I heard quite often as I was growing up, and usually I heard it from my own father, John McCarthy, who was a school teacher here in the Northern Territory for well over 30 years, and deeply committed to those he taught. There are some here who could, perhaps, share some stories about their memories of his teaching.
I entered politics because of my deep concern for the future of the Territory’s youth. I know that many problems that worry indigenous families stem from a lack of opportunities, which also means the lack of educational opportunities. This is so true for those who live in remote homeland areas away from the larger communities. The Ramsey report into secondary education only formalised what those in the bush already know. That is, the clear weaknesses in the delivery of distance education in the Northern Territory.
To create a distance education centre of excellence will, indeed, be an exciting challenge for this government, one that will need the support of communities from the very beginning. How successful this will be depends, first, on the community engagement process. It is here I would like to point out to this government that, after the Learning Lessons review and the Ramsey review, it is vital that the community engagement process brings results that can be seen in our communities, results where a parent can be assured that their child will not only go to early childhood, then on to primary and secondary school, but will also find work at the end of it. The member for Macdonnell said today that all Aboriginal children have to look forward to is CDEP when they finish high school, and those who do not finish high school still have CDEP to look forward to.
A job that brings personal satisfaction is what we should be encouraging and striving for, a job that will help lift each Aboriginal person out of the lower standards of living that have become so much a part of community life.
The people of the Wadeye region have documented how one successful Aboriginal person, be they a teacher or health worker, carries at least 20 people on their one salary alone. It is a documented fact in Wadeye, but a well-known practice for Aboriginal people. Any Aboriginal person can tell you that same story about the people they carry. By comparison, non-indigenous people have the luxury of caring for their own immediate family.
Within the community engagement process, there must be a determined long-term vision for the children of that community. The emphasis on career guidance must be stronger than usual than in urban schools because remote regions have their own unusual qualities and challenges to deal with that are not faced in urban areas.
The community engagement process will, no doubt, also reveal the need for local Aboriginal staff to have access to housing and other conditions afforded staff from elsewhere. We know this because the Learning Lessons review revealed it as an issue, and it still is one for many Aboriginal teachers.
The minister stated how vexed an issue the delivery of educational services to homeland learning centres is. Yet despite this difficulty, the government will move to work with the problems of service delivery so that children in those homeland centres can have access to education.
I commend this government’s plan to revitalise bilingual education as a way of demonstrating its commitment to valuing indigenous contribution to education. The maintenance of language in any culture is essential for its survival. Language strengthens the foundations of one’s identity along with the stories, songs and family kinship systems in Aboriginal society. We have witnessed, as a nation, the stripping away of identity through the past Commonwealth policies of the removal of part-Aboriginal children from their families and the legacy of great sadness, despair and confusion that such policies created for generations to follow. All of these were aimed at giving children a better chance in life with a good education. A good education is fundamental, but not at the cost of one’s identity.
The maintenance of Aboriginal languages was clearly not the agenda of the former CLP government, when in 1999, under the then minister for Education, the bilingual education program was scrapped. There was no consultation, there was no discussion. Now, communities that want bilingual education will be able to negotiate this through the community engagement process.
Already in the Ngukurr-Minyerri region, languages are being offered to the local schools, languages like the Alawa language. Language is not exclusive or sacred for Aboriginal people long to share stories in language even with non-Aboriginal people, so it can be inclusive not divisive.
There are 15 communities in my electorate of Arnhem, each with their own school. Most of the children in these schools are indigenous. There are dedicated teachers in the schools who are deeply aware of the need to ensure children receive a good education. There are dedicated staff, like the Principal of Umbakumba School, Graeme Matthews, and the three teachers who travel over a 100 km a day from Alyangula to teach the children of Umbakumba. This is because there is no teacher housing in Umbakumba, but plans were under way to change that. Some would say it is not happening quickly enough.
At Ramingining, the Accelerated Literacy Program is working well, with more children meeting national benchmarks. Such is the attendance of students in early childhood at Milingimbi that the school needs larger classrooms to cater for them. Children speak and learn in their local Yolngu language. They also speak very good English.
At Numbulwar, the school band has made its own DVD with assistance from musicians from the well known local band Yilila. Students at Milyakburra near Groote Eylandt will also benefit from such local musical knowledge when Yilila runs a music program there in two weeks’ time.
The Martin government is committed to focusing on the Northern Territory’s regions in this term of the Labor government, and this means improving educational outcomes and resources in our schools and the regions, not just in the main towns and centres. Our remote regions have been identified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the areas where the population is increasing at a rapid rate. It is a well known fact that indigenous people make up nearly 30% of the Northern Territory population. That number will certainly double in 50 years. This information sets the scene for an even greater sense of urgency in ensuring that indigenous children receive the most basic human rights: education, and not just in the context of western learning of maths, science, reading and writing, or the three Rs.
This statement on indigenous education is also about an appreciation of the educational knowledge system within Aboriginal society, knowledge about country that holds the natural ingredients of bush foods and medicine, plants and animals, knowledge that is highly sought after by academics in Australian institutions.
The Education minister has highlighted the direction this government is going in embracing and respecting such knowledge. This direction includes a major focus on communities, especially larger communities where the population is over 2000 people, in order to develop and grow the education and training services in those places.
I warmly welcome the Education minister’s goals to develop an educational culture through the building of partnerships between local communities and school education and training. Like you, minister, I have witnessed first-hand the disconnection between the aspirations of some communities and the directions of schooling and training, a disconnection that those of my family and extended family have moved to act upon for fear of the heightened hopelessness that surrounds those we love as they grow into young men and women.
I take this moment to share with you how our family here in Darwin have cared for well over 10 children from outstations in the Gulf country to provide them with the education that we know is vital in order for them to at least have a chance in life, a good chance with good opportunities and a sense of self. It is not that there is no school in Borroloola; there is. This decision had a lot to do with family cultural responsibilities and how we as a people, the Yanyuwa and Garrwa people, could ensure that our children could receive a western education within a cultural environment.
Let me explain it this way: we have a junkayi and ngimarringki as the basis of law within our culture. The junkayi is the protector of country and the ngimarringki is the owner of country. My siblings and I are the junkayi of our mother’s country and our mother is the ngimarringki. Mum is also for junkayi for her mother’s country, and my children are junkayi for my country. This is a tradition that we must pass on in order that our culture survives. It is a tradition that requires equal amount of learning in order for the passing of Yanyuwa and Garrwa traditions.
Equally important is understanding western systems of society. Customs like caring for sacred sites, hunting for foods in that area, knowing when to burn country so that it can grow again for the benefit of animals and plants alike. In the Aboriginal way, the sisters of your mother are your mothers also, just as the children of those mothers are your brothers and sisters also. It is education our family sees as just as important as western education so that each person knows how they relate to one another through kinship laws.
Here in Darwin, we care for those brothers and sisters who, in the western way, would be known as our first cousins. We do this because we know we would be failing them if we did not teach them the values and the importance of being young Yanyuwa and Garrwa people in society today and, at the same time, help them to find a balance between the western and cultural ways.
The ability to juggle two worlds is a challenge for any person, but to have this government acknowledge and respect the oldest culture in the world through its education system will go a long way to ensuring a strong and healthy future for indigenous people in the Northern Territory and, indeed, for the wider population of the Northern Territory. To have a government that encourages communities to help outline the educational directions they want for their children is equally important.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Speaker, I find it quite hard to follow so many knowledgeable and experienced speakers who have covered many of the areas on which I wanted to speak. I feel quite proud to be here with them and to be part of the government responsible for this statement.
Aboriginal communities make up more than half of my constituents in the seat of Daly and these communities are quite different. They can be outstations in the Keep River of less than a dozen people to places like Port Keats, which has over 2500, to town camps around Pine Creek, Adelaide River and Timber Creek. They are very different, and the young Aboriginal people who live in them are in various types of educational situations.
This government has moved a long way in improving indigenous education since it came to office in 2001. You heard the minister this morning talk about those results, and I would like to repeat them because they are quite impressive. The number of indigenous students achieving the Year 3 National Reading Benchmark improved by 31% since 2001, Year 5 by 43% and Year 7 by 46%. The Year 3 Numeracy Benchmark improved by 10%, Year 5 by 38% and Year 7 by 43%. The number of indigenous students who achieved the Northern Territory Certificate of Education increased by 240%. That is a result of 60 indigenous students completing the certificate, but that is such a huge change in a short period of time.
Although these results are significant, much more needs to be done. We have achieved the results in such a short period of time because the Labor government is very serious about indigenous education. At the moment, we are playing catch-up after decades of absolute neglect by previous CLP governments. They were not serious about indigenous education; they were not serious about delivering service to remote bush communities.
When the Labor government came to office in 2001, one of the largest indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, Wadeye, had no secondary school. This community had 2500 people and no secondary school, which is absolutely amazing. They had forgotten about that community and many others. There was no priority in investing in the vital life changing service that we ourselves take for granted. I can imagine this type of neglect was replicated across the Northern Territory, and what we have been left with is a generation of Aboriginal people not being provided with the same education foundation that allows mainstream Australians to participate in the wealth of our nation.
We are playing catch-up, but we are closing the gap, not as quickly as we would like, but we are closing it. I am proud to be part of this government, which has today reaffirmed its commitment to turning these abysmal results around. This government was not waiting for the 2005 election to deliver this strategy. As the minister stated, in late 2004, a group of high level stakeholders came together to look at the next step in indigenous education and training. The challenge now is to link what they talked about at that higher level to what is really happening at the community level, with the community, parents and local teaching staff. I am encouraged by the commitment to engagement with parents, communities and other stakeholders.
Engagement is vital in achieving real outcomes, and I am fortunate to have an example of whole-of-government, whole-of-community approaches in indigenous educational in my electorate. This is occurring in the COAG trial site at Wadeye, where we have the Commonwealth government, the Northern Territory government and the community in a tripartite agreement. We have a priority working group around education. Those stakeholders come together on a regular basis. They take their egos out of the room and they look at what the community wants, which is coming out gradually as they progress those meetings. They have particular circumstances in indigenous education. They have a mission school, of which there are only five in the Northern Territory, which came about at self-government when these schools were set up. It is an anomaly. It has caused some problems and presents some unique challenges. The working group is concentrating its efforts to overcome and turn things around at Wadeye.
The minister highlighted some areas that he will redevelop in the next four years and I would like to comment on these. The challenge for the future is about our decentralised population. The member for Nelson talked about boarding schools. I have one such boarding school in my electorate, that is Woolaning. They have students from Peppimenarti, Palumpa and Daly River. It is based in the northern area of Litchfield National Park and is set up by the federal government DEST, and it is a fabulous facility.
There is talk at Wadeye of setting up dormitories for these secondary students just to have a break and have a good night’s sleep. These things are not unusual. They are not a sacred cow. They are things that the community are talking about and working through how it will all work.
Distance education is a main point of this statement. It is an obvious thing for the Northern Territory; we have small communities spread all over the place. We must try to be the best distance education provider in Australia. It should be our main business because we have such great population dispersion. There will be an increasing demand for homeland centres. We have another small outstation that is growing - it went from about 30 to about 110 people in a year - at Emu Point in the Daly River Reserve where a multipurpose learning centre is being established.
Urban drift is increasing. In Katherine, where I live, it is quite common. I spent five years at Timber Creek and then came into Katherine and, more and more, I see people coming in from the VRD to set up their lives in Katherine. However, that poses challenges for kids who have been behind out bush and are trying to catch up. It poses challenges for people who have lived on outstations with family, with a lot of country around them, to be living in a suburban 600 m2 block in a township. Managing that lifestyle change is very challenging. Those people have moved in perhaps to give their kids a better education, and that will obviously continue. It is going to pose a lot of problems in the future, but I guess we will work through those.
IT is another key area. Fortunately, we have a situation at Wadeye where we have a major project of optic fibre going through. They operate from a radio transmitter, which is very old style but, hopefully, in the near future, we will have optic fibre through there so they can use the Internet, including the teaching staff. It is very awkward for them not to be able access the Internet at high speeds.
There was talk about goals for the culture of education, and that is very stark in a lot of communities. It depends on the way those communities have evolved. Communities in the VRD came through the cattle industry where education was not a big priority. We have communities such as Nauiyu, and Wadeye to a degree, which have a mission history in which education was promoted. Communities - and especially outstations - do have a culture, which is largely about families, and they have a way of behaving. Some are very industrious; some are not. The culture of seeing education as an important, empowering tool is very important. The way you do that correctly is going to be the biggest challenge.
The priorities are improving numeracy and literacy and the revitalisation of bilingual education. When I went to school, we had a choice: as a second language, we could either learn French or German. That was growing up in Tasmania. I have not been to France or Germany, but you had to do it; there was not other choice. Aboriginal people learning their own language, in an appropriate, linguistic way, helps them understand the English language, which is a problem because the English language is a Creole of German and French, and it has many anomalies. We should cherish local Aboriginal languages. I have a great desire to learn Murampatha, which stretches through the Daly River Reserve because it has currency there. I would much rather have been taught a local Australian language than French or German as I was growing up.
Access to education and training is like access to health: if you cannot get to it, something is going to go wrong. If you cannot get to a clinic, you are going to get sick. If you cannot get to education facilities, you are not going to learn.
The promotion of VET in communities is very exciting for my communities insofar as a lot of people do not want to go on to university, but they want to go to work and learn practical things. VET offers that, and it is something that will expand considerably in years to come.
Various speakers have spoken about home life, which is one of the most critical factors in indigenous education. Kids come to school, if they come to school, for perhaps six or eight hours. They spend the rest of their time in the community and it is this time which has a great impact on whether they turn up or not the next day. In my work last year at Port Keats with secondary kids, many of them did not come to school, or if they did, they slept because they had been kept up all night. It is very challenging. I, as a person who has had an education and feel able to handle myself, would find it very difficult to manage my life in Port Keats. It is amazing how resilient the children are.
We should not isolate indigenous education to the school alone; it is related through the community to the housing situation, antisocial behaviour and sporting facilities. It is inextricably linked to every other facet of their life. My wife was fortunate or perhaps not so fortunate - she is a Wardaman lady – to be sent down south for her education. She is a very smart and capable person. Her mother was removed from Pine Creek in the 1940s or 1950s and sent to Retta Dixon. She did not have a choice; she got her education and is able to read and write and handle herself. However, the one thing she complains about is that she lost a lot of her culture because she cannot speak the language. Something that is very important to Aboriginal people is their culture, and it needs to be balanced with something which we see as absolutely important, which is education, and get them both right.
Madam Speaker, I commend the minister’s statement. I am proud to be part of this government. I am very excited about and being here for the next four years, and hopefully thereafter, to promote this. It will have a huge effect on my electorate and I hope we can all share in the results.
I looked at this statement closely last night and felt a positive sense that, for the first time, this minister has taken the bit of indigenous education between his teeth and will lead indigenous Territorians in the right direction. However, I need to add, and not because I am in opposition, that the talk is in here. What I would like to now see is the walk. Not only do you talk the talk, but you walk the walk and make sure that you deliver on these promises. These promises are high aims for this government, and I commend the government for putting forth at least a road map to where it intends to go.
We all know that by 2020, almost 50% of our school-age children will be indigenous, so we have a real job to do and we can start with the foundations today, then in 15 years time or further on, the foundation will be well laid and we will have a real future.
I know we have a very small base from which to measure the outcomes we have achieved so far, hence the percentages as quoted by the minister, while very comforting, could be quite misleading. I will be coming to some specific aspects of the statement, however, I want to first put my support on the record and say that we have a good basis of where indigenous education can go. There are many aims that are highly commendable for this government.
I want to raise an issue about class sizes. Our class sizes are not well defined at the moment. Whether it be in urban or indigenous schools, we need to rationalise class sizes. Having discussed this at some length with the Australian Education Union, a system of student weighting appears to be a good way to start, whereby every child is assessed based on a weighting of one. Some children might excel in their studies and might have a weighting of 0.8 and other children with hearing difficulties, with language difficulties, with any sort of difficulties might have a weighting of two. In other words, that one child takes the time of a teacher to teach two children.
By using that, you can weight a class in such a way that every teacher has, say, a maximum of the equivalent of 23 students in the classroom. When you add the weightings together, the teacher might have only 15 physical bodies in the classroom, the total of which add to the equivalent of 23 students. That is a way to ensure that students have good exposure to one-on-one teaching from the classroom teacher. Teachers will tell you if you have a classroom with 25 or more, teachers become mini-crowd controllers. They are not able to teach effectively. If, however, you have class sizes of 20, 22 or fewer, teaching becomes effective. I ask the government to consider that.
School attendance is an issue. In urban centres, school attendance rates are high. This contrasts greatly with school attendances in remote areas. The reasons for poor school attendance among indigenous youth in remote schools are multi-factorial and range from parental considerations and nutrition issues to being personally interested in education. As I said, poor appreciation of education is a big issue. If the parents and community do not value education, children will absorb the attitude that it is not very important and not bother to go.
Cultural issues, in my mind, will be a complicating issue of school attendance and what sort of discipline you can bring to bear on the child who is not attending school.
I draw the government’s attention to the current school attendance policy. There is one. All you have to do is go to the DEET web site and you will find it quite easily. It says:
- Please note that unless you have obtained approval for registration for home education, every child of or above the age of 6 years
and who has not attained the age of 15 years must be enrolled at and attend a government or non-government school in the
Northern Territory.
That is the current policy. Let us make sure we implement it in a way that is meaningful and that we get every child to go to school. I grew up in a third world country, and I am sure many of us in this Chamber grew up in third world conditions but, for some reason, we grasped education that was provided for us and, through that, we are in this Chamber today. If we did not have that education, where would we be? We would definitely not be here.
Teachers should be provided with good cross-cultural induction so that they understand, when they are transferred from an urban area to a remote school, what they are going to face.
We need to look at what sort of inducements you need to get the children to get them to attend school. I would love to be able to somehow link family payments to school attendance - across the nation for all I care. Do not deprive the community of the finances that can benefit a community through family payments, but use the school system. The school principal could take the school attendance and, every fortnight, send the school attendance figures to the local Centrelink office. If the federal government would cooperate, it will say: ‘Okay, this particular family is not sending their child to school’. Take the family payments from the family directly to the school to allow the principal to use that money to introduce school attendance programs, feed the children, get a bus or a small vehicle to pick up the kids for school from the community. Use the money for the benefit of the community, for the benefit of the children. It can happen, and I hope the Martin Labor government will speak with the federal government to try to push this idea. Use family payments both as a carrot and a stick so that families who are not picking up on their responsibility for sending their children to school will be deprived of family payments. It can work.
Many members have today spoken about English as a second language for many indigenous children. English was my fourth language, and I am sure for many members in this Chamber, English would have been second, third, or fourth language for them as well. What is interesting is we have all learnt English, and that is the key. The unique cultural and racial mix of the Northern Territory population lends itself to challenges in the delivery of education. Many children of preschool age would face their initial exposure to an early childhood education system that uses a language other than their mother tongue. So the question arises whether children without any basic knowledge of English need to be taught in the initial stages in their own vernacular, own language, or should they be taught in English from the very first day of exposure to preschool or school?
In the current environment of multiculturalism, there are some quarters where the teaching of English to children of a non-English speaking background is perceived as assimilationist. I believe the teaching of English as a second language to everyone in Australia, to every child in the Northern Territory, is enabling participation in the mainstream. Ultimately, education has to be delivered at nationally competitive standards to communities in urban centres as well as in the most remote parts of the Northern Territory where English is frequently a second language.
Understanding that early childhood education is of great interest to all parents and is critical to the good development of literacy and numeracy, every effort must be made to provide all children with a sound education in the language medium prevailing in the country. Unlike early childhood pupils in urban areas of the Northern Territory, the majority of students in remote areas do not have English as their primary language. In my mind, this is where you need to use bit of vernacular. Is that bilingual? I do not really call it bilingual because if you use ‘bilingual’ - and the minister spoke about communities that are now 2000 in population size – you are going to have a mixture of languages. Which do you choose as the most appropriate? How many different languages are you going to use to introduce the bilingual system in a school? In Yuendumu or Maningrida, let us say, where there are 2000 people, which language will you chose? We seriously need to look at how to do it.
I believe that English in this country is the language of participation in public life and of inter-group relations in the linguistically and culturally diverse society that we have. Regardless of whether individuals speak English as their first or subsequent language, they should have the right to attain a level of communication and competence in English that will enable them to take their rightful place in the Northern Territory. To learn more than one language is to increase one’s own capacity to comprehend and communicate. The greater capacity one has, the greater is one’s power to grasp ideas and to act upon the world. Therefore, language other than English should be encouraged.
Language preserves cultural heritage and strengthens identity, the means by which cultural meanings are transmitted and personal identity can be established. To that end, I encourage parents and community groups to take on the responsibility of promoting and maintaining language and culture, using the classroom structure where parents and community elders can provide supervised lessons as part of language other than English.
I did a bit of study about early childhood when I was shadow minister for Education, and I found that children learn languages more readily in their formative years. By the age of four, most children would have learnt, like I did, to speak in their native language while, in most instances, not being able to read or write it.
On commencing formal education, teaching should be in the official language, whatever that may be. Children learn quickly. You have your own language already established by the time you go to school, so learning a second language will not diminish your own language. Complemented with a policy of compulsory daily attendance, children can be taken through play, socialisation and alphabet recognition, phonics and writing, and that is how they will learn the other language they need to learn. In this context, it is our language, English. It will enable people to then do the things that they should be doing.
Talking to many professionals, English is the link language for all people of all languages in this country. By having that link language, we have the tools to then to be good citizens in this country. We can exploit all the benefits that this country can give us because we have the capacity to exploit it. Without the language we just cannot have it.
I do not have much time left, Madam Speaker. I would like to go to vocational education. I have said before that, in my mind, indigenous youth should now be the new wave of apprentices that this country should be fostering. They should now be grasping vocational education and training with both hands, and take up the trades that could easily earn them very good money.
Mr Stirling: Do not want doctors. Do not want lawyers. Only want mechanics.
Dr LIM: Even more money than doctors. I agree, and I pick up on the interjection from the member of Nhulunbuy. In fact, lots of plumbers and electricians are earning more money than doctors, more money, and that is all they want.
There is, obviously, a need for skills in the continued development of the Northern Territory, and we need to build up our skills base to cater for future needs. We need to understand, though, that going to university should not be the be-all-and-end-all of post-school education. Vocational education and training has a huge part to play in this country. Among the cohort of all Year 12 students, only 30% will aspire to go to university, and do you know what? Of that 30% of Year 12s, only 50% of those will graduate with a university degree. In other words, in any one year of the Year 12 cohort, 85% will not achieve or aspire to achieve a university degree. That is a big slice of our school population that should be looked after.
The rhetoric over the last decade or 15 years about going to university, unfortunately, has diminished the value of vocational education and training. It is time for us to start promoting trades and apprenticeships more strongly so that parents and students alike will want to reach out and get a trade.
Whilst I applaud the government for its aspirations to achieve 10 000 apprentices in the next four years, I need to give the minister a bit of a slap to say you will never achieve that. You should be honest with Territorians and say clearly what you are going to do. In fact, you are going to deliver something like 650 or 700 apprentices each year if you can get that far.
In respect of open education, I am glad to see that the minister has resiled from closing down the NTOEC all together. I agree, yes, you need to review the services that are being provided by the NTOEC to ensure that what they are doing for Territorians in terms of distance education is the best that this jurisdiction can offer. While the Ramsey report might have recommended otherwise, there were some flaws in that report in respect of NTOEC. I would like to have the minister’s assurance that he will put the NTOEC through a review and provide sufficient resources to the NTOEC to enable it to deliver distance education across the Territory in a productive and meaningful way.
I congratulate the minister, I seriously do. This is a step in the right direction, but it is only the talk. Now I want to see the walk. If the walk is not there, then the minister has led Territorians up the garden path with nowhere to go, and that would be a tragedy.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Madam Speaker, I contribute to this very special and important ministerial statement on indigenous education.
I know that the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, Syd Stirling, has a passion for indigenous education, particularly because his constituents are from remote areas and his background as a teacher.
This statement is about a couple of things. It is about an investment by the NT government and by the people of the NT in indigenous education, and it is about creating opportunity.
In statements and speeches I have made in this House over the last four years I have been lucky enough to represent the constituents of Millner, I have spoken about investment. If you were to ask small business owners whether investing 28% to 30% of their profit in money, time or effort, or a combination of the three, to ensure that it becomes more efficient and profitable, most would agree that it would be a wise investment. At the moment, 28% of our population is indigenous Territorians, who, for many reasons over 200 years, have not had the opportunity to contribute to the wider community and the mainstream economy. There are lots of reasons for that, and there is not really anyone to blame; it is an historical fact.
This statement identifies that as a real issue and says that the Territory government is going to invest in this area to get an outcome, which is a population dynamic that was born and bred in the Northern Territory, has been living here for generations, and has a disposable income in the Northern Territory. Thirty per cent of the Northern Territory is about 60 000 people. Some 40 000 to 50 000 people are either on CDEP or some kind of welfare in remote areas.
Imagine that we can give those individuals an opportunity get a preschool, primary and secondary education, which allows them to get employment. What happens? All of a sudden we have another 50 000 people in the Northern Territory who have a disposable income by virtue of employment. They pay their taxes, which is a win for the Territory government, and they spend money at the local shop, mechanic, entertainment area, and in their local region. At the moment, that is not happening. I commend this statement because it is an investment in the future of the Territory and it is designed to create opportunities.
The real issue, and I have spoken about this many time in this House, is that the Northern Territory government arguably is not large enough to deal with this problem; we do not have the finances or resources to attack this problem in a way that is going to fix it in the short term. Our challenge is to ensure we spend the money and resources we have efficiently and effectively, and this statement, within those parameters, says that the Northern Territory government is committed to addressing indigenous education.
Where does the money come from? As we know, nearly 83%, off the top of my head, of all money coming in to the Territory comes from the Commonwealth, and the rest is raised from taxes in the Northern Territory. The big provider to the Northern Territory is the Commonwealth, which is the big player in Australia. What we have to do is change the language we have been using in terms of indigenous people. Right now, we classify indigenous people in Australia as Aboriginal or indigenous either of the Northern Territory, New South Wales, etcetera. The reality is that they are Australian citizens who happen to be indigenous.
If you were to ask someone in New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria or Queensland who lives in a remote area with a population of 2000 or 3000: should you be getting preschool, primary school, and secondary school? The answer would be: yes. In small communities throughout the states and territories, Australian citizens have access to those opportunities. At the moment and in the past, for a variety of different reasons, this has not been happening in the Territory.
What we heard in the minister’s statement is identification of remote communities as the target of all the resources that we have available strategically aimed at dealing with the lack of educational opportunities for remote area indigenous people in preschool, primary and secondary school.
I would like to issue the challenge - and we often heard it over the term of the Ninth Assembly – for members to go hand in hand to Canberra from both sides of the Chamber and put a case to the Commonwealth saying that we need extra resources. It never occurred during the last Assembly. It is up to every member of parliament to face up to the challenges in the Northern Territory. The reality is Australian citizens who happen to be indigenous lack the opportunity for preschool, primary and secondary schools in their remote or regional areas. That is a shame job, which is the only way to put it. In a first world nation, as we are, it is a shame job.
We often talk about money being spent overseas in charitable situations, and that is fantastic; I do not detract from that, but we have people living in third world conditions in Australia, and we should be focusing on that as a nation. At the moment, we are not. This ministerial statement on indigenous education gives everyone in this House the opportunity to acknowledge that: Australian citizens, for a long period, have been discriminated against by their race, where they live, their region, age etcetera and this has to be stopped.
As I was listening to all the speakers, I thought there is probably not a person in this House who has not had an opportunity to go to high school, and having that opportunity has been, no doubt, beneficial to their life opportunities in work and the opportunity to become a parliamentarian.
From members of this parliament, I would say the figure would be up near 80% of us having a degree - black, white, green or purple. It does not matter; 80% of us have a degree. At the moment, if you are an indigenous Australian citizen and you live in the Northern Territory in a remote area, your chance of getting a degree is non-existent. The reason is that you do not have an opportunity to get to preschool, primary or high school.
I commend the referral in the statement to joint partnership. There are two issues here. I am a great believer in God helps those who help themselves. The Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments have no other responsibility to indigenous Australians except to provide services that every other Australian citizen expects, and that is the opportunity for an education. Historically, that has not happened in the Northern Territory in remote regions. What I am saying to people whenever I get the opportunity to is that it is not about giving indigenous people more than any other Australian citizen expects; it is about giving Australian citizens who happen to be indigenous the same opportunities that every other Australian citizen has. Therefore, you might get more people going through the education system. That is one side of it and is the responsibility of Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments.
The other side of it, unfortunately, and other indigenous members might have an opinion on this, is the responsibility of indigenous people to seek an education. Historic participation of indigenous people in the mainstream has been low because indigenous people often do not see the benefit. We have five parliamentarians at present participating in the mainstream through a political party called the Australian Labor Party, and they have been very successful over the many years of providing the Australian Labor Party the opportunity to have seats in parliament, and this has given indigenous people a voice.
Unfortunately, the majority of indigenous people do not believe that mainstream can offer them anything. Unlike other ethnic groups or groups that are in the same demographic in terms of wealth, housing, education and health - for example, people immigrating to this country - there is not a high level of importance placed on education simply because people do not believe there is going to be a benefit from it.
When the minister talked about partnerships, he also talked about responsibility of parents. There is no doubt that all indigenous members in this House come from strong families, with strong parents and strong influences and, therefore, they have been successful. There has to be a two-way street. All the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments have to do is to provide the opportunity they have to every Australian citizen, and then it is up to indigenous people to take those opportunities up. I look forward to that.
In this House, we have six members from the bush and, therefore, you have a strong influence on what is happening in the bush, and that is fantastic. These people, under the CLP in the past, have been ignored.
In two schools in my electorate, Ludmilla Primary School and Millner Primary School, there is a high degree of indigenous students. Some 13% of the total population in my electorate identify as indigenous and 87% non-indigenous, which is a bit different from the dynamic of electorates of other indigenous members. There are three indigenous communities that rely on these two primary schools and the high schools, which are the Nightcliff High School, Darwin High School, or Casuarina Senior College. They are the Bagot community, Kulaluk, and Minmarama Park. Not only do these communities rely on education from the schools in the area, they also struggle with shelter, job opportunity and access to health. Often, these town camps suffer very similar issues to remote areas. Much of that is based on misunderstanding or mistrust from both parties about what services can be provided.
We have the same issues about numbers of kids going to school and not going to school. We have the same issues with parents encouraging their kids to school, or not giving any encouragement whatsoever. I know that the minister, in particular, has assisted me with Ludmilla and Millner schools by providing a lot of resources to the indigenous and non-indigenous kids at these schools. There is no doubt in my mind that this has helped me be a successful member.
Madam Speaker, the minister’s statement clearly outlines our plan over the next few years and why we will implement that plan. The main issues are making investment in a section of the community that, historically, has been discriminated against and, therefore, has not been able to contribute. That is the indigenous community. One of the best forms of investment is education. This statement has identified that this is occurring in remote areas, and we need to invest in these areas to give people the opportunity to get an education and a job. It is then up to individuals to take advantage of the opportunity. Madam Speaker, I commend the statement to the House.
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I thought I should perhaps wait, given the interest of members of the Chamber to speak to it.
I genuinely appreciate the contributions by the 11 members who took the time to read the statement. I genuinely appreciate their individual perspectives on what we are trying to do in indigenous education. I will pick up some of the points made by some of the speakers as we went through.
I commence with the member for Blain because he was the first to rise to his feet. Much of what he had to say concentrated on the non-government sector and its lack of inclusion in this statement. It is ironic that just a fortnight ago, I was sitting with Jack Mechielsen and others from the Christian Schools Association. I happened to go through our thinking on the community engagement process around education, and Jack and others listened politely for some minutes while I expounded on this topic. Further, ironically and interesting to me, that what we are trying to do by way of community engagement is exactly the model employed by the Christian schools in relation to their community education centres at Gawa on Elcho Island and at Woolaning.
They refer to these as community-managed schools, but nonetheless it the same process of community engagement that we are talking about and it is an idea I think that they borrowed, in part at least, from examples they had seen and visited in both Canada and the United States.
We simply do not tell the independent schools, the non-government schools, be they Christians, the Steiners or the Catholics how they should deliver their service. It is their job to do that. I wonder whether the member for Blain seriously considers that I should gather some of the departmental heavies - I would obviously take some blokes like Glasby - and head off down to Wadeye, shove the principal out of the road, and say: ‘I am from the government and I am here to tell you how to run your school, and I am going to run the community engagement process for you’. Should I go out to Kormilda, shove Stephen Kinsella out of his office, and say: ‘I am here to run a community engagement process for you’? We simply do not do that, Madam Speaker. To do so, to put it kindly, would be very patronising at best and, at worst, absolutely insulting to the deliverers of the non-government sector.
Mr Mills interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STIRLING: He asked the question why this does not include the non-government sector, and I am putting on the record why it does not. In one case, the Christians at least, they already do it, and I did not tell them to do it. Second, it is not up to me to go to Yipirinya, Kormilda, or any of the Catholic schools and say: ‘This is how it has to be done’. Not my job. That is why they are independent schools because they opt out of the government system. They do not want the government minister for Education telling them how they should do it. Much of what the member for Blain said concentrated on the non-government sector and its lack of inclusion in the statement.
We fully fund five Catholic schools, as we would a government school. We fund all other independent schools at 22% of the per capita rate for a government school. We also fund interest and capital grants to non-government schools on an annual basis.
Be that as it may, this is the approach on which we as the government and the department will embark to revitalise indigenous education and to increase outcomes. Now is the time. There is a spirit out there, there is a real momentum gathering and a mood for positive change, and whether that is at Shepherdson College, Galiwinku or Elcho Island, my own electorate, whether it is at Yirrkala, or whether it is diverse a community such as my advisor and I visited quite recently through the Western Desert country of Central Australia, a range of smaller communities, where the common question to me as minister is: ‘When are you as a government going to provide proper secondary education to our communities?’
These are issues in themselves that are being addressed through the Building Better Schools initiative and we are going to utilise elements of distance education and visiting teachers to ensure that those smaller communities that could not justify a secondary school in their own right will be able to access, through a mixed mode of delivery, quality secondary education.
The member for Blain also raised the question of enforceability of contracts, that is, what happens if the community drops off on its side of the bargain and what penalties that might invoke. My view is, and the experience of the Christian Schools Association would be further evidence, if there has been a positive and solid, valuable process of proper, genuine and thorough community engagement process such that the community clearly understands what the school is there for, what it is trying to achieve and how it is going to help the community in pursuing its own aspirations and goals. When that is clearly understood, when they see a curriculum that is interesting and relevant, when they see outcomes strengthening, when they are actively involved in the school community itself, it far less likely that you will see that drop off.
In any event, if they do drop off, at least there will be a reference point or a benchmark to go back to the community and say: ‘Hey, guys, this is what you signed up to’ and then begin that process immediately about why it is dropping off. Has the school failed to deliver? Has the department failed to deliver? Is there disillusion about the process? What is going on? That is preferable to letting it all fall to rack and ruin as has occurred in the past.
It is important in itself that the contract is there to work through the issues: ‘This is what we said, this is what we all agreed to. We said we will do this, and you said you will do that. What’s happened here? Let us revisit this’. Then you can get back to fulfilling each side of the contract.
I visit schools frequently and a couple come to mind. Jilkminggan is one where you see the community fully engaged in the school itself. We were there coming up to morning recess, and there was a range of adult women preparing morning tea for students prior to their release for recess. It was much more than just preparing morning tea. Each of the parents who had children at the school paid money into the pool, which bought the food. The adults who were preparing the food were working toward Certificate II level in Food Preparation and Nutrition, so there was an all round learning exercise going on involving the parents of the students and the students themselves. School is like an extension of home in that situation where there were so many people actively involved in the school.
Those schools that have parents from the community and community members carrying out those sorts of tasks and many others are the schools that work best, and they are representative of what I want to see occurring in all of our remote indigenous community schools.
There are other potential elements in the contract that should drop out of the engagement process, such as accountability on the department, the teachers and schools to ensure that quality teaching, best teaching practice, against a curriculum framework is occurring. It should pick up and involve the responsibility of parents to see that their children are fed, clothed and get to school in a fit and proper state to learn.
The responsibility for quality outcomes in indigenous education has to be shared. For too long, government stood alone and tried to shoulder all of the responsibility and accountability. It does not get up to where we need to be because we are leaving out half of the equation that ought to be at the table. Without the support, commitment and understanding of our school and the education process by the parents and the community, government is never going to achieve it. Schools in isolation are never going to achieve it. It has to be, as the member for Millner said, the two-way process.
We have left communities out of the equation far too long. It works for the Christian schools. We see evidence of that at Gawa on Elcho Island. It works with the Christian schools; if it is done properly, it will work for government schools, I have no doubt. The concept is not new. Someone said we have flogged this from the Commonwealth in terms of shared responsibility agreements. Okay, some elements are common, but this engagement process goes back at least 30 years in the case of Yirrkala. The Yolngu teachers who are there today can put their hand on their heart – and do! - and articulate their forefathers’ vision for education and the role that education in the school would play in their community. They can stand there and articulate as though it occurred yesterday, and yet the people who passed on that vision are long dead. They are long gone, but the vision and memory beats as powerfully in their chests today as it did 30 years ago when it was delivered.
Now, it has not occurred. The vision has not been realised, and why not? Because teachers come and go, principals come and go, and the long ago vision, the contract as we might call it today, whilst still fresh in the minds and hearts of Yolngu was long since lost to the teaching staff of the school and the department. That is why this contract has to be an ongoing process, a living, breathing document. It has to be revisited, reappraised, amended and reaffirmed between the school and the community. If we do not ensure that, we will follow the same path of Yirrkala 30 years ago and the shared agreement, the value of the contract, will be lost in time.
The members for Katherine and Braitling referred to truancy. The problem ought to be diminishing over time with the efforts of the attendance officers. Both communities, initially, were very well served by the attendance officers in place. They were people of particular skill and proficiency, and certainly their numbers were very good. If that picture has changed at all, I have not been advised. I will seek another update on the efforts of attendance officers across the board. The first reports we were getting through from both Katherine and Alice Springs were very strong.
The member for Braitling asked about bilingual education, and other members spoke about it. I will attempt to describe why I see it as important not just in language maintenance terms, not just for cultural benefit, but solid educational reasons why bilingual teaching is important. The member for Arnhem talked about language as part of identity. The member for Greatorex touched on that point as well, part of identity, part of self and a denial of one’s own language, whether it is within the school context or any part of one’s life is not just demeaning, it is an attack on the very identity of the individual. There are compelling educational reasons to utilise bilingual programs in the early part of students’ schooling. This is a question with which I have wrestled for many years, and have been an ardent and staunch advocate of bilingual teaching, and then over the years reaching a point of questioning it, and then revisited the question and sought further information to the point where I do believe it will work for us.
If we take young Scott, five–and-a-half years old, who is off to Alawa School, Year 1, for the first time. He has done preschool and transition. He goes along to his first class at Year 1 with Miss Smith, a teacher of a few years experience, a good quality teacher, and he has 28 other five-year-olds in the class. Scott has parents who read at home. He can read himself a little. He can write his name, he can do up his shoelaces, and he takes his place with these 28 other kids in his class. To Miss Smith, that class is 28 individuals, a blank canvas on day one. Where does she start to teach? The member for Braitling asked whether we teach teachers how to teach. I remember one thing I was taught at teachers college, and that is, you teach from the known to the unknown. The great single maxim of effective teaching: you take from the known to the unknown.
Well, here she is, Miss Smith, 28 kids, blank canvas. She is able to recognise with Scott and most of the others in the class that they come from a similar socioeconomic background to herself. The school itself is not all that different from the school she went to as a five-year-old some 28 years earlier. She is able to pick up pretty quickly that the kids are similar to her own background and, within a space of days or weeks and certainly within the month, she would have a pretty good background on each of those student’s abilities. How much they can read. Can they count? Do they know their alphabet? What are their social abilities in terms of mixing and getting on with each other? How well have they socialised? All of those things she is able to map very quickly, an experienced teacher, within a few weeks and have that map in her head about those 28 kids.
She now has a benchmark from which to embark on further learning. She knows where those kids are at, and she knows what the next step in their level of education ought to be. There is a big commonality here and a tool that is able to readily help her, as a teacher, understand those 28 kids: language. They are all English-speaking kids in this 28-student classroom. They speak English at home, their parents read English, they read English a little themselves, they count in English, everything they do is in English, and away they go, hopefully, on a successful primary, secondary and, perhaps, even a tertiary education career. That is young Scott at Alawa Primary School, day one.
Then take Lalambarri from a remote homeland on the northern coast. It is his first day at school as well, and his teacher’s name is Miss Smith. She is an experienced teacher, however, she has not taught in a Yolngu community before and does not have any Yolngu Matha or any local language. Young Lalambarri is in a class, which has also 25 kids. What skills has he brought to that class in the same way that Scott brought? He does not speak English at home; his parents do not read; he has never picked up a book; he has never read a word; and he does not count. What has he been doing in the last few weeks before school started? They were at a major ceremony a week earlier. Many of the kids who are in the class were at that ceremony. He knows in his own mind his relationship to each of those children and he knows what relationship the parents of those kids are to him. At that ceremony, he danced, as a five-year-old, quite an intricate ceremonial dance. It was a major funeral and there were people from everywhere - Galiwinku, Gapuwiyak, all over north-east Arnhem Land - and he knew the relationship that he and his family had to those people, even though he only sees them infrequently and they come from 300 km away.
What young Lalambarri had in his head was an intricate map, a spider’s web of the most intricate relationships. He knows where he stands in relation to every one of those people in that classroom; their family, their mother, their father, their uncle, their aunt, their grandmother, their grandfather, and so on. It is a quite complicated mathematical formula, indeed, and yet Lalambarri stays in that school with that English teacher through Years 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and we cannot teach him maths. We struggle to teach young Lalambarri maths, yet, within his head, as I said, is this most intricate, complicated and complex mathematical formula. He went out fishing in the morning before he caught the bus to school, and he speared two salmon in the surf quite proficiently …
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, I move an extension of time for 10 minutes in order for my colleague to conclude his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr STIRLING: I apologise, Madam Speaker, I did not realise that the clock was against me. … marvellous physical prowess in the surf. He is disappointed in himself; he missed three. He brought home two to the family for breakfast, but he missed three and he is disappointed in himself. A five-year-old with a spear, and 3 kg or 4 kg salmon he has brought home to the household before he has even gone to school.
Does Miss Smith know this? She does not. Does Miss Smith know how well this kid can dance? She does not. Does Miss Smith know that there are people in that classroom that Lalambarri ought not address, speak to, or look in the face? Miss Smith does not. How could she? She has never been to a Yolngu community before and she does not understand all of these social wills, any of the customary behaviours and backgrounds and, most importantly, she has no idea of the group’s learning capacity.
Miss Smith in the classroom in Alawa, within days, knows the abilities of these kids and knows where to start teaching. Miss Smith, within weeks, becomes further confused in Lalambarri’s class because she cannot engage the kids because they are not proficient in English. They are not proficient in English and she is not proficient in their home language.
How would you break that down? The theory is that you only learn to read and write once in your lifetime and, if you learn to read and write in your own language, it will be easier and faster. Once you have the skill, you can apply it to any other language. That is clue No 1. You are readily able to transfer reading and writing skills if you have mastered it in your own language first, you can simply transfer it to another language.
Now, how might you do that? Ideally, you would have bilingual teachers so that your local Yolngu person is a fully trained teacher who can take the kids through this, get their English up to speed and off they go. Well, we do not. We do not have indigenous speaking language-trained teachers all over the Territory. We used to have. We are losing them at a fast rate of knots, and we have not been training them. So you have the bilingual process of a step method where the teacher has to rely on the Yolngu-speaking teacher assistant to work with the kids in their own language in those early stages of schooling. The teacher, Miss Smith, has to almost take a subordinate role to the Yolngu-speaking assistant teacher because she has to rely on her to deliver what she wants delivered by way of the curriculum, and she has to rely on the assistant teacher to work with her as to where these kids are up to at any point.
It might be at Year 1, as much as 10% of the curriculum is in English; by Year 2, 20% is in English; Year 3, 60%; Year 4, 80%; and Year 5, 100%. That is the model that was employed by schools teaching in bilingual in the past. It is interesting that in a fully bilingual school, if the kids are only exposed to 60% of the curriculum in English, how well are they going to do in the MAP test? Not very well, one would suspect, because English is still going to be a big struggle to them.
More interestingly, how would they do at Year 5? Well, the evidence is that they do much better. They do much better at Year 5, having gone through the bilingual program than an English only program. Now, community people say to me: ‘I do not want kids to learn language. We talk it at home, they know all about our language, our culture. We want them to learn English’. I try to explain, as gently as I can: ‘So do we, but the way to get there is to work in their own language first’.
I am going to get much better at explaining this, and I will have another go at it at another time, but that is why what the member for Arnhem said, and what the member for Greatorex touched on, about language being part of self, part of identity is absolutely true. However, there are sound educational reasons beyond those why you would adopt a bilingual model.
The member for Katherine commended Burridj Training Centre. I have been impressed many times by their efforts, and I have been at different awards nights with them. I welcome her acknowledgement of their positive achievements in the Katherine region. She touched on the three Rs. We have mandated two hours of literacy and numeracy every day in primary schools; no less than two hours every day to ensure literacy and numeracy is acquired.
The question of teacher training was raised by the member for Braitling and whether they still teach teachers how to teach is a good question. It is a long time since the member for Braitling and I were at teachers college, but I can assure you, and I know she would have been taught how to teach. We dealt extensively with pedagogy; that is what it was all about in our courses. Is that concentration on basics is still there? I will be finding out because over the next decade or so, many of our current cohort of teachers will retire to be replaced by much younger and far more recently trained graduates. I hope that they know how to teach, but it is a legitimate question.
In relation to Learning Lessons, the member for Nelson asked: ‘How much did you ever implement? Eighty per cent of the 154 recommendations were implemented, and in fact, this community engagement process is one of those recommendations that were unaddressed at the time. It was referred to in Learning Lessons, the Collins report, as ‘community controlled schools’, and we struggled with that term. As I said, the Christian School Association, with the same model, referred to ‘community managed schools’. Regardless of the title, we struggled with it. We were going to trial it in a couple of communities up the top, and a couple of communities in the middle. That seemed unfair to the rest, and it seemed to come with a big dollar cost, so we struggled with this question, and we have come back to this community engagement process. The genesis of it is another of those unaddressed recommendations from the Learning Lessons report.
Madam Speaker, I thank departmental officers, the teachers, others, including people from the non-government sector for the benefit of the member for Blain, who participated in the original workshop around the next four-year plan.
Mr Mills: They weren’t mentioned in the statement, minister.
Mr STIRLING: Yes, it was a teacher of some high quality from Catholic Education who joined that seminar and contributed to it. If he thinks that we run government schools and don’t care about the non-government sector, he is wrong, but we do not tell the non-government sector how to do its business. He would be interesting, this bloke, as the minister for Education because it would be all about non-government schools and he would ignore the government sector for which he would have primary responsibility.
Mr Mills interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STIRLING: I do thank those people because it was quite a demanding session, and what I did appreciate was the honesty from all of those participating. We had people with so much experience and accumulated wisdom. It was terrific to be a part of it. I found it hard going, but that is a necessary part of learning. The member for Blain himself said learning is bitter, but the results are sweet. I hope it is the case we have here. We have a framework from which to build on our past success.
I thank all members, the members for Blain, Stuart, Macdonnell, Arafura, Braitling, Katherine, Nelson, Daly, Arnhem, Greatorex and Millner for what were very positive contributions. I am pleased that the statement has been received in this light. There is a long way to go, Madam Speaker, and I undertake to report on a regular basis on progress as we embark on this journey of fully engaging, community by community, the Northern Territory on education.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Ms MARTIN (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I was delighted to be involved with a number of new business launches in the past few weeks, openings that are real indicators of economic growth in Darwin.
One business that has decided to construct a new, purpose-built development in Darwin is Worksense, a manufacturer and distributor of corporate uniforms and protective clothing. Theirs is a $2m investment down the Stuart Highway. It is a financial vote of confidence in the Territory economy, an economy that forecasters say will lead the nation over the next few years, as we are doing now.
The company’s Director, John Lohman, told me that they had undertaken an extensive round-Australia search for the right population centre to build their distribution facility, and Darwin won hands down partially because of the strong economic future outlook. They are a uniform manufacturer and distributor. They are very welcome to add to the business opportunities and services in Darwin and I wish Worksense a lot of luck.
There is also soon to be another exciting addition to the Darwin cityscape. It is a $100m residential development called Pandanus Apartments. The property will be managed by Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, which is a Hawaiian-based family-owned and operated company representing a range of hotel addresses in the South Pacific. They have properties in Hawaii, Australia, Guam, Fiji and New Zealand. Pandanus Darwin will be the 14th Outrigger resort in Australia, joining other properties in Queensland and New South Wales.
We are happy to welcome the Outrigger group’s hospitality and leisure expertise to the Territory. The 27-storey project will be built at 43 Knuckey Street, creating 200 to 300 jobs during construction and approximately 50 to 100 jobs once operational.
Gwelo Developments, Even Lynne’s company, is committed to using local tradespeople and is confident the project will assist in revitalising the CBD. The development features 267 apartments made up of 200 serviced holiday apartments, 55 luxury residential apartments, six exclusive sub-penthouses and six top end penthouses. Construction for Outrigger Pandanus Darwin will commence later this year and be completed by the end of 2007. It is an innovative project that helps this city deal with its lack of visitor bed space at a time when occupancy rates are soaring and room demand outstrips supply.
Following 16 months of sustained growth that saw NT Forklifts increase their turnover by a 150%, this long-time Darwin company has decided to expand its business. The forklift sales and hire business is a good indicator of general business activity because all major projects, Defence work and many small businesses require the use of forklifts. NT Forklifts sell, hires and maintains all sizes of them. I was delighted to open their new state-of-the-art $2m facility in Winnellie. It is a development the company plans to duplicate by the end of this year just across the street with another $2m facility.
The opening was attended by NT Forklifts clients like Bechtel, Alcan and many others. In attendance was Laurie Luddy, the company owner based in Perth, Scott Innes, the Darwin Branch Manager, Mike de Jonge, the group’s General Manger from Perth, Steve Stewart from Powerlift Nissan in Sydney, and from AMP, Greg Smith. I welcome the growth, as I am sure we all do, of NT Forklifts and welcome the Outrigger group and Worksense to the Northern Territory.
Now for something entirely different, but quite delightful. This year’s Tropical Garden Spectacular was held over the weekend of 6 and 7 August and was another success. It has become one of Darwin’s fabulous Dry Season events for families and singles alike. All you need is a garden and a bit of imagination.
Darwin has a great tropical lifestyle. Many of our locals have a green thumb. We have magnificent gardens throughout the whole of Darwin, Palmerston and, of course, the rural area. Our natural flora and fauna is remarkable in its diversity. Organisers are to be congratulated for the variety of experiences on offer, from food stalls to stunning floral arrangements and many things to trigger your imagination.
The George Brown Botanic Gardens is a magnificent venue for this community event. The Tropical Garden Spectacular provides a weekend of entertainment that satisfies a huge number of visitors and locals alike. Carrie Altamura helped organised the event, and exhibitor numbers were up 10% on earlier shows, offering a greater variety of plants and associated garden products than ever before. Government is proud to be an ongoing supporter of the Tropical Garden Spectacular, and I was pleased to be able to do the deed itself and hand over a cheque for $30 000 to Simon Smith, who is President of the Nursery and Garden Association and really one of the inspirations behind the Tropical Garden Spectacular.
Since it was first held in 2001, it has grown remarkably fast, and attracted over 14 500 people through the gates this year. Garden shows are very popular around Australia. The Darwin Tropical Garden Spectacular joins those that are also held in Cairns and Townsville, and are becoming an increasingly popular stop for tourists, particularly the Grey Nomads as they travel the country in the winter season. This year and last, we noticed a big increase in interstate visitors. This year, Rotary collected postcodes of visitors at the gate to get a reasonable gauge of how many interstate visitors there were.
I am confident that, together with the Nursery and Garden Association, the Tropical Garden Spectacular can really establish itself by working with the industry and government on the national, and even the international, garden show circuit. I do not know who in this House visited the Tropical Garden Spectacular.
Ms Lawrie: Did you see the cane toads?
Ms MARTIN: I did see the cane toads; that was your fault. It was inspirational. I noted the member for Nelson’s chook garden. It was very creative, though I have to say, coming around the corner to look at the various landscapes that were created, I thought, if the member for Nelson does anything, it is going to have a chook - and it did.
Mr Wood: That’s right! No imagination, the others.
Ms Scrymgour: The member for Port Darwin’s garden was good.
Ms MARTIN: The member for Port Darwin led the Labor team in their landscape.
Mr Wood: Yes, they pinched our paving stones. Dreadful!
Ms MARTIN: Say that again, sorry?
Mr Wood: They pinched our paving stones.
Ms MARTIN: They pinched your paving stones! We have a little tension between the competitors.
Mr Wood: No, no, the Labor people.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Nelson!
Ms MARTIN: Little competitions like that are always worthwhile, and those competing had a good time.
I do recommend the Tropical Garden Spectacular. It is a wonderful event. I believe it can grow and really establish Darwin as one of the major garden show spectacular on the circuit around Australia. We have a bit of a way to go to match Canberra, which I believe has over a million visitors who visit the Floriade, which happens in spring.
We have a unique environment here. We are close to Asia and we use plants from Asia all through Darwin and the rural areas. Darwin is a good introduction to the gardens of the tropical north and further north to Asia for our interstate visitors.
A local group which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary was the Ludmilla Creek Landcare Group. It is a group that has won a lot of community support. On 12 June, the Ludmilla Landcare Group celebrated its 10th birthday at the home of its President, Rex Wild QC, who lives in Ludmilla. Ludmilla Landcare started in 1995 when the first working bee was held on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend and attracted around 30 local residents who wanted to protect and enhance natural woodland. I do not think we realised at that stage how much physical work would be involved. I remember the first working bee. People were walking away from a couple of hours of work with scratches and itches after we tackled vines that had not been tackled for many years. The stronger ones wielded axes and shovels to deal with things that needed to be moved and pruned. That was 10 years ago.
The inspiration over those 10 years has been the project’s coordinator, Fiona Douglas. Dr Fiona Douglas really is an inspiration. She has become, over those 10 years, passionate and incredibly well informed about the flora and fauna of Ludmilla Creek. Without Fiona’s inspiration, many of us might have wandered away. If you do try to wander away, Fiona will soon catch you and bring you back!
The group has turned rubbish tips and weed infested areas into showcases for Top End native plants in a variety of habitats along the creek. Mangrove edges, fringing grassland and woodlands have been protected by removing introduced grasses and woody weeds, and revealed and enhanced by strategic planting of trees and shrubs.
Furthermore, fire hazards have been dramatically reduced. Paths have been established, allowing local residents to enjoy the woodland much more. I invite anyone to go down and take a wander through the Ludmilla Creek area. It has become, over those 10 years, well cared for. The trees have grown, the weeds have gone, and it really is a beautiful area of Darwin. I pay tribute to those constant workers in the Landcare group and, again, to the indomitable Fiona Douglas. She will hate me when she has hears that I have said that about her.
One major project for the Ludmilla Landcare Group was the Ludmilla Creek Environment Park, which adjoins Nemarluk School and Ludmilla Primary School. This park has been well used by the schools during most of the year. The paths take wheelchairs, which of course is a great benefit to the Nemarluk School.
The Ludmilla Landcare Group holds monthly work days. Those days, particularly tree planting days, attract up to 50 people - usually 50 sweaty people because the high activity time for the group is during the Wet Season. The group engages in broader things than maintenance of the landscape; it comments on planning matters and, very creatively, has accessed funding from various sources and collaborates with other agencies. It has received grants from the federal and Territory governments, as well as private sponsorship money.
The group has won two NT Landcare awards: the Catchment Award in 1999 and the Nature Conservation Award in 2003. Anyone who wants to be inspired by a local group that works and by people who get sweaty and dirty, but really have a good time and a beer afterwards, then I recommend the Ludmilla Landcare Group.
In the time I have left, I want to talk briefly about one of the great successes of the Dry Season, and that is the Carlton Draught Darwin Cup Carnival, which ran from Saturday, 2 July to Monday, 1 August.
This year, attendance at the carnival was up by 15% according to Des Friedrich, who is the very hardworking and very successful CEO of the Turf Club. Carnival sponsors brought significant numbers of people to the event. Attendance being up by 15% meant that there were record numbers through the gates and in catering and bar sales, and all the business units exceeded previous years’ figures.
One of the highlights this year was the changes to the centre field where attendance there was up by 10%. There was a new layout and Des said there was a lot of positive feedback on the new look. There was an increased number of bookmakers this year, and the highlight of that was Robbie Waterhouse’s appearance from Sydney.
Everyone generally had a good time, particularly with greater areas of shade, which is something that the Turf Club is really concentrating on. Des said he aims to have further improved shade at next year’s carnival. One of the hazards of going to the Cup, of course, is the traffic. Many people take the free buses, which is terrific, but traffic flow can sometimes become difficult around the Turf Club area. The Turf Club worked with Darwin City Council, government and the police, and most people got in and out of the track fairly smoothly this year.
Interstate visitors to the Carnival are growing and it is estimated that one-third of Darwin Cup racegoers were from interstate. That amounts to approximately 6000 coming here for the Darwin Cup Carnival. Some 2000 people attended the Gala Ball at SKYCITY, and that is a record number; last year, it was about 1700. For anyone who has gone, it is a spectacular evening. It is interesting that many interstate visitors were there; we had a good lot of locals but when you walked through the tables, there were a lot of faces you did not know which indicated a significant attendance from interstate.
These things of course cannot happen without the sponsors: Fosters Australia, Cadbury Schweppes, Sportingbet Australia, SKYCITY, Qantas, and - very proudly - the Northern Territory government.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I would like to share with the House a small trip I did around the top of the Northern Territory on the same weekend as the Darwin Cup …
Ms Martin: Oh, member for Nelson!
Mr WOOD: Don’t worry, I dropped in to the Katherine TAB and put my bets on. I got the second horse!
You might say I had a working holiday on that weekend. I went down to Butterfly Gorge, where I have never been before, and Douglas Hot Springs, which I found a very pleasant area. Many Darwin people go down to the hot springs, but I had not done the trek up to Butterfly Gorge. It is certainly a beautiful area. If people have not been there, I recommend that they do.
Douglas Hot Springs has a camping area and, while it is fairly basic, you can always go for a jump in the river, which provides anything from cool to warm waters because the hot springs are nearby. One of the prettiest scenes is very early in the morning when the mist rises from the hot springs through the trees. As the sun comes up, it is a spectacular scene, especially in an area that is bone dry at that time of year.
I noticed that there has been some work done at Butterfly Gorge. There is a track to the main pool that requires a bit of rock climbing. There is also a new track there. While the Minister for Parks and Wildlife is here, I suggest that staff look at upgrading some of the maps. The maps that describe where to walk have been there for a fair while and someone has marked it up with a texta colour to show people the new trail. If that had not been marked on the map, you might not realise there is a new track that takes you up to the top of the hill, and you can go down towards the main pool at Butterfly Gorge.
The same applies to signs at Douglas Hot Springs. The sign there shows there is a trail around the hot springs, a one or two kilometre walk, but the walk is not there any more. It was there some years ago, and it needs someone to take a look at signage to see whether it is up to date, especially because we are getting interstate tourists to that part of the world.
I also visited some of the farms on the Douglas Daly, which of course is an area of interest to this parliament. It was interesting to see the number of watermelons coming off the land at the moment; there were two farms at the Douglas Daly growing watermelons, a large amount of hay and quite a few cattle. There is still a fair amount of activity there, and the watermelons were certainly looking good. Farmers were employing quite a few backpackers in the process of harvesting those watermelons.
I also went down to Umbrawarra Gorge, a place that I have always passed because you are always in a hurry going down the track, and that, too, is a beautiful area. I said that I was going to Umbrawarra Gorge and a lot of people said that they had never been there. Again, another beaut little Northern Territory park. You certainly get your certificate in bolder-hopping because it is not a simple case of walking down the Umbrawarra Gorge; there are a lot of rocks and boulders and you have to swim in parts to get across the other side, but it is worth every minute of it. I have to go back because I believe I did not go the full distance. It is longer than you think. That might be a case of I was exhausted or was operating at city speed, and thought that was far enough. It is a place to which I will return.
While I was there, the next morning I went down to see the manager of Jindare Station. I thought I would take the opportunity to talk to one of the local landowners, one of the cattle managers. He manages the station for Malaysian owners, that come from Cebu, and they come out to Jindare Station a number of times each year.
It was interesting. Sitting in the homestead, he was telling me where the Australia Day flood came up. The water came into the house, and they are miles from the river, so when the Katherine and Daly Rivers broke their banks, they certainly travelled a long way. We had discussions about what pastures he uses, and that is where the issue of the old gamba grass came up because it is certainly grown that far south, and he swears by it as valuable fodder.
I popped down to the Flora River Nature Park. This is another place I have driven past on my way to Kununurra and never bothered to stop into. It has an excellent gravel road into the park, which is about 40 km off the Victoria Highway. The turn-off is about 80 km from Katherine. It is a beautiful park. Admittedly, you would not want to dive into the water. There are some large salt water crocs, and they warn you very well not to go too close to the edge. It has the limestone waterfalls that are the result of limestone and roots of trees. There are some small walks, and it is a very pleasant place.
The wallabies are the fattest I have ever seen. Living close to the river, there would be plenty of feed. There were hundreds of wallabies, especially around sunset. It has very good facilities in the parking area. There are showers using solar hot water, although I advise people to take their shower before the night because if you try to do it in the morning, as I did, there is no hot water left. You pay $6 for the facilities; a good camping area, very clean. The local community, the name of which escapes me at the moment, looks after the park. If you enjoy unusual vegetation, there are very large palms there, Livistonia, they are like a tree and grow on the banks of the Flora River.
You can go fishing there as well, so I recommend to people if you have a small boat - I think you can have a maximum of 15 horse power motor on that section of the Flora River - it certainly is a great place to take your boat and do some fishing, but watch out for the crocs.
I spent a little time in Katherine looking at the farms around Fox Road. It was very good to see the horticulture there. Citrus is not the greatest thing this far north, but the citrus I saw on Fox Road was quite healthy. Again, quite a large number of watermelon being grown and harvested, and, of course, the normal mango plantations as well. I had not been, in all the time I have been in the Territory, to see the farms there, and there is certainly quite a bit of horticultural activity in that area.
I dropped in at Emerald Springs, which is one of these places I do not think I have dropped into for 20 years, but it has been reopened. The wife of the original owner is there. I must admit you will not get any accommodation. I am not sure if they intend to re-open it for that purpose, but you can certainly get one of the best steaks around. It is becoming attractive again to people who just want to sit down and have a meal. It is good to see little places like Emerald Springs start up again. Of course, they depend on the tourists a lot, but it is certainly a good place to stop.
I did have a chance to talk to other people, like Brian Hill and his wife, Stephanie. They run Manbulloo Homestead, and have a caravan park, which they run on the bank of the Katherine River. It is a very pleasant place to stay. The only thing that wakes you at night is the sound of thump, thump, thump. There are wallabies everywhere in that part of the world; in fact, they hardly have a garden left because they eat everything that looks green. It was a very popular place. I spoke to some of the tourists and they certainly enjoyed the caravan park because it was away from the traffic, it was all under the shade of some huge big mahogany trees. It was a pleasant area and it was nice to catch up with Brian Hill, whom I have known since my days at Landcare, and catch up on some of the local issues around Katherine.
Last Monday, 16 August 2005, the Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage, and Arts, officially opened the new Interpretive Centre at Strauss Airstrip, which was a very important occasion. We were fortunate to have visitors from the United States there who were related to Clyde Barnett, the pilot who flew from Strauss Airstrip during the war. He is better known than a lot of the other people because he took colour photographs of Strauss Airstrip when he was stationed there. They are published in Bob Alford’s book called Darwin’s Air War 1942-1945. In the centre pages of that book, you will find these beautiful coloured photographs of the Strauss Airstrip. You would think they were taken yesterday.
His daughter, Lyn Barnett, her husband, Jim Mahoney, and her son, Brian, were at the official opening and that certainly made the occasion very special. I was hoping Judy and Paden Green, who came to Australia last year from Ohio, the niece and grandniece of Captain Strauss after whom the airstrip is named, could also attend, but they could not because of work commitments in their little town of Marysville in Ohio so they were not able to attend.
It was a great day. There were people from the Department of Environment and Heritage, Bob Alford and Peter Radtke who are involved in the Aviation Museum, Kim Roe and others from Taminmin High School attending. There were quite a few visitors. There were some other people from the United States who attended.
Of course, the Interpretive Centre is something very special; it is very different. It has three model cut-outs, you might say, of planes that used Strauss Airstrip. They aren’t quite full size, and someone said that was a little disappointing, they thought they might have made them the full size, but they are still good, they still look like the real thing. There has been a lot of work and a lot of effort put in to actually painting them in such a manner as you really think they are three dimensional. There is a replica of a P40, which was a pursuit plane. I believe one is a Kitty Hawk and the other is a Spitfire because they were the main aircraft that took off from Strauss.
There is also a new car park and an Interpretive Centre to give you a history of Strauss Airstrip and a little bit more history about the war and how it affected the Top End. Visitors can now turn off the Stuart Highway, park the car in the car park, walk over and have a look at the Interpretive Centre, which I certainly believe will be a good tourist attraction.
Minister, I do believe it may be worthwhile, and I have probably said this most about most of our airstrips and some of our heritage sites, to look at fencing them off so people can park their car and they can walk. There is a danger of vandalism or you will get people doing silly things with vehicles and knocking over these wonderful looking replicas of the World War II aircraft.
I would also like to thank all the people who completed the development in time; put together the car park and put up the infrastructure for the interpretative centre. They had to do it in a very short time. It was Ostojic Transport. Old Thommo was tearing his hair out about a week before wondering how it would all happen. Fortunately, by Monday, it was all together.
I read the speech from the minister recently and, whilst I believe it is a great speech, I think sometimes history changes a little as time goes on. I know the government said that it supported the development of Strauss Airstrip, but I remember standing on that airstrip 18 months ago with people from the government’s Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, and was told that the road would go through Strauss Airstrip. I had been told that by the department under the previous government. It was not entirely because the government changed its mind that we saved that airstrip; it was because of a lot of people. I remember making a speech in parliament, mentioning the importance of that airstrip and how both sides of parliament agreed. From that, there was a lot of input into trying to get the money to move the Stuart Highway to the other side of the road so that the strip it would not be destroyed.
There was a lot of effort from the Commonwealth government as well, from people like Nigel Scullion. I, at least, had something to say about saving that airstrip. So I do not think it was just a matter of the government saying: ‘We did it’. There was a lot of effort put in to saving it - 10 years of effort, in fact. It should at least be on record that a lot of people made an effort to save the airstrip, and we thank everyone for making that effort to save the airstrip.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson, your time has expired.
Mr STIRLING (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I want to put on the record comments in relation to the death of Mr Dhurrkay, who was born on 4 March 1974.
After realising his dream of reaching the elite level of the AFL, Mr Dhurrkay realised something else; that there is no place like home. After spending five seasons with the Fremantle Dockers, Mr Dhurrkay moved to the Kangaroos and went on to become one of their most exciting players. He played 51 games with the Dockers between 1995 and 1998, before registering 21 games with the Roos.
In 2000, after two seasons at North Melbourne, he surprised everyone by announcing his retirement from the game at age 26. He said:
- I retired for personal reasons. I was missing my family and missing my country.
A lot of the people at the time said to me I was too young to retire. I was 26 and probably could have played for another
four or five years, but when I look back I do not regret it because I am back home now surrounded by all of my family ...
Home was, of course, Nhulunbuy country in north-east Arnhem Land:
- I am a Yolngu man and very proactive with my people.
I was the first man from my country to make it to the AFL, which is an achievement in itself but, after my retirement, I did not
want to come back home and just sit back.
Far from taking the back seat after retirement, he became the Chairman of a new association called Yiwarr, which has been established to address issues of importance to the Yolngu. He said:
- We are establishing a facility that will become a rallying point to improve health and socioeconomic plights.
Most importantly, we want to create different avenues of opportunity for our young people.
We have long-term vision and are working in 15 year blocks, so I am really excited about the future. Working
for my people and my community is what I want to be doing now and in the future.
He maintained an involvement with the AFL, coaching the Gopu Football Club, and had plenty of memories from his playing days:
- I think the thing I miss most about playing is running out onto a ground and hearing that huge cheer from the crowd.
While he received plenty of cheers for his on-field exploits, the move that Mr Dhurrkay will best be remembered for is his decision to step away from the limelight and devote himself to the advancement of his community. Mr Dhurrkay was 31 years old. Rest in peace, Mr Dhurrkay.
I have pleasure in congratulating artists from my electorate who have been successful in Australia’s premiere annual showcase of indigenous art, the Telstra award.
Winners from two of the categories were from Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre at Yirrkala. I congratulate Banduk Marika, Best Bark Painting and Naminapu Maymuru-White on the Wandjuk Marika Memorial Award for Three Dimensional Art.
Banduk Marika is a senior Rirratjingu clan elder who has been an established artist for over 20 years. She is a pioneer of both indigenous print making and Landcare. In 2000, she was awarded the Annual Red Ochre Award for a lifetime of achievement as an artist.
Naminapu Maymuru-White is also a long-established artist with a history as a print maker and previously won the 1996 Telstra Best Work on Paper Award, and was runner up in the National Indigenous Heritage Art Award.
The quality of work out of Yirrkala is terrific. It is fantastic to see two people who have worked so hard to get such well-deserved recognition, and I wholeheartedly congratulate them both.
It was pleasing to see the community rally to assist when 70 passengers were stranded in Nhulunbuy after several flight delays recently. Three flights were delayed after a plane experienced technical difficulties, leaving passengers stranded.
Amongst the stranded were two groups of children heading of on their yearly school trips; one from Nhulunbuy Primary going to Canberra and the other from the Laynhapuy Homelands going to Tinaroo Dam north of Cairns.
Congratulations to the school children on their exemplary behaviour as they waited during an uncertain time. Thank you to Alcan G3, which was able to assist with accommodation, and to the off duty catering staff who responded to the call for help. I am pleased to report that the children from Nhulunbuy Primary School were able to make up the day lost and complete their tour of Parliament House.
The famous indigenous group Yothu Yindi from my electorate joined forces with a number of entertainers to perform in the Solomon Islands last month. They were there primarily to perform for the Australian Defence Forces based there. During the five day tour, Yothu Yindi performed for students at the King George VI School in Honiara. Yothu Yindi’s lead singer, Mandawuy Yunupingu, was the first qualified indigenous school principal in the Northern Territory. Performing at schools remains dear to his heart.
One of my constituents has just returned from the 2005 World Masters Games in Edmonton, Canada. She played with the Australian Butterflies Basketball team, which won all its games and placed it on first on the ladder and made them strong contenders for the finals and the gold medal. Unfortunately, they were beaten by Canada in the last 11 seconds 44 to 42. The team are proud silver medallists. Congratulations to Andrea Collins and all the team members.
I was pleased to attend a small but nonetheless important occasion on Monday morning: the signing of an MOU between Charles Darwin University and Batchelor Institute. The MOU is a significant milestone for tertiary education in the Territory and will enable Charles Darwin University and Batchelor Institute to collaborate in key areas of tertiary education delivery and research. I want to acknowledge the role Charles Darwin University’s Vice-Chancellor Helen Garnett played in the development of the MOU. I also acknowledge the role that Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Council played in moving this agenda forward under the leadership and vision of Rose Kunoth-Monks. Thanks, too, to the Interim Director, John Ingram, for his work over the last few months.
Others at the signing who played an important roles in putting the MOU together included: Ken Simpson, the Acting Chief Executive of DEET; Ken Davies, Deputy Chief Executive, CDU; and staff, Don Zoellner, Pro Vice-Chancellor Community and Access; Maryann Bin-Sallik, Professor and Dean of Indigenous Research and Education; and Margeret Friel, Coordinator Indigenous Academic Support Unit, CDU.
The signing marked a critical step toward achieving better education outcomes. As minister for Education, I am keen to see results both in the short and long term from the cooperation between the two institutions, particularly in advancements in the delivery of education and training outcomes to indigenous Territorians in regional and remote areas.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I was taken by an article in The Australian on 4 June this year entitled Fair or Foul, out you go by Michael Bachelard on the question of unfair dismissal laws under industrial relations.
There are stark examples of the law giving proper redress to the victims of acts of bastardry by employers. In the case of Vickery v Assetta, Geoffrey Vickery was profoundly deaf, intellectually disabled and dyslexic. Admirably, he sought and found work. He worked hard and enthusiastically in a number of jobs, most recently at a car wash. When the car wash was sold to Andrew Assetta in June 2003, Vickery’s one day a week job became a full-time. For his 45 hour week, he should have been paid $556. It quickly became clear that Assetta was underpaying him by hundreds of dollars. Vickery’s mother complained to the Disability Employment Action Centre, which wrote to Assetta with its concerns.
A furious Assetta tore up the letter in front of Vickery. In the following days he became abusive, ridiculing and laughing at the disabled man. Other employees were encouraged to do the same. Ten days later, Vickery, distressed and confused, was sacked.
In his judgment in the unfair dismissal action, the Federal Court’s Justice Ray Finklestein said he was in no doubt that Vickery’s ‘despicable’ sacking was ‘because of his physical or mental disability’.
- [Assetta] did this when he discovered he could no longer exploit Vickery on account of his disability.
Finklestein found. Vickery was awarded $3000 in addition to $3457.41 in lieu of notice. Importantly, Mr Deputy Speaker, under Howard’s new industrial relations laws, Vickery would have had no right to challenge.
As the author points out:
- It is far from a lone case. Take the group of nine security guards sacked by the Western Sydney Area Health Service
after allegedly deserting their post to buy takeaway food. It emerged they had ducked out for about five minutes at a time
on a few occasions to buy food during a shift that last 12 hours and included no meal break. They were discovered by
secret surveillance, which NSW IRC Deputy President Peter Sams found was ‘highly suspect’.
Meat worker Ray Murphy was sacked over the threat of cow gallstones from his employer, G&K O’Connor. Used as an
aphrodisiac in Asia and worth up to $1000 per ounce, they belonged to the meatworks. But the unfair dismissal case
revealed Murphy was a union delegate and the boss wanted to de-unionise the meatworks. The campaign included the
employment of industrial spies paid $42 an hour to attend union meetings, who were encouraged to act as agents
provocateur to goad Murphy and others to steal the gallstones so they could be sacked. When they did not steal them,
the spies were encouraged to lie to the Commission.
The unfair dismissal regime has thrown up dozens of cases of vexatious litigants being rewarded. It has also seen dozens
of injustices set right. For better or worse, it will soon no longer exist for most of us.
In the case of Mr Vickery, physically and mentally disabled, exploited and ripped off by his employer, there will be no recourse, and that is a very sad day indeed.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I want to talk about Aboriginal customary law as it is applied in the courts of the Northern Territory.
Yesterday, I was heartened to hear what the Attorney-General had to say in answer to a question I asked of him in relation to this issue. I have communicated with him privately about that matter, however, it is appropriate, in light of the case last week to which my question related, that I once again put on the Parliamentary Record my position in relation to this matter.
I will be doing a great deal of quoting during the next 15 minutes in order not only put on the record but persuade government to do the right thing in relation to customary law. I quote from today’s The Australian, an article written by Janet Albrechtsen and entitled ‘Cultural assault on human rights’. It is a very good article, and I commend it to members of the Assembly. Some of the quotes will be a little lengthy, and I ask members to bear with me. Her article starts as follows:
- On Monday, Peter Costello said migrants should understand our core values. Such as equality for women. Yesterday, it was
the Prime Minister’s turn. He met Muslim leaders to sell the message that all Australians, whatever their race or culture or
religious beliefs, must agree to a core set of values. Like abhorrence of violence. Nice idea. But if we are having trouble
selling that message - which, given the summit, apparently we are - we only have ourselves to blame.
Look beyond Canberra talkfests. Under the cover of ‘culture’, violence against women has been sanctioned by the state.
On Thursday August 11, Chief Justice Brian Martin of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory headed out to a remote
Aboriginal settlement ... There, he sentenced a 55-year-old traditional Aboriginal man for bashing a 14-year-old girl with a
boomerang and forcing her to have … sex. The man will spend one month in jail. While that inadequate sentence will be
appealed, how did the Territory’s most senior judge get it wrong?
Martin accepted that Aboriginal culture justified the bashing of a young girl. He accepted the man may not have understood
that the girl’s objections meant she was not consenting to sex. Expressing ‘a great deal of sympathy’ for the man, the judge
said this was ‘a very difficult case’ because, at the age of four, the girl had been promised to him in marriage according
to Aboriginal customary law.
But here’s the real difficulty. Why does an educated man - a judge - allow one man’s culture to be used as an excuse for
violence and rape of a child? (And let us call this rape. The child did not consent. Yet the man was sentenced for the lesser
crime of unlawful sexual intercourse.) At what point do we say the laws - our values - apply equally to everyone? And mean it.
It is true the judge told the man his behaviour was ‘not acceptable or permissible or justified’ under Northern Territory law.
That is the end of that quote. Janet Albrechtsen went on to say, and I am skipping a few paragraphs here, and I quote:
- This case is not just about one man who bashed and raped a child. It is about a grandmother who sanctioned the violence and
rape and helped the man take the girl hostage for four days. It is about an Aboriginal community that makes outcasts of those,
like this girl, who report violence and rape. It is about abhorrent aspects of traditional Aboriginal culture such as polygamy,
rape and violence. And it is about our own modern culture which excuses these repugnant practices under the protection of ‘culture’.
Janet Albrechtsen, in her article in today’s Australian, went on to refer to some earlier cases, one in 1969, one in 1974, and one two years ago. I am sure there have been more. In relation to the case two years ago, known to many of us as the Jackie Pascoe case, Janet Albrechtsen says the following:
- Two years ago when a 50-year-old … man was prosecuted for raping a 15-year-old girl, the man used the magic formula in court:
‘but its Aboriginal custom – my culture’. The judge said the girl ‘knew what was expected of her’ and jailed the man for 24 hours.
Though this decision was overturned on appeal, the fact is that educated people, such as judges, have long been excusing
indigenous violence.
Now consider Martin’s decision in Yarralin. This is not progress. It is further proof that ‘culture’ is fast becoming one of the
most pernicious words of our time. The consequences for indigenous people have been, and will continue to be, devastating
until we wake up to the noble-savage myth. There is nothing too noble about polygamy and rape and violence. Cultures that
embrace those practices are in dire need of a western takeover.
Sure, let’s talk about the nasty parts of sharia law. But let’s also talk about the nasty side to Aboriginal law. And if yesterday’s
feminists are wondering why they lack traction with today’s young women, it’s because of their silence on the big issues.
Such as this one. Allowing cultural rights to trump human rights is never a good look.
What I propose to do is repeat my calls for this government to specifically introduce a bill, or to somehow support the one of which I will give notice at the next sittings whereby I will propose, again, as I did in August 2003, an amendment to the Sentencing Act so that violent men who hide behind the veil of customary law when they appear before courts on criminal charges, including sexual and physical violence, are not afforded that protection.
Members who were present in the last Assembly will recall that I introduced a bill to amend the Sentencing Act and an amendment to the Criminal Code. The amendment to the Criminal Code was, for the most part, remedied as a result of the Law Reform Bill, commonly referred to as the Gay Law Reform Bill. In any event, the defects that exist when it comes to customary law in the Sentencing Act still exist, and I will give notice in due course of trying again to introduce a bill with a view to having it passed, such is my devotion to this issue.
Whilst I am heartened by the Attorney-General’s response to my question yesterday, I can do nothing more than introduce a bill to this parliament.
At the risk of repeating what I said in August 2003, but perhaps for the benefit of new members and for anyone else who is listening, I would like to quote some of what I said in my second reading speech when I introduced my proposal to amend the Sentencing Act on 13 August 2003. I referred to the Sentencing Act and the Criminal Code:
- The bills are designed to overcome the obvious shortcomings of the criminal law, in relation to customary law, generally, and
in particular how customary law assists violent men and penalises victims who are, for the most part, Aboriginal women and girls.
These bills that I now introduce eliminate customary law from being considered in the criminal jurisdiction only, and are necessary,
having regard to the outrageously high levels of violence being experienced in Aboriginal communities around the Territory. The
central point of these bills is to ensure that Aboriginal women and girls are accorded the same rights and protections that are
accorded to non-Aboriginal women and girls. With that central objective, it is hard to imagine that the bills would not be supported,
if not in substance, then perhaps at least in principle.
And let there be no mistake, Aboriginal customary law, in criminal law proceedings, does not assist them …
- … rather, it disadvantages them.
Elsewhere in my second reading speech, I said:
- There is nothing culturally appropriate about crimes of violence and it behoves us all to do what we can to stop it. If we cannot
actually stop the violence, we can at least do our best to prevent men hiding behind the veil of customary law. Offenders who
invoke customary law do so for their own benefit. Indeed, a feminist analysis would be that it works to assist men and
disadvantage women. That certainly appears to be the case when you look at the high level of violence on communities, and
those who are the perpetrators and those who are the victims. Customary law is used as a shield to further mitigate the
sentencing disposition which follows a finding of guilt or a plea of guilty.
- In light of the high levels of sexual and physical violence that exists, we must all ask whether we are prepared to sit back and
accept this situation. For my part, I am not, and to the extent that I can do anything, I introduce these bills.
- We must do what we can to ensure that offenders are not afforded an unfair and unconscionable mechanism by which their
criminality is reduced or excused. The removal of customary law from the courts' deliberations is something constructive
that we, as legislators, can do.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I have referred to this matter, I might say, since August 2003. You will be aware that I have raised it on numerous occasions.
I say again that at the next sittings, I will give notice of introducing an amendment to the Sentencing Act. In essence, I will try again.
I am not prepared to sit by and watch this happen. I am not prepared to be complicit in this misery and this injustice. I need to go to bed at night knowing that I have done whatever I can. As an elected member of this parliament, as leader of my party, to the extent that I am able to do anything, I will give it another go.
Put simply, I am not able to sit by and watch this happen. I will give it another go, and I implore government members to support me.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arafura): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, last week in my adjournment, I spoke about Gunbalanya Open Day, which I attended last Saturday.
As usual, the open day was a success. I opened the day with Jacob Nyangal, who is a senior traditional owner in the Oenpelli region. Certainly, the sports carnival, football and basketball, was well attended by a number of visiting schools, St John’s, Marrara Christian School and many others.
This year, visitor numbers were down, but I think the day clashed with a number of other events. There were certainly some visitors who went on to Garma and some who had been to other festivals went to Gunbalanya.
I want to quickly acknowledge Esther Djayhgurrnga, the Principal of Gunbalanya CEC, Joe Singh, Barbara Walker, Council Clerk Bill Medley and the many staff out there, Anthony Murphy from Injalak Arts and Crafts, and particularly noting the role, as usual every year, doing an efficient job of MC, talking to visitors and letting them know where all the different events were was Andy Ralph.
I had the task of having to judge the artworks done by the Preschool-Transition class and the various other classes up to Year 7 and that was not an easy job, I can tell you. We were supposed to give First and Second and Great Effort prizes to three of the students, but we ended up going a bit overboard, particularly with Preschool and Transition, given that they had put such a big effort into some of their artworks. We decided to extend the prizes for Preschool and Transition entries, and it was a great pleasure to be able to do that.
Into the afternoon, and with the stalls and people looking at the various items that were on offer at Gunbalanya, Neil Murray played at the club that night. Wildflower and the fantastic Letterstickband played on into the night, and I think it was until midnight. I am sure my colleague, the member for Johnston, has heard of the Letterstick band.
Dr Burns: A good band!
Ms SCRYMGOUR: Last year, there were so many deaths amongst that band and it was sad that Mr Wilson, who both the member for Johnston and I knew quite well, passed away last year at such a young age, was not part of that band any more. Letterstick is now going on a big dedication tour for the three young men who lost their lives over the last year and a half.
I went back to Jabiru for the night and then went back to Gunbalanya in the morning on Sunday. I know that every member in this parliament is enthralled by their electorate and its beauty and the wonder. I know that there is beauty in every electorate, but I am constantly amazed by Cahill’s Crossing, the escarpment and the beauty of Arnhem Land. It puts into perspective your work as a member in this House and what you are doing.
The member for Macdonnell came with me on the Sunday. I am sure that she saw the great beauty, too. Central Australia has great beauty in the desert and out in some of those communities. When we look at some of those Top End communities, the beauty of the escarpment, the salt water, the swamp lands are a fantastic sight.
One of the most spectacular views I saw was on the return trip to Jabiru. We had to pull up at Cahill’s Crossing for a couple of hours because the East Alligator is tidal, and the water had come over Cahill’s Crossing. We waited there for about an hour for the tide to recede before we crossed, and we saw massive crocodiles on the side of Cahill’s Crossing. One of them, a quite big black crocodile notoriously known as Eric, frequents the crossing and was grabbing the many fish as they jumped was a sight that had to be seen to be believed.
The many tourists and other people who were standing at the crossing had videos and cameras rolling and clicking. You can only stand back in awe at these creatures in the water and note the link to the prehistoric times. As I said, it had to be seen to be believed.
It was a great day, as usual. It is always good to get out to the electorate. I am certainly looking forward to going back in another week to the Mahbilil Festival, which will be in Jabiru.
Moving on from that, someone I would like to mention, and I know my constituents at Gunbalanya and the Tiwi Islands would want me to acknowledge Mark Ramjan who was working in Minister Toyne’s office but has now left. Mark and his family have gone travelling around Australia. I wish Mark and his family all the best. I do not think I have ever met someone with his commitment to Aboriginal health and to its people. There are very few people with his type of dedication, commitment and professionalism, and I want to put on record that I hope Mark and his family stay well and return to the Northern Territory.
Moving on, this morning I presented a ministerial report on fantastic Territory festivals, and I have just finished talking about Gunbalanya and Mahbilil, which we enjoy. I want to pay tribute to the wonderful team of volunteers who support these events and the arts generally. It is not possible to single out individuals because the list of names would literally run in to the hundreds.
The government is proud to support the work of festivals and the arts community, but every event, whether it is planning, programming, costuming, liaising with groups and local government, writing funding submissions, performing, providing space, advertising or whatever the job is, it happens because of the commitment of these individuals.
I am hosting a reception in Darwin for some of the arts volunteers at the end of August, and I hope to do this throughout the Territory in recognition of the wonderful work done by those community members. Whether in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Darwin or the Daly, arts volunteers give generously of their time and expertise. Without them, none of these shows would go on. Because of them, we are the richer.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Deputy Speaker, I want to speak about an event which is taking place in Alice Springs right at this moment. It is the National Road Transport Hall of Fame Reunion 2005.
Today was registration day, and I understand there are some 6500 people registered for this year’s reunion. That is a huge influx of people in to town; every motel room is booked and I hear about people trying to make bookings in Alice Springs who cannot get in this week; it is filled to capacity.
They had a sausage sizzle tonight at the Hall of Fame grounds, which is nearly finished except for those who are going to stay behind and party on. Tomorrow, starting at 9.00 am, registration will continue and there will be a set-up day at the Hall of Fame. Tomorrow night, there will be a barbeque and entertainment put on with a fun cabaret for all in a family-friendly manner.
Friday starts with a breakfast for Transport Women Australia Limited, and then there will be fun and games through the day and the whole of the Hall of Fame will be open for public inspection. I imagine there will be truck and vintage vehicle enthusiasts running around the site that has been wonderfully done up by the committee and the many volunteers who have shared in the work at the Hall of Fame.
I will come back to one particular person who has been involved more than anyone. Friday night is the Cummings Cup, which will be a twilight race meeting at Pioneer Park from 3 pm until 7 pm. My understanding is that the Acting Mayor will be welcoming everyone and addressing the crowd.
On Saturday, there will be the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame induction ceremony, and I am told there so many people being inducted. I know things are going to happen fairly smoothly if I know the people who organise it and how they do things.
At 12.30 pm on Saturday, there will be a Meet the Mile Makers lunch in the Hall of Fame grounds, with an opportunity for people to catch up with this country’s unsung heroes and transport pioneers. Music will be put on by Ian Castles. There will also be a reptile show.
On Saturday night will be the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame induction spectacular. Obviously, Shell Rimula is the sponsoring company. There will be entertainment going on at the same time.
Sunday is sponsored by Kenworth. There will be a truck parade from the Shell truck stop to the Hall of Fame grounds between 9 am and 11 am, and I am sure all of Alice Springs will be out there to see the parade. I am sure that the Alice Springs Sunday mall market will be held to coincide with the increasing numbers of tourists and people taking part in the National Road Transport Hall of Fame reunion.
Then, between 11 am and 6 pm there will be a public open day at the Hall of Fame for viewing the biggest array of vintage trucks ever. Obviously, there will be food and drinks available as well. The Home for Bertha pavilion will also be opened and a new calendar will be launched on Sunday.
Monday, between 9 am and 5 pm, will be an opportunity for all the participants to be networking and catching up with old stories and mates who have been part of this transport industry for so many years around Australia.
The lynchpin to this whole function is a lady by the name of Liz Martin. She has been there as custodian, manager, general dogsbody and gofer. She has done so much work with her partner, Kel Davis.
Many years ago, I spoke about Liz Martin. You will not recall because you were not here then, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker. In 1995, she was nominated by the Victorian Road Transport Association in recognition of her work in her role as the Vice-President of the Northern Territory Road Transport Association and representative of the Central Australian Road Transport industry on the national body, and had been a liaison officer between the industry and government on specifications, regulations and awareness programs with regards to the transport industry.
Following her nomination by the Victorian Road Transport Association, she went to a gala dinner at the World Congress Centre in Melbourne in about October 1995 where, in front of 3000 of Australia’s leading transport identities, Liz was presented with the Australian Freight Industry Award for Outstanding Contribution to Road Transport in Australia, the first Territorian to win such a prestigious national award.
Liz is the author of this book, Australia’s Road Transport Heritage, which she published in 1995. I draw members’ attention to a tribute that I made in November 1995 following the launch of this book, which I was privileged to have the pleasure of launching for Liz at the Australian Road Transport Hall of Fame. In my adjournment in 1995, I read some of the preface about the author, and I would like to add some more to the Hansard.
I will continue here at the last three or four paragraphs of the preface. As we all know, Liz was born in Katherine in the 1950s and has had a long association with the road transport industry. I quote:
When Liz completed her education at boarding school in Queensland, she eventually became a hairdresser and married a truckie.
With now ex-husband, Dave, they operated several successful transport businesses over the years, including driving the ‘Old
South Road’ from Adelaide to Darwin in 1970s, carting roadbase for haul roads in the Central Highlands coalfields in Queensland,
bulk tipper haulage on remote area road construction projects in the Territory and a heavy transport spare parts business in
Alice Springs.
At one stage, the Martin family lived in an Atco demountable on the third trailer of one of their road trains for several years as
they travelled and worked on various road construction projects for MacMahon Construction. During these years, Liz taught
her two sons, Trin and Dyllan, through School of the Air.
When the marriage broke down in the late 1980s, Liz continued her association with road transport and has served ever since
as Vice-President of the Northern Territory Road Transport Association, taking an active role in promoting the road transport
industry. She is also Chairman of the Road Transport Historical Society, the group responsible for the development of
the Road Transport Hall of Fame project in Alice Springs.
Liz currently works as a freelance road transport correspondent contributing to local newspapers and national transport magazines,
as well as being the Editor of the Northern Territory Road Transport Association’s quarterly magazine The NT Transport Review.
Obviously, this reunion is very significant. The Road Transport Hall of Fame began as an idea way back in 1992. Road transport has come a long way in the last 100 years, from the horse and cart to early transport and the steam engine. Now we have very highly refined technology that drives prime movers across the Territory.
People in Alice Springs spoke about doing something to collect the history of road transport because it served Alice Springs for so long. A way of doing that was to try to get memorabilia together so that children could at least learn and appreciate what it meant at a time when Alice Springs did not have much transport infrastructure.
In early 1992, Alice Springs local historian, Judy Robinson, called a public meeting out of concern that Australia’s transport heritage was being lost, many of the old timers were starting to pass away and many of the old trucks were lying rusting away in paddocks on cattle properties and rubbish dumps across the country. Fewer than 20 people attended the first meeting held on 28 February 1992 at the Alice Springs Town Council. There was unanimous agreement that, yes, they would do something. The concept of a transport or road train museum in the NT was born.
Quickly, by word of mouth and a small circular, people were informed and the excitement was quite significant. As word kept spreading, road train pioneers from all around the place started to write in, wanting to be involved. Road train pioneer Kurt Johannsen kicked off the kitty with a donation of $500 towards the building fund, and from there the whole concept grew and the money came pouring in. The Northern Territory government of the day supported the project very strongly. I take up the story from the book written by Liz Martin:
By May that year a steering committee had been formed and was working hard to get the project off the ground. Ian Cawood,
son of well-known transport pioneer Stan Cawood, was elected chairman, Judy Robinson secretary, the author treasurer and
public relations officer, Joe Patten as retrievals officer, Les Hodge as restoration officer, Phil Sexton photographer and film
media liaison, Ted Smith researcher, and Robyn Radke as the Tennant Creek representative.
I do not recall having tabled a copy of this for Hansard. If I have, I will ask for this back. If not, I seek leave to table it. As I said, it is a document that Hansard may have for future reference. It is a great book with the history of the trucking industry in Central Australia. It is a good read. The many identities that were involved in the trucking industry are in there, from people like Kurt Johannsen and Dave Baldock; there is a big picture of Noel Buntine in here; Joe Patten, Ted Smith, Ian Cawood, whom I spoke about; Liz Martin, Judy Robinson, and Les Hodge; identities such as Len and Phyllis Kittle. As you all know, Len passed away not so long ago. Debbie ‘The Camel Lady’ Robinson and Ronnie Tilmouth are in there, and I am sure if Ronnie had heard that I have spoken of him today, he would be thrilled.
I encourage members to have a look through this book. It is a worthwhile book to read. It gives you a great description of transport around the world and the impact that heavy transport has on Central Australia from our humble beginnings until today.
Dr BURNS (Johnston): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, picking up on the member for Greatorex, I will be at the Road Transport Hall of Fame this weekend to join with them in their celebrations. I would like to endorse what the member for Greatorex said. They are a great group and they have achieved a lot. It certainly is a showcase for the transport history of the Northern Territory.
As an old semitrailer driver myself, who still has a semitrailer licence, I get a big kick out of - there is another semitrailer driver in the Chair - I having a really close look at the exhibition. Some of the exhibits are quite rare and very inspiring. It is inspiring just thinking about the pioneers like Kurt Johannsen and all the yards that he made and the hardship and deprivation that people suffered when they were bringing supplies into Central Australia. I will be joining with people on Saturday night.
Tonight, I speak on the long-term contribution to the work of the Northern Territory government that Ms Christine McIntyre has made over a period of 32 years. Christine McIntyre resigned from her Accounts Officer position at DCIS Darwin on 19 August 2005 and plans to retire from the work force.
She commenced employment with the Commonwealth Department of Education as a clerk in 1973 before transferring to the Northern Territory Department of Education in July 1979. Along with other staff in the Salaries section, Christine McIntyre worked in trying conditions immediately after Cyclone Tracy, ensuring that teachers’ salaries continued to be processed.
Whilst with the Northern Territory Department of Education, Christine McIntyre had a varied and interesting career, which included human resources and payroll services, various administrative officer roles, and budget and financial management roles.
In 1998 when DCIS was formed, Christine transferred to the Accounting Services Branch and quickly settled into the role of Supervisor in the Accounts Receivable Unit. After 2 years, she transferred to the Accounts Payable Unit as Vendor Maintenance and Reconciliation Officer until she retired.
Outside of work, Christine has been a stalwart supporter of the Waratahs Football Club for over 30 years, and I commend her loyalty and endeavours.
I thank Christine McIntyre for her contribution to the Northern Territory government over 32 years, and I am sure all members wish her well in her retirement.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I also want to speak tonight on the long-term contribution to the work of the government that Ms Pauline Hodgson has made over a period of 30 years. Pauline resigned from her Accounts Officer position at DCIS Casuarina on 26 July this year.
She commenced work with the Commonwealth Department of Housing and Construction as a Personnel Registry Officer in 1975. In the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy, the office was relocated to Brisbane, as the devastated city’s infrastructure made it too difficult to carry out services from Darwin. Pauline Hodgson relocated her family to Queensland, where she operated in her position servicing the Territory for three years until the office was relocated back to Darwin.
As a compulsory transferee in 1978, Pauline Hodgson joined the Northern Territory public sector with the Department of Transport and Works. Between 1975 and 1995, she enjoyed several positions within the department, also enjoying a long maternity leave break to welcome two children into the world.
She returned to the work force in 1995 in the Personnel-Registry area of the Department of Transport and Works and, in her final year with the department, moved to the Finance area to re-skill in Accounts operations.
On the inception of DCIS in 1998, Pauline transferred to the Casuarina Accounts Payable team, servicing the Department of Health and Community Services and Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
Although very satisfied with her current position within DCIS Financial Services, she has decided to take her available retirement option. She has great plans to travel and visit family she has not seen for some time before returning to the Territory and continuing to raise her children and contribute to the local community.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I am sure all members join me in thanking Pauline for her contribution to the Northern Territory Public Service and government over 30 years, and we wish her well in her retirement.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I want to pick up where I left off last night on the issue of antisocial behaviour in Katherine. I spoke about the wonderful program that Sheila Millar from Dillinya is running, and I want to talk about other issues in Katherine.
One of the rising problems in our community, which has moved from remote communities into towns, is petrol sniffing. I have it on reliable authority that there has been a significant increase in petrol sniffers in Katherine over the past couple of weeks. They are moving in from their community, which has had Opal fuel introduced. It was bound to happen. As with alcohol-free communities, people just move into regional towns like Katherine and move the problem from their community into the town.
Government must be fully aware of this problem and should be introducing the Volatile Substance legislation in this Assembly as a matter of urgency. Why wait a moment longer? In recent times, there has been an assault in Katherine’s main street, which was unprovoked and has resulted in considerable stress for the victim and his family.
Just 12 months ago, a similar incident occurred with another Katherine young person, and the concerns that have been raised by some residents in Katherine call for the police to have a stronger presence in the main street, especially during busier times such as Friday and Saturday nights.
One of the suggestions I proposed at our main street meeting is that the police be in attendance at the club, which is situated in the main street. If they could be there half an hour before closing time, so that there is a presence, and stay in the area for at least half an hour afterwards, their presence will be a deterrent to some of the behaviour that has been happening.
There has been considerable publicity about these issues over the last couple of days and, of course, today’s Katherine Times has it reinforced on the front page. Naturally, the family of this young person in the most recent assault are fairly distressed. I know that they have expressed their concerns to the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, to the police and, of course, they have expressed them to me.
I want to say here and now that I acknowledge the magnificent work that our police force does, and in most cases it is a thankless task. They are a dedicated and committed force and have a wide range of challenges to deal with on any given day.
My concern – and, I might add, confusion - is over the number of police that are said to be assigned to Katherine. In estimates, were given the figure of 54. A reliable source has told me there are 66. When the officer-in-charge of Katherine Police Station was asked on ABC radio on Monday how many are stationed at Katherine, he couldn’t say. What is the big secret? In this open and accountable government, are they trying to hide something - and why? It begs the question that there is something to hide and there is no figure that can be verified.
Following on from that assault incident, to improve safety in the main street, some community members in Katherine have called for CCTV cameras to be installed along Katherine Terrace to monitor activity. In the past, this was seen as an intrusion on people’s privacy or as ineffective, among a few other excuses. Of course, since the horror of the London bombings when CCTV proved to an extremely effective way of identifying the suspects, it has been recognised again as being probably desirable to have. CCTV would also be valuable in assisting the police to identify culprits of unlawful behaviour in Katherine Terrace.
In the pursuit of this government’s Building Safer Communities strategy, how much would government assist Katherine Town Council in the funding of CCTV in Katherine? Surely, it fits the criteria, or is Building Safer Communities just a feel good statement?
There is much, much more to be said about making our community safer, and there will be much, much more said well into the future, I am sure. I would, however, like some answers to what I have put tonight to see how serious this government is about making Katherine a safer community.
Mr BURKE (Brennan): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I recently attended the Defence Officers’ Ball, which was hosted by Commodore Cam Darby and his wife, Sharni. The table at which I was sitting was hosted by Group Captain Mark Kelton and his wife, Jane. It was a great evening. Group Captain Kelton and his wife were great company, as were the other members of our table and other guests on the night.
As you would expect from a military evening, it worked like a well-oiled machine. Entertainment was provided by the Army Band. I think they may be in danger of having some of their musicians and singers poached by professional bands because they put on a really great show.
Also there was a telescope. The viewing that evening, through the telescope, was rather special. I understand that it is difficult up here because there are not too many clear nights, but on that Saturday evening we were blessed with a clear night and guests were privileged to have a wonderful sight of the crest of the moon through the telescope. That is something I have not seen before.
I raise the Defence Officers’ Ball not just in recognition of the fabulous event, but because we all know the importance of the military to the Territory, and that should also be recognised. Defence is a significant contributor to the Territory economy, injecting about $1bn a year; $500m in wages alone. The military are very much a part of our community, especially in my area of the Territory in Palmerston. Between 700 and 1000 Australian Defence Force personnel are posted to the Territory each year for an average two-year posting, although with some finagling, people can secure postings for a greater length of time by transferring between units stationed here.
There are a considerable number of Defence families living in my electorate; children whose parents or parent work in the Defence Force attend local schools. Bakewell Primary School is an example, with a significant proportion of children from Defence families. Spouses of Defence personnel often work in local businesses or support the local community in other ways.
The Martin government is committed to providing assistance to Defence families to ensure that their time in the Territory, however long, is as enjoyable and well supported as possible. Members will recall that the government announced three new initiatives during the election, and they are worth repeating. The first was a Welcome to Territory Expo held for Defence families in their home state in the event of a major relocation, such as the 1st Aviation Regiment moving to Robertson Barracks in support of the Tiger helicopters, which start arriving this year. The expos provide information about life in the Territory, including schools, child care services, job opportunities, recreation and health services to make it easier for families to settle into the Top End. This will be in addition to the welcome and support provided to Defence families when they arrive in the Territory.
On the issue of child care services, although not a government service, I understand that Defence is looking at expanding its network across Australia to almost double the number of child care centres, which will, as I understood from the presentation, double the child care centres in the Territory. Those will, of course, be run by the private operator that the Department of Defence has contracted.
There will be $100 000 allocated to a new bus service trial to military bases, initially in the Darwin and Palmerston areas, with possible expansion to include the Tindal RAAF Base. The initiative was developed in response to feedback from Defence families and will make it easier for them to make the most of Top End life off the base, including shopping, recreation and sport. The routes and times of buses will be finalised in consultation with Defence authorities and families. That is an example of how this government seeks to engage with not just Defence through official channels, but also families directly.
There was the announcement of a new Defence Force Liaison Officer position, providing a single point of contact for Defence Force families to get information about services to help make their posting as smooth as possible, and to provide advice to government agencies on practical issues impacting Defence families. The new position will be based within the Defence Support Division of the Department of Business, Economic and Regional Development, and will work closely with the Defence Housing Authority, Defence Community Organisation, and the Defence Families Association.
Relocation of the 1st Aviation Regiment and their families from Queensland to Robertson Barracks will add further to our Defence family population, which is currently approximately 13 000, a significant proportion of our community. The government allocated $570 000 to the Defence Support Division in Budget 2005 to continue to promote and support securing Defence-related contracts by Territory businesses.
The Australian government recently committed to a major upgrade of its hardware in agreeing to purchase 59 Abrams tanks from our ally, the United States. This is a major investment. It will hopefully provide great benefits for Darwin business. These tanks and other Defence hardware require through-life support, TLS, or perhaps it might be more appropriate to say TLC.
The NT government is supporting local contractors in their bid to win maintenance contracts. The Defence Forces use state-of-the-art equipment. If our local businesses can win contracts to maintain and repair this equipment, it will not only have monetary benefits, but skill benefits, too. It will hopefully lead to the creation of more apprenticeships and traineeships as these businesses commit to training up local people.
Along with other members, I recently attended the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II at the Cenotaph on the Esplanade. In attendance was Rear Admiral Michael Le Fever of the United States Marines along with a host of Australian and US military personnel and Consul Karen Ogle from the United States Consulate. Members will recall that Consul Ogle and other dignitaries visited Parliament House.
Another event I had occasion to attend was the unveiling of the Stolen Generations monument in the George Brown Botanic Gardens on 30 July, which was Darwin Cup long weekend. It was a very emotional unveiling and it was well attended. Other members of this Assembly attended, and there were some very moving speeches given by Top End members of the indigenous community as well as those from other areas of the Territory. Archie Roach spoke at the unveiling.
As I have said, it was a very moving ceremony and for anyone who has not gone to look at the monument, I encourage them to do so because the Stolen Generations are part of our local history. It is something we need to address and recognise because it has affected so many of our population both indigenous and non-indigenous.
On 14 August 2005, I was pleased to be invited to a reunion for staff at the Government House hosted by the His Honour the Administrator. There were many people in attendance, going all the way back to administrations as early as 1912. For me personally, it was a chance to catch up with Michael and Ann Barrett whom I had not seen for quite some time. These people are great Territorians and they, too, visited Parliament House, as members will recall.
I first met Michael and Ann when we were island hopping on the Indonesian motor vessel Kelimutu starting off in Kupang and travelling progressively east across the archipelago. People may remember that Michael, in addition to his position at Government House, ended up as Director of Red Cross for a number of years. It was a great time to catch up with them both.
I should make mention of a couple of events coming up for honourable members’ to be aware of if they are not already. Of course, this weekend we have the Taste of Italy festival and the Barrio Fiesta, two significant events for the communities hosting them. I look forward to attending those functions and meeting many Territorians there.
Finally, I want to mention the Seniors’ Month Concert at the Palmerston High School this Sunday, which is part of the celebrations that have been held specifically in and around Palmerston. I know, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I can look forward to seeing you there, along with many of the Seniors who live in and around the area.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I would like to share with the House news of my trip to Katherine on the weekend for a football grand final played with great flair and speed. I went to this game because football players from my electorate were in the grand final; the Arnhem Crows.
The match was between the Arnhem Crows, who took on the Lajamanu Swans. There were people everywhere at the Katherine show grounds, all dressed in the colours of their teams. I think there may have been around 1000 people who attended the event. Think of the Adelaide Crows colours and you have the Arnhem Crows and for Lajamanu, it was the yellow and white that stood out the most. People had traveled the 650 km from Lajamanu to support their team in the grand final in Katherine, especially after the team only just lost the grand final to the Ngukurr Bulldogs last year.
People are sports fanatics out on the communities, so much so that they do travel these great distances to play football. Each week during the AFL season in Katherine, which starts in April, the Lajamanu team travels the 650 km to Katherine for the game, then turns around straight after the game to travel the 650 km home again. To put it into perspective, that means travelling between Darwin and Katherine at least four times in one day just to get to a football match.
The Lajamanu team leaves on a Friday afternoon. They have a break at Top Springs in the Victoria River District and then complete the rest of the journey on Saturday morning, the day of the footy match. They then turn around that evening and get back to Lajamanu on Sunday morning.
The other team that travels the long distance to Katherine, but not quite as far away as Lajamanu, is the Ngukurr Bulldogs, again from my electorate of Arnhem. They have 350 km to travel just to get to Katherine, but the other big challenge for these footballers is the crossing of the Roper and Wilton Rivers. It often includes barge travel up river to where the bus is waiting to take them to Katherine. They play their game and then return to Ngukurr, finally reaching home about 2 o’clock on a Sunday morning.
This gives you an idea of the distances and the passion involved in competing in AFL Katherine. Each week, these teams travel the distances between April and August to be one of the five regional communities involved in Katherine AFL. The teams in the competition other than Lajamanu, Ngukurr and the Arnhem Crows are Kalano Community and Tindal RAAF Base.
AFL Katherine is the first competition to go dry. As a result, there were no fights on or off the field this weekend. It was a great family atmosphere and an evening that was enjoyed by many, especially the children who got to watch their dads, uncles, brothers and cousins playing on the field.
I had the pleasure of tossing the coin at the beginning of the match. Arnhem Crows won the toss, but unfortunately lost the match - do not put that down to me tossing the coin! The skill levels of both teams were very high and, indeed, incredibly fast. I might add that perhaps they were a little faster than AFL NT footballers, but maybe we will check that one day.
The margin was 10 points, although the lead changed about 20 times throughout the game. Dion Kelly from Lajamanu won the Hourglass Medal for Best on Ground, and the umpires did a great job.
Grog is not allowed at any AFL Katherine matches since the no alcohol initiative was adopted at the beginning of season 2004. This has also meant of loss of $30 000 in sponsorship income for AFL Katherine, however the league believes the long term benefits to the game far outweighs this initial loss. It is a courageous move, and one that most definitely needs to be supported.
I commend AFL Katherine for continuing on this path of no alcohol, as it is the long term benefits we need to keep focused on. Sporting matches should be something all people can go to and enjoy without feeling hassled, or families feeling it is unsafe. Whilst there is a large loss in sponsorship, in two years, player reports have reduced significantly and no incidents have occurred off field. This policy has also resulted in families coming to the games.
In season 2004, games are also being played out in communities as part of their local festival activities, which has benefited the communities greatly. This year, AFL Katherine matches were played at Barunga, Tindal and Kalano. Recently, a pilot junior competition commenced and this is being played as a curtain raiser to the senior competition. AFL Katherine is hopeful that, with financial assistance, this competition involving youth from regional communities in the area will become a regular competition.
AFL Katherine and the AFLNT recognise the need to improve the lifestyles and opportunities of local youth and are encouraged by the results achieved to date. Two players from the competition have been referred to an AFL club for consideration. In addition, a number of young players from Barunga have been playing in the local Geelong league in Victoria.
In 2004, AFL Katherine beat the AFL Gove and AFL Tiwi leagues in Gove and Darwin at Marrara respectively. On the Friday night prior to the grand final, which was organised by Janie McCullagh and Denis Coburn on behalf of the AFL Katherine Board, the Best and Fairest Award, the Brently Hughes Medal count was held. This was won by Ronnie Ah Fat from the Arnhem Crows. Mitchell Hall won the Doug Kelly Medal for kicking 57 goals throughout the season. Despite the $30 000 loss in sponsorship, AFL Katherine still encourages local charities to be involved. The RSPCA raised $3000 through the canteen at the football games.
Getting back to the grand final between Lajamanu Swans and Arnhem Crows, Lajamanu won 18-11-119 to Arnhem Crows’ 16-13-109. I take this opportunity to congratulate AFL Katherine President Dennis Rebbeck on a fantastic event on the weekend, and for the courage shown by the AFL in Katherine to provide a healthier environment for football players and spectators at the games.
In closing, I encourage all members of parliament to go along to next year’s AFL Katherine grand final and show them your support.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I will cover two issues tonight, both local: one involving the local markets and some feathery friends that are causing concern; and a red-suited, bearded gentleman by the name of Mr John Wilson who has been appearing as Santa Claus for many years.
The revamped markets at Palmerston are receiving very strong support from locals, including thousands of noisy rainbow red-collared lorikeets. Some call it a beautiful noise, including myself, but the birds are so noisy that, on opening night the Palmerston Senior Songsters and the Children of Palmerston and Beyond Youth Band could not be heard above the raucous screeching of thousands of lorikeets. Carols by Candlelight a couple of years ago had to be cancelled because of these noisy lorikeets.
Those who campaigned against the removal of Goyder Hill argued that the loss of trees would destroy the roosts of our noisy and feathery fellow residents. The removal of trees has resulted in a concentration of birds in the remaining trees. Are the birds a problem? Unfortunately, they are – not just because they drown out the chatter and music of humans and damage the trees, but bird droppings present a serious health risk in an area where food is served and consumed.
What is the answer? Rainbow lorikeets are social animals and creatures of habit. While no one wants to harm them, they need to be given a reason to move on and settle elsewhere. Some have suggested disco warfare with strobe lights to unsettle them, an idea that may work as strobe lights would stop me from spending time in discos.
Perhaps other tropical cities have lessons for us. I contacted Townsville City Council. They tackled a similar problem head on; they gave the birds a reason to move on by introducing a predator. Snakes and pythons eat birds so, if snakes were placed in the trees, the birds would then move to snake-free trees. A number of rubber snakes were tied to the tops of the trees, and I guess the originator of the idea got the job. Guess what? These birds were smart. They could tell rubber from real snakes and continued their noisy ways alongside the fake snakes.
Extraordinarily patient people have proposed the planting of lorikeet-tempting trees nearby, while a cynic has suggested the only remedy, of course, is drafting very strong legislation to send a firm message to these feathery troublemakers!
Of course, this approach involves flying up a gaggle of southern galahs, and the extension of the brief to include all irritating animals before Territorians are engaged in comprehensive community consultation. This will result in a media conference, four-point or even five-point action plan, glossy brochures and one or two large signs erected in the area to promote government. The birds will remain for at least four years. Well, yes, I guess so, but if the trees become too crowded, they will have a couple of large signs to roost on.
On a more serious note, and while all this is being considered, the Palmerston Council should ensure that no food is prepared under the trees, and that patrons consume food away from them. Second, heaving pruning of all roosting sites in the area should be undertaken. Finally, the Townsville snakes-in-the-trees initiative is true, believe it or not.
Now I would like to turn to Mr John Wilson. Do not tell anyone that I have told you this but his full name is John Desmond Lachlan Wilson, born 16 July 1933. He is an outstanding gentleman who has made, and continues to make, a great difference to Palmerston.
John Desmond Lachlan Wilson, also known as Pastry Wilson, was born in Wagga Wagga on 16 July 1933, the eldest of five children. He was apprenticed to a pastry cook in Wagga, hence the nickname Pastry. When he was in his 20s and still a pastry cook, he decided he would like to join the NT Police Force. The NT Police Force was actively recruiting at the time in New South Wales. Pastry applied and, to his horror, was rejected as recruits had to be a minimum of 5’8”, and he was only 5’7”. He stayed at his job and practised with weights, worked out in the gym and did running, and anything he could think of that might make him grow an extra half an inch.
Six months later, the same recruiting ad was in the paper so again he applied. The same people were in charge, and the police officer remembered him and asked him if he had grown any more. So John told him all the exercise and weights that he had done, and sat all the tests again and then went back to work. A couple of weeks later, he was advised that he was in. On 28 August 1958, at the age of 25, he arrived in Darwin in a new intake of recruits.
After the first few weeks of training, he was sent to Tennant Creek and then to Rankin River, where he was the last person stationed there. He then opened the Avon Downs Police Station. He was made a special border constable who travelled as far as Camooweal and Mt Isa in Queensland and then back again.
In the meantime, he married an English nurse and they eventually had four little Territorians, two of whom still live in the Territory. John also has five grandchildren. He returned to Darwin from Avon Downs and worked in the Missing Persons Section until he resigned on 12 March 1970.
John was editor of a magazine for the Police and Citizens Youth Club whilst in Canberra for 18 months; Secretary and Life Member of the Darwin Aviation Club in the 1970s; Foundation Life Member for the Darwin Police Club where he managed the bar for a number of years; member of the Northern Territory Police Museum and Historical Society Incorporated; and President, formerly Public Officer and member of the Welfare Subcommittee for the Retired Police Association for the Northern Territory.
John has been the pen behind the popular bi-weekly column Palmerston and Beyond, which ran for 11 years without missing a single issue. Prior to that, he was with the Litchfield Times. Thirty five years ago, he was asked to be Santa for the Police Children’s Christmas Party. He did so and has been playing Father Christmas to children in Darwin, Palmerston and the rural area since 1986, apart from a year he spent in Canberra.
The first year he was Santa, he made a mistake of telling the sergeant’s two children that yes, they would get new bikes. And he did not make the same mistake of promising anything ever again. He almost lost his job and the taste of playing Santa.
That was a start of a new annual career for John who adored the children and still does. John always borrowed the boots needed to make the outfit more authentic from firemen who in the year of Cyclone Tracy became rather tired of him always borrowing boots so the Darwin firies presented him with his very own boots, which he still has and wears to this day.
His bell, which is very large and very loud, was presented to him by a group of admirers from Mobil a few years ago. This is brought out and polished every year. Children love the sound of the bell because they know something magical is about to happen.
John has arrived at his destination by fire trucks with sirens going, police cars with flashing lights and sirens, helicopters, and his favourite, on the back of a Harley Davidson motor bike. John still arrives in a police car at the annual Police Children’s Christmas party.
Because of health problems, John has slowed down in the last couple of years, but still managed to attend up to 20 different playgroups, preschools, and church groups as well as being the Santa in a local shopping centre. When he was younger, he would play Santa upwards to 40 different times a year whilst still being in the shopping centre.
John was with the Nightcliff Lions for seven years where he won many awards and was the club bulletin editor for 1973-79. He was a member of the Palmerston Kiwanis for a number of years; Secretary-Treasurer of the Rotary Club of Litchfield-Palmerston for three years and continued as Secretary for two years. During his time at Rotary, he approached the management of the local shopping centre to see if he could run a rotary wheel selling meat tray tickets as a fundraiser for Rotary. The answer was yes. A great deal of money was raised for Rotary over the five years he did the meat tray wheel. Every Saturday morning without fail he was there.
He was also the organiser for the Rotary Horticultural Show held at Freds Pass Reserve during that time. When John left Rotary, the shopping centre management would not let anyone else take over John’s place at the wheel. John’s daughter-in–law, Lyn Hull, made a suggestion over lunch one day that it seemed a dreadful shame that the wheel would not be reactivated and renamed the Palmerston Shopping Centre Community Wheel with funds raised going back to the community groups in the form of grants. John took this idea that centre management who thought it wonderful. Each Saturday morning, including this coming Saturday morning, John is at the shopping centre from 7.15am until midday or later. He also has to see to the ordering of meat trays from both Coles and the butcher in the shopping centre.
During the time the community wheel has been running, funds have gone to Bakewell School, Palmerston Christian School, Woodroffe Primary School to help the children go to Paralympics. These children have all been actively fundraising for the trip so the community wheel topped up what they need. Funds have gone to the Alexandra Day Club, Palmerston Leisure Centre for the wheelchair lift, the Palmerston Seniors for Seniors Week, the Palmerston Seniors Songsters, Simply Crafts, Palmerston Lions, Playgroup NT for their annual sausage sizzle, Smile-a-Mile, Variety Bash, swimming club, the Sharks, country music singer and backing group for Karen O’Shea, and many more.
John’s main hobby is gardening or just talking to people, or abusing people in a good natured way, particularly myself. John is also on the management committee of Smile-a-Mile fun bus where he has been Public Officer for the last 18 months.
John, as the current Palmerston Citizen of the Year, is also on the Palmerston Awards Committee. He has always been ready to give a hand to the Salvation Army and Red Cross with their door-knock appeals or even sitting and collecting for them. He also takes his turn at the Cancer Council Daffodil Day with the morning spent sitting, talking and, most importantly, helping with fundraising.
I congratulate you, John. You make Palmerston proud.
Ms SACILOTTO (Port Darwin): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight, I would like to talk about the great, supportive constituents in the Port Darwin electorate. Since winning the seat, I have been presented with a number of opportunities to get out and about in Port Darwin, to meet residents and be a part of my community.
First, I would like to acknowledge the Larrakeyah Primary School. I attended the school council meeting on 2 August and met a wonderful group of committed parents and friends. Those attending included Wendy Alp, Charles Staples, Richard Wiltshire, Michael Calwell, Jo McLatchey, Bertram Birk, Grace Matarazzo, Jo Wynn, Juliet Cooper, Emma Liveris, Robyn Appleby, Jane Cuthall, Julie Pudney, and Susan Propt.
A welcome is extended to Michael Calwell who has taken up the position of Assistant Principal to assist Jo Wynn, the Principal. Michael came from Jingili Primary School.
New students at Larrakeyah were also welcomed via the newsletter. They were Brendan Learoyd and Luke Magnusson attending preschool and Chelsey Wangurru, who is in Walsh 1. Some Larrakeyah students attended the City Cluster Athletics on 11 August. Congratulations must go to Dylan Elford who was selected in the City Cluster team.
The school camp is looming and students from Year 6-7 will take off to Lake Bennett and are looking forward to this annual event.
On 23 September, there is a casual dress day, and this is to raise fund to support the Baguia Orphanage. The dress theme is Careers; for students to come dressed as they wish to be in the future. This should be fun and may cause some concerns for parents - for example, a lion tamer, a fairy princess or a politician.
A book review by two Year 4-5 classes was very interesting reading. Recognised class achievements were by the following students: Lyne Lee, Anthony, Cara, Alannah, Brenton, Neka, Jarrod and Siobhan. One book title that I am relating to is Tucking in Mummy. The reviewer, Anthony, said:
It is about mum who falls asleep just before she tucks her kids in, and they end up tucking her in instead. It shows that kids
can look after parents, too.
My son, Luca, does that on a regular basis.
Lorraine Watts has been nominated by her school community at Larrakeyah for the National Excellence Awards in Teaching. The nomination has been in recognition of her excellent teaching skills and Lorraine has been presented with a certificate of nomination.
Larrakeyah is reviewing its school uniform in consultation with parents, friends and students. I am sure a great new look will be forthcoming.
Larrakeyah Preschool indicated they had started the new semester with large numbers, and the children had taken to learning the school routine without too many setbacks. A high point this semester will be the preschool attending gymnastics on four alternate Wednesdays. These lessons will be held at the Marrara Sporting complex and - who knows? - there could be an Australian champion amongst them.
I happily accepted an invitation to visit the Stuart Park Primary School. I was very impressed with a particular piece of class work on democracy. I was advised that after a visit to the Legislative Assembly, Stuart Park Primary School student Zac Menzies initiated a campaign to bring back the Australian flat that flew over Darwin and was damaged under fire during the first World War II bombings at Government House.
He recently presented his case to the Darwin City Council and a conference of Social Education teachers. In support of his request, Zac created a large poster to advertise his campaign and placed petitions in Darwin businesses, which have been very supportive of his action. I am informed that Zac will travel to Canberra to present his petitions to the Prime Minister. Zac is also being strongly supported by his mother, Judi Menzies.
Stuart Park has a nomination in the Australian Teacher Excellence Awards and their nomination is Richard Woodside. Mr Woodside, by the way, was my Grade 5 teacher.
Like Larrakeyah, Stuart Park Primary School also participated in the City Cluster games, and three students - Yainni Stefanidakis, Clare Darben and Bradley Sneddon - were successful in making the team, with the prospect of later being selected for the Pacific School Games in December this year.
To celebrate the end of Term 2, the school had a concert, which took the form of a circus spectacular. All classes worked hard learning circus skills such as juggling, acrobatics and uni-cycling. The uni-cycling was a great hit with the students, and Miss Deb is now conducting lessons two afternoons a week after school for the many willing participants.
A coming event is the fancy dress parade, and this will include the whole school dressing up as their favourite book character. Teachers are wondering how many Harry Potters there will be. I am advised that the Chief Minister has agreed to be one of the judges - not an easy task.
On 20 August, I attended the Seniors Expo at Spillett House. This day was primarily an information day for the seniors of our community to meet each other to gain and exchange information on various services that are available to them. A special mention must go to Ken Mildred, who is the Publicity Officer with Darwin Senior Citizens, for a successful expo. He is also a tireless worker and supporter of the Darwin Neighbourhood Watch group. Some of the exhibiters were U3A, the University of the Third Age, Neighbourhood Watch, NT Carers, St John, Red Cross, Heart Foundation, CWA and COTA.
Whilst there, I was able to purchase some very beautiful tea towels from the Mothers Union Stall. Robyn Pinkerton was the stall organiser and she is also the President of the Mothers Union. This organisation is a group of women from the Church of England, and they contribute enormously to our community by knitting for Royal Darwin Hospital. Some of their works are garments for premature bubs and trauma teddies. They are always looking for knitters and have patterns and wool available. Ms Pinkerton also advised me that the organisation was formed in England in 1876 by Mary Somner. The first Australian branch was in Tasmania and formed in 1892. Currently in Darwin, they have 25 members and are always encouraging others to join. Ms Pinkerton said that the union is now open to men, as another function is to support families in their community.
In closing, I am pleased to announce that the Port Darwin electorate will be involved in this year’s World’s Largest Lunch. This event is to support the Leukemia Foundation in raising funds and awareness in the community. The lunch, for all those interested, will be held between 10 and 18 September this year, which will enable many interested people and organisations to pick a day that is suitable to their circumstances.
If you wish to host a lunch, Simmone Jarvis, the Community Relations Coordinator for the Northern Territory, is the coordinator for this event and is contactable on 8927 5677. If you are too busy to host your own Leukaemia World’s Largest Lunch on behalf of the Leukaemia Foundation, the Port Darwin electorate office is in the planning stage and extends an invitation to all members and staff of the House to attend this worthwhile lunch: spend a gold coin and an hour supporting the Leukaemia Foundation.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016