2003-05-27
- Madam Speaker Braham took the Chair at 10 am.
MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATOR
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, welcome home. I lay on the table message No 14 from His Honour the Administrator recommending to the Legislative Assembly a bill for an act to amend the Financial Management Act which, in part, provides for public monies of the Territory to be expended in relation to certain Northern Territory Public Sector employee entitlements.
MEDIA ARRANGEMENTS
Madam SPEAKER: I advise, as you are well aware also, honourable members, I have given permission for various media to broadcast live, or rebroadcast with sound and vision, the presentation of the budget and the Treasurer’s speech. 8 TopFM radio will broadcast live the presentation of the budget and the Treasurer’s speech, and the Northern Territory News will take photographs.
PETITION
Breakdown of Law and Order
Breakdown of Law and Order
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I present a petition from 20 petitioners praying that steps be taken to rectify the breakdown in law and order in our community and return to them their peaceful town. The petition is similar to a petition read in the Assembly on the 1 May 2003. The petition bears the Clerk’s certificate that it conforms with the requirements of standing orders.
Madam Speaker, I move that the petition be read.
Motion agreed to; petition read:
- To the honourable Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory.
Law and order petition. We the undersigned respectfully showeth our great dissatisfaction with
the increasing level of antisocial behaviour and the level of property crime in Alice Springs.
Your petitioners do humbly observe that, with the present government, there is a lack of adequate
deterrents to continuing offence and disruption of our safety and civil enjoyment of our community.
- Your petitioners do humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory urgently take
the necessary steps to rectify the breakdown in law and order in our community and return us to our
peaceful town and your petitioners, as in duty bound, well ever pray.
RESPONSES TO PETITIONS
The CLERK: Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 100A, I inform honourable members that a response to petitions No 26 and No 29 have been received and circulated to honourable members. The text of the responses will be including in the Parliamentary Record.
- Petition No 26
Extension of the Marrakai school bus route
Date Presented: 19 February 2003
Presented by: Mr Maley
Referred to: Minister for Transport and Infrastructure
Date response received: 16 May 2003
Date response presented: 27 May 2003
School bus services are provided in many urban, near urban and rural areas across the
Northern Territory, including to the Marrakai region. Each school day across the Darwin
rural and outer rural areas there are over 2000 students who use school bus services.
The Darwin rural area has developed significantly over the past few years and school bus
services have been evolving to meet the changing needs of the community. For example, the
rural school bus interchange was introduced early in 2002 primarily to ensure that buses
could cater for the new Girraween Primary School.
My Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment and I receive numerous and
varied requests for additional or changed services to keep pace with these developments,
including from the Marrakai region.
There are a number of challenges to providing network school services in the rural area.
These include the large geographical area to be covered, the relatively low population
density, the movement of families throughout the region, the number of schools to be serviced,
the road network and road environment, and the resources available for bus services.
All these factors are considered whenever new services, or variations to existing services, are
considered.
My department is currently reviewing the routes and timetables of public bus services across the
greater Darwin area. When this exercise nears completion early in 2004, a review of dedicated
school bus services will commence. This will provide an opportunity to systematically examine
the current arrangements and to assess the various competing requests for services across the
whole school bus network. The needs of the Marrakai region will be considered along with
other community requests at that time.
This process will also be an opportunity to look anew at how school transport services are provided
to ensure that all families across the whole rural area have fair and reasonable access to these very
important services.
Petition No 29
Second Airline to Central Australia
Date presented: 29 April 2003
Presented by: Ms Carney
Referred to: Minister for Tourism
Date response received: 13 May 2003
Date response presented: 27 May 2003-05-27
I am very happy to report that a second airline has indeed been secured for Central Australia.
On 20 March 2003, Virgin Blue announced it would begin daily, daylight services from Sydney to
Alice Springs, commencing on 5 June 2003. It is worth noting that Virgin’s decision to enter this
route was based on a sound business case and the government has not provided any additional
funds to subsidise this route. We always believed Virgin would make a commercial decision
regarding its future expansion plans for the Territory and further, that the Northern Territory
Tourist Commission and Northern Territory Aviation Committee had developed and presented
a sound business case for Alice Springs.
I am very pleased with this result, which will be to the great benefit of the people of Central
Australia and to our largest employer, the Territory tourism industry.
MINISTERIAL REPORTS
Achievement of Statehood
Achievement of Statehood
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, last week I announced my government will work on a new campaign to achieve statehood based on the Territory constitution developed through the community.
We are determined, in time, to be the first new state created since Federation. We are part of the Australian nation, we take on all the responsibilities of nationhood in peace and in conflict, therefore we should be afforded the same democratic rights as the rest of the country. Yet, although the Northern Territory is regarded as an intrinsic part of the nation, we still do not enjoy many of the political rights of other Australians. Legislation passed by our Legislative Assembly may be overturned by the federal parliament. In fact, as we know, this has occurred. While our citizens’ votes count in the overall tally in a national referendum, we are not counted for the purposes of the second criterion of successful referenda; that referenda must pass in a majority of states.
As a 25-year-old democracy facing important challenges, this is a fitting time for a new look at our governance and our place in the nation. We will do this with careful community consultation and community involvement from the start. That process will commence this year through the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee which will be charged with mapping the form and content of the community consultation process over the next five years.
Last week, I pledged the majority of delegates to any future constitutional convention would be elected by the people, not imposed by political leaders. I further pledge that the decision-making processes such as constitutional conventions and the final referendum, shall be independent of the normal electoral cycle. Importantly, we will ensure that the indigenous communities and their representatives are centrally involved at all stages.
A possible time frame is that statehood might coincide with the 30th anniversary of self-government, which is 1 July 2008. However, if the community wants us to take longer to draft a new constitution, so be it. The path towards statehood will be guided by the following values:
it will be community based, not imposed upon the people;
resources to do this community-based process;
by an elected constitutional convention, and an eventual vote by all Territorians. However, this time
line will be designed for maximum flexibility to fit in with community wishes.
There are many challenges thrown up by statehood; not the least is that of the place of indigenous peoples in a new state. We must acknowledge the depth and range of discussions indigenous Territorians have gone through at the Kalkarindji and Batchelor conventions.
An inquiry by the legislative committee into why the vote failed last time found that there was a lack of understanding about statehood and a lack of information about the process of constitution making. Therefore, there is a critical need for an education and information sharing campaign to accompany any community process that might develop over the next five years. We should not be rushed, but neither should we be dissuaded. Any successes we might achieve over the next five years will only be possible if the process is open and transparent and driven by the community. Madam Speaker, this time I believe we will get it right.
Mr BURKE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to the Chief Minister’s words. I am pleased that there was no overt criticism of the CLP in her report this morning because that is pretty important. We can all look back and have our personal viewpoints as to why statehood failed in the past. I do not wish to dwell on that except to say that it is important that this time it does not fail. Statehood is a central plank of the CLP platform. Certainly, any CLP parliamentary wing or leader has an objective to achieve statehood for the Northern Territory as soon as possible in the best way possible.
I have no objections to the way the Chief Minister intends to pursue the process this time. What I would ask, though, is that the time line that the Chief Minister envisages needs to be more defined, and I would hope defined very quickly so that, if we do pledge bipartisan support which in principle I do, it is with the caveat that the time line is explained to Territorians and to the opposition so that we can participate in that education campaign, ensuring we are all on the same sheet of music.
In terms of it being a citizens-based campaign, one group that I would ask the Chief Minister to consider - and she would be aware they were next to her stand at the Freds Pass Show - is Territorians for Statehood. They are a genuine citizens group. They are looking for some funding to promote their cause. They are doing a superb job, I believe, in promoting in the best way they can, the issues that the Chief Minister envisages. I believe that, when the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs looks at those organisations that could be involved, that Territorians for Statehood should not be forgotten. There is no doubt there will be organisations that want to come forward, that claim they have the expertise and the broad base support but, in fact, will be expensive and may not necessarily have that support. I thank the Chief Minister for her report.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Just briefly, Madam Speaker, I can assure …
Madam SPEAKER: I am sorry. Member for Nelson.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, as one who was involved in much of the debate about statehood, in the group that supported democratic statehood for the Northern Territory but opposed the particular vote, I welcome the Chief Minister’s statement today. It is important that we do take our time and also that we do not forget the other issues that are occurring that are of importance - the economy, planning, the environment - and we do not dismiss those ideas and run with statehood as the only issue.
One of my concerns - and I do not have enough time to discuss it too deeply - is that people also need to know not only what the state will look like internally – that is, what our constitution will be - but what it will be in the Federation of Australia. I spoke to Mick Denigan at the Freds Pass show. I am a bit concerned that we could become half or a quarter of a state. I know there are a lot of arguments that 12 senators would be too much for a place as big as the Northern Territory; however, if we are to vote on whether we are to be a state, people need to know what will be the details so when they vote on that they know where we stand in the Federation.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, just to reassure the Leader of the Opposition, I have spoken to Territorians for Democratic Statehood and some key stakeholders before I delivered the speech at the university, because this has to be an inclusive process.
I know that the Opposition Leader does not like to be reminded of what happened previously but, if we are going to get it right this time, we have to understand what went wrong last time. That is a fact of life. It is important not to reinvent history and we are not going to spend too much time looking at it. Certainly, if you want to know why many people who wanted to see a state voted against it right across the Territory, it was the arrogance of politicians and the way they had hijacked a proper parliamentary process. That is a fact of life.
When the Opposition Leader says: ‘Do include us’, this is not the government running the process. Can you understand that? This is a parliamentary committee; there are two members of the opposition on that committee. The parliamentary committee working with the community will set that time line. It will be appropriately funded.
This is not a matter of this government running off and doing as we saw in the past; it will be bipartisan and will be done properly.
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired, Chief Minister.
Welcome Home for Service Personnel
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, on Thursday 15 May, it was my pleasure to join hundreds of families, friends and loved ones in welcoming home Territory and Australian Air Force personnel who had been serving in the Middle East.
The ceremony was held at RAAF Base Tindal and was attended by the Prime Minister; the Deputy Opposition Leader, Jenny Macklin; Minister for Defence, Robert Hill; Chief of Defence Force, Peter Cosgrove; Chief of Air Force, Angus Houston; and Mayor of Katherine, Jim Forscutt, among others.
It was an extremely important event for the Territory, as the majority of those arriving home that day are based at Tindal. The welcome home ceremony allowed the Katherine community, the Territory and Australia as a whole, to say thanks to our Defence Force personnel for a job well done, and show our appreciation for their efforts.
For families and friends, it was a time to reunite with loved ones and finally be together after what must have been an extremely tense and emotional few months for all involved. For many, there had been little contact with family during the entire Iraqi conflict, despite the efforts of the Defence Force to create lines of communication. This was a sacrifice in itself, and would have made for a particularly anxious few months. For this, we thank the families. Seeing the looks of relief and happiness on the faces of those families and the returning military men and women following the Middle East conflict, was very special. It was evident for all to see that they appreciated the welcome home ceremony, and all the support they had waiting back home.
While it was an honour to personally welcome those RAAF personnel home as they arrived at the base, the welcome they received from their young families, their friends and loved ones was much, much more important. I know for one family, in particular, it was an especially memorable day, as one of their children was born while the father was overseas on active duty.
During the three to four months that our troops were involved in the conflict, they acquitted themselves in the best possible manner; and continued the fine tradition of Australian Defence Forces in providing a professional and effective military presence. This was carried out in some of the toughest conditions imaginable, and they found that they were up to the task, no matter where they were called to duty.
Our Australian troops, many of whom are Territorians and based at Tindal, won the respect of both the American and British Armed Forces and, again, demonstrated the proud Australian spirit that has been our hallmark during times of war. I believe that most of the returning troops are now enjoying some well-earned R and R and time with their families and friends. I trust that they will soon return to work knowing that they completed their job in the best possible manner, and returned home to Australia with the full respect of their country.
I would also like to recognise the efforts of the service men and women who remained at Tindal, and those in the Katherine community who provided the best possible support for the military families. Speaking to a number of the RAAF partners at the welcome home, they said that the support they received was invaluable and helped them through a tough period. There can be no doubt that a military operation such as this could not have been properly undertaken without this level of care. For those serving in Iraq, to know that this support was being provided to their families and that they were being properly cared for at home, must have been a great source of reassurance.
Madam Speaker, we are pleased that the Defence men and women are home safely, and they have acquitted themselves with great professionalism. We, as a parliament, are very proud of them.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr REED (Katherine): Madam Speaker, the welcoming home for personnel at RAAF Base Tindal was one of those occasions in life that was very moving. Their return was one of those personal experiences of bringing together husbands and wives, families, children and friends who have been absent on - what potentially could have been, and did indeed turn out to be - a very dangerous expedition but one which, thankfully, everyone returned from without even an injury - quite a remarkable result.
It was one of those rare experiences of life and it is commendable that people were able to return without injury; having acquitted themselves well during their service in the Middle East for their country. It is something that Australians should be very proud of, and it will remain a memorable occasion.
What should not be overlooked is that there has been - and there will be all sorts of cries of horror in relation to these comments - an opportunity taken by the Chief Minister - who also did it in the sittings in Alice Springs - to try and appear that it was she who was wanting to be at the forefront of the welcoming home when, indeed, the Prime Minister himself had already made arrangements for that. What will not be forgotten are the remarks by the federal member, Warren Snowdon, prior to the troops being deployed. Of course, when he was there to farewell them with the Minister for Defence, Mr Hill, his remarks had shifted considerably from the comments he had made in the parliament opposing any actions on behalf of Australian Defence personnel, but being quite different when he was there face to face with the personnel at Tindal.
Those issues will not be forgotten either; they are remembered, they are indelibly entrenched in people’s minds …
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired, member.
Mr REED: … and we should remember the whole picture here, in terms of the RAAF Base commitment and all of the personnel …
Members interjecting.
Mr Ah Kit: It is important, but he has run out of time, waffling on.
CeBIT Sydney 2003
Dr TOYNE (Communications): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to report on Northern Territory involvement in CeBIT, Sydney, earlier this month. The Northern Territory government hosted a stand at CeBIT for the first time. The stand provided an important base and support to the Northern Territory information communications technology businesses attending CeBIT, and promoted the sector and the Northern Territory as a place to do business. Lots of opportunity was found at CeBIT, Sydney. It is the Asia Pacific region’s largest and most important ICT exhibition. Around 18 500 delegates attend, including 140 international delegations and 480 exhibition booths, giving the Northern Territory a wide exposure to potential domestic and export markets.
Over the three days, the Northern Territory ICT businesses met with around 1000 business contacts and 50 business to business matching meetings. One business made the comment that they had managed 20 to 30 detailed briefings each day with potential customers. Six Northern Territory companies attended CeBIT: Mr Kim Ford from CSM Group Ltd, Mr Brad Fitzgerald and Mr Chris Durman from Commercial Capital, Mr Duncan Maclean from Cridlands Lawyers, Mr Denis Mackenzie and Mr Andrew Boller from Connected Solutions Group, Ms Karen Timmers from SRA Information Technology, and Mr Peter Barwell and Ms Jude Ellen from Email Surveys. Email Surveys were contracted to conduct on-site electronic surveys for the CeBIT Sydney organisers, Australian Information Industry Association, the federal Department of Communications and the New South Wales government.
An open forum was held between all Northern Territory businesses and Austrade commissioners from India, Thailand, Czechoslovakia, Fiji, Germany and Vietnam to promote overseas business opportunities for the Northern Territory firms. Following the forum, Austrade commissioners met individually with businesses of interest. This personal contact with trade commissioners is an invaluable part of our push for increased business opportunities, growth and jobs.
This event builds on the work from the ICT forum that minister Henderson and myself sponsored in September last year, and on the NT delegation that I lead to CeBIT Hannover in March. The CeBIT events provide sound starting points for developing a Northern Territory presence, and building market recognition of the Northern Territory’s capability and products.
I am hopeful that we shall see more investment in the Territory from the attendance of the industry at these events, and the development of business and export opportunities from the contacts we are making. There is great enthusiasm and drive within the ICT industry in the Northern Territory currently, and I will continue to work with the industry on further business opportunities, industry expansion, job creation and increased exports. Madam Speaker, this is jobs, jobs, jobs in one of our most respected industries.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I join the government in congratulating businesses in the Northern Territory who went to CeBIT Sydney to demonstrate their wares and to show the world what Territorian businesses can do. However, when the minister says that the Sydney CeBIT might be the biggest in the Asia Pacific region, he needs to question how big the Singapore CeBIT is. Unfortunately for Singapore this year, the SARS outbreak caused it to cancel its program.
We have said all along that the outsourcing of ICT by the Northern Territory government under the CLP was a good thing, in that it encouraged the growth of ICT in the Territory. It provided a base of ICT work that companies in Darwin and Alice Springs could tender for, and develop the base of expertise which has now shown through its development of product, which is now very much in demand across the nation. I congratulate the government for continuing the work that the CLP had commenced, and ask the minister to continue to promote businesses in the Northern Territory, in part way to overseas purchasers. Any economy that can bring income to the Territory is obviously very, very useful. I congratulate the businesses for doing what we started them doing a couple of years ago.
Dr TOYNE (Communications): Madam Speaker, well, it is a bit rich: ‘Oh yes, we are only building on all the ideas of the CLP’. What we inherited when we got into government was outsourcing arrangements that had to be urgently repaired. We inherited an industry that had lost all confidence in its relationship with government and all in its own future. We are now rebuilding the outsourced arrangements so that they are actually doing what they were meant to do.
I have confidence in my agency DCIS and the CEO Sarah Butterworth, and I would also pay tribute to Les Hodgson, our Executive Director in ICT. We are getting things very much on track now and the industry is responding to a coherent process within government. They know we are going to support them, unlike the last mob, and we are going to support them consistently and with intelligence.
East Timorese Asylum Seekers
Mr VATSKALIS (Ethnic Affairs): Madam Speaker, this morning I advise the House on the current situation regarding East Timorese asylum seekers in the Northern Territory, and the assistance provided to them by the Territory government. In relation to East Timorese asylum seekers in the Territory, 65 primary decisions have been made out of a total of 86 persons; and 20 applicants have now either been granted a visa, departed Australia by their own choice, or have acquired permanent residency.
The Territory government is assisting the East Timorese asylum seekers in a variety of ways. The Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission has been assisting the East Timorese asylum seekers with the preparation of a response to the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. The assistance has also included the lodgment of their appeals to the Refugee Review Tribunal, and the preparation of the submissions to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. The Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development is exploring alternative migration pathways available. Under the skill employer sponsored migration, two primary applicants have been nominated for permanent residency under the Regional Sponsor Migration Scheme, and a further three are receiving assistance.
The Northern Territory government has given a commitment to provide all necessary legal, linguistic and migration assistance through the Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission, DBIRD and the Office of Ethnic Affairs. The Chief Minister has written to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, Hon Philip Ruddock MP, requesting that the East Timorese be given special consideration to remain permanently in Australia and that their ASAS funding should continue whilst they are awaiting the outcome of the submissions. Ministers and MLAs have also provided letters of support for the East Timorese. The East Timorese President, Xanana Gusmao, speaking at the March 2003 Harmony Day Lunch in Sydney, has urged the federal government not to send home the 1800 asylum seekers currently living in Australia. Mr Gusmao said his country was still poverty stricken and struggling to build its economy, and was unable to feed or shelter the returning asylum seekers. Understandably, the East Timorese community is very nervous as they await the outcome of their appeals and submissions to the minister for Immigration.
The Territory government is committed to a diverse, dynamic, and growing multicultural society, which is enriched by the contribution the East Timorese make in the Territory. They are crucial to the Territory for our future development needs; it would not be in the public interest to lose any of this community from the Territory. We are different from the rest of Australia because East Timorese residing in the Territory are already thought of as Australians; they are part of the Territory family. I can see no logical, social, economic or cultural argument why East Timorese Territorians should be forced to return to East Timor. I am deeply concerned about the lack of support from the federal government for the East Timorese asylum seekers to stay in Australia. I will discuss this issue once again with minister Ruddock during the coming ministerial council in Melbourne in mid-June. I will convey, once again, the message that the Northern Territory government and the people of the Territory want the East Timorese to stay here.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr BURKE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, from the report that the minister gave on the success of keeping East Timorese who want to stay here in the Northern Territory, it would appear from his words that that is working quite successfully. I would like to hear information from him as to what numbers of East Timorese have left the Northern Territory who did not want to leave, and what were the reasons why they had to leave. My understanding - and it is very important for the record that this is not something that politics have played with foolishly – is that everyone wants the East Timorese to stay in the Northern Territory. We had a motion in parliament, with support for that motion, and both sides of this parliament have worked vigorously, using our own contacts, to ensure the best outcome has been achieved. In that context, be honest and fair and reflect on the work that David Tollner and Nigel Scullion have done directly …
Members interjecting.
Mr BURKE: It is one thing to say: ‘I will raise this with Minister Ruddock at the next ministerial conference’. Mr Scullion and Mr Tollner are in almost daily contact with the minister on this issue.
Members interjecting.
Mr BURKE: You can say what you like in this Chamber. I know the efforts that are being made within the federal parliament within the Coalition; the excellent efforts that are being made in order to get the best outcome to get all of these East Timorese to remain in the Northern Territory.
It is not helped by some of the foolishness that is being run by Senator Trish Crossin regarding amendments to legislation that they are going to bring forward almost imminently. Yet, nothing has actually appeared on the parliamentary business paper in the federal parliament because they are not prepared to bring those amendments forward, or they are simply playing politics with the issue. There are people on both sides of parliament working hard to achieve the best solution for everyone and, to a large extent, that is being achieved within the context of Australia’s overall immigration policy.
Mr VATSKALIS (Ethnic Affairs): Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his support. I am really pleased to hear that we have bipartisan support, at least in this parliament, on the East Timorese asylum seekers. As for the work that the member for Solomon and Senator Scullion have done, I only want to refer you to a very recent editorial in the NT News. The title was ‘The Silence is Deafening’. That is what we have heard from our federal counterparts - nothing at all. Mr Tollner is on the record saying he is not going to support an amendment in parliament. Mr Tollner has done nothing to support the East Timorese; a very wise decision considering there is going to be only one representative in the Territory in the coming election. I wonder how many of the East Timorese are going to vote for Mr Tollner.
This government is prepared to support the East Timorese. I am very pleased - and I repeat that - that the other side of this House is also prepared to support the East Timorese to stay here in the Territory.
Ministerial Reports noted pursuant to sessional order.
MOTION
Note statement - Crime Prevention Initiatives
Continued from 25 February 2003.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arafura): Madam Speaker, I speak in relation to the crime prevention statement tabled by the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General in August last year. It is pleasing to see the many projects that have been funded under the crime prevention strategy. This funding has been for indigenous organisations, as well, to assist them in developing and implementing effective strategies to deal with tackling crime and, more importantly, to prevent crime from happening in the first place.
To update you on some of the developments, there have been a number of additional regional crime prevention councils established. To date, with the Office of the Crime Prevention, we have seen the establishment of regional crime prevention councils in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Katherine, and an indigenous regional crime prevention committee comprising of the Warlpiri communities.
We have also recently seen the Darwin Regional Crime Prevention Council established, which held its first meeting yesterday. The Office of Crime Prevention, in partnership with Neighbourhood Watch, is inviting interested community members to nominate to sit on this regional council. As I understand, public meetings are planned for the Darwin city area and the northern suburbs.
In Arnhem Land planning has also commenced to establish crime prevention councils. The Office of Crime Prevention recently attended a public meeting convened by the Nhulunbuy Town Corporation and Alcan on 10 April 2003. It was pleasing to see broad representation from both indigenous organisations and community groups. Minister Stirling, in his capacity as the local member, also attended.
At that meeting, a focus on solutions to major issues was taken. Many problems were raised which were mainly impacting on Nhulunbuy township itself. There was clear recognition that causes and solutions require a regional approach. A steering committee was nominated to identify looking at a way forward, and Mr Eden Gray-Spence, who is the Northern Territory government’s Regional Director, was elected chair of that steering committee. Mr Gray-Spence recently transferred from Katherine, as we know, and was instrumental in the establishment of the Katherine Regional Crime Prevention Council, and linking that council to a regional development plan.
Richard Ganduwuy Garrawarra, a senior elder from Galiwinku, represents the Galiwinku Knowledge Centre which networks communities of Galiwinku, Maningrida, Ramingining and Gapuwiyak. All of these communities - which is pleasing to note because of the alcohol and drug problems in those communities - looked at, and have established, law and justice committees and are seeking recognition as a group to look at establishing a regional crime prevention committee encompassing those communities.
The key activity of that committee has been identified, and that is the development of strategies to engage the at-risk Yolgnu group in these four communities in productive and culturally positive activities, as well as the initiation of their formal involvement with existing processes of the justice system. If I could look at the youth, I said in Alice Springs that I was quite concerned with the way some of the debate was going when we were in Alice Springs. From the other side, there was a tendency to merge and conflate completely different social groups and lump them all together in a single sinister criminal force, threatening the lifestyle and wellbeing of good citizens of the Northern Territory. There was that perception of crime and sentencing statistics, particularly at that time in relation to Alice Springs but, certainly continuing through the Northern Territory.
When we look at the prison sentences - and severe prison sentences at that - this will always feature as part of any realistic - and I have said this before and also in the Alice Springs sittings - that in any effective crime prevention policy for the Northern Territory, prison sentences or a strategy to deal with that would formulate and be part of the policy.
As the Attorney-General has already pointed out, the crime prevention policy put in place by this government is of no exception. If we had a look at the Northern Territory News this morning – and I do not have a copy of it - the per capita incarceration rates in the Territory are now the highest in the country, and significantly higher than during the CLP years. Going back to Galiwinku, Maningrida, Ramingining and Gapuwiyak and the strategies that they are looking at there to target youth in those communities, the success or failure of any government’s crime prevention policy will stand or fall on the extent to which reclaimable offenders - especially young offenders and we keep repeating this - are coaxed out of a lifestyle destructive to themselves and to those around them, and reintegrated not just into society, but also into our economy. We must be able to deliver a meaningful future role for them in the Territory economy. The grim likelihood is that participation in crime of some sort is going to be an increasingly central aspect of the lifestyle of indigenous youth.
Instead of the empty rhetoric that continually divides the Northern Territory community, it would be interesting to see what plans and strategies the opposition members have to offer Territorians when it comes to this sort of crime prevention.
Mr DUNHAM (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, it is, indeed, unfortunate on occasions to have the statements take so long to be presented to this House. I can recall on 13 August 2002, it was first brought as a matter of great importance to this House, to parade the bona fides of the government in addressing this particular area. On that occasion, the debate was truncated because the budget was to be brought down in August. Here we are, the next budget, the next year, again bringing this important statement on as some sort of a little filler, the debate of which would take place over some time. In a way, that is in fact a good thing, because we can now look - some months after it was delivered by the Attorney-General and has been contributed to by the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services - at whether his bullish statement and his great sense of optimism back in August has come to pass.
As with most of the things the Labor Party are finding when in government, it is a bit trickier in practice than merely mouthing politics. The rhetoric is coming home to roost. I shall not go into the six-point plan, because I thought it was well and truly put to bed in Alice Springs when the Leader of the Opposition went through each of the points.
He talked about the various points, and I can recall them again; however I shall not go into the same length of debate. ‘Serious crime means serious time’, well we found that was a nonsense. ‘Making you feel safe at home’ was another one. I am sure you could poll on this matter. If you believe that people feel safer at home under Labor’s six-point plan than hitherto, you are kidding yourself. ‘Getting help from the police when you need it’ - hmm, okay, there is one I am sure you could also poll, because it is a fairly qualitative thing we are talking about here. While Labor is big on the rhetoric about quantitative analysis, I am sure that they could poll that as well. ‘Putting victims first’ - the Attorney-General has proudly gone in the recent Weekend Australian and talked about the really good result. He thought a perpetrator getting a month for sexual assault of a minor was a pretty good result. If he thinks he is putting victims first, he should have another think. ‘Getting tough on the causes of crime’, well we know that is a furphy, as well as ‘Establishing a central crime prevention agency’. We do not need to go to far into the six-point plan, because you can actually look at the results of the six-point plan. It ain’t working; everybody knows it ain’t working.
If you look at the elements of the wonderful things they were parading out, you have NTsafe grants. Well, that was done before, under the previous government. ‘School attendance officers’ - nobody really knows what these people are going to do yet, but they seem remarkably like the old liaison officers, one of whom was my mother. So, we are talking about a policy that was in place some many, many years ago. That ain’t a new one, despite the new label. ‘We are going to use Neighbourhood Watch’ - well, that has been around a while too.
‘The drugs policies’; this is interesting stuff. This is the sort of stuff we are going to watch right up until the next election, because a lot of this hairy-chested stuff they have been carrying on about - taking the junkies away because the Foils of Moil have shut - will come out in the wash. Their methadone program is currently under way. I do not believe it to be a success. I believe we have more people intoxicated on opiates now on our streets than we have ever had. I am quite happy to talk about that data. I am quite happy to talk about it in a way that comes in, in another policy.
‘Itinerants – we are going to fix itinerants’. First, the Minister for Community Development gets $0.5m, and what does he say it is going to be for? It is going to be because some of these people find it difficult in town and they need to get their identity certified and access to services. Well, that is a really good way of addressing the itinerant problem; that is, making it more comfortable for them to be in town than living in the bush, in the rough. That is what they did.
Dr Burns: Monster them, that is what you said.
Mr DUNHAM: ‘Monster’, there is a lovely interjection. We said we would monster them. They have declared war on them! If you want to use rhetoric like monstering, monstering is something that has been bandied about as something that is a very difficult thing for a government to do to these people who are in dire circumstances socially, economically, and in health. However, to declare war on these people, which is what they have done with their $5m which, soon, we are going to get the Treasurer stand up and again proudly bash his chest and say: ‘Don’t you worry about itinerants, we have fixed that up. We are going to give Jack $5m and he is going to declare war’. Well, I went for a walk along the bike path that goes into Nightcliff from the electorate of the member for Johnston into the electorate for the member for Nightcliff, and there are some 40 people there camped under the trees, many with …
Dr Burns: Where is that?
Mr DUNHAM: At the footbridge across Rapid Creek. They were intoxicated, openly drinking out of cans with VB written on the side – it looked to me as though it was alcohol. They were engaging in what they probably thought was a happy banter with the mums pushing their prams, the walkers and the people riding bikes. However, I can tell you that they did not see it as happy banter; they saw it pretty much as harassment – that is the word they would use if you asked them.
Therefore, it is no good just saying: ‘We have fixed itinerants because we are going to give Jack $5m’. You have not fixed it; it is worse now than ever before. You can ask any commentator on this. We are not just talking about the footbridge at Nightcliff; we are talking about every centre in the Northern Territory. There are many, many itinerants, openly flouting the law, openly drunk …
Dr Burns: What about the Airport Hotel?
Mr DUNHAM: ‘What about the Airport Hotel?’ is the interjection. I assume what he means is his contribution to this debate, where he claims he went and brought senior leaders in and said: ‘You mob cannot muck around here, it is now verboten’ and, through the intervention of the member for Johnston, there are no Aboriginal people now around the Airport Hotel.
Dr Burns: No, I went and saw the publican.
Mr DUNHAM: No, you have given your contribution. However, I can tell you they ain’t left town! They may well not be near the Airport Hotel, the gates to the cemetery, the bush across from the entrance to Henry Wrigley Drive, and upstream of Rapid Creek. They may not be there anymore, though I guess if you had a look you would find some. However, they are certainly still in town.
I do not care if you want to parade this as some racist comment from the member for Drysdale, standing up here talking about how offended he is by this, because I am offended by people’s behaviour - not their race, their behaviour. We would not allow Britz campers to camp up and down Fannie Bay, and say: ‘Righto, we will pull up here, because it is cheaper than a caravan park’. We would move them on. We would have council inspectors down there in no time flat.
Dr Burns: Well, they should be there. They should be there! Where are they?
Mr DUNHAM: Now you have campers running informal casinos, and you have all that stuff that goes with it. Before you want to talk about fixing the problem, do not talk about the front end, where you are going to put in $5m; talk about the back end.
The Minister for Community Development was going to tell us that he was going to do a survey of these people; a little poll. He was going to go out as a census taker and say: ‘Where are you from? Why are you here? Would you like to go and do an art program?’. Perhaps that might fix it up. I would like to see the results of that. I warn him that, come estimate time, we will be asking for that. I warn him that he should look at where that $0.5m went; at the outcomes that he told this parliament he was expecting and that he has yet to report back on, and be prepared. So, there is a little ‘heads up’; you will not get a letter on that one. However, we are going to want to know how many he has counted; which communities they are from; whether that data is translating into data in the police cells and the hospitals; and how his big bucks have achieved some beneficial outcome - because I reckon it is going backwards.
The debate comes mainly from Labor saying: ‘We have introduced all these brand new things, and we have it under control’. Drugs: the drug problem in the Northern Territory is escalating, and it is escalating in two really troublesome areas. One is in remote communities. Speed is being used out there and you know it. Ganja is being used at far greater rates than ever before. Kava continues to be used, and is being used in greater volumes than ever before. We are also seeing the trauma that is associated with that.
We are seeing the trauma, not just on violent people often with a mental problem assaulting their wives, their children and fellow community members, but assaulting the ex-patriots who live there. They are called nurses. We know this is a fact; the health minister knows it is a fact. If you are really, really serious about your crime preventive initiatives, you would be doing some data analysis on this. We have had this before. We have talked in the parliament about how there is a duress button and you push it and the nurse has some knight on a white horse and a charger coming up, and he takes the perpetrator away and everyone lives happily ever after. Not happening, not happening!
There are places with duress alarms, that is for sure. However, the levels of violence against mainly female nurses in Aboriginal communities must go on the Parliamentary Record, and you must describe how you are going to address it. We also want to see how some of these open, accountable government-type things are going to wash out. We want to know just where the data is; why the data changes, in fact - as my colleague, the member for Macdonnell pointed out - where some data in some series changes when you see it in another series. We would expect that that information might be provided to us, perhaps in the course of estimates.
I have found that the Labor Party’s set up a new series of jokes in regard to this, as tragic as all this area is; that is, the parading of a policy to the people of Alice Springs, that if they went to Tennant Creek and took up the same sort of things as Elliot did, Alice could be like Tennant. You lucky people, you could be just like Tennant if only you did the wonderful works that he had done! It was described in the minister’s statement. He gave them a little pat on the back and talked about the wonderful things he was doing with youth and diversion and all that sort of stuff, and that this is just a great model. In Alice Springs again, he told the people of Alice Springs that this is the model they should be looking at. Well, I have been to Tennant Creek three times in the last six months or so, and they do not think it is working. They reckon some of the youth problems there are still significant. To their great credit, they do not believe they are intractable, but they do believe that the government has to do more. The government’s rhetoric about how wonderful it all is because we have various committees, is not matched by the data - certainly not matched by statistical outcomes.
The issue right through this statement is that it used to be terrible under us, we only had mandatory sentencing. ‘It is now very good, and aren’t you ever so lucky that Labor came to power’. Well, the reality is, we are quite happy with the strategies that we put in place. It was more than mandatory sentencing; we built a DNA lab. Now what does DNA do? What does the best DNA jurisdiction in Australia do? It catches the crims, it catches the guilty. That is why, when we debated in this House, several of us went out there and did our buccal swabs out the front. We were quite happy to have our DNA held at McAulay Centre, for the simple reason that, if we were ever so foolish as to commit a crime while we were politicians, we should bear the consequences. I have no problem with providing my DNA. I hope that some of those others, now that they are in government, will do the same. But that was the CLP. If you look at that as a crime fighting technique, at what DNA has done, it has brought many baddies to justice; it has often obviated the need for people to give evidence under very distressing and trying circumstances, because they know they are guilty; it has provided a very important short circuit for people who are engaging in a more and more criminal career, so it has intervened at a time when it is said: ‘All right, you are off to the big house,’ and given them a chance to think about it. We did that, we did it.
We put more cops on the streets than there are today. If you want to talk mandatory sentencing, there were more cops on the streets during our time than there are today. If you want to talk about Neighbourhood Watch, we did not fudge the figures. We did not take the figures back and say: ‘Sorry, this belongs to the commissioner’. We did not run drugs programs on the basis that ‘You do not have a problem because the chemist shop is dispensing methadone. So what we will do is we will put you into a little soporific dream over here and, therefore, you are not a criminal anymore’. Well, they are going to have some big …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr DUNHAM: I do not mind them interjecting, Madam Speaker, but it does mean I have to talk louder and louder.
I do not mind that they parade out their drug strategies and that they say that they are going to catch all the Mr Bigs and are aiming at the top end of town. They caught Ganga Nanna; that is who they caught. They caught this old grandmother living in Smith Street who was the big backbone of the crime industry here in the Northern Territory.
When you parade out all your big catches and you show us NT’s most wanted - Hendo’s pack of cards – the drug nanna is probably the Queen of Hearts, right up there. We want to see the rest of them. I do not think you had too many big hits with your Mr Bigs. I reckon the Mr Bigs would treat your various policies with great hilarity. You will find that the legal industry has some difficulty in accepting that what you are doing is the right thing. You will also find that the mums and dads in Malak and Karama would also not agree with you.
Karama, there is one we can choose. One of the things that we have found in the various backflips that the Labor Party go through is that the member for Karama has at least admitted there is a problem. All of us know that, when you are talking about modifying human behaviour, you start with that factor. Start with: we have a problem. Then you can start to talk about solutions.
In Alice Springs, we tried to tell the government they had a problem. They put both their fingers in their ears …
Dr Toyne: The biggest load of claptrap.
Mr DUNHAM: You did. You put both fingers in your ears and you said: ‘No problem. And if anybody says there is a problem, it is because they have been deceived by the cunning seductive oratory of …’ my colleague ‘… the member for Greatorex. He was the one who mustered all these mindless people up. In reality, there is no problem, you trust us’.
There is a problem and it is the same as the latter day discovery by the member for Karama that there is a problem in Karama. I could have told her that. My daughter lived in Karama in an area where there are a lot of Housing Commission flats. I could have told her. I could have told her some of the dimensions of it, albeit anecdotal, but there is a significant problem in Karama.
When you look at this strategy, the government proudly claims that we are going to have some of these youth centres and we are going to put them in - hmm, let’s see: Nightcliff and Borroloola! How are those trials going in Nightcliff and Borroloola? When will you export the successes of these trials to other areas that have some troublesome problems? When will you look at some other options that have been trialled by groups outside of the government? I applaud some of the good works going on in Palmerston, much of which has been led by my colleague, the member for Blain, and the Mayor of Palmerston. The government should be looking at assisting the sense of collegiality out there to address this problem, in the sense of the broad array of options that are deployed. It should be looking at assisting it in such a way that it is not a matter of: ‘Hang on, we will wait and see how this shakes out at Borroloola and Nightcliff’. I am not sure Borroloola and Nightcliff are all that applicable as examples. There are other places you could pick.
If you really want to address the crime problem here, you first have to look at that thing called alcohol. It is implicated in many, many crimes. It is certainly implicated in crimes of violence, and a major factor in terms of the victims of Aboriginal crimes on communities. This terrible, rotten old CLP government introduced a Liquor Act that allowed for dry areas; it allowed for restricted areas. It allowed restrictions on licences for fortified wines, on hours of trading, and the numbers of containers to be sold. You are still living with that, and perhaps it needs a review.
However, we have to get back to some fundamentals here. People talk about the walk-off from Wave Hill and how it created this great and wonderful place for Aboriginal people - most of the locals had no worries with the idea that Aboriginal people could get a passport or vote or any of those things. The worry was the ready, unfettered access to alcohol. What we have now are governments saying there should be some way of fettering access to Aboriginal people; we should be closing down licences, making restrictions and maybe we have to re-address that. One of the fundamentals is that in Alice Springs you have a problem with alcohol - and everybody in this House will admit that there is a nexus between alcohol consumption and crime. However, if you want to start exporting your Alice Springs solution to Darwin, you have to demonstrate it works.
I do not believe it works. I, for one, will be talking against it if you attempt to bring the Alice Springs solution into this place. I would expect that you would have a fairly pure scientific argument to back your case if you attempted to do it.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, as was pointed out, this statement was brought forward in August last year. It has now been an revisited in parliamentary debate on a number of occasions. As the member for Drysdale pointed out, it certainly had the advantage that we could update and continue the development of these issues within crime prevention. That is good for the parliament and for the quality of debate within this House.
I talked about important initiatives the government has worked on in its first year of office; initiatives such as the establishment of the Office of Crime Prevention, with a budget of $2.3m and a mission to drive and coordinate the crime prevention activities across government. That process is now well established within our government arrangements, including whole-of-government forums that meet to receive proposals from the Office of Crime Prevention and apply them across our agencies. That ministerial standing committee and CEO group is now backing up a lot of the things that are coming back through the Office of Crime Prevention; often, and increasingly, directly from the grassroots level, from our increasing number of regional crime prevention councils.
With the implementation of our commitment to publish accurate and comprehensive crime and justice statistics, the CLP have done their level best to discredit them. They do not like the picture the statistics are showing, so they are going to go along and basically say: ‘Yes, the police are lying, the police databases do not mean anything, it is all about unreported crime, it is all about this methodology that our public servants have applied to those databases’. Well, I can tell you that those databases are being accurately reflected in the figures, and you are going to have to get used to the picture that those figures are showing about crime levels in the Northern Territory. That is the reality we have to plan against; the reality that sooner or later you are going to have to address rather than trying to throw smoke around to prevent Territorians getting an accurate picture of crime trends in the community.
We will continue to promote these accurate and independent figures in the community. We will promote it with the media. We will promote it within our planning and within the political dialogue in the Northern Territory.
Madam Speaker, I seek leave to continue my remarks at a later time.
Debate adjourned.
VISITOR
Madam SPEAKER: I wish to draw the attention of honourable members to the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of Mr John Lawrie Snr. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to our visitor.
Members: Hear, hear!
MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATOR
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I lay on the Table Message No 13 from His Honour the Administrator, recommending to the Legislative Assembly a bill for an act to authorise the issue and expenditure of public monies of the Territory in respect of the year ending 30 June 2004.
APPROPRIATION BILL 2003-04
(Serial 147)
(Serial 147)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. I table the 2003-04 Appropriation Bill and related Budget Papers. It is my honour to introduce this, my first budget, and the third budget for the Martin Labor government.
This 2003 budget is about jobs, safer communities and tax cuts. It supports Territory business; it contains no new taxes. This budget is responsible but responsive. The budget demonstrates the government’s commitment to sound fiscal management, at the same time providing Territorians with improved health care, better schools and increased opportunities. The government’s support for Territory business is evident through increased targeted spending that will promote jobs and economic growth.
Putting the Territory’s financial house in order remains one of our key priorities. We are on track to perform better than the deficit reduction strategy target for 2002-03, and to achieve the targets we set for ourselves in 2003-04 and 2004-05.
This budget marks the mid-point of the Martin government’s first term in office. We inherited an unsustainable budget position that needed considerable and urgent repair. The economy had seen better times. The 2003 budget demonstrates that we have done the hard work to turn the Territory’s finances around and, importantly, the economy has begun to pick up.
The development of the ConocoPhillips liquified natural gas plant at Wickham Point is the single largest construction program ever undertaken in the Territory, and will provide the stimulus for development and diversification of Territory industry. This means jobs. We will celebrate the arrival of the first train from Adelaide to Darwin in early 2004. The government’s initiative to build the Darwin Business Park, now under construction, will provide the commercial link between the East Arm Port and the railway to create the north Australian transport hub. These major projects have the potential to further transform the Territory economy. At the same time as ensuring these major projects are brought to successful completion, the government has initiated major reform of public sector finances to ensure that its own house is in order. We cannot expect industry to invest and develop if the government’s fiscal policy settings are wrong.
I say with confidence that the budget will be in balance during this term of government. This government will not spend more than it earns. We live in uncertain times. The last two years have not been easy and I want to record my and the government’s thanks to the Territory community for their support over this period. Our objective has been to deliver improved government services in the key areas of education, health and community safety. We have applied fiscal discipline to ourselves but, in doing so, we have improved the essential services needed by Territorians and provided Territory business with consistent and predictable levels of government spending.
This budget provides for significant increases in the priority areas of the Martin Labor government. Health and Community Services’ budget will rise to $561m, an increase of $14m. The Employment, Education and Training sector has increased by $13.5m to $520m. Police, Fire and Emergency Services has increased to $146m, up by $3m, and this is before the results of the O’Sullivan review are known. Over $5.2m has been provided for the itinerant strategy to address antisocial behaviour. $434m will be spent on infrastructure investment. This level of investment is the second highest ever, following last year’s record. The payroll tax will be further reduced to 6.2% from 1 July 2003. This government is concerned about the cost of living for Territory families and has continued its commitment of $127m to the many programs that reduce the cost of living in the Northern Territory.
The budget demonstrates the government’s commitment to improving outcomes for indigenous Territorians. In education, the recommendations of the Learning Lessons report have provided the blueprint for developing programs to more effectively meet the needs of indigenous students. In health and community services, in order to improve health status the government’s aim is to improve access to services and facilities for all Territorians, irrespective of where they live.
The government’s ongoing fiscal discipline and constant attention to bottom line has resulted in a better than expected outcome for 2002-03. The brighter outlook for the economy, coupled with the government’s fiscal discipline, has meant that we were able to remove the Temporary Budget Improvement Levy 18 months early, from 1 July 2003.
Before turning to other key elements of the budget, I would like to provide a brief report on the state of the Northern Territory economy. This year, the economy has continued to shows signs of recovery after a period of weak onshore growth. In 2002-03, the Territory’s real gross state product is estimated to increase by 3.7%. Business investment remains at a very high level, supported by continuing work on the Alice Springs to Darwin railway and the offshore Bayu-Undan project in the Timor Sea. Despite low estimated population and employment growth, strong consumption spending is being underpinned by earnings growth, low inflation and interest rates, and Defence-related expenditure.
However, economic activity remains patchy. The impetus to growth from railway-related work has begun to tail off and tourism is affected by a weak world economy, terrorist attacks, war in Iraq and severe acute respiratory syndrome. Although external conditions are expected to remain soft in the short term, the world economy is set to improve next year, first in demand for Territory exports, including an increase in the number of international visitors. Treasury expects solid growth in the Territory economy in 2003-04, with gross state product forecast to increase by 3.4%. Consumption is expected to contribute positively to growth assisted by housing and a recovery in tourism. Price and wage pressures are expected to remain contained with the growth in the Darwin consumer price index forecast to remain low at 2.1% in 2003-04.
After increasing by 5.7% in 2001-02, mainly due to the initial boost from railway construction activity, Territory employment growth is estimated to be stable throughout 2002-03. The unemployment rate rose to 6.8% in 2001-02 primarily due to increased labour force participation, but has fallen to an estimated 5.3% in 2002-03. Boosted by job opportunities related to the first full year of construction at the LNG plant at Wickham Point, Territory employment is forecast to increase by 2% in 2003-04.
Household income, employment and population growth are expected to support further consumption expenditure forecast to grow by 4.1% in 2003-04. Dwellings investment should strengthen, increasing by 22.6% in 2003-04. Excess stock appears to have been largely absorbed with vacancy rates having fallen markedly in the past 18 months. Non-residential building investment is also expected to strengthening with an increase of 15% forecast for 2003-04, as work continues on a number of office, retail and hotel developments.
Following the spike in engineering construction related to the railway and Bayu-Undan Stage 1, total investment is forecast to fall by 6.3% in 2003-04. Completion of these projects will be offset by the construction of the LNG plant and subsea pipeline related to Stage 2 of Bayu-Undan. Local contracts and employment associated with Bayu-Undan Stage 2 will generate significant and localised flow-on benefits for the Territory economy. The construction phase, involving a 500 km gas pipeline to shore and LNG plant at Wickham Point, should take 2 years with production expected in early 2006. Crude oil exports from the Territory are forecast to fall sharply in line with the production profile at Laminaria Corallina oilfields, but this will be offset somewhat as production from Stage 1 of Bayu-Undan comes on stream.
The economy will also benefit from Defence plans to relocate an army helicopter regiment to Darwin. Facilities will need to be completed by the end of 2005 in time for the arrival of around 1000 uniformed personnel and dependants.
Territory rural industries and fisheries accounted for 3.3% of GSP in 2001-02. Despite volatile annual growth patterns, this sector has experienced solid trend growth over the past decade, although the sector’s proportion of total GSP has fallen marginally. The value of rural industries and fisheries production is estimated to decrease marginally by 0.9% in 2002-03, with increased value of fisheries, other livestock and field crops offset by declines in cattle and horticulture. The outlook for 2003-04 is for stronger growth, particularly in horticulture.
International visitor numbers to the Territory have declined in recent years, but their spending still represents close to 35% of total expenditure by tourists. After declines in visitor numbers between 2000 and 2002, growth is beginning to pick up and visitor numbers are expected to increase by 2.1% in 2003-04. The medium-term outlook is even more positive, driven by improving global economic conditions and increasing traveller confidence that security concerns are being addressed. If growth over the next decade is in line with past trends, the number of visitors to the Territory could reach 2.8 million in 10 years; more than one million higher than current levels.
The Territory’s longer-term economic growth projects are sound. The Territory’s offshore energy production outlook is positive. There are a number of onshore resource projects in the feasibility stage, including major expansions in alumina production at Nhulunbuy and zinc metal at McArthur River. The operational phase of the railway, scheduled to commence in early 2004, will provide an important link to southern Australia. Combined with the new East Arm Port, the railway provides the opportunity for Darwin to develop into a nationally important transport hub with significantly increased land to sea international freight. The railway will also help create a more robust and competitive Territory economy. A major impact flowing from a reduction in freight rates will lower the cost of living and conducting business throughout the Territory. More competitive Territory business will stimulate industry investment and result in further diversification in economic activity, job opportunities and population growth. There is every reason to be optimistic about our future growth opportunities.
The 2003-04 budget further demonstrates this government’s fiscal credentials and its commitment to transparency and accountability. The 2003-04 budget papers are the most comprehensive ever produced by the Territory. Budget Paper No 2 includes the Fiscal and Economic Outlook for the Territory, and complies with national obligations and the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act. Budget Paper No 3 includes the output and financial statements and performance measures for each budget sector entity, with detailed explanations of variations included. Budget Paper No 4 outlines the capital works program and more detailed information on revoted items and committal targets for major works. There is a new budget book for Territory Business and the Overview, Regional Highlights and Economy books provide comprehensive summary information.
At the time of the August 2002 budget, the estimated outcome was for a deficit of $94m. The estimate is now projected to be $31m in 2002-03, with a projected deficit of $24m in 2003-04, with the budget to be in balance by 2004-05.
Even though the government inherited the substantial deficit when it took office, the fiscal principles established in the November 2001 mini-budget capped the deficit, while at the same time implementing Labor’s election commitments. The 2002-03 budget demonstrates that the deficit is being brought under control. However, while the deficit remains, nett debt will continue to grow.
During the previous government’s last term, the Territory’s nett debt grew as a result of successive deficits. In the five years from 1997-98 to 2001-02, nett debt grew by $377m or 28%. However, due to this government’s fiscal discipline, the growth in the Territory’s nett debt has slowed dramatically, will soon plateau, and then start to decline. In the five years from 2002-03 to 2006-07, Territory nett debt is estimated to fall by $31m.
The government’s financial performance has been consistently better than its targets. The 2001-02 outcome was a deficit of $83m, which was $56m lower than the target set for the general government sector in the November 2001 mini-budget. In 2002-03, the improvement in the deficit is $63m. This government’s fiscal discipline has resulted in a saving of $119m in projected nett debt. External commentators such as Standard & Poor’s, Access Economics and Moody’s Investor Services have consistently endorsed the Territory government’s fiscal strategy and targets as being essential to restoring the Territory’s fiscal position. We will not disappoint them and Territorians.
Interstate benchmarks are the best way to assess the Territory’s comparitive fiscal performance. The Territory’s nett operating deficit as a proportion of revenue was minus 5.3% in 2001-02, indicating the Territory was not living within its means. In 2002-03, the ratio is estimated to improve to minus 1.6%, moving closer to the state average of 2.2%, and is projected to improve to 0.9% in 2006-07.
The relative size of the Territory’s debt burden is measured by comparing nett debt as a proportion of revenue. The Territory’s ratio of nett debt as a proportion of revenue is 67% in 2001-02, and 66% in 2002-03. This is significantly higher than the all state average of 22%, but is projected to decline in 2006-07 to 58% in line with the Territory’s fiscal strategy.
When total liabilities are considered, the Territory’s ratio of nett debt and employee liabilities as a proportion of revenue in 2001-02 is 133%, falling slightly in 2002-03 to 132%, as compared to the all states’ average of 82%. However, this measure is estimated to fall to 120% in 2006-07. While the Territory’s fiscal outlook shows considerable improvement in these benchmarks, maintaining our position relative to the states will require commitment to ongoing fiscal restraint.
The Territory’s estimated outcome for 2002-03 is for a cash deficit of $31m, a substantial improvement of $63m compared with the August 2002 budget and the mid-year report.
I will explain the key movements in operating payments, receipts and capital payments. Nett capital spending is expected to be $18m less than estimated at the time of the 2002-03 budget. During the year, the $10m capital grant paid to PowerWater for indigenous essential services was reclassified from capital to operating expenses. Also, capital expenditure in 2002-03 is estimated to be $10m lower than budget but due largely to engineering related delays at the East Arm Port. As a result, $10m has been transferred into 2003-04.
There is one transaction which has no effect on the estimated deficit, but does increase both operating receipts and operating payments in 2002-03. South Australia’s final contribution of $25m to the Alice Springs to Darwin railway has been brought forward from 2003-04 to 2002-03, and this increases both receipts and payments. After taking account of the railway transaction, operating payments are estimated to decrease by $8m in 2002-03. This is due to reductions in interest payments of $12m, superannuation benefits of $10m, and repairs and maintenance of $5m, not required for flood-related damage. This is offset by increased expenditure associated with additional specific purpose payments revenue of $12m, and the inclusion of the $10m indigenous essential services grant.
Turning to operating receipts. Again, after allowing for the $25m for railway grants, operating receipts have increased by $37m. Increased economic activity has resulted in additional, largely one-off, stamp duty receipts of $19m, increased payroll tax of $2m, and higher lotteries and gaming taxes of $3m. Revenue from the Commonwealth has increased by $20m since the August 2002 budget - $12m in specific purpose payments, and $8m in general purpose payments.
This relatively small increase in general purpose payments belies substantial fluctuations, particularly in the GST revenues, that have occurred throughout the year. Volatility in this, the Territory’s major revenue source, will be the norm in future years. Accordingly, it is important I go through the variations in some detail. Honourable members will recall that the 2001 census used a revised methodology for estimated resident population, which reduced the Territory’s population estimate by 2300. This, and estimated lower population growth, resulted in an ongoing annual financial penalty of around $25m from 2002-03. However, just two weeks ago in the Commonwealth budget, GST revenue estimates were increased by over $1bn for 2002-03, resulting in a nett increase of $20m in general purpose payments to the Territory. This comprised an increase of $46m in GST revenues, but a reduction in budget balancing assistance of $26m to zero. However, $17.5m had already been paid to the Territory in budget balancing assistance. This amount will need to be repaid to the Commonwealth in 2003-04.
While the Territory welcomes any increase in GST revenue, the estimate has to be treated with considerable caution. The Commonwealth will revise GST revenue estimates twice before they are finalised for financial year 2002-03. This will occur in June 2003 and after the first quarter of 2003–04. In previous years, post-budget revisions have reduced the GST revenue estimates. Accordingly, as I will explain in more detail later, the Territory has adopted more conservative and, in our judgment, more realistic growth estimates for GST revenue from 2003-04 than those contained in the Commonwealth budget.
The estimated deficit for 2003-04 is $24m, a small improvement on the deficit reduction target outlined in the November 2001 mini-budget. Operating receipts are estimated to increase by $32m, or 1.3%, and includes a nett increase of $50m, or 2.6% in grants from the Commonwealth, after the repayment of $17.5m in budget balancing assistance. The Territory has used a GST revenue estimate for 2003-04 of $31.2bn for total GST revenue, which is just under $500m lower than used in the Commonwealth budget. Although this produces a GST revenue estimate for the Territory $20m lower than in the Commonwealth budget papers, in the Territory’s view, this more realistic assumption provides a better basis on which to set spending parameters in 2003-04 and future years.
The alternative would be to bring in a budget for 2003-04 with optimistic revenue assumptions unlikely to be met. That is not the way this government manages its fiscal policy. Unlike the previous government, we use realistic targets. However, most importantly, we make sure that we meet them. Territory taxes are projected to be $253m, an increase of $3m, or 1%, from the estimate for 2002-03. This reflects an increase in economic activity offset by the payroll tax reduction and the removal of the $90 Temporary Budget Improvement Levy from 1 July. Operating payments are estimated to increase by $81m, or 3.7%. This is a higher than usual increase due to a one-in-12-year event of 27 pays for the public service in 2003-04. Additional capacity of $45m has been included in the estimates for this purpose. Regardless of this unusual event, the deficit reduction strategy has been maintained while still meeting the Martin government’s commitments.
Capital payments are $193m, the reduction from 2002-03 reflecting the capital payments related to the railway in that year. When these one-off railway related transactions are removed from 2002-03, there is a reduction in 2003-04 of $20m which is due to the higher additional cash allocation to capital works in 2002-03, and having regard to increased private sector capital spending in 2003-04.
The tax measures introduced for the 2003-04 budget will be beneficial for Territory business; in particular small business. The budget papers show that the Territory has the second lowest taxes in Australia and a tax regime particularly beneficial for small business. As I have said, the $90 Temporary Budget Improvement Levy will cease from 1 July 2003, 18 months early. This measure will benefit the owners of over 90 000 vehicles.
In accordance with the government’s pre-election commitment, the payroll tax rate will be further reduced from 6.3% to 6.2% from 1 July 2003. The reduction will benefit around 1400 businesses and will reduce payroll tax collections by $1.5m on a full year basis. Additional revenue measures include a new stamp duty exemption for commercial leases and franchises, with average lease or franchise payments of $30 000 per annum or less. This will exempt over 450 leases and franchises from stamp duty each year, most of which are held by smaller Territory-based businesses. The exemption threshold applied to hiring businesses will increase from $36 000 to $90 000, the third highest exemption threshold for hiring duty in Australia. From today, the assessment of stamp duty on changes in the ownership of companies and trusts that hold land in the Territory will align the stamp duty consequences of indirect and direct acquisitions of interests in land.
Significant reforms to the Mineral Royalty Act change the treatment of exploration expenditure to remove the 50% uplift factor, reduce the exploration expenditure cap from 35% to 25% of the royalty that would otherwise be payable, and cease the issue of exploration expenditure certificates in respect of exploration expenditure incurred after 1 July 2003. Exploration expenditure certificates were introduced as a means of encouraging additional exploration in the Territory. However, explorers have received minimal benefit from this scheme. These changes to the Mineral Royalty Act will provide additional financial capacity that can be applied more directly to encourage increased exploration activity. These changes are expected to increase mineral royalty collections by $3.8m in 2003-04 and the government will use these funds to support a new initiative: building the Territory’s resource base. This new strategy will boost mining activity by enhancing the Territory’s geological prospectivity by providing high quality geoscientific data. It will also ensure additional resources are available for the grant of further titles and the enhancement of the community liaison program within indigenous communities.
The Territory government recognises that a vibrant and prosperous business community is a major contributor to economic development and improved living standards for all Territorians. The 2003-04 budget contains a number of policies, programs, frameworks and activities designed to foster the establishment and growth of the business sector in the Territory. These are detailed in our new budget paper Building Territory Business. A total of $330 000 is provided for the introduction of a package of measures to support the Territory’s Building Stronger Territory Trade policy. The new trades support scheme will strengthen the capacity of Territory firms to initiate and develop new international trade marketing initiatives and build on investments in rail and port facilities.
Additional funding of $400 000 is included in the 2003-04 budget for the e-business initiative to provide a single web-based access point for business information and online business licensing and registration transactions. Phase 1 will establish a capability for the first set of 10 online transactions.
Following the extensive consultation with stakeholders, a film, television and new media industries office will be established in Alice Springs at a cost of $300 000, rising to $400 000 by 2005-06. The office will build on the Territory’s talent and skills in the film and new media industries, and promote economic growth, artistic development and cultural benefits.
Other business and industry support initiatives include: $200 000 to market and promote business achievements in the Territory; an additional $500 000 to market the Territory as an attractive place to live, work and invest; $300 000 ongoing for the expansion of FarmBis; increasing support for the tourism industry including a further $1.4m to facilitate Virgin Blue air services to the Territory making a total commitment of $4m; an additional $1.5m for international and domestic tourism marketing; preliminary planning work has commenced on the Darwin convention centre and $3m has been allocated in 2003-04; an additional $500 000 was provided to increase the capacity of the Office of Work Health to improve occupational health and safety throughout the Territory, particularly in view of the emerging gas and energy industries; $1m has been approved to upgrade the road at Melville Island to support the development of forestry industry; and over $35m is provided to continue construction work at the East Arm Port, relocation of the oil tanks to East Arm, completion of the rail terminals and the business park.
The government will continue to improve frameworks within which businesses operate. The targeted reforms for 2003-04 are the improvement of government procurement practices and the ongoing affordability and availability of insurance including profession indemnity.
Jobs are the top priority for the Martin Labor government. Employment and training is essential to obtain high wage, high skilled jobs to produce a modern, developed economy. The 2003-04 budget contains a number of measures designed to improve training and employment opportunities for Territorians: there is a $1.5m increase in training programs for apprentices to provide greater employment and career opportunities and promote a skilled and innovative local work force; $500 000 for a new employment bonus scheme; $250 000 is provided to inform employers, primarily small business, and participants about opportunities for vocational education and training; Footprints Forward will continue with $86 000 for support services to assist young indigenous people in Central Australia to find employment; $100 000 has been approved for the Territory Training Awards, which recognise the achievements of Territory businesses and employees in the vocational education and training sector; and $1m is provided for the TRY program - Training for Remote Youth, with vocational education and training for young people aged 14 years to 19 years targeting employment skills required by communities.
The Territory will contribute $6.5m, an increase of $1.5m, to Charles Darwin University which will amalgamate with Centralian College to provide improved education and training opportunities across the Territory. An institute of advanced studies will be established as part of the new university to undertake applied research on issues relevant to the Territory, particularly the gas and energy industries.
$2.2m has been approved for headworks for the Desert Knowledge Precinct and $400 000 ongoing for operational support. This project will assist in the diversification of the Territory’s economy by enhancing knowledge-based areas. $5m has also been set aside towards establishing the Desert People’s Centre within the Desert Knowledge Precinct, subject to satisfactory negotiation with all parties. This represents a substantial additional investment in training initiatives that will provide better training jobs and enhanced opportunities for Territorians.
The Territory government believes that community safety and security is important for quality of life. The 2003-04 budget introduces a series of measures designed to reduce crime and improve community safety across the Territory. The government has acknowledged that dealing effectively with itinerant issues in all major Territory centres requires substantial resourcing to tackle this long-term problem, improving the quality of life for all Territorians. The itinerant strategy has the support of a wide range of community representatives of the three tiers of government. The number of organisations involved has increased to over 50. The approach taken by this government has been widely supported by stakeholders, business and the community. For 2003-04, $5.25m has been allocated for the expanded itinerant strategy which will operated across the Territory. Of this amount, $2.75m is to fund a range of medical intervention and law enforcement strategies, as well as initiatives to encourage people to return to their communities and away from a destructive itinerant lifestyle. A further $2.5m is to be utilised on capital initiatives for homeless and itinerant people.
Improving the justice system is important in providing safer communities. There is $400 000 for community-based crime prevention initiatives, in addition to $2.36m for the Office of Crime Prevention. Funding of $150 000 is provided for a community justice/mediation centre. Additional funding of $700 000 has been approved to augment existing resources and enable the advancement of two key justice initiatives. The first of these is the Integrated Offender Management Program designed to provide prisoners with additional skills to reduce their likelihood of re-offending. The second initiative is a program to facilitate indigenous input into crime prevention strategies and will operate as part of government’s law and justice strategy.
Turning to Police, Fire and Emergency Services, the budget provides a record $146m. Additional funding of $1.6m is provided in 2003-04 for more police and fire officers, a total increase of $4.9m to date as part of the Territory government’s commitment to an extra 50 police and 16 fire officers over its first term. Additional recurrent funding of $3m is allocated to ensure an appropriate level of technical and administrative support for police and, in so doing, maximise the numbers of operational police. This will correct previous under-funding which has compromised the operational capacity of the police force.
Recurrent funding of $1.5m is allocated for the ongoing enhancement of Police Real Time Online Management Information System, PROMIS. The O’Sullivan review was commissioned early this year to provide expert and independent advice on police resourcing. The government is committed to meeting police resource requirements identified in the review.
The major fire appliance replacement program for 2003-04 is for a large support rescue vehicle for the Darwin region, at a cost of $600 000, to carry rescue equipment for motor vehicle rescues, equipment for hazardous material spills and for chemical, biological and radiological incidents.
Significant capital works for police include: a new Police, Fire and Emergency Services facility at Humpty Doo to improve response time in the rural area at a cost of $1.42m; development of Stage 2 of the mounted police patrol facility at the Peter McAulay Centre, $300 000; an upgrade of the Ali Curung Police Station to meet current policing requirements, $250 000; and upgrades to cells in Adelaide River, Gunbalanya, Maningrida and Santa Teresa to comply with recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, costing $800 000.
Education is a key Martin government priority and that is why we are allocating a record $520m, an extra $13.5m, to Employment, Education and Training. The government’s objectives for school education include increased education standards and outcomes, improved retention rates and more effective transition from school to work measures. This maintains the government’s commitment to education demonstrated since its election to office.
Additional funding of $3m ongoing is provided to improve information technology infrastructure in schools. This funding will increase computer network access for schools, improve the availability of laptop computers for teachers, and provide infrastructure to assist with the collection and analysis of student data used for planning and managing service delivery.
A further $2.5m is included in the 2003-04 budget to continue a range of government initiatives including the recruitment of an additional 25 teachers, a student bursary scheme, and the recruitment of school attendance Officers. The increase to date in meeting the government’s commitment to 100 extra teachers over its first term totals $5.2m. $6.3m has been approved for better wages and conditions for teachers as part of the enterprise bargaining agreement.
The Students with Learning Difficulties program will be expanded with the provision of an additional $458 000 from 2003-04. This government will boost spending on school infrastructure across the Territory and has allocated a substantial $22.1m in new works in 2003-04: the Gillen Primary School will have its airconditioning upgraded at a cost of $335 000; Stage 2 of the upgrade of Parap Primary School has been approved and will include the relocation of the preschool and upgrade of existing primary school facilities at a cost of $4m; the $7m redevelopment and upgrade of Darwin High School will commence with initial funding of $1m; an ongoing program to upgrade remote schools, including the provision of secondary facilities, will continue at $3m including Maningrida, Kalkarindji and Minyerri; and work on new secondary education facilities at Palmerston will commence in 2004 following completion of the secondary education review with $10m approved for this project.
Health and Community Services remain at the top of the government’s agenda. Since the election of the Martin Labor government, the budget for the Department of Health and Community Services has increased by $98m. The 2003-04 budget for Health and Community Services is $561m, an increase of $14m.
The new emergency department, intensive care units and operating theatres at Royal Darwin Hospital will receive an additional $3.6m. The new facility will be opened as soon as it is ready in early July 2003, with significantly larger treatment areas, up-to-date technology, and treatment facilities to enable staff to provide an improved service. An additional $1.57m is provided in 2003-04 for more nurses, a total increase of $3.9m to date as part of the government’s commitment to an extra 75 nurses over its first term.
The 2003-04 budget includes an additional $900 000 for the first stage of a major upgrade of mental health services across the Northern Territory. This funding will boost the forensic mental health service, and strengthen the child and adolescent mental health service and services for remote and regional areas.
Additional funding of $400 000 ongoing is incorporated in the 2003-04 budget to upgrade the quality of dental health services, and to increase the number of dentists. A long-awaited expansion of community-based renal dialysis services will receive additional recurrent funding of $2.55m. Additional ongoing funding of $500 000 will provide an on-call child protection service on a 24 hour, seven day a week basis. $300 000 is provided for a pilot school breakfast program in remote areas, which will be introduced to improve the nutritional status, learning ability and attendance of schoolchildren. $290 000 is provided to establish a telephone health advice and referral service.
Capital works to support better health in the Territory includes Stage 1 of new renal facilities to provide greater access to community-based services, including Galiwinku, Groote Eylandt, Palmerston and other communities, estimated at $900 000; additional facilities to improve aged and health care services in Nhulunbuy and Tennant Creek for $2.1m; $3m is allocated for new health centres which will be constructed at Daly River and Minjilang, and there will be upgrading of a number of existing health centres throughout the Territory to improve the provision of primary health care in the regions; and an additional chiller will be provided at Royal Darwin Hospital to improve the airconditioning capacity within the expanded hospital complex at $800 000.
The government’s objective is for all Territorians to share in the benefits of economic growth, as shown by the government’s firm commitment to the development of the Territory’s regions. A further $285 000 has been allocated for regional initiatives: $200 000 has been provided to coordinate high priority projects, which are part of the Alice in 10 initiatives, including project coordination and crime prevention projects; $30 000 has been provided to support the tourism think tank forum, part of the Barkly Blueprint; and $55 000 has been allocated to develop a cultural precinct project management plan as part of the Katherine Region Development Plan.
Funding of $1m for remote work force development strategies is being set aside as part of a package of measures to improve public sector employment conditions in remote locations. The government has approved $800 000 to employ additional regional development officers to assist with capacity building in communities, and support the establishment and operation of five regional development boards.
On 19 September 2002, the Chief Minister announced the Northern Territory government’s five-point water safety plan to help prevent children drowning. Included in the five-point plan is the government’s subsidised water safety awareness program for children under five. A Pool Fencing Unit has been established, with 12 pool fencing inspectors, including two in Alice Springs. A total of $12.7m has been allocated in 2003-04 for the pool fencing inspectorate and water safety initiatives.
This government has recognised that, over a number of years, inadequate funding has been provided for power, water and sewerage services in remote indigenous communities. Many of the assets in the communities are now out, or near the end of their economic life, and require replacement. Repairs and maintenance costs are also escalating. Expanded indigenous housing programs have increased the demand for power and water by approximately 6% per annum and this growth is expected to continue. Since coming to office, the Martin government has increased the funding for power, water, and sewerage essential services for remote indigenous communities by $10m to almost $46m ongoing. The airstrips at Ramingining, Bulman and Minyerri will be upgraded at a cost of $2.45m.
The government’s housing program will continue with: $10.5m approved for the construction, replacement and upgrade of government employee housing in remote areas; $2m for urban renewal of public housing dwellings; $4m for security screens for public dwellings; $3.5m for Kurringal Flats redevelopment; $2m for Darwin and Palmerston to provide medium density housing; $500 000 for general purpose public housing in regional centres; and $500 000 for community crisis accommodation and medium-term housing.
The government has maintained its commitment to Territorians to keep the cost of living down. In 2003-04, the government programs that contribute to reducing the cost of living total $127m and include: $39m for the freeze on electricity prices and reduced water and sewerage charges; $4.2m in fuel subsidies; $9m in first home owner grants; $5.9m in stamp duty concessions for home buyers; $3.7m in child care subsidies; $6.4m in pensioner concessions; $900 000 for student bus passes; $160 000 for the Senior Card; and $57m for HomeNorth housing assistance.
The Northern Territory has a unique environment and climate, with a wide range of recreational activities. Territory government is committed to ensuring that facilities and services are available to allow Territorians to enjoy our great Territory lifestyle. The 2003-04 budget contains a range of measures that encourage involvement in recreational, cultural and sporting pursuits. The government has allocated resources for several recreational fishing initiatives for the 2003-04 budget. These include $500 000 for improved recreational fishing infrastructure, including boat ramps, access roads and car parking, and a further $350 000 for improved vehicle security measures at Buffalo Creek boat ramp. Commencement of Stage 1 of the Casuarina Coastal Reserve visitor facilities has been approved at a cost of $500 000.
The Territory provides substantial resources for the construction and improvement of community sports facilities. Traeger Park in Alice Springs will receive a further $2.5m for upgrading in 2003-04. The substantial improved Marrara complex now enables the hosting of Australia Football League and international cricket fixtures. The historic Darwin test match between Australia and Bangladesh is just 49 nights away.
The sale proceeds from the Arafura Bowls Club will be used to support the development of lawn bowls across the Territory. Floodlighting will be installed to upgrade the football oval at Nguiu on Bathurst Island at a cost of $300 000.
The Territory has commissioned its Major Events company to plan for a number of significant events in 2003-04. These will include youth concerts in Alice Springs and Darwin and a series of celebrations for 25 years of self-government and the arrival of the first train in early 2004.
Funding will be allocated to the Northern Territory Office of Environment and Heritage to expand environmental protection and heritage conservation services throughout the Territory, including: $170 000 for enhanced monitoring of projects for compliance with environmental requirements including the Alice Springs to Darwin railway and the Wickham Point LNG plant; $70 000 for improved waste discharge licensing and monitoring; $55 000 for air quality management; $55 000 to increase capacity for heritage assessments of development proposals; and funding of $100 000 has been directed at developing an island ark project, to relocate endangered species to the Northern Territory offshore islands to escape cane toads and other threats.
Work will commence on the development of a master plan for Territory parks, both existing and new. $500 000 has been approved for the initiative to progress potential new joint management arrangements for national parks. $300 000 is provided for the ongoing management of the Owen Springs Reserve, and $1m is provided for visitor facilities in Litchfield National Park including camp grounds and day use facilities.
During 2003-04, we will again see substantial infrastructure investment across the Territory. Infrastructure spending totals $434m, the second highest allocation following a record level in 2002-03, with $274m approved in 2003-04 for the capital works program. In addition to the capital projects I have already outlined, the following projects have been approved for the 2003-04 budget: Stage 1 of the Alice Springs Larapinta residential subdivision will be developed at a cost of $1.5m; $1m has been approved for site work at Stokes Hill Wharf precinct; $1m to improve the amenity of suburban shopping centres; continuation of the program commence in 2002-03 to underground powerlines in Darwin at a cost of $3m; $1m has been approved for urban enhancement and heritage projects at various centres including Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Nhulunbuy; the Territory’s ongoing investment in transport infrastructure will continue with the construction and upgrade of bridges, roads and various amenities on the national highway network, programmed at $14.2m; and Northern Territory funded roads at $17.5m including $3m for the Alice Springs to King Canyons tourist loop including Namatjira Drive.
The 2003 budget is about jobs, safer communities and tax cuts; it supports Territory business. There are no new taxes; it delivers in the priority areas of health, education and community safety. The budget demonstrates that the Territory government has established its fiscal management credentials. The Territory’s future prospects are bright. The north Australian transport hub will be operational in 2004. The first stage of onshore gas developments will commence in 2003 and result in substantial construction work over the next two to three years. Gas onshore will provide the potential for strong, ongoing economic growth, diversification, and jobs. The government has brought the Territory’s budget under control, delivered on its commitment to Territorians and has cut taxes.
Madam Speaker, it is my honour to present this, the 2003 budget, and I commend the bill to the House.
Debate adjourned.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise you of the presence in the gallery of the Northern Territory University Australian State Politics class accompanied by their lecturer, Dr Bill Wilson. On behalf of all the members, I extend a warm welcome to our visitors.
Members: Hear, hear!
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Passage of Bills
Passage of Bills
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): As honourable members would be aware, with the occurrence of the Alice Springs sittings this year, the parliamentary sittings timetable does not have the even pattern of a month or greater gap between each sittings period. When a bill is debated and the second reading of a bill is passed in the Assembly within a calendar month of being tabled, an urgency motion is required to suspend standing orders.
The budget and other bills which need to be passed by the end of the financial year will require passage in the June sittings, which will commence in three weeks. For this to occur, notices of the need for urgency will be given today for some bills. As always, shadow ministers and Independent members are invited to obtain briefings on these bills which will come before the parliament in the June sittings in three weeks. The budget and budget-related bills will come before the Assembly following the Estimates Committee.
MOTION
Note statement - Crime Prevention Initiatives
Note statement - Crime Prevention Initiatives
Continued from earlier this day.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I continue on from the very short start I made prior to the presentation of the budget, to go back over some of the major areas of initiative that our government has progressed. As I said earlier, one of the advantages of having a prolonged debate on this, as the statement went through the House, is that things have evolved as we have gone along and we can update them in this general debate.
I have covered the Office of Crime Prevention and the crime statistics publication. I will now talk about the $400 000 crime prevention grant scheme, which is now being fully deployed for the first year of its operation. It has resulted, not only in a very large number of extremely worthwhile projects going out into the community in response to submissions from community groups, but also underwritten the establishment of some half dozen regional crime prevention councils; namely those in Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Darwin - as of yesterday when I attended their first meeting, and it was a wonderful thing to see them there - the Kurduju Committee out in the Warlpiri lands, and the early stages of development that we are in with Nhulunbuy and Galiwinku areas. We now have a crime prevention network appearing right round the Northern Territory. We are now linking our government, area by area, locality by locality, directly to the people of the Northern Territory so we can work together through a community partnership to tackle these areas of crime.
When I first introduced this statement in August last year, we were only at the stage of being able to talk about the early implementation of some of our programs; namely the youth centres at Nightcliff and Borroloola, the grants to enable the employment of sports and recreation officers in remote communities, school attendance officers and diversionary programs, and the establishment of the Youth Night Patrol and Safety House. These were very early initiatives. I am glad to say that we now have a whole raft of new initiatives that have come into being in the ensuing 10 months.
I would like to have given a detailed response to the opposition contribution to this debate, but I have to say that their contribution has been so woeful that this will not take very long. We had the shadow spokesman basically saying: ‘Well, we can easily fix this problem; we will just make everyone richer. It is all about socioeconomic classes within the Northern Territory’. Well, it is an interesting social theory, but it did not have a great deal to offer in specific things that we could take out there and start to use to prevent crime. He did not like the look of our new aggravated property crime. On tracking the outcomes of these offences being taken through our courts, we are very comfortable with the fact that we are not only getting unprecedented numbers of offenders into gaol, but the offenders we are getting in gaol are the ones who are doing aggravated crimes - whether they are crimes against the person or against property. That is smart enforcement; it is targeting the number of habitual offenders who contribute anything up to 80% of our offences. In the case of house break-ins, I believe 20% produce 80% of the offences. If you can get rid of some of those habitual offenders, you are going to have an impact on the crime rates. We are starting to see those early signs within our statistics.
The Leader of the Opposition decided that yes, he likes intelligent-led policing, and then started lecturing us about the need for community-based policing. He had better get his act together and work out which direction he wants to take police work. It is all very well to get up and say: ‘We need more police’ as the one-line policy, but what are the police going to do? What is the opposition’s position on the nature of police work in the Northern Territory and how should we be deploying our force to best effect? He then went on to his usual hand-wringing whinge about crime being out of control and it is the end of the world as we know it. Quite honestly, we are really sick of hearing that sort of dribble.
The contribution of the member for Macdonnell was quite interesting. He decided that we ought to go back to old fashioned values: honesty, integrity, responsible parenting. He decided that the ‘social engineering’ that we are indulging in where courts are actually ordering, through court orders, rehabilitation programs, diversionary programs, and rehabilitation through the prison programs, is all social engineering. ‘We do not need any of that, we just have to go back to old-fashioned values’. I do not see an awful lot of practical impact of taking that approach.
Everyone seemed to decide that we can forget the statistics – let us forget all this huge body of information that has come off the police database; let us just jump on a crime that has gone on the front page of the NT News and we will say that that justifies whatever position they wanted to take on crime. Well, that era is coming to an end in the Northern Territory if we and I have anything to do with it. We are going to base debate on the facts that are available; the facts that are produced by police, our courts and our Correction Services’ databases. That is the best picture of what is going on in crime. It is not what is on the front page of the NT News on that particular day. We have to put the debate back to the best available information. I will keep working on that task until the people of the Northern Territory come to trust that picture and the quality of those statistics that are coming out.
I would just like to deal very pleadingly with the members for Greatorex and Araluen - a bit by absence rather than presence in the debate. These are the two caped crusaders who led the desperate defence of Alice Springs about a month ago. ‘Crime is out of control! It is overwhelming our town’, they told us. ‘We have to do something! This is the most urgent and critical issue’. I do not see any contribution to this debate on crime prevention from either of you in any Hansard. It just makes me wonder how much of this hot air you are throwing around has any real, sincere basis in your own thinking about your job as a parliamentarian. Why weren’t you in this debate? Why weren’t you contributing some practical ideas about crime prevention in our communities; this critical issue? You wanted to hoodwink the Alice Springs community, talk our town down, make it look like it is the crime capital of Australia, and you do not have the decency to get up and contribute to a debate in the parliament on that very matter. You stand condemned.
The member for Drysdale today said: ‘Oh, well, we have not done anything about the six-point plan or the three-point plan; they are not really plans anyway.’ Well, let us do a quick audit here on what we have done about this. The six-point plan: establishing the Office of Crime Prevention – tick, we have achieved that. Increased police resources - tick, we are well on the way to doing that, as we heard from the minister for police just a moment ago. Upgrade Neighbourhood Watch with funding of $100 000 each year – tick, we have done that, and ongoing. Permanent house breaking and home invasion squad in Darwin and Alice Springs – tick, we have done that, and we are doing quite nicely on the figures that we are getting at the moment from Alice Springs.
Develop programs to support young people at risk in offending - not achieved, and I will say this in parliament: we still have a lot of work to do on that area, and I am prepared to put that on the public record. This is a complicated problem. However, we are certainly far from having achieved a good support for those kids at risk in Alice Springs and, indeed, in other parts of the Territory. I re-commit today, as I have in the past, to work on this until we get a system that I and that the people in the Northern Territory can have confidence in. We are saying that these kids are at risk, and that program has not been consolidated to the extent it should be. It is a good time, if I am doing this audit, to say yes, we have to keep working to get that turned around and brought together quickly.
School attendance officers – tick, we have done that. We have done pretty well on the six-point plan,. Most of it is out there, either well under way or achieved.
Three point plan: getting tough on drugs. Crack down on drug traffickers, dealers and manufacturers - absolutely, we have made some big impacts on the drug dealing. Do you know what, Madam Speaker? As a regular feature in my electorate office in Alice Springs, we get many people coming in off the streets and basically saying: ‘Good on you, keep it up. We don’t want our kids exposed to this stuff in our community’. They are not worried about the rights of drug dealers. They are not worrying about whether alcohol is a more damaging drug than marijuana, or that marijuana is a less damaging drug than heroin. They just want drugs out of the community. They want to get them out as quickly and as effectively as we can manage it. Therefore, we are going to keep after these people, drug houses, drug traffickers and dealers. We want to ship them out of our communities to the extent that we can, through police work and the application of our tough new laws on these types of offences.
Our new confiscation of proceeds of crime: anything we pick up now belongs to the government if it has been acquired through proceeds of drug dealing or other forms of crime. Therefore, if we get a truck load of stuff from the motorcycle gang, we keep it and they can go and find some other part of Australia where they think they can accumulate their ill-gotten gains; they are not going to get them here. The recovery of profits from drug dealers: I have said yes and we have commenced that legislation.
The last arm of the enforcement side of the three-point plan was the establishment of new drug courts. That is on the point of being put into motion now in our Magistrates Courts. The Magistrates Courts will now attach to bail provisions of offenders the requirement to go to rehabilitation. When that alleged offender comes back for hearing, their performance in that rehabilitation program will be very much taken into account. We are very pleased to say that, in the enforcement arm of the three-point plan in drugs, we are well on the way.
We are now moving on into the rehabilitation and prevention arms of that plan, and that is involving a lot of work between the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Community Services and the Department of Education. We are working on that part of it and I am sure I will be able to report back to this House with plenty of new stories about where we have gone with those parts of the three-point plan.
We have heard a lot of rubbish from the Leader of the Opposition downwards, as recently as in the Alice Springs parliament, about how wonderful mandatory sentencing was. The release of the crime statistics, which will be added to very shortly in another week or two with the release of the third quarterly crime statistics, is showing beyond absolute doubt that unlawful entries with intent across the Northern Territory rose by something like 20% over the last 18 months of mandatory sentencing. We have now brought those offences down as significantly as they rose under mandatory sentencing. We have taken mandatory sentencing out. I am proud of that. It is one of the early achievements of our government of which we can be proud. The effect of that, combined with the tough new laws that we brought into replace mandatory sentencing provision for property crime, have had the impact on these sort of crimes in our community that Territorians would expect of a government responsible for effective policy.
In the short time I had available, I have only been able to highlight some of the advances that we have made in the area of crime prevention as we roll out our policies. I look forward to other debates on this because we are far from being afraid of going into this area of policy and opening it up for debate in parliament. We look forward to it and I can only say I hope next time around that we get more constructive input from the opposition, which was sadly lacking in the debate that ensued on this statement.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
MOTION
Note papers - Nitmiluk National Park Plan of Management and
Nitmiluk National Park Summary of Public Representations 2002
Note papers - Nitmiluk National Park Plan of Management and
Nitmiluk National Park Summary of Public Representations 2002
Continued from 17 September 2002.
Mr REED (Katherine): Before I commence, Madam Speaker, I draw your attention to the state of the House.
Madam SPEAKER: Ring the bells. We do not have a quorum present. We now have a quorum.
Mr REED: Madam Speaker, I want to contribute some points to this particular matter, mainly as they relate to a matter of process. There are statutory obligations that the minister and the government has to pursue in relation to certain matters for which they are responsible. In this case, I believe there has been a stepping aside from those statutory obligations, in that, in the first instance, the tabling of this document, the draft Plan of Management for Nitmiluk National Park, and then the means by which it was tabled in the House and the process that followed from there, have sadly demonstrated that the minister is either not aware of his statutory obligations or he is treating the parliament with contempt.
I hope it is not the latter, because there is an important process to follow here. For the minister’s benefit, I draw his attention to the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, section 19, ‘Plan of management to be laid before Assembly’:
(1) The minister shall, as soon as practicable after a plan of management has been accepted
under section 18, cause it to be laid before the Legislative Assembly.
sitting days after the plan of management has been laid before it, pass a resolution disallowing
the plan of management.
The intent of that, of course, is to provide the parliament with the opportunity to consider plans of management. They are important documents, because they set down the process by which our parks, individually under their respective plans of management, will be managed for the life of that plan. These parks are very important to Territorians in terms of recreation, business and industry, with regard to the tourism industry. They are also very important from a conservation viewpoint. The legislation should not be taken lightly and, certainly, it should be given due respect in being applied in the way that this House intended that it be applied. It is important that we take those issues into account.
The minister tabled this particular report, Plan of Management, Nitmiluk Katherine Gorge National Park, dated August 2002, and then proceeded almost immediately to introduce the plan and, of course, to do things beyond the plan. For example, earlier this year we saw the minister take action to ban the overflight of aircraft over Katherine Gorge national park. That was an action that was not referred to in any detail in the plan of management and, indeed, it was an action, as we subsequently found because the minister had to withdraw the action that he took, that he did not have the power to apply. Indeed, not only did he not have the power, the Territory does not have the power and, as I understand it, the Commonwealth government does not even have the power to ban the overflight of a specific area in this country. The flight of aircraft is governed by international regulations and treaties, whereby air space is governed by an international body to which Australia is a signatory. There is a very complex process that has to be undertaken.
The minister wanted to take some arbitrary action, for reasons which we are not sure, although some of those which I recall he gave at the time related to the complaints that had been received in a survey. I recall that survey being taken because I took part in it. That was undertaken in approximately June or July last year, by people sitting on the roadside at Katherine Gorge national park. I happened to visit the park at that time and we were asked the questions. The minister made reference, in public comments supporting his action to ban overflight of aircraft at Katherine Gorge national park, that a big feature of the survey was complaints about the overflight of aircraft. Well, I understand that it was not a particularly big feature in the survey.
In fact, I ask if the minister would be prepared to table the results of that survey. It has not been tabled; it is being kept a secret government document. It is not one of such a need or importance, regarding government operations, that should be kept secret. Indeed, members would find it interesting to learn of the issues that were raised in that survey as it pertained to the interest of visitors who visited Katherine Gorge national park. I understand that park staff were somewhat surprised at the low number of complaints that were received in that survey about aircraft, particularly helicopters, overflying Katherine Gorge.
That particular action was one that was aside from this plan of management but, nonetheless, should have been considered in its context. There is a passing reference in the plan of management that is the subject of this debate, on page 119 and I quote:
- Quality control and impacts in relation to tour operations using the park, but not based on the park,
is an issue of management concern …
Quite a legitimate issue. It goes on to say:
- … this extends to air tours overflying the park.
That is not a satisfactory or sufficient reason for the minister to have taken the arbitrary action that he attempted to do earlier this year by banning the overflight of aircraft at Katherine Gorge national park. We have not heard the real reasons why he wanted to do that. If he wanted to do it or undertake any other action in relation to park management, it should be in the context and within the bounds of this document. That is why these documents are important; they have a real meaning and they set down firmly and clearly for everyone the management practices to be applied at a particular park over a given time - in this case during the life of the plan.
I draw the minister’s attention to his statutory obligations under this legislation and ask that, in future cases where he tables plans of management for any national park operated and managed by the Northern Territory, he takes heed of his statutory obligations and affords members of this House with their rightful responsibility to be able to evaluate these plans, comment on them and, hopefully, have those comments listened to by government.
There are a number of very good reasons why that is the case. I will draw on those in relation to this particular document that was tabled. There are some issues that are very sensitive. Page 34 refers to the development of a policy of park entry fees. That is a very sensitive issue. Madam Speaker, you would be familiar with the concern in the tourism industry, and of Territorians, of the 50% increase in the Uluru entry fees that is currently a matter for discussion, publicly and in the tourism industry. Therefore, there are issues of that kind, the opportunity of which should be rightfully provided to members of this House to consider.
On page 61, there is reference to ‘visitor surveys to confirm that opportunities to view and appreciate fauna is important to most park visitors’. It goes on to say:
- An on-park integrated database for the management of fauna records is currently lacking.
On the one hand, we have identified a pursuit that visitors to the park seek and, on the other, we have a recognition of the fact that there is a lack of an integrated database for the management of fauna records. We need to be able to consider and ask of government: what are they going to do to overcome those shortcomings? Is there going to be money provided in the budget? For example, I have not found any in the budget that has been released today that addresses that particular issue. So, the plans have also to be backed up by resources to enable the issues that are raised in the plan to be corrected, pursued or developed in the event of whatever the particular need of an issue is.
The other points that I want to cover - and in covering them, it is unfortunate that other members do not have the opportunity to do so, in the context of commenting on this at a timely interval where the remarks can be incorporated in the plan before it is made public. Through other sources, I have made some of my comments available to the Parks and Wildlife Commission because I had some contacts allowing me to do that and side step the contempt with which the minister has treated this House. That had, I believe, some very positive results. For example, pages 135 and 136: on page 135 there were 12 errors; on page 136 there were four errors. A document of this …
Dr Burns: Was that for presentational purposes?
Mr REED: They were factual and scientific errors; for the minister interjecting. A document of this kind should be able to be commented on by members of this House and that is as good a demonstration as any as to why on page 165 there is reference to the ‘Territory Parks Act’. Is there such an act, minister, as the ‘Territory Parks Act’? The minister by interjection is asked but he stands there silently scratching his nose. I believe the answer is no. The reference on page 165 should have been to the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act.
There is, albeit perhaps, a low possibility, when acts are referred to in an incorrect manner, a possibility that in the future if some matter was being pursued in a legal way that that could afford an out for someone because of the sloppy work of the minister. I am not blaming the Parks and Wildlife Commission. Their responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of the minister who, when these documents are received in his office, does not simply then say: ‘Oh, that just has to be tabled,’ flick past it and let it be rushed through the Assembly in whatever way he thinks fit. He has a responsibility also to ensure that what passes through his hands as minister, and what he approves to be tabled in this House is accurate and is pertinent to the issues which it is intended to address, and that he meets his statutory obligations. There are a number of shortcomings in relation to the way this particular document has been handled that the minister, I hope, will pick up on the next time that he has to table a document of this kind. I am trying not to be overly critical of the minister; I am just simply trying to point out that there have been some shortcomings here.
I turn to page 117 and figure 10 is a graph of park personnel on operational funding allocations from 1991 to 1999. There is a bar graph there of the amount of money allocated and staff who have been operating in the park over that period. The life of this plan is about five years, from 2002 to 2007. Bearing in mind that the figures would have been available for the years 2000-02, one has to ask - for completeness and to ensure that the plan is up to date and contemporary in every possible way - why the years 2000-01 and 2001-02 statistics were not included in that particular graph? We are talking here about completeness and as much information being provided in a meaningful way as is possible in the value of the plan.
Therefore, I believe there are some very important issues to be considered in the context of these plans. I know that it is not easy, given the high level of information that they have to absorb and activities and duties that they have to perform, but that does not mean to say that the statutory obligations required to be fulfilled in relation to a document of this kind should be either overlooked or there should be shortcuts applied. Members of this parliament have a responsibility to represent their constituents, and they have a reasonable expectation that what the law says as it was passed in this House - and in this case it is the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act - and plans of management and processes that are laid down by law that the minister should follow in tabling the documents in this parliament and affording members a full and open opportunity to debate, contribute to them and to make representations on behalf of their constituents, then those needs should be met. Indeed, it is a breach of the legislation if the minister does not do so.
They were the points that I wanted to make in relation to this. The plan is now enacted. It is in place for five years or whenever the Parks and Wildlife Commission or the minister put in place another plan. Those dates regarding when it is considered necessary to change, update or amend the plan in accordance with the act, are flexible.
I draw those matters to the minister’s attention and respectfully request that, in future handling of plans of management for our parks – bearing in mind that parks take up a sizeable land mass in the Northern Territory, their importance to the tourism industry, to conservation, the environment and the scientific purposes these plans fulfil – that we have an obligation to have them debated at an appropriate time and in an appropriate way, as laid down in the legislation in this House. I ask that the minister take account of that in future, so we can all meet our obligations as set down in the laws established by this parliament.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Madam Speaker, I make some comments on the Nitmiluk - otherwise known as Katherine Gorge - Plan of Management tabled in the House in August 2002.
Nitmiluk holds significant place not just in the Territory but in Australia as a whole. It is one of the most beautiful places in Australia. It offers the visitor experience that shows the geological nature of our land, but also showcases the oldest culture of our land: the culture of Aboriginal Australians. However, it is significant for more than that. Nitmiluk Gorge is a national park run on joint management principles between the government and Aboriginal traditional owners. It is a park where the land is held in title by the traditional owners and then leased back to the wider community to be retained as a public asset for the nation. But it goes further than a straightforward lease back. The arrangements in place provide for joint management and traditional owners’ control of the direction of the park. In many ways, it was a groundbreaking agreement that has few parallels anywhere in the world.
I commend the former CLP government, particularly that of the Chief Minister Steve Hatton in the 1980s, which had the courage and the foresight to take this step and develop the concept. It is a great pity that CLP governments which followed his did not develop this concept further for implementation in other parks. It is clear to me that it is in the interest of our entire community that the 25% Aboriginal sector has employment careers to build in development. Without this being the case, Aboriginal Australian communities will never develop to their fullest. National parks, ranger programs, and scientific exchange programs are all significant ways in which we can bring development to Aboriginal communities. This will bring in some added funds, and provide jobs and careers for Aboriginal people.
Nitmiluk fulfils those objectives and goes further. The arrangements at this park also give traditional Aboriginal people the opportunity to advance the management of land in a way that mixes modern and western science with land management techniques that have evolved over thousands of years. In effect, it is a giant living experiment, melding two very different land management techniques and styles into one, borrowing from both cultures and backgrounds. We can achieve this sort of cooperation and outcome. It should be used as an example to the whole of the nation, not only because Aboriginal culture is still very alive and intact, but because we have the forethought as a community to recognise that cooperation rather than confrontation remains the best means of achieving gains for everyone.
I believe that the people involved in this project are working together in an attempt to create better futures for all involved. I hope that this matter is borne at the forefront of the opposition’s mind when they examine the issues surrounding other parks and the outcomes of park negotiations that are currently under way across the Territory.
Nitmiluk park receives more than 250 000 visitors per year, and is a very important economic stimulator for the whole of the Katherine district. Visitors coming to see Nitmiluk will also spend money in the nearby towns on meals, accommodation, retail products, etcetera. This plan was built on the previous plan of management, with some refocussing on the need to increase an awareness of Jawoyn culture and heritage through greater promotion.
Biodiversity conservation is also addressed. The plan also recognises the need for greater planning for the increased visitor numbers and the environmental impact this could have on the park. I commend this plan to the House.
Mr VATSKALIS (Parks and Wildlife): I thank members for their contribution. I would like to make some final comments about, first of all, the comments by the member for Katherine that the plan was not tabled. If the member for Katherine had bothered to have a look at the Hansard, especially the one on 22 August 2002, I made comments about the tabling of the document. I clearly commented there that the document was properly tabled in the House. So, there is no doubt about it being tabled or not. The debate was adjourned, and it now gives an opportunity for members to make their comments. The member for Katherine once again, of course, as he usually does, twists a few of the statements, just to present that the tabling was not proper, or that the plans had a series of mistakes in them. He mentioned, particularly regarding page 149 and other pages, ‘the Territory Parks Act’, and asked if there is such an act.. However, what he failed to say was, if he had looked at the interpretation, ‘Territory Parks Act’ is stated clearly in the document in relation to the park as having the same meaning as the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act. Territory parks act is short for the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act. It is the same with the land rights act. There is no such thing as a land rights act; it is an abbreviation for the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 of the Commonwealth.
He also made reference about my action to stop flying over the park. He also referred to me withdrawing my decision. Once again, what he failed to say is that the act that governs the Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park has a clause in it that specifically prohibits the flying of aircraft over the park. Therefore, the CLP government, when it introduced the relevant act, had introduced a clause in it that clearly states that the park management or the minister could prohibit flying of aircraft over the park. One thing he failed to say was that these same issues came up when he was the minister, and the then director of Parks and Wildlife put a memo to the then minister, the member for Katherine, suggesting exactly the same - that because of concerns of the tourists, he should sign off a prohibition of flying of aircraft over the park. The member for Katherine, then minister for Parks and Wildlife, did not just cross out the letter and say no, he actually asked for the preparation of a Cabinet submission on the same matter.
The only reason I went back on my decision about the flying of aircraft over the Nitmiluk Gorge and the park was because we negotiated with the Commonwealth and reached an agreement to sit down together and find a way to overcome the problem with aircraft, in a very similar way that they overcame the problem - successful I might add - with the Uluru and Kakadu parks. We are still working on it.
I commend the plan of management for the Nitmiluk national park, because it gives us the opportunity to do several things. The first, of course, is to increase the awareness of the park visitors of the Aboriginal heritage and history of the place. The second is to increase the involvement of Aboriginal traditional owners in the running of the park. That is what I want to see.
When I first came to the Territory and visited the park, I was astounded by the natural beauty of the place and also the cultural view of the place after learning some of the history. To see some of the wall galleries there really indicates to you that this place has been inhabited for time immemorial. They put their marks on the walls of the park, the same way that primitive Europeans put their marks on the caves in France. It was exactly the same as the ancient Greeks who put murals on the walls of their temples and houses. The only thing that changed was the location and the style of the murals. The act behind it was exactly the same; it was culturally significant for the people who lived there. They wanted to put in the place where they lived, hunted, and had their civilisation, the mark of their civilisation, and that is very important. I have heard many comments from interstate and overseas tourists when they came to Nitmiluk, and also Kakadu. When they see the pictures on the walls of the parks, they cannot believe the natural beauty and the history behind these pictures.
Another thing we wanted to do, together with the Jawoyn, is to develop an economic development plan for the park; and that is very important. We want the park to operate successfully; we want to have an effective management of commercial activities for the park and better promotion of the park, the Jawoyn history and the culture. In addition, we want to make sure that the park will be visited by as many people as possible but, at the same time, the number of visitors to the park will not compromise the beauty and the environment of the park. We want to put in place conservation strategies for soil. We want to put in place conservation strategies for the flora and fauna, and we want to mark the flora and the fauna in the park, because it is very significant.
In the past few years, we have seen many companies that develop medicinal material or drugs actually go back to traditional knowledge - not only of Aboriginal people in Australia but indigenous people all over the world - and draw from this knowledge to produce new drugs. In some cases, this traditional knowledge has led to the development of drugs that could be powerful in fighting cancer or major diseases that are currently tormenting mankind all over the planet.
As I said before, one thing I would like to see is not only participation of Aboriginal people in the management of the park, but active participation in work in the park: in maintenance work, in tourism as guides, and in becoming rangers in the park. I would like to give the opportunity to the Aboriginal people to be able to actually operate the park on a commercial basis, and also to be active participants of a very successful commercial operation.
Madam Speaker, I commend the statement to the House.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
MOTION
Note statement – Litchfield Planning Concepts and Land Use Objectives
Continued from 10 October 2002.
Mr MALEY (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I place on the Parliamentary Record some general observations about the importance of planning, the Litchfield Land Use Objectives, the NT Planning Scheme, and the real effect it is going to have on the area in which I live and have grown up in and which I represent.
There have been a number of reviews of the planning process, and various versions of the Litchfield Land Use Objectives and planning schemes. Quite often it does not get the attention it deserves. It is often fairly dry, and some people described it as a boring topic but, more than any other regulatory activity of government, it has the capacity to affect us all.
Some of the decisions made at the end of the planning process do grab the news, however. As I said, the mechanisms and the development of the mechanisms which was what the minister is referring to, do not receive the same interest or attention. In a very general way, and talking to members of the community and those people who live in the rural area, there seems to be a lack of certainty. There is no doubt that the rural area will be at the forefront of some of the more difficult planning decisions which will have to be made during the term of this government and subsequent governments. The real reason why the rural area is logically going to be buffeted by the excisions and the strains of growth, of course, is that it surrounds the Darwin and Palmerston area. For Darwin and Palmerston to grow, and with the satellite city of Weddell, that would invariably have an effect on the services and the rural lifestyle, which I and many of my peers, workmates and neighbours enjoy.
The Litchfield Land Use Objectives also includes the Middle Arm Peninsula, Wickham Point and the like, which is the proposed site for the gas complex. There is little doubt that the overwhelming majority of Territorians recognise the need for economic development. I support the proper development of our gas resources. Proper planning will help ensure that the benefits from those projects are maximised. It will also help create a balance between a great lifestyle and economic development, and the protection of the natural environment. To his credit, the minister eluded to some of those general rationales in his speech of 10 October 2002.
However, most of what the minister said on 10 October 2002 was very much in general terms. We are talking broad brush motherhood-type statements. We are talking a number of feel good-type sentiments without any clear lines being drawn in the sand. I suppose in one sense it is difficult to have a clear line drawn in the sand when you require some sort of flexibility when it comes to planning. However, ultimately, the feedback that I have is that there needs to be a little more certainty in what the government is saying and what the minister has said in this particular speech.
There have been some comments made and my colleague, the member for Daly, coined the expression when describing the speech and the whole approach to planning as ‘devoid of any clear vision’. That is a view which a person reading this for the first time could understandably come to, in that there is no real clear vision and no real clear mechanism for the making of those planning decisions.
There are a number of very well written articles. One prepared by the ANU in relation to the North Australian Research Unit, is a discussion paper on planning for regional centres. In that particular paper, the authors go through it from pages 13 through to 17 and talk about some of the criteria which are important if you are going to construct a planning scheme - some of the criteria that are important to make sure they not only feature prominently but if they do feature, will go some way in ensuring that the average punter - the people who live in the area, whose lives will be affected by the mechanism and the decisions that follow the mechanisms – have some certainty.
By way of summary, in an ideal world, the entity - remember we have the independent statutory authority of the Development Consent Authority now, and there are some mechanisms where the minister can override the decisions from the Development Consent Authority. However, ultimately that independent statutory body, whatever you want to call it – the Planning Authority, the Development Consent Authority, or whatever - has to be well informed.
There has to be some mechanism to store material and feedback, to understand clearly the demographics of the area over which planning decisions are going to be made. Therefore, the storage and management of that basic information is important and something the government should, in my view, carefully examine to ensure that information is being properly stored and archived for future reference.
The difficulty with planning is that you need a degree of flexibility in a plan, so the structure you create has to be dynamic and flexible. That sounds like a motherhood statement in itself but, unfortunately, the nature of planning requires a degree of flexibility. We have special uses and the capacity for the minister in certain situations to change the zoning of a particular piece of dirt if it is in the public interest. Of course, the review process is really parliament itself.
The process of planning has to be consultative and participatory; that is, effective ongoing planning is not solely a matter for the experts and for those public servants who have been fortunate enough to work in the area for a long time. There is a transient population in the Northern Territory, probably less so in the rural area but, nevertheless people who will be affected physically by these changes need to be involved in this process. They need to be not just consulted, but have some sort of participatory role in the process.
There is an expectation that planning decisions are made in the public interest. Of course, in modern times there are so many competing public interests and the question of what weight you give to each particular interest is a matter for the tribunal, the independent statutory authority. However, when that decision is made, there needs to be a way of properly communicating what weight was given to a particular public interest group, so that the independent statutory authority is accountable for the decisions they make.
Therefore, along the lines of what courts have been doing for hundreds of years, there needs to be a way of properly communicating the reasons for that planning decision. Of course, there needs to be a mechanism to resolve conflicts, and that involves the diversity of values and goals within the community. There needs to be a mechanism to come to some definitive answer.
I have already paraphrased portions of what was in the North Australian Research Unit discussion paper which was handed down nearly 10 years ago. Really, what is contained in it is so relevant . The author deals with the Kimberley study and some other regional centres, but there are some important lessons, no matter which person or organisation is in government. These are fundamentals because they will go on to affect us all.
Pragmatically, it is not easy for a person who is living in the rural area and who is a property developer to really understand the mechanism. There is a dual process at the moment. In the last four or so years, there have been two or three drafts of the Litchfield Land Use Objectives. There is one final book which is what the minister referred to in his speech, and that gained ministerial approval on 10 October 2002.
With that there is a large zoning map. You can look at the maps and see which areas are zoned RO1, RO2 or some of the other special categories which exist. Running parallel with that, another process has been occurring over the last two-and-a-half years. We have had the development of this overall planning scheme, with some sort of uniformity. I must say, uniformity is a good and valid goal in having some consistency, not just in the rural area, but in an overall planning scheme.
About two months ago, it was released to the public. When I say that, it was released to the Development Consent Authority. I certainly received some paraphernalia, some maps. They were Litchfield area maps, and one showed the existing zones. There was another large map, which I made available for those members of the public who were interested, of the proposed new zones. People could have a look at that and make comment and, if they felt so compelled, they could write to the minister and I could help them articulate and amplify some of their concerns.
What has happened is that now it seems there has been some sort of hybrid map produced. I am not sure what to do now with the two maps I received; one with the existing zones, one with the proposed new zones. We have this hybrid, a combination of existing zones and new zones. This is despite the fact that the planning scheme has not yet actually been implemented. We have the third version of the Litchfield Land Use Objectives, which is pretty close to the final version, but there is still some ongoing consultation, if you can rely upon what the preface says at the beginning of that document.
I suppose the point I am making, by way of a practical example - perhaps I can ask the minister to explain, not only for me but for the people of the rural area, exactly where we stand in the zoning and what stage it is at. There is a genuine need for certainty in this important area. In planning, as I said, it is too easy to get tied up in the trappings of government, I suppose: ‘We will sort that out. As each problem comes up we can deal with it’. Well, if a bit more emphasis was put into getting the plans right then, in a perfect world, a lot of those problems might be able to be alleviated.
There is a growing group of people who want organic farming, a group of commercial farmers whose livelihood depends upon whether or not they can spray their crops. Issues such as spray drifts are complicated issues, and there are not any clear definitive answers. However, ultimately, someone has to take on board these issues and make a decision so we, as a community, can move forward.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arafura): Madam Speaker, I speak about the Litchfield Land Use Objectives, which establish a clear policy framework for the future use and development of land within the Litchfield Shire. They set out the future directions of this local government area. The objectives delineate specific areas within which particular kinds of development can take place: more dense residential, conventional horticulture, organic horticulture, commercial, industrial, etcetera. It provides a map for the future of a part of Darwin hinterland that is destined to grow in population and importance. It is a place where we have the opportunity to provide a unique lifestyle by limiting the spread of the Darwin/Palmerston urban sprawl in favour of the development of larger blocks where people may pursue semi-rural lifestyles, but still benefit from proximity and access to a capital city.
As Darwin and Palmerston expand and develop, there will be increasing pressure on parts of Litchfield to accommodate this spread. It is the natural direction for these two cities to move. That presents a dilemma for governments, planners and residents alike.
Mr Wood interjecting.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: You should listen to me before you comment.
The aim of these land use objectives is to attempt the pre-emptive resolution of competing interests in a way which seeks to accommodate all of them. It is a massive task. The objectives have, in the government’s view, achieved a fair and appropriate balance. The striking of this balance has involved significant consultation, including direct discussions between the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, and the people of the area.
Amongst the contentious issues addressed by the objectives is the extent to which Litchfield will play host to future industrial development. Much has been said in this House about the siting of industrial land. It is the government’s view that the correct compromise has been reached between preservation of the environment, including the marine environment of the harbour, satisfying the requirements of the dynamic and growing economy, to the opening up of new areas of industrial land. Glyde Point has been identified as a future industrial development area, and areas of Middle Arm have also been set aside for such use.
Land available for industrial zoning is very limited in the whole of Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield areas. The coming of the railway and the increase in commercial and industrial activity that will inevitably follow leaves us with little choice as to the identification of land to be set aside. Land use and access needs in relation to tourism have also been identified. The planning concept articulated in the objectives identify commercial districts and local centres as preferred tourism nodes or focus points. We have tried to minimise the impact that this will have on residential land.
Horticulture is also a potentially contentious area. The government has put in place a native vegetation clearing control that replaces the boundary-to-boundary clearing regime that dominated the early days of horticulture development in this area. We have taken into account wildlife corridors and this government, unlike the previous government, has agreed that waterways and buffer zones for environmental protection should be removed from areas proposed for subdivision and handed back to public control. This is a very important initiative. Areas of land where horticulture can effectively take place without dispute over spraying and clearing between neighbours has also been identified. The government has also taken into account areas where people may wish to develop organic horticultural techniques free from the impact of chemical use.
Road works and proposed service corridors have also been identified and factored into these objectives. It is critical that residents understand where these corridors exist and where they are proposed. We do not - I emphasise not - want a repeat of the railway corridor Fairway Waters issue which is still bubbling away in Palmerston.
The plan also takes into account activities such as extractive material removal and a variety of small scale industrial enterprises. The minister has signed off on these land use objectives, and the associated consequential amendments have already been on display at the Freds Pass Show and in other places. The pending statutory discussion phase will provide yet another opportunity for public comment, finalising a period of extensive public discussion and debate that has seen the issue evolve over seven years.
Madam Speaker, it is time to bring these matters to a close and get on with the job of providing a clear direction to both developers and the community regarding the future of the Litchfield area. I commend the minister’s statement to the House.
Mr VATSKALIS (Lands and Planning): Madam Speaker, I thank the members for their contribution. The Litchfield Land Use Objectives have been seven years in the making. I recall very well when I was in public servant, we were debating in 1994, 1995, 1997 when it was coming out; it seemed it was never coming out. I was so fed up at the end that I actually instructed my department that we would proceed and put the land use objectives out within a certain period of time. Surprise, surprise, they were out and it went out for public comment.
There have been very extensive rounds of public consultation - I believe three - plus the consequential amendments now that were exhibited on Saturday and Sunday at the Freds Pass Show.
Mr Wood: Very little has changed.
Mr VATSKALIS: I was there when councillors and the President of the Litchfield Shire Council were there commenting on the changes in the land use objectives. However, they have been on public display and many comments have been received, including from members of the House and, certainly, the member for Nelson. We have agreed to disagree on certain issues, especially the rezoning of industrial land in Middle Arm. However …
Mr Wood: Many issues. BP Palms land.
Mr VATSKALIS: Yes, certainly, BP Palms land. However, what is surprising is that we disagreed on a few issues, but we agreed on the major issues.
From what the member for Goyder was saying about land use objectives, I do not think he understands the difference between the concept of land use objectives and the planning scheme. It is a natural progression that the very first concept was followed up with the land use objectives. In land objectives, we specify what we want in a particular area and then the planning scheme defines the zoning and everything else in that particular area. It was about time land use objectives for Litchfield were released. At least people had the opportunity to see them, comment on them, to put a public submission, and to agree or disagree with them. However, at the end it was released, it was a reality and now we can progress from there.
At the same time, one of the issues of land use objectives which is very important and dear to my heart, is the preservation of the environment and, certainly, the riparian areas. They do not belong to the developers; they belong to the public. The waterways will become very significant now for the community. We have a responsibility to protect them, and are going to do so. Other areas are the provision of areas for organic horticulture; that is extremely sensible. There is a clear delineation for general horticulture areas and, generally, putting controls for land clearing which is very, very important. Future urban developments, as well as commercial and tourism nodes, are very well highlighted in the land use objectives and, in some cases, they are buffered from the surroundings by open space or decreasing density. We identify and recognise that there are some critical water resource issues and we are going to address them, as we recognise there is a need for extractive industries to continue. They have been incorporated in the land use objectives.
It is not a perfect set of documents; not everyone is going to be happy with them. However, the majority of people are quite happy with the land use objectives. Certainly, the people who disagree with them will continue to disagree but, on the other hand, if we satisfy the people who currently disagree with the land use objectives, we will then have a different group of people who will disagree. The land use objectives are released; they are reality and people have the chance to comment on them. It represents the view of the government and the will of the government. It was something that was initiated by the previous government, but they did not have the courage to put them out for consultation. I do not know the reason. This government has the courage to come out, present the land use objectives, put them to the community and adopt a lot of the recommendations of the community. However, at the same time, it is brave enough to say that it will draw a line on the ground and say: ‘We will do that one. We cannot satisfy everyone’.
Madam Speaker, I commend the statement to the House.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
TABLED PAPER
Auditor-General’s Report on the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statement 2001-02 – Corrections
Auditor-General’s Report on the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statement 2001-02 – Corrections
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I lay on the Table a letter from the Auditor-General detailing minor corrections to the report on the 2001-02 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statement that was tabled in the Assembly on 28 April 2003.
ADJOURNMENT
Dr BURNS (Tourism): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly be now adjourned.
I was saddened last month to learn of the passing of Ozzie Dalton, a well-loved member of my electorate. Members of Cabinet would have met Ozzie at the community Cabinet held in my electorate office late last year, and will remember what a down-to-earth bloke he was. Ozzie, the typical Australian battler, was only 53 years old when he died, but he had been suffering from a debilitating degenerative bone disease for many years. Despite this, Ozzie was well known for his willingness to help anybody who needed something done. He was the king of Hare Street, Moil, although he technically lived in Budgen Street, and was a fabulous neighbour who looked out for others, cared about everyone, and was always there to help those in need.
I had no hesitation last year in recommending Ozzie for a Local Hero Award following his heroic action in June 2002 during a fire in a block of flats. Ozzie, disregarding the danger to himself from the flames, rushed across the street and upstairs to the burning unit where he set about saving those who were inside the unit. The fire was very intense by this time and was starting to engulf the unit next door. Ozzie persisted in trying to wake the occupant who he was aware was deaf. Despite the occupant attempting to save some possessions and not realising the danger he was in, Ozzie Dalton managed to persuade him to leave the building. When the fire crews arrived, the unit was well alight.
Ozzie leaves behind his wife, Angela, and son, Robert. I extend to them my sincere condolences.
Members of this House have heard me speak often and glowingly about the work of the Wagaman Residents Association, which is a very proactive group working together to promote a safe community. Since its inception in 1999, the committee has been superbly led by its chairman, Mr Asad Mohsin, and it was with sincere regret that the committee recently accepted Asad’s resignation as chairman. Asad will be leaving the Territory shortly to pursue his academic career in New Zealand.
I have had the pleasure of working with Asad not only in his role as chairman of the committee, but also through his leadership of the Islamic community and my Tourism portfolio, because Asad has been a researcher and academic in the tourism area at the Northern Territory University.
I am sure that most members are aware of the tremendous role that Asad has had in very difficult times of world conflict and tension between different races and religions. He has done a lot to open out the Islamic community to the Darwin community. Asad and the efforts of the Islamic community have done a lot toward making Darwin a very peaceful place, and not having the trouble that has been evident elsewhere in Australia where mosques have been burnt down, and there has been violence between different groups. Asad has done so much in promoting understanding and tolerance within the Darwin community. I place on the record my thanks to Asad for his assistance over the last couple of years, and I wish him well in New Zealand.
Shortly after Asad’s resignation from the Wagaman Residents Committee, the secretary, Mrs Zita Hall, handed in her resignation. Zita has also worked with the committee since its inception and has been a fantastic worker for this group. Zita is one of those people who take on a lot of work with different clubs and committees but, unfortunately, her health has dictated that she wind back a bit. I am sure a number of members are aware of Zita’s efforts in the North Darwin RSL where she is a very prominent member. Zita’s contribution will be greatly missed by the committee, but I am sure she will still be attending meetings and offering her valuable advice.
On Saturday, 10 May, I was thrilled to represent the Chief Minister at the Filipino Club of Darwin’s Super Gala Night and Beauty Pageant 2003. It was a fantastic night and there was some very special entertainment by local and interstate artists.
The contestants for Miss Philippines Australia (NT) 2003 were Merille Antalan, Hayley Miles, Natascha Jakubowski, Ivelle Manansala, Jessiepher Stephenson, Julie Ann Kruhse, Julie McAulay, Louana Uddon, Rachel Pech and Jennyca Nieva with Ivelle Manansala being crowned Miss Philippines Australia NT for 2003.
During the entertainment, the audience was delighted by performances from Pia McElroy, Bernadine Crute, Edith and Nikki Maxwell, a mother and daughter duet, and dance numbers by Juniper Tree Dance Company, the Mediterranean Dance Troupe, Swift Team, and Maharlika Association dancers.
Interstate artists included Rod Dingle, Philippines Emcee King and Celebrity Singer; and the thrill of the night for me was the surprise appearance of Ms Lillian de los Reyes from Sydney, who has a way with the audience that left everybody enthralled with her performance. I have to say that I was leading the enthralling bit there. She is a beautiful woman with a fine voice and an abundance of talent and energy. She is a wonderful performer and I love Lillian de los Reyes. It made my night that Lillian could be there. Mrs Fele Mann needs to be congratulated on such a great night.
Lillian got me up on stage with the member for Blain, Mr Mills, and we did a little number to Fame, with Terry doing the ‘heys’ and I did the ‘fames’. It was a tremendous time and I really enjoyed it. The audience thought it was great, too. Once again, my compliments to Mrs Fele Mann for a great night. We know that every cent of the money will go to the orphans over in the Philippines.
I also enjoyed the Cretan night held on Saturday, 3 May to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the Battle of Crete. Also present were the Minister for Ethnic Affairs, Hon Kon Vatskalis, Honorary Greek Consul, Mr George Kapetas, Honorary Greek Vice Consul, Mr Theo Gomatos, Lt Alison Creagh from the Airforce, Mr Raymond Chin President of the RSL - Raymond, of course, is very well known to this Legislative Assembly - Mr Charlie Parrott and presidents from other Greek organisations.
The people of Australia and the people of Crete are linked through the historic event of the Battle of Crete, which occurred 62 years ago this month, when German soldiers parachuted onto Crete on 20 May 1941. There was valiant fighting from the Anzacs alongside the people of Crete, and we should be very proud of those efforts. Seven hundred and eighty-one Anzacs lost their lives along with many Cretans in that battle for freedom.
To celebrate the 62nd anniversary, the NT Cretan Association brought to Darwin four Cretan musicians. Sifi Tsourdalakis was on the lyra and vocals. He is Melbourne born and, at the moment, is making a name for himself in Greece where he is based. He has recently released two CDs. Tony Iliou and Tony Vardakis played the lute, and Kosta Kirkotsios was on the guitar. The Northern Territory was the first stop on a national tour for these artistes - which also includes New Zealand - as part of the Cretan Federation of Australia and New Zealand annual commemoration of the Battle of Crete.
The Pan Hellenic Dancers and the Mediterranean Cultural Dance Group performed on the night, and they are absolutely fantastic. I got up as well, along with a lot of others. I am told that the Cretan dance steps are even trickier than the Kalymnian ones, but I managed to shuffle my feet and I had a great night - it was a tremendous night.
On 21 March, I attended Harmony Day celebrations at Wagaman Primary School, where I was treated to an exceptional display of fashion, music and dance, demonstrating the diversity of our community. Jud Tagaro, the Student Representative Council President, gave a very moving speech at the ceremony, from which I will share the following excerpt:
- Harmony Day for me is a fitting reminder that culture, race, colour, religion and ethnic traditions are
not to be regarded as barriers for me to having a Greek, a Chinese, an American, English or African
friends. It is a day when myself, all of you and the rest of Australia should celebrate this rare
opportunity to wake up realising that when you walk down the road each day - no one is different
and everyone is Australian.
Tremendous words from young Jud.
On 25 April, I attended the Wagaman Primary School Anzac Day ceremony, organised by the 14 student representatives who had attended an earlier ceremony at Wanguri School. Sam Lee did a fantastic job as MC for the ceremony in the afternoon. Also there was Lt Michelle Wheaton of HMAS Dubbo. Lt Wheaton spoke of the past and current military endeavours, and the need to remember those who have contributed to maintaining peace and freedom in our country. Each class crafted a commemorative wreath to lay at the base of the flagpole. The wreaths were, indeed, works of art and the students are to be congratulated on their skill.
Four Wagaman Primary School boys, Shaun Wauchope, Sam Lee, Jackson Dick and Liam MacLachlan, were fortunate enough to spend nine nights and eight days performing at Newcastle schools and at the Boys to Fine Men Conference. The boys were accompanied by Jane Anlezark, a tremendous teacher at Wagaman, who was the coordinator, and Jane reports that the boys were absolutely brilliant. The boys were selected as part of the troupe of 30 boys to represent the 500 boys who participate in the Boys Business Program. That is a tremendous program that teaches young men about being men. I highly commend it and Wagaman Primary School’s involvement in that.
International and interstate delegates to the conference were most impressed by this progressive and effective program that aims to increase the engagements of boys in school. The troupe is not a choir but uses music, chants and rounds, as well as games, to develop leadership, cooperation, self-confidence and self-worth. I was fortunate to attend a function at Wagaman Primary School and the boys did an African chant and dance, with each little group singing different parts of the harmony. They enjoyed it, I enjoyed it, and the whole school assembly enjoyed it. There are a lot of positive things going on amongst young people, particularly young boys, at Wagaman Primary School. The boys returned from Newcastle exhausted after ice-skating, canoeing, archery, flying fox, bowling and surfing. I was pleased to be able to contribute to their adventure.
Still on Wagaman Primary School, a couple of weeks ago, the school won a national award, being selected from 1427 applications from schools all over Australia, to be one of only two Boys Education Lighthouse Schools in Darwin. The other school is Kormilda College. The Wagaman school can now promote itself as a Lighthouse School, meaning ‘light the way’ in best practice in boys’ education.
I would like to mention Lesley King from Wagaman Primary School. Lesley has been with the school for 27 years and has been awarded a Centenary Medal for service to the Northern Territory community, particularly in support of children and youth. This is a great honour and the school has been very lucky to have Lesley and all her skills. It is great to attend the school council meetings because Lesley is there; she is so diligent about the finances of the school. The school has entered into a number of business relationships related to the preschool and day care for kids, and Lesley is always there looking at every angle, protecting the interests of the school. She has given 27 years of great service to that school, and I am sure everyone in the House joins with me in congratulating and thanking Lesley and wishing her all the best in retirement.
Also, Wagaman Primary School was granted $500 under Health Promoting Schools Grant program, and the school project is to compose a stop smoking jingle. I look forward to, hopefully, being able to sing it here in the House when it is complete, although it is against standing orders to actually sing, and I know that there are members here with a lot better voices and stage experience than me. However, Wagaman Primary School is a great school.
I have mentioned a few things here tonight; Mr Acting Deputy Speaker. I have a lot more for adjournments, but I will have to mention them on a different night.
Mr VATSKALIS (Casuarina): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, first of all, I would like to start my adjournment with praising Mr Asad Mohsin. My colleague, the member for Johnston, spoke about Mr Mohsin. I have to say that he was a true leader, in a time of danger, leading the Islamic community when everything around us in the world was really falling apart with 11 September, then the Bali bombing and, of course, what was happening down south, which we fortunately did not see in Darwin. That is a sign of the maturity of the multicultural society of Darwin, but also it is a sign of the leadership provided by Mr Mohsin to this community. He is not only a person who I met through my job as a maintenance worker at first, but a person I would consider a real friend, and I am very sad that he is leaving.
However, Mr Mohsin made a choice to go to New Zealand. Hopefully, he will not like the weather very much and will come back very, very quickly. He is refined person, very well educated, and with true family values. It will be a loss to the Territory and a gain for New Zealand. I understand the Islamic community there have already made contact with Mr Mohsin to utilise his skills and experience.
Back to the ethnic matter, two people well known to me, who received Centenary Medals recently were Ms Koula Koulakis and Mr John Vrodos, both members of the Greek community. Ms Koulakis has been involved with the Greek radio in 8 TopFM for more than 20 years. Faithfully every Sunday afternoon, she turns up at the radio station and entertains for a whole hour. A lot of the first generation Greek migrants came here in the 1950s and 1960s, and she plays many of the songs they still favour and like.
In addition, Ms Koulakis is instrumental at the Greek Senior Citizens Group. Every Thursday, a number of Greek seniors meet at the Greek School and they have coffee, a bit of gossip and at least they spend some time outside their homes. We know sometimes how lonely it can be to be old, especially when all the young members of your family are out at work or at school and you are staying home by yourself.
Mr Vrodos, on the other hand, came here in the late 1950s and raised a family in Darwin. For many years, he served in the Greek community in various positions in the Greek Community Government Council, and many times as president. He always supported any Greek cause in Darwin; and is a great fan of soccer and supporter of a particular team, which I am not going to mention here - I do not want to create divisions. It is one of the teams that probably beat your team, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker - quite right too. By the way, we beat you the other day, 13–nil - that is Mindil Aces. Mr Vrodos deserves the Centenary Medal.
The Greek community has been very active in Darwin. Miss Irene Mellios coordinated the Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea at the Greek School on Thursday, 22 May. My information is that this year the group managed to raise $10 000 for the Cancer Council. That is not the first time; Miss Mellios organised the tea last year. Last year, they raised $6000. So they are doing better and bigger every year. I congratulate Miss Mellios.
A big welcome to Miss Sharon Reeves, the new Principal at Alawa Primary School - a small primary school but a very good primary school. I am very surprised at the number of children who attend various tests and competitions that different educational institutions put on in Australia. They manage, very often, to receive commendations, distinctions or high distinctions. They really should honour the school as well as the teachers who spend an enormous time and effort to educate those young Territorians. I have to admit that Alawa Primary School is one of the most multicultural schools in Darwin, together with Nakara, where you have Aboriginal kids, Chinese background kids, Greek background kids, Italians, all playing together in harmony and proving, once again, that we can live together in harmony as long as we respect each other’s culture and accept it. I once again welcome Sharon Reeves and I am looking forward to working with Sharon.
One thing we achieved in Alawa: for many years the caretaker provided a fantastic service to the school and prevented many cases of vandalism at the school. He was living in a caravan very close to the school property, but he never had an ablution block or a shower. He had to walk a long distance to use some of the facilities in the school. I was advised recently that he was getting a bit old and he had some problems with his health. I approached the minister for Education with a request for funding for the construction of ablution facilities, and it was finally provided. I am advised that very soon the facility will be constructed, very close or next to his caravan and, hopefully, that will resolve the issue.
Nakara Primary School is another good primary school in my area. The teaching staff at Nakara is excellent and, certainly, Mr Barry Griffin, the principal, is very proactive. Nakara had a problem with vandalism and the council decided to dig into their resources, and they spent nearly $40 000 putting a fence around the common areas. As a result, they have reduced vandalism significantly and also reduced access to people in the school areas, thus protecting the school property and saving thousands of dollars for the Department of Education. I understand the fence has not been finished yet; they require more funding to finish it in the school area. However, they were very successful in getting funds from the Office of Crime Prevention to erect a fence around the preschool, thus eliminating some problems of vandalism and of itinerants who were accessing the grounds of the preschool. Congratulations to the teaching staff and to the school council, and certainly to Mr Barry Griffin, for being so proactive and doing something so useful, thus saving a lot of money for the government and the Department of Education.
On Thursday, 22 May, we held Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea here in parliament. Senior citizens from the two seniors villages in my electorate were invited to share a cup of tea and have a tour of Parliament House. I would like to thank all the electorate officers, the member for Wanguri’s electorate officer, and my electorate officer, Margaret Sadlo, for organising the venue and all the people who came here. Let us not forget the Chief Minister’s electorate officer who was instrumental in inviting people from the Chief Minister’s electorate.
Particular thanks to Lee from Shuttle bus for donating the service of the bus and a driver for the occasion free of charge. We raised $200 towards the Cancer Council fundraiser, and I know that every little bit counts.
An update on the Tiwi campus: I am pleased to advise the House that the old Tiwi campus has been demolished. We do not have any problems with asbestos, vandalism, fires or itinerants camping there. The area will be rehabilitated; it will be grassed and will be ready for a new community project that this government is planning to enhance the area.
One of the transportables for child care we had acquired remained empty for a while. However, I am pleased to advise that this transportable has been allocated to the Dripstone Childcare Centre which was seeking to expand and renovate but, owing to a lack of money, they could not. The Development Consent Authority has approved the establishment of the transportable at the Dripstone Childcare Centre, and I am very pleased about that.
In conclusion, let me remind members that, being in a multicultural society, the next few months will be full of events, festivals and celebrations, starting with the Greek Glenti on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend. This year it will be held over two days: Saturday night and Sunday all day. It is a great event, and a great opportunity to meet with friends, since most of Darwin turns up. It will start, as I said, in the afternoon on Saturday. There will be great entertainment. If you enjoy smashing plates, be there. There will be a lot of Greek wine, food, retsina and delicacies.
Following that, we have India at Mindil, a marvellous event. I am pleased to say that each year, India at Mindil becomes bigger and better. It is very colourful, providing not only a culinary experience, but a cultural experience. My Department of Ethnic Affairs is very pleased to provide funds for both these significant cultural events in Darwin.
Ms MARTIN (Fannie Bay): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, on 15 May, it was my great pleasure to present prizes on the Speaker’s Green for this year’s Barramundi Classic. Honourable members will be aware that this year’s event is the 22nd Barra Classic organised by the Darwin Game Fishing Club. As usual, the club organised an outstanding event. The only gripe they had was that they did not catch enough barra this year, although they do tag and release. The number of barra was down just a bit this year.
Recreational fishing is very important to our Territory lifestyle and the tourism industry, and I would like to acknowledge the 2003 Barra Classic prize winners. The Champion Angler was David Green; the Champion Local Angler, Paul Simon; the Champion Angler Visitor, Ben Patrick; and the Champion Lady Angler, Marion Washington. The Champion Team had a wonderful name, Takin a Punt, and it comprised Peter Washington, Marion Washington and David Green. The team the visitors put together that won, was called Lowrance, and it comprised David Silva, Todd More and Rick Huckstep. The Champion Team Local named themselves the Halco Warriors, and comprised Kevin Bochow, Ian Noble and Ben Patrick.
In the juniors, Shane Bird was the Champion Junior. The Runner-Up Junior was Shaun Ottway, and the Most Meritorious Catcher went to David Green. The Wood Duck went to the team Feral, and was accepted by Warren Smith.
In addition to organising a great recreational fishing event, the Darwin Game Fishing Club donated surplus proceeds from this year’s Barra Classic to Camp Quality, and the cheque was greatly appreciated. I am sure honourable members will join me in congratulating the club, the organising committee, the prize winners and all participants.
I also want to acknowledge this evening the Principal of Parap Primary, Dr Mick Myers and the School Captains of Parap, Rosie Sciacca and Tim Blakey. As school principal, Dr Myers is very keen to create opportunities for students to learn about leadership, and to gain exposure to inspirational speakers. On 11 April this year, Rosie and Tim attended the National Young Leaders Day in Brisbane. Speakers at the event included the Australian beach volleyball Olympic gold medallist, Natalie Cook, the Queensland Minister for Education, Anna Bligh, and Antarctic explorer Peter Treseder.
In Rosie’s report of the event, it is clear that the focus of the speakers was on having goals, working hard, confronting adversity, the virtue of persistence, courage, taking risks, and being inspired by others. I think you would agree, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, that if we expect young people to be leaders, we should provide leadership development opportunities for them. I am sure honourable members will join me in congratulating the Parap Primary School, their principal, the two young school captains, Rosie Sciacca and Tim Blakey, and everyone who supported their attendance at the National Young Leaders Day.
Still on schools, I recently had the pleasure of visiting Driver Primary School, where I was able to spend time with the Transition/Year 1 class, and was given an overview of the preschool master plan for the new early learning environment. The critical time for moulding the character and future development of our youths is in those early years. It is an absolute pleasure to be able to report that there are teachers in our schools right now like Leah Crockford, Judith Armstrong, Patsy Creswick, and Sherrida Edgecombe, who are showing great passion and enthusiasm for their role in teaching and encouraging our youth, and who are actively involved in investigating and implementing new initiatives to ensure that children in preschool, Transition and Year 1 are motivated and encouraged to learn.
Driver Primary started operations in 1985, and now has 443 primary students and 71 preschool students. The school motto is ‘Striving for Excellence’ and, guided by principal, Rob Presswell, with the support of a very active school council, chaired by Peter Garrigan. I believe that this school will indeed make great headway in achieving their goal of excellence.
I was shown the master plan that is being developed by the school community for an early learning environment that will foster a community of learners. By exploring current research in early childhood education and working collaboratively with other key stakeholders and professional architects and designers, the school has created strategies to maximise ‘the environment as the third teacher’. The school’s plan includes erecting a fence to connect the preschool and Transition/Year 1 classroom, enclosing a section of the grounds in which young children can play safely. In this area, children can familiarise themselves with their new environment prior to making the transition from preschool to main school, and can explore special playgrounds and gardens to stimulate their imagination.
During my visit, I also had the opportunity to meet the chairperson of the Aboriginal Student Support and Parent Awareness (ASSPA) Committee, Leslie Wilbraham. There are 17% of students at the school from indigenous background and the ASSPA Committee is energetic and enthusiastic about student learning and developing closer links with the local indigenous community.
I congratulate the school board, the school council, the principal and Driver Primary School community for the efforts that they continue to make to ensure that Driver is a school of excellence. I must say that visiting the school on a Friday afternoon, when I am sure the children would have been fairly tired, I found them inspirational - the teachers and the young students, whom I got a chance to spend some time with, were all focussed and enjoying what they were doing. It really is great to see the commitment of this government to education and training for our young people actually happening in a fine school like Driver Primary.
I would like to share an experience I enjoyed last week, when I was privileged to host the launch of the 2003 Corrugated Iron Youth Theatre. This year’s program looks very exciting, and the highlight will be the performance of Living Here, which will be held in the grounds of the old Fannie Bay Gaol. This production features circus, comedy, drama and video and explores what life is like in our city. In addition, each performance will feature a special guest performance from some of Darwin’s senior residents.
The launch was also an opportunity to formally welcome the new artistic director, Jeremy Rice, and the new indigenous project officer, Glenn Shea. Both are NIDA graduates and experienced professionals with an obvious enthusiasm for youth arts. Jeremy has worked in Sydney and Broome with youth theatre, television and film. Territorians will already know Glenn from his work in Darwin in 2000. Both Jeremy and Glenn are committed and talented professionals, who are dedicated to the delivery of excellence in youth theatre arts.
Corrugated Iron is a youth-focussed organisation, and, since its incorporation in 1988, has included youth representation on its board of management. The board includes: Gray Baldwin, Caroline Heske, Nick Sutcliffe and Sarah Sutcliffe. Nick also acted as the master of ceremonies at the 2003 season launch. The launch of the Corrugated Iron 2003 season was well attended, demonstrating the high level of community support, with representatives from the private sector as well as arts organisations and interested patrons and supporters of Corrugated Iron. Those who attended the launch were treated to a preview of a Corrugated Iron performance that will take place at this year’s Darwin Fringe Festival.
Tammie Abbott, Amy Cash, Bunji Elcoate, Caroline Heske and Fabrienne Holthom amused and entertained us all with their satirical piece on the theatre going community. I will not give too much away here because I encourage all members to attend the performance of the fringe, and also Living Here at the Fannie Bay Gaol. Congratulations to Corrugated Iron and we wish them well in 2003.
Finally tonight, I wish to acknowledge the passing of Geoffrey Bardon AO. Geoffrey Bardon lived and worked in Papunya, 250 km west of Alice Springs, between 1971 and 1972. In that short time, he had an enormous impact on the course of Northern Territory and, indeed, Australian cultural history. He was the sympathetic art teacher who provided the senior men of the Luritja, Pintubi, Anmatjere and Warlpiri peoples, then resident at Papunya, with painting materials and encouraged them to paint. He encouraged them not to paint the decorous water colour landscapes then synonymous with Central Australian Aboriginal art, but paintings based on their huge repertoire of ancient designs and stories from their own powerful cultural traditions. He organised for the artists to paint the first honey ant dreaming mural on the wall of Papunya School, and this set in motion the whole western desert art movement.
These artists, the so-called ‘Painting Men’, with Bardon’s encouragement, went on to become the founders of that movement - probably Australia’s most fascinating and influential art movement. This was an explosion as much as a movement that is still reverberating around Australian cultural landscape and, indeed, has tremendous influence on art throughout the world. The painting men included such important seminal artists as Johnny Warrangkula Tjupururrula, Old Mick Tjakamara, Bill Stockman Tjapaltjari, Yala Yala Gibbs Tjungurrayi, Mick Namerari Tjapaltjarri, Uta Uta Tjangala, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Kaapa Tjampitjinpa, David Corby Tjapaltjarri, Long Jack Phillipus and Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri, among others.
Geoffrey Bardon’s passion and vision for the art of Papunya is deeply embedded in the cultural history of the Territory. On behalf of all Territorians, I would like to pay tribute to a man who, in a comparatively short time, contributed so much to the Territory. He has written movingly of his time at Papunya in the late 1970s and a later visit in 1980. His own words sum up best the profound impact the art of the ‘Painting Men’ was to have. I quote Geoffrey Bardon:
- I sometimes thought, among those new fires and shattered expectations, that an older Australia was
passing away forever, that our own symmetries had been set aside and made helpless, and that a new
visualisation of the continent had come forth, quite literally, out of that burning or freezing red sand.
It is hard to be clear about an entire continent wondrously re-perceived by the brutally rejected and
sick and poor. Yet this is what occurred. This was the gift that time gave, and I know this in my heart,
for I was there.
On behalf of the Territory, we say goodbye to Geoffrey Bardon. He was not very old when he died. He certainly was, with his inspiration, the man who took art from the central desert to the world. For that the Territory owes him a deep debt of gratitude.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I would like to speak about power - not the stuff politicians like but the stuff that makes tea and toast. Most of us have the luxury of just turning the switch on and it is there, but there are many - especially those who live on farms or stations in the Territory - who have to crank up the generator for their electricity. This, of course, is expensive because these generators rely on diesel. Recently, I was approached by a gentleman whose electricity is supplied on farm. He lives at Cave Creek Station just outside of Mataranka. His name is Jim Sullivan and he has been around the Territory for many years. I knew him back in the 1970s when he was growing bananas at Tortilla Flats. I was working at Bathurst Island at the time and there was a need for new banana plants, so it was down to Tortilla to Jim’s place where we spent a number of hot and sweaty hours removing suckers. However, I digress.
Jim now lives 1.6 km off the Stuart Highway; or more precisely, from the powerline which follows the highway from Katherine to Larrimah. Jim, along with his wife, established the farm producing both cattle and honey, both of which contribute to the Territory economy. I would mention from his letter that he wrote to the minister that:
- At Cave Creek Station, we turn off almost 500 cattle per year. We also sell between $50 000 and
$100 000 worth of honey each year to Queensland.
Of course, out Mataranka way, there is not a lot of people so, when Jim goes the first time - and I must admit he said he has been going for the last 10 years - to PowerWater they say no, because it is a corporation, they do not put in non-viable powerlines. Eventually, they said it will cost about $50 000 for a three phase powerline. Jim says he only needs a single phase line, which brings the cost down to $30 000. Jim then got a response from the minister saying that, under the distribution system extension policy, PowerWater are willing to provide up to $10 000 of interest free finance - which is very good. However, of course, Jim will have to find the rest.
It seems to me that with the development of PowerWater as a corporation, there seems nothing in their charter to provide for the development of the Northern Territory, especially in the farming sector, and more precisely, the new farming communities like those in Mataranka. In fact, if you look at the annual report, there seems no mention of this sector, although it mentions that:
- … with a strong emphasis on the development of young Territorians, PowerWater supported solar cars,
festivals, special children and much more.
That is all well and good, but the farming sector plays a very important role in our economy, just as much as solar cars and festivals - probably a little more than that.
Jim does not have a problem with paying for his bit of power. He is willing to pay for the powerline, but would like the authority to look at an alternative method of paying. Presently, he spends approximately $12 000 per year on diesel to provide his station with power. What Jim would like to do is to use that amount of money as the method of repayment. If power was brought to his farm for $30 000, he can then use $9000 of the $12 000 diesel bill to go towards the cost of the line, and the remaining $3000 to go towards the annual electricity bill. This means that Jim will have paid for the powerline, including any interest charged, in about four years. This seems to me to be a very simple and practical solution.
There is another area where a similar scheme could perhaps be looked at. That is at Leaders Creek which is just north of my electorate. A family has now set up a security area which provides a secure area for fishermen to leave their boat trailers and vehicles. The owners also put their boats in the water and collect them when the fishermen return. They provide food and drinks, camping and accommodation. Power is provided using their own generator, but there is power 7 km away at the site of old Gunn Point Prison Farm. Certainly, there may be an opportunity for this tourist facility, operating in an isolated area of Litchfield Shire, to obtain reticulated electricity. Both Jim and the people who run the Leaders Creek security area are developing the Northern Territory.
I hope the minister will look at the scheme that I have mentioned as a possible way to encourage development in areas of the Territory which will only move forward if the government, through the authority, is not tied to restrictions of the new authority.
Jim raised a couple of other issues that he would like the government to look at. One was the representation on the board. I am not making any comments about the actual people on the board. He felt that there needed to be someone from the rural sector represented on the board. Presently, you have a person who is a lawyer; another person who has been at the University of Tasmania; another person who is a company director and business adviser, I think from Victoria; another person who is in the ACT Electricity Commission; then you have Kim Wood, naturally who is the executive director; Barry Chambers was on the authority but has since retired; and another person there who is the authority’s executive director technical, Mr Richard Galton, who has been in the department or in the government for quite a number of years - 30 years altogether.
What Jim is saying is that we need representation from outside that fairly select group on this board, especially for consideration of issues such as Jim is raising about the extension of power into areas which may be regarded as non-viable, but are very important if we want to develop the Northern Territory. Electricity is a big cost for people who operate power through a generator. If it is possible to access mains electricity, then the government should be looking at every possibility for people to access the mains grid.
The other issue that was raised is that Jim sought a meeting with the board and his request was rejected. That concerns me because that is what boards should be about. If people are having difficulties and they cannot achieve satisfaction through normal channels, surely a person could make an appointment to appear before the board -–after all, the board is now part of an authority – and put their case. Without that, you would have to ask why the board is there in the first place.
Jim has raised some legitimate questions. He raised the possibility of an innovative method of paying for an extension of the powerline by saying: ‘I will be spending this much money every year on diesel. If you connect the power, instead of paying for diesel, I will use the money to contribute to the powerline’. He is not asking for a handout, subsidy or grant. He is proposing a way of paying which allows him to continue to operate a viable farm.
I ask the minister to look at the proposal from Mr Jim Sullivan from Mataranka and give some consideration to it as an alternative for people like those at Leaders Creek and others in the same situation. Although these may only be little things, they go to helping the economy of the Northern Territory. As I have said before, small business is the backbone of the Northern Territory. Jim is a small farmer and the people at Leaders Creek are small tourism operators. We need to make sure that they continue to support the economy of the Northern Territory.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I make some comments about a very well known lady in Alice Springs, Mrs Frances Smith, who passed away on 16 February. Frances Smith was born in Sydney on 21 March 1934. Her family moved soon after to Clyde Mountain, inland from Bateman’s Bay.
I draw this information from two eulogies: one written and delivered by Her Worship the Mayor, Fran Kilgariff; and the other by a very good friend of Frances Smith, Connie Spencer. These were delivered at her funeral on 24 February.
As I said, Frances Smith’s family moved to Clyde Mountain, inland from Bateman’s Bay, where they raised cattle for cheese production and lived a very isolated, nature-based existence. She trained as a nurse in Wollongong and studied for post graduate certificates later in Adelaide. She spent two years in a hospital in Fiji before coming to Alice Springs in 1960 and working alongside the very famous Dr John Hawkins, the general surgeon at the Alice Springs Hospital. Two years later, in Alice Springs, Frances married Clarry and they have three children: Michael, David and Helen.
Frances was an alderman on the first Alice Springs Town Council, elected at a by-election in March 1973 on the retirement on Marlene Brown. In 1974, Frances was the secretary of a group with Bert Smedley as President, Peter Latz, the Botanist, and Andrew McPhee, the architect of the Alice Springs Town Council Building, that did a survey of existing plants in what is now known as Undoolya Park.
At that time, the eastern town boundary went through Undoolya Park, and with plans to build the new Eastside suburb being formulated, the group lobbied the Northern Territory government of the day and the Lands Department for four acres to be set aside as parkland. Much to their delight, nine acres of land was subsequently zoned open space. Frances was part of the residents group that worked with the town council to plan and look after Undoolya Park with the Society for Growing Australian Plants and Greening Australia.
Not only was she at that time involved with the creation and development of Undoolya Park, she was also involved in the rezoning of land where the Alice Springs Desert Park now sits, and also was very much involved in saving the coolibahs, plus imposing the three-storey limit on buildings in the town of Alice Springs. She was, indeed, a very active person, particularly in the horticultural field.
Frances joined the Society for Growing Australian Plants in 1984, and while as a member of the SGAP, she also held every committee position and office bearing position at some time or another. She became the organisation’s librarian for many years, where she was in her element with her love of books. The SGAP’s library was bursting its seams and, when funding was running low, she would donate books herself. Where possible, she would always go to the town council library to pick up books during their bargain book sales.
At around the same time as she joined the SGAP, she was involved in getting the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens organised so that it could be opened to the public. There was a time when, just after Ms Olive Pink’s death, Frances and her good friend, Connie Spencer worked as volunteers, and occasionally as employees, at the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens. She no doubt left her mark on the garden, probably as much as Ms Olive Pink herself.
In 1990, Clarry then joined Frances to work at the Olive Pink gardens also. As well as her involvement as a volunteer and employee at the Olive Pink park, she was a member of the CWA in the 1960s. She was a caring lady, with compassion for others, and always seemed to be able to find the right words when someone was feeling low or going through troubled times. She was always there, prepared to help whenever some volunteer work was required. Clarry remembers that, at times when the interstate buses would come into Alice Springs at 6 am, Frances and the other CWA ladies would go to the buses to provide tea and sandwiches to the tourists until they were able to get into their hotel rooms later in the morning. That was really what you would call community participation for tourism.
Frances had a great love of the Central Australian environment, and was especially knowledgeable of local plants. Much of her life in Alice Springs has been spent in promotion and protection of the local flora. She has been involved in many community issues, such as rezoning of the land for the Desert Park, and also for the ‘Save our Coolibahs’ campaign. She was gentle in her manner and careful in her speech, but was tenacious in the pursuit of what she regarded as an important issue.
Frances died after a short illness on 16 February and, indeed, the Alice Springs community appreciated her efforts, and expressed their appreciation for her contribution. In speaking about Frances, I wish to put forward a proposal on behalf of the Alice Springs community to honour the work of Frances Smith, and seek that the Place Names Committee seriously consider naming Undoolya Park after Frances Smith. The community in Alice Springs have worked very hard to lobby the Alice Springs Town Council, and have sought support across the community of Alice Springs to ensure that Undoolya Park, which was saved by Frances Smith during its development, be named after her. It will, indeed, go a long way to recognising the significant contribution that this lady has made.
On the history of the development of Undoolya Park, to which I alluded earlier, I would like to read into the record some other information that was provided to me by the committee pushing for recognition of this park in Frances Smith’s name.
- Today, Undoolya Park, situated between Kurrajong Drive and Burke Street in Eastside …
Burke Street is where I live:
- … is enjoyed by many families from both new and old Eastside for children’s play, social gatherings,
or simply as a quiet place to walk the dog in the mornings. The park, which still follows the original
plan, contains a small oval, bike track, two playgrounds with adventure play equipment including large
tyres, logs and pipes, hit-up wall and areas of scattered shade and open space. Many different species
of Central Australian shrubs and trees are found in the park. The existence of this lovely park is chiefly
due to the commitment of Frances Smith.
- In 1973, plans were laid by the Northern Territory administration for the construction of the new
residential area now known as Saddadean or new Eastside. At this time, the area beyond Burke Street
east to the town boundary was a recreation reserve for use by local residents. The new development plans
proposed new housing blocks immediately behind the existing Burke Street houses. Frances Smith spearheaded
a campaign, actively supported by local residents, to secure an area between the existing Eastside area and the
new subdivision as open space or green belt, to ensure the preservation of natural bushland and to
retain recreational areas for children. As a result of this campaign, 4.5 hectares was secured as park land.
- The Undoolya Park development committee was formed in November 1974. This group of local residents,
together with support and assistance from the Alice Springs Town Council, has been responsible for the
development and upkeep of the park for the last 30 years. In this respect, it represents an example of the
potential success of cooperative relationships between the Alice Springs Town Council and local
community members. In November 1974, the Undoolya Park development committee members including
Frances Smith, Peter Latz and Andrew McPhee, carried out a survey of existing vegetation within the park,
and 34 trees, mainly ironwoods and dogwoods, were recorded during this survey. Today, over 500 trees exist
in the park.
- The first major planting of approximately 150 native trees was undertaken in March and April 1975, with
major practical assistance from the Society for Growing Australian Plants. In the following years during
the late 1970s, other plantings and continuous upkeep of existing trees occurred. The 1980s was a
particularly active time for the residents committee and its volunteer labour force of local families. Many
working bees have been undertaken by the local residents over time. In the early 1980s, the workers focussed
on the grassing of two specific areas of the park, irrigation, and the construction and installation of children’s
play equipment. In 1985, the group was successful in obtaining funding and equipment for the planting of
100 trees, a project undertaken with Greening Australia and, again, with the assistance of the Alice Springs
Town Council. Another major planting took place in 1996 together with Eastside Neighbourhood Watch group.
- Throughout the 30 years of the development of the park, Frances and the local residents have maintained
a cooperate and productive relationship with the Alice Springs Town Council. Together, the residents and
the council have shared these responsibilities, including the council undertaking the major irrigation and
mowing work. The tenacity and enthusiasm of the residents group and, in particular of course, Frances Smith,
has characterised the involvement with the creation and maintenance of the park. Since the park’s
conception, particular emphasis has been on ensuring the area was retained as natural parkland or open space,
and on the provision of a safe and imaginative play area for children.
- Frances Smith initiated or oversaw the vast majority of works which took place within the park. She has also kept
a close eye on every detail relating to the maintenance of the park. This included the initial campaign, petitions
and lobbying, the application for funding to develop the park, decisions about the suitability and location of
tree types, and the construction of play equipment. Frances has maintained the detailed daily records of
water usage levels in the park. Water consumption in Alice Springs was another of her key concerns. On a
daily basis for the last 30 years, Frances has attended to the maintenance, watering and replacement of many
trees and plants within the park from her home in Burke Street. Frances planted trees in the last weeks before
she passed away, and her husband, Clarry, reports that there are still trees designated for Undoolya Park waiting
to be planted.
There are quite a significant number of pages of other works that Frances Smith has contributed to and I seek leave that these be incorporated into Hansard.
Leave granted.
- The work undertaken by Frances in relation to the development of Undoolya Park is one outstanding example of
the way in which Frances always demonstrated a strong commitment to the natural environment of Central
Australia and to the community of Alice Springs.
Frances was an alderman on the first Alice Springs Town Council in 1973, when she pursued concerns relating
to local environmental issues. Beyond this time, her ongoing community work has left an important mark on
the local Alice Springs landscape.
She has been a valued member of the Australian Plant Society for many years, having in that time held
every position, including that of Librarian which was a particular interest of hers. During her work with the
society, which aims in the promotion of the knowing and growing of Central Australian plants, she has also
been involved in significant projects, including the monitoring of the rare Acacia latzii.
Frances has also worked in the Olive Pink Botanic Garden since 1985. She has spent many, many hours both
out bush and in town carrying out seed collection and propagation, and specimen collecting, lodging
numerous specimens with the herbarium.
Through such work and her passion for the bush, Frances gained a self-taught extensive knowledge of
plants, particularly from the country of Central Australia. Many locals and visitors have benefited enormously
from this extensive knowledge of Central Australian flora, and from the generous way in which she was willing
to share such knowledge.
Frances’s deep commitment to preserving the natural elements of our unique local Central Australian
landscape has been displayed through her involvement in other campaigns. She adhered firmly to the
principle that the Alice Springs township should remain dominated by natural features, such as our many
river red gums and our striking ridgelines. To this end, Frances ‘went to battle’ to ensure that building
regulations were restricted to three storeys (ie below the height of river gums). She fought to prevent
building taking place on top of a hill at the northern end of Undoolya Park in order to maintain the
integrity and beauty of the natural skyline.
Frances also applied this belief during another campaign – one which was instituted to prevent
development occurring between Larapinta Drive and the Mt Gillen range. In order to ensure that the
ranges continued to dominate the landscape, a group known as GARD (Group for Appropriate
Regional Development) was formed. Frances worked extremely hard in this time to assist with submissions
outlining opposition to the development. As a result of this campaign, the land was rezoned as open space,
and the area is now occupied by the Alice Springs Desert Park.
Around the same time, a proposal for the construction of a retirement village in the Coolibah Swamp was
opposed by Frances, who was heavily involved in the SOC (Save our Coolibahs) campaign.
- In summary, in her work and the way she lived, Frances Smith has been an example of what we value in a
place like Alice Springs. Her deep love of and commitment to the beauty of Central Australia, of our
Central Australian bush, has resulted in many outstanding achievements which have benefited the
community at large. Frances worked with enthusiasm, integrity and tenacity to ensure that the features
of the natural Centralian landscape were protected and maintained for the community. It is our hope that
Frances’s commitment and important contribution to Alice Springs may be recognised for the naming
of the Undoolya Park in her honour.
Dr LIM: I commend these comments to members and seek the Assembly’s support in asking the Place Names Committee to consider Undoolya Park to be renamed after Frances Smith.
Dr TOYNE (Stuart): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I would like to speak tonight about three great Central Australians: Bern Kilgariff, Eli Rubuntja and Wenten Rubuntja.
On 16 May, the Alice Springs Library organised a book reading of sections of the great new book by Wenten Rubuntja entitled, The Town Grew Up Dancing. Wenten’s reminiscences are a unique insight into the history of the town of Alice Springs from an indigenous perspective. The book reading was conducted in an amphitheatre behind the council offices and was attended by a gathering of about 150 school children and citizens on a warm, sunny morning in autumn in Alice Springs.
The library organisers invited these three old men to participate in the program because they all featured significantly in the events narrated by Wenten in his book. Let me tell the House a little about all three men. I am indebted to Warren Snowdon MHR and William Tilmouth, the executive director of Tangentyere Council, for providing some of the material which forms part of this speech.
Bern Kilgariff arrived in Alice Springs with his parents in 1929. During his childhood and adolescence, he was able to participate and observe the spurt of growth to the town once the railway came through from Oodnadatta. Bern lived at the Stuart Arms Hotel for three years where, amongst other guests, there were probably experts on all manner of things. Bern was one of the first students to complete his intermediate certificate in the Northern Territory with the assistance of sisters from the Catholic school, after completing his primary years at the Hartley Street school campus. Like most men of his generation, Bern served in Australia’s Armed Forces. In Bern’s case, it was in New Guinea as part of the 2nd Fifth Battalion, 6th Division, AIF.
After the war, Bern commenced his longest, greatest and continuing service, marrying Eileen and raising a family. Establishing a family and a business in Alice Springs, Bern found time to serve on and be chair of numerous committees around the town, in areas as diverse as the arts, education, tourism and Legacy, to name a few. Appointed to be the first NT Housing Commissioner in 1959, a year later Bern went on to be appointed a non-official member of the Northern Territory’s Legislative Council. Bern was one of the signatories to the remonstrance presented to the Commonwealth Parliament in 1962 by the Legislative Council. This document is now on permanent display in Parliament House in Darwin. It is significant because it deals with the all too familiar theme for Territorians: the right to be responsible and to make decisions to improve the lot of Territorians. As members would be aware, Bern remains a firm advocate of statehood in the Northern Territory. He continues to advocate for statehood in private conversations and publicly in letters to the editor and other statements. Bern served on the council for eight years before becoming an elected member for Alice Springs in the Legislative Council in 1968.
When a fully-elected Legislative Assembly was established in 1974, Bern was elected its first Speaker. In 1975, Bern became one of the first Senators for the Northern Territory, along with Labor’s Ted Robinson, and served in the Senate until 1987. This additional representation at the federal level meant the Territory had extra voices in Canberra. During Bern’s time in the Senate, he served on a number of Senate and joint committees. These included social welfare, public works, foreign affairs and defence and, importantly, Aboriginal land rights in the Northern Territory.
I now turn to Eli Rubuntja. Eli Rubuntja is a wise and highly respected Arrernte elder, and is regarded as the founding member of the Yipirinya Bilingual School in Alice Springs, Tangentyere Council and the Tyeweretye Aboriginal Social Club. He is an ordained clergyman in the Lutheran Church. He is a gentle man who radiates an aura of great dignity and kindness.
Born in 1922 in Hermannsburg (Ntaria), Pastor Rubuntja was very strongly influenced by the early Lutheran missionaries who ministered in the area. From the early years, Pastor Rubuntja was sent to school to learn to read and write English without losing the significance of his Arrernte heritage, which was to play a very strong role in his later dealings with the ways of the broader community and their attitudes to education.
Pastor Rubuntja was sent by his family to Alice Springs (Mparntwe) in 1958 to protect sites of significance to his dreaming stories. His special site was Anthepe, just south of Heavitree Gap (Ntaripe) in Alice Springs. He lives on his town camp to this day.
As President of the Tangentyere Council, Pastor Rubuntja directed his energy towards establishing a proper school for the children of the people who lived in the town camps. Yipirinya School was set up alongside Tangentyere Council without any funding from either the Northern Territory or federal governments. The school council eventually received a grant of land upon which the new school now stands. After attaining funding from the Commonwealth government, the school was built on its present site, which is related to the White Euro.
Pastor Rubuntja was elected President of the school council and has become its first life member. Despite his advancing years, he is still a very active member of the Tangentyere Council’s executive. His achievements and awards include: Tangentyere Council’s first President, a position he held on and off for over 25 years until he recently retired; Yipirinya School’s first President and now life member; Tyeweretye Club’s first Vice-President from its inception in 1983; NAIDOC Aboriginal Leader, 1987; Runner-up in the Park Handicap 100 Yards Race at the Stawell Easter Gift meeting in Victoria in 1946 – this is now an annual race for professional sprinters. I certainly connect with Eli in that part of his life, because I have run on that track many times myself.
Pastor Rubuntja is an exemplar of reconciliation through his contribution to the Aboriginal community, and to the broader community, by ensuring that Aboriginal people have greater control over their lives.
Turning now to Wenten Rubuntja. Through his book The Town Grew Up Dancing, Wenten has added, in his own inimitable style, to the history of Central Australia. Although the events he narrates occurred in Alice Springs in remote Central Australia they have, indeed, helped to shape the nation. Wenten is a land rights warrior. He was the founding Chair of the Central Land Council and, throughout his life, has been a compelling advocate for recognition of the importance of land rights to indigenous Australians.
Wenten experienced a much less formal education than his two old mates, but is no less well educated for that. His education came from his relations, from the country, and from growing up in a rapidly changing world. His resilience, humour, intelligence and cultural strength combine to place him at the turning point of many major events in the last 40 years.
Wenten is a gifted artist. He paints in the Namatjira water colour tradition and in the dot format. His paintings are not just beautiful or dramatic; they always carry a message. When the Pope came to Alice Springs in 1987, Wenten was commissioned to produce a painting that reflected his understanding of the relationship between the ancient Arrernte religion and Christianity. This painting now stands in the vestibule of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Alice Springs.
He has painted for the town. His famous stained glass window will always grace the entrance of the Araluen Arts Centre. He has painted to tell the story of Alice Springs (Mparntwe) as the centre of the four corners. From his four corners motif has sprung the view of how Alice Springs, as a place of confluence, has welcomed people from all over the desert and Australia, and the rest of the world into its life but, in return, expects visitors to respect the law and culture of this place, living harmoniously together.
His other contribution to harmony is his oft-stated view that all children born in Alice Springs are little Yipirinyas - not just the black babies, all babies. This is his inclusive view of the world, and an optimistic one.
Bern, Eli and Wenten are now elder statesmen of Alice Springs. The book reading was a great opportunity for the citizens of Alice Springs to gather and recollect on the history of the town, the contribution of so many people, and to bathe in the warm, reflected light of these three men’s nostalgic reminiscences. I commend the library and suggest, having initiated the book reading, it might establish a series of similar events which may have so much potential in building a sense of shared history and a shared future for the people of Alice Springs.
As we charge into the early years of the 2000s, we benefit from the wisdom of these men. They have lived through the hard times and fought for what they believed in. They have been true to their calling as leaders. They inspire us to make our Northern Territory into a place that they would be proud of, not just one where we manage to get by. They hold out a design for a greater promise. Tonight, I applaud and honour their contribution to the development of our maturing society in the Northern Territory. May they continue to serve the Territory for many years to come, and their life-long friendship be an inspiration to others who serve the community of Central Australia.
I conclude by mentioning that Eli Rubuntja and Bern Kilgariff were both presented with the Governor-General’s Centenary Medal at the book reading. Many other Territorians have also been honoured in this way recently. The list is certainly too long to read out tonight. I would, however, like to mention that one of the recipients was the Honourable Speaker of this Assembly, and I congratulate her for that.
Mrs AAGAARD (Nightcliff): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, this evening I speak on some of the notable events in the Nightcliff electorate, particularly in the schools. Towards the end of last term, the schools in my electorate held elections for the student representative councils and sports house captains. I admire young people who put themselves forward for leadership positions in our community, and I believe in giving them encouragement and recognition for their efforts. Too often, the focus on young people seems to be negative, and it is wonderful to be able to make an announcement about school captains and student representative councils in this House.
At Nightcliff High School, the House Captains recently elected are: Louise Ahmat, Paul White, Joseph Aberdeen, Sylvia Pantelos, Nikeeta Robinson, Raymond Hunt, Kayne Powling, Danielle Ahmat, Stephanie Dunkel, Tyson Firth, Brian Thomson, Rhianon Murphy, Vicky Zaroufis, David Riddle, Scott Morissey, Larryssa Hunt, Sheena Hawe and Eddie Clarke.
I also welcome to the electorate the new Principal of the Nightcliff High School, Mr Paul Atkinson. He is very welcome in the electorate and, in coming to the school earlier this year, he has already introduced a review of the Nightcliff High School. At the moment, the review team, headed by Dr Neville Highett, is actually at the school and working with stakeholders in the electorate to try and work out how we can make the Nightcliff High School into a better school for our community. I encourage all people in Nightcliff who are interested in education to become a part of this review. Over the next month, there will be special stakeholder meetings, both at the Nightcliff High School and at the feeder schools - Nightcliff Primary School, Millner Primary School, and also St Paul’s Primary School.
The Essington School is also in my area. There have also been elections there this year. Congratulations to Stephanie Woodger and Clinton Howe, SRC Presidents; Helen Dockrell, Rachel Pen-Davis and Laura Wilson, SRC Vice-Presidents; and Adam Chilcott and Kerbie-Leanne Woodwood as SRC Executive Assistants.
Nightcliff Primary School elections have been completed, and the SRC members are: Amber Labessa, John-Paul Arango, Amy Sierokowski, Nathan Forster, Sarah Sutcliffe, Ned Dorman, Amir Howell, Maria Gialouris, Sienna Dupe, Jessica Castle, Rebecca Lambert, Gabby Morris, Samantha Fowler, Ben Watt, Karl Williams, Michelle Winch, Declan Gaggin, Mitchell O’Donohue, and two people known quite well to me, Michael Aagaard and Zoe Aagaard. The House Captains and Vice Captains are: Frankie McCann, Katrina Firth, Elliot Calwell, Jasmine Tremblay, Clancy O’Donnell, Melanie James, Samson Leung, Emma Lee Rowland, Lachlan Kelly, Shannyce Alderton, Christos Mellios, Sophia Vazanellis, Finn Williams, Sarah Rann, Angus Robson and Charlie Martin.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I congratulate all of the students on their achievements and wish them a very successful and rewarding year.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I also wish to talk about schools in my electorate. I am lucky enough to have some fabulous schools in the electorate of Araluen and one of those is Bradshaw Primary School. I have been there a few times now and have met with staff and students and, in particular, the Principal, Mr Bill Sullivan. It is worth recording, for the purposes of the Parliamentary Record, Bradshaw Primary School’s mission statement, which is as follows:
- Bradshaw School actively encourages students to achieve their personal best in every area of learning
and development in a safe, secure environment. Staff, students, parents and carers are all valued members
of the school community. Working together, they provide direction for the school and contribute to the
decision making process.
I would suggest that is a fabulous mission statement. Perhaps, following from that, it is not surprising that Bradshaw won the NT Teachers of Excellence in Parent Participation Award (NTEPPA) in early May, that was announced at the meeting of COGSO held in Tennant Creek. This award recognises the work of the school to ensure the inclusion of parents in the delivery of quality education in the Northern Territory. I understand that the nomination was made by the school’s Indigenous Parent Committee. So, it is with a great deal of pride that I take this opportunity to congratulate the staff, students, principal and parents involved at Bradshaw Primary School. This achievement is an outstanding one, of which all those involved can be truly proud.
I should also note, while I am talking about Bradshaw Primary School, that this week being NAIDOC Week, there are a number of exciting events happening at the school, not the least of which is a tour by the band Yothu Yindi which, I understand, happened today. No doubt, everyone at Bradshaw Primary School took a great deal of pleasure in seeing that band visit their great school.
It is always exciting to receive the Bradshaw Primary School newsletters. They are always informative and exciting, and an interesting read to just about anyone, in particular all of the parents of the students at that school, I am sure.
On to another school. I am fortunate enough to have two out of three campuses of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College in the electorate of Araluen. I have met a few times now with the relatively newly employed Principal, Brother James Jolley. It is his first year as principal of the college. It is fairly clear to me, and indeed others, that Brother James is doing a great job.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate three students in particular from OLSH: Aimee Dixon, Brooke O’Connell and Ashlee Gosling, who were the OLSH representatives at the Youth Parliament in Alice Springs only some weeks ago. I, more so than any other politician, spent a lot of time at the Youth Parliament and it was an absolute joy. I say, right here and now, that the highlight of my week in Alice Springs, when the parliament came to town, was the Youth Parliament. It was outstanding and just so impressive. Understandably, I had a lot of work to be done at my office but, frankly, I just could not tear myself away. I was, at various times, the only politician in the Northern Territory in the Chamber. I will let others judge whether that is reasonable or acceptable. However, the students really were capable of drawing a crowd. Those three students, in particular - Aimee, Brooke and Ashlee - really should be congratulated. They were a real credit to their school, and their individual and collective contributions were simply outstanding.
I also take this opportunity of congratulating OLSH students on their wonderful work at the Eisteddfod, much of which occurred when the parliament was sitting in Alice Springs. The senior performing arts department did very well this year. They took out first prize in the Dance/Disco/Pop/Rap Under 14 years area, the Dance/Disco/Pop/Rap for the Under 18 years, and they did very well in drama. I acknowledge the Year 9 students who were awarded the Most Entertaining Play trophy.
Finally, in relation to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College I would also like to mention that I recently met with Ms Candi Sims who is the head of campus of OLSH at Bath Street which is in my electorate. Ms Sims very kindly showed me around the school and we discussed a number of issues facing teachers, parents and students. I was particularly impressed with a program that OLSH Bath Street Campus is undertaking thanks to some federal government funding. Across the road from the main campus at Bath Street, OLSH occupies another building to run the early childhood orientation program for Aboriginal children. That is in the second year of funding. I spoke with two staff members there who told me that the enrolments and results are exceeding all expectations.
I take my hat off to Ms Sims, who was only appointed as head of campus this year. A relatively young woman, Ms Sims is a real asset to OLSH. We all, I guess, go into lots of schools in our electorate but there seems to me to be something of a buzz at the OLSH Bath Street Campus. It was an absolute joy to be there.
I would also like to take this opportunity of congratulating everyone involved in participating in the Bangtail Muster, a significant event for us in Alice Springs. They really had great costumes. It was a very energetic performance, and I am told that some of the students managed to get their faces on the local Imparja television news; something that is no doubt very exciting to them. Of course, we know as politicians that cameramen and news services only ever capture bits of footage that are interesting. Therefore, once again, it is a great credit to those at OLSH. I understand that is was people involved in particular at the Traeger Street Campus of OLSH who were responsible for the float in the Bangtail Muster parade.
With those comments, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I will conclude my remarks but, once again, simply say for the sake of the Parliamentary Record, what a pleasure it is to have such fabulous schools in the electorate of Araluen.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I wish to pay tribute tonight to Max Dana Thomas Stewart who passed away on Mother’s Day this year, 11 May, aged 56 years. Max was a close friend of Graeme and I for most of the time that he was in Alice Springs. I know we will miss him dearly.
He was born in Western Australia and moved to Darwin with his mother, Mrs Lou Stewart, at a very young age. Old timers in Darwin may remember her. She was an activist under the umbrella of the Housewives Association and had a great history of writing to the Governor-General, the Prime Minister, the Administrator - anyone she could to put forward the views of people she felt needed help within Darwin. Max had a good mother who was a role model for him when it came to being very involved in community affairs.
Many people did not know that Max had a pretty tough start to life. He left school when he was 13 years old and went to work on a cattle station. The interesting thing about Max Stewart is that he actually had an IQ of about 160, which is far above average. The intelligence of the man only really came forward when he was given the opportunity to do his formal education when he joined the Army. He had two terms in the Army, including one in Singapore
He had various jobs, including one as a member of the Northern Territory Police Force. During his period in Darwin, Max became involved and devoted to ultralight flying. Max’s sister is Kath Meyering who has an airstrip down at Noonamah. I believe that is where he first discovered his love of flying. He was, very early in the piece, the proud owner of what we call a ‘sticks and string type’ aeroplane, a ‘grasshopper’.
He moved with his family to Alice Springs in 1983 where he worked as the manager of Wambodin Abattoir.
His passion for flying ultralights continued. He had a basic drifter at that stage and he cut his own strip out of the bush near the abattoir. He was responsible for setting up the Alice Springs Ultralight Club by calling the first public meeting in 1984. That was the first time Graeme and Max met, and there has been a long and enduring friendship since that time, through their common interest in and love of flying.
Many people would find Max a little unpredictable, but his wonderful wife, Judy Stewart, knew exactly how to handle him. She would often just laugh and say: ‘Well, that’s Max.’
Max and I were also political mates. Max stood for the Territory Nationals in 1988 when I was campaign manager in Alice Springs. Although he was unsuccessful in that election, he had a keen interest in politics, and we had many discussions about the state of the Territory right up to the time of his passing. He would come around at least once or twice a week for a cup of tea, and we would talk about all sorts of things.
Max was very actively involved in our club at Bond Springs Airstrip, including flying, training and development of the facilities. The facilities at Bond Springs are very good for the ultralight club. They have a number of hangars plus a demountable, water tanks which they are able to use for housekeeping and facilities. They have a wonderful barbecue area. They have recently constructed a fence to protect them from the winds and, at the moment, they are in the middle of making some stools for seats. They have been an active club, and Max was a bit like that. He was the proud owner of drifters, and he had many planes: a tri pacer colt, a Mitchell flying wing, a Zenair 701, and various gyrocopters. Most recently, he had a state-of-the-art Zenair low winged aircraft, a far cry from his flying broomstick, the grasshopper that he had originally.
He was a great club member, always doing his best to keep the club together. He conducted many training activities, including navigation and radio procedures. He really loved to camp out at Bond Springs. Friday night was often a time members would camp over, and then fly early on Saturday morning. As recently as two weeks before his death, he camped at Bond Springs with the boys.
On 17 May, members had a special breakfast and fly-in at Bond Springs in memory of Max. It was certainly well attended, and I know they took Judy and Andrew, his son, up for a flight. It is a bit of a standing joke with the members that Max had cooked and eaten his breakfast before anyone ever got started, but that did not seem to bother him because when they cooked theirs, he always partook.
As I said, he was a very intelligent man. He also had a photographic memory and he could quote rules and regulations whenever the need arose. I was always fascinated that someone could do this so easily.
He had his own hangar. Each of the owners of ultralights have a hangar, and it is intriguing what they put in them. It probably reflects the personality of their owners. Max, in particular, had an interesting hangar. He had a tent and swag set up in his hangar. That is where he camped - not outside. He had a fuel stove, tables and chairs, solar powered lighting and enough tea and coffee to cater for everyone. At some stage, somewhere, he fitted in his little plane. Judy has donated the hangar to the club in Max’s memory and members have already erected a plaque naming it the Max Stewart Hangar so that he will be remembered for the work he did there.
Max seemed to be sending us a message. He was forever buying and selling, whether it be motorbikes, his Harley Davidson, little cars, his little Morris Minor, aircraft - whatever he wanted, he just went and bought. We often say: ‘Well, there is a message there for all of us; do not stand around and think about, just get out and do it, because that is what Max always did’. We have fond memories of him and the fun times we had: the fly-ins to Napperby Lakes and up to Aileron, our meetings, sleep-overs and barbecues. He was a very generous man, and he had an extremely good reputation in the ultralight aviation field. He was on the AUF Management Board and he had a great network. He will be sorely missed by his colleagues of the Central Australian Sports Aviation Club.
On behalf of them, I extend our sympathy to Judy, Nicole, Andrew, Mark, Monique and, of course, his beloved grandchildren, and his sister Kath in Darwin.
The members wanted to say to Judy that, in keeping with the aviation theme, his flying mates would like to think that Max has now joined the pathfinders squadron in the sky and gone ahead to mark the way. Hopefully, for those who follow, they will do it as well and as bravely as Max. Max Stewart, certainly a gentleman and a great friend, will be sorely missed.
Ms LAWRIE (Karama): Mr Deputy Speaker, this evening I give my hearty congratulations to members of our community who have dedicated years of hard work to the betterment of our community. I refer particularly to those who have been awarded with the great honour of a Centenary Medal. I congratulate you for your efforts. It is wonderful to see that you have received the recognition that has been long overdue. I will briefly go through the names of the Centenary Medal recipients I personally want to acknowledge and thank in parliament this evening.
John Allen, for many years, has provided service to the community. He is a renowned country music singer, a Tamworth Golden Guitar nominee, but John is also a very dedicated teacher in our community. He teaches students at Nightcliff Primary School, and works tirelessly with the Christmas in Darwin committee to organise Carols by Candlelight for the community each year. John Allen is someone who can be relied upon to put in the hard work and the many long hours of planning and effort required to provide a function for the community. I know he provides and donates his specialist talents and skill - often for free - to organisations who are looking for entertainment. He is truly appreciated by Darwin senior citizens. He has entertained them at various functions, and did so again at the Easter senior citizens celebrations and at Christmas time held at the Kalymnian Club. John, a very special thank you for your efforts to the community and I feel privileged to have known and worked with you.
Michael Athanasiou, who I have known since a child, received a Centenary Medal for his service to the community through leadership in sport and community service. Michael is very much a role model for young Territorians. He has dedicated many hours, over many years, to ensuring that young Territorians meet their full potential. The community could certainly do with a lot more people who are as dedicated and hard working as Michael Athanasiou. He is also a very gentle man, a very loving family man, and a very highly regarded member of our Greek community.
Bev Bainbridge received a medal for many years services to education. Bev was my teacher in primary school, so I have first-hand knowledge of the dedication with which she ensures that children learn what they need to in the curriculum for that particular year. Bev Bainbridge is the ultimate professional. She puts in many hours above and beyond her normal duties to ensure that each child receives the attention that they are required to receive from their teacher. Bev has been providing a dedicated service for the Department of Education for decades in the Territory, and I acknowledge, as a former student of Bev’s, that this honour is very highly earned.
Maryann Bin Sallik received a medal in recognition of being the first Aboriginal employed full-time in higher education. She is a professor at Charles Darwin University. I have had the honour recently of working alongside Maryann Bin Sallik and talking to students at O’Loughlin College. Maryann is clearly a leader amongst indigenous Australians. She attended Harvard when people said that she could not even meet the heights of tertiary education in Australia
Maryann is someone who has proven through her own actions that, whatever barriers artificially appear before people to restrict their advancement in their lives, they can be knocked down and be pushed through. Maryann Bin Sallik, I am absolutely delighted to see that your commitment to higher education in Australia has been recognised with a Centenary Medal.
I also want to congratulate Alderman Robyne Burridge, who received her medal for many years service to the disabled community in the Northern Territory. Alderman Burridge is the Waters Ward alderman and shares a commitment with me to working hard for the community. I have worked with Alderman Burridge over many years to pursue the needs of people with a disability, in the Territory context. I know that Alderman Burridge is a tireless worker for people with a disability, and is a founding member of the Integrated Disability Action, who are advocates for people with a disability. Congratulations to Alderman Burridge for her recognition.
I acknowledge Paola Ciarla, who received a medal for service to the community and to charity. Paola is a young woman, a student still, at O’Loughlin College. She is an incredibly gifted young woman; she has an incredible voice. She is a popular regular in our theatre now; she has appeared in many productions put on by theatre in Darwin. She is certainly a young Territorian we can be very proud of. Her medal is well deserved because she spends many hours working for charity, as do fellow students at O’Loughlin College.
I acknowledge Sharon Davis, who was given a medal for outstanding service to aged care, most notably in remote areas of northern Australia. Sharon is a constituent of Karama and she epitomises, to me, what being a true Territorian is all about. She uses her vast knowledge and skills to the betterment of Territorians in areas of great disadvantage, and cares for our most disadvantaged, who are our aged Territorians in remote areas. Sharon, you have my greatest acknowledgment of your fine work and my heartfelt congratulations on receiving your Centenary Medal.
I acknowledge that former member for Sanderson, June D’Rozario, received a Centenary Medal for service to the community through urban planning and city development. June D’Rozario has spent years planning Darwin, Palmerston and the urban environment that we all know and take for granted. June is a tireless worker; and a woman of great vision and fantastic talent. I feel very honoured to have known her throughout my life here in the Territory. I look forward to collaborating with her into the future on various projects that her great energy goes into.
Henry Gray, Principal of Leanyer Primary School, was honoured for many years services to education in the Northern Territory. Henry Gray is a man of enormous energy, drive and commitment. He is passionate about education in the Territory. He worked for many years at Karama Primary School and I know that people still talk about the years of hard effort he put in there. He is still acknowledged around the community of Karama. I also had the pleasure of working with Henry as a representative on the Leanyer Water Park task force. He attended pretty well every meeting unless it clashed with a school council meeting he happened to hold, and his input was of great value to the final recommendations that the task force handed down. I know that when Leanyer Recreation reopens in November of this year, Henry certainly deserves the congratulations and recognition he has received.
I acknowledge Bob Hale, the former Principal of Karama Primary School, who received a medal for services to education, including indigenous education and Australian Rules Football. Anyone who knows Bob knows that he is one-eyed St Mary’s. He cut short a retirement holiday around Australia. He and his wonderful wife Bev were in Queensland when St Mary’s got to the final series in the last NTAFL season, and returned immediately to watch his beloved St Mary’s take out the flag. As a Tigers supporter, I have to say that I was disappointed Tigers did not win the flag, but I acknowledge the effort that Bob Hale and his family have put into St Mary’s through the years. Bob calls bingo as a fundraiser for St Mary’s and he is very popular amongst the women of the club, I can assure you.
Mr Ah Kit: As a bingo caller.
Ms LAWRIE: He is a great caller. Most importantly, Bob Hale is a man of vision. He stands out amongst his peers of principals in the Territory, for carving new ground in opportunity for indigenous students in the urban context. He has gone where no other principal has dared to tread. He created a program called the Karama Way and implemented, against great odds over many years, an indigenous education system within the urban context within the Territory. That has received national recognition from the federal government, from ATSIC, and from NAIDOC.
The work he did has been borne out in results. Retention rates increased every year that that program was running. MAP testing results came back highly positively towards the indigenous students improving in meeting that MAP testing. I know from the self-esteem of the children, seeing them develop, blossom, grow, grasp opportunities, and understand that they have a very valid part to play in our society, that Bob has made an indelible imprint on many of the families who live in the Karama area and I give my heartfelt thanks to him. I know I recognised him in a previous speech in this parliament, regarding the Karama Way program, as well as his retirement, unfortunately, from being principal of the school last year. We miss him. I believe that he has much more to contribute to the Territory society; he is a man of great knowledge. I look forward to working with him into the future.
Mr Eric Harris received a medal for service to the community through voluntary service in support of senior citizens. Eric is a local legend. He is well-known and well-loved around the Karama community. He works tirelessly to help senior citizens, not just within the Karama and Malak area, but right across the Darwin community. Eric always attends functions; he helps at the Casuarina Senior Group and at the Malak Senior Group. He will go to any senior in need and will quietly and persistently support them. He is a one man, dynamic advocate for senior citizens in Darwin. I acknowledge the hard work, Eric, that you do and I am honoured and privileged to have worked alongside you. He pops in from time to time in my office, and it is always a pleasure to see him.
I acknowledge the former Speaker of the Assembly and former Senator, Bern Kilgariff AM, who received a medal for service to Australian society through parliament. His imprint on the Territory and the Territory’s political system is great. He is a man who has pursued a vision for the development of the Territory through decades. He has provided us with a legacy of tremendous children who, each in their vocations, are achieving great things for Territorians. Bern, I feel privileged and honoured to have grown up knowing you, and I congratulate you for your acknowledgment with the Centenary Medal.
I acknowledge, in the same area, the work done by a former colleague of his, my mother, Dawn Lawrie, the former member for Nightcliff. She also received the Centenary Medal for many years of community work in the Northern Territory.
I acknowledge John Lay, who worked tirelessly for the Hakka community in Darwin over many years. I know he would have received the Centenary Medal with great pride and honour. John Lay is a man with a heart of gold, who takes care of the Hakka community in Darwin, and I know will continue to work to enhance his community.
Barb McCarthy, the very popular ABC news reader and Stateline presenter, also received a Centenary Medal for service to broadcasting and in creating the Borroloola Community Festival. Barb is a consummate professional. She has always been someone who has stuck to the ethics of journalism - a very rare trait indeed in the media industry. I speak from 17 years experience in the industry. She has been a very important role model for many young indigenous Territorians. When they see her face on TV and see the way she conducts herself with confidence, and how articulate she is, she gives many young children hope that one day they can grow up to have good, strong professional careers as well. So, Barbara, I acknowledge the work you do in broadcasting and the fact that you have never, ever in your heart left your community of Borroloola.
I acknowledge Auntie Kathy Mills, who received a medal for services to women, Aboriginals, art and music. Auntie Kath is a woman who is recognised as one of the most influential indigenous women in the Darwin community. Her many children have gone on to continue the groundbreaking work they do to pursue human rights and indigenous rights in the Territory. I acknowledge Auntie Kath. Having known her all my life, she is someone who has taught me how to respect my elders, how to care for others in my community and how never, ever to shirk responsibility or move away from actions that some people might find unpalatable, yet are very necessary. So, Aunty Kath, overdue but highly deserved recognition.
Similar to Aunty Kath is Aunty Hilda Muir who also received a medal for service to the Darwin community and, particularly, the Aboriginal community. Aunty Hilda, I know, is enjoying retirement in the seniors’ village. She is a wonderful person.
I am running out of time so I will continue my remarks in adjournment debate tomorrow night because there are some people who I need to acknowledge, yet time precludes it here tonight.
To finish on Aunty Hilda, she has a great sense of humour and a great empathy for people. She has taught many of the younger ones that you have to make a positive way in life and you have to take care of each other. It has been a privilege and an honour to see Aunty Hilda do the great work that she has done for indigenous families living in Darwin. These two elders, Aunty Kath and Aunty Hilda, are women who have done tremendous amounts of work for many families over many years, and this honour and recognition is very highly deserved.
Mr ELFERINK (Macdonnell): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I add to the condolences given by Madam Speaker in relation to the death of Maxy Stewart. Maxy Stewart was also a friend of mine. Indeed, both my wife and I had, in the very last days of his life, cause to visit him on a couple of occasions and help, as best we could with the limited skills we had available, try and help ease the pain of Max’s passing for Judy. Judy, of course, is a particularly strong woman - you would have to be, living with somebody like Max. Nevertheless, it was nice to be able to be there for her.
To see Max go downhill as quickly as he did was, in some ways a blessing and, in other ways a great tragedy to watch. Max died of brain cancer. I do not believe he was in any major pain at any stage, but it was clear that he was confused by what was going on, and that confusion became a very serious problem for him very quickly. I feel that it is not the sort of way that I would want to shuffle off the mortal coil, but Max, being typically Max, once he started something, he did it very quickly. His episode with brain cancer was also very quick. He would not have minded leaving this planet as quickly as he did once he realised that he was ill.
I have many fond memories of Max. I am a member of the Harley Owners Group, as was Max. We often rode together in various places around the traps around Central Australia with many of our friends. It was nice to see so many of those friends from the Harley Owners Group there as well. Even when he died, we had a meeting around at Maxy’s place, and we sat around and laughed and joked for a large part of the afternoon, which was just the way I believe Maxy would have wanted it to be. Max was still there, I believe, in many respects and he certainly was still in the bedroom that particular afternoon.
My special thanks go to Father Lyle who came up from Adelaide and helped nurse Max to his end, and looked after Judy for a few days after Max shuffled off the mortal coil. I also thank all those other people, like Marty and Heather Shoenmaker who were also there for Max and who demonstrated what good friendship really is. Indeed, Marty had the unpleasant business at about 3 am of having to climb into a toilet window to rescue Max because he had locked himself in. Knowing the girth of Marty and the lack of girth of the window, that would have been a hell of a sight to see.
Max was a great enthusiast for everything; everything he touched he went into with as much passion as he could muster - certainly his flying. He seemed to have an approach to life by which everything would be right on a wing and a prayer.
I remember he was building an aircraft in his backyard under the Hills hoist one day, and he invited me around to see it. I went around to see it, and inside the still-forming cockpit, there were two plastic chairs, and those two plastic chairs had written on the back ‘property of the Memo Club’. I thought for a horrible second that he was throwing it together in bits and pieces - which he essentially was – but, ultimately, he got the plane finished: built it in his own backyard, got it certified and flew it quite regularly, I am led to believe. He was also a keen participant in the Western Riders Association in Alice Springs. Indeed, occasionally a photo appears of me on a large white horse in the newspaper, which was taken by a journalist from the Centralian Advocate, and it was actually Max’s horse that I was on. Its head is rearing up and that has probably got a lot to do with the fact that I am a fairly heavy sort of fellow, and the poor old horse had to work pretty hard to keep me up there.
I do not wish to add a great deal more to what Madam Speaker had to say; there is no point in going over it again. However, I do want to advise members of this parliament that we have lost a great Territorian, a good Territorian. The CLP has lost a fine fellow, a stalwart chap who worked very hard to make the party stronger and better in Alice Springs. I advise honourable members, and Madam Speaker, that Max’s internment will be next to his Mum at the McMillans Road Cemetery at 10 am this Friday. I certainly intend to be there and I have made the promise that I will wear the Harley Owners Group colours to the funeral, so I will do that. My deepest sympathy to Judy and family. I hope that, by putting it on the permanent record of the Northern Territory, that future generations of Max’s family can come back and see how their father and grandfather were regarded by people in this House.
Mr AH KIT (Arnhem): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I was fortunate enough to have hosted the launch of Frank McPherson’s book, The First Fifty Years of Rugby League in the Northern Territory. It was a grand occasion, in the Strangers Lounge. It was attended by people who have been involved in Rugby League that I have not seen for ages. We really enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with each other, have some finger food and a few drinks. From what I saw, there was not a lot of soft drink going down, but it was a really great occasion.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, as you know, I grew up in Darwin and have been here for the past 50-odd years. I was fortunate also, as a young fellow, not only to get involved in Rugby League and play through the grades, but also to go with my family - especially my father, who is an ardent sports admirer - and watch some of the Rugby League that was played when it first began in Darwin around 50 years ago.
Frank McPherson has done an excellent job in putting this book together. Despite his lack of resources - he is now a pensioner - he was still able to get people to assist him in putting the history and some photographs together. I recommend that people who follow sports, especially Rugby League, should purchase the book because, I understand, Frank has a limited edition on sale and there will not be any more prints. I would like to see, if the first print of those books was sold out, that there would be moves for a reprint of some more books to go on sale. I know by looking at the people who attended last night, that there were a lot of people who did not take up the invitation, for some reason unbeknown to myself and others. However, no doubt they have other things to do. But their contribution to the sport of Rugby League over the years should not go unnoticed just because they were not able to be present at the function and the book launch.
I just want to go to page 39 of the book, because this brings back memories and says to me what a great game Rugby League is. It brings back some of the memories of what was recorded and what I saw happening back in those days. On page 39, Frank says:
- Brian Durrington, their full back …
This was in regard to the team that was playing for Waratah Wallabies, or Wallabies back in those days, in the 1950s. Their full back, as I said, was Brian Durrington:
… played the attack, bringing into the action a coloured combination that was a pleasure to watch.
The Raymond clan, consisting of Slicky, Kassim and Dennis was a part of a backloading machine that
also comprised Jim Anderson, Ray Nagus, Chico Edward Motlop and Phil De La Cruz.
- The Territory team consisted of Brian Durrington, full back; Lionel Butler …
Who, you would know, played. In those situations, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, as you are aware, many of these people who played Rugby League in those days were also competent Aussie Rules footballers. In fact, they also played basketball at a high level when they got the opportunity. Brian Durrington was there again as the full back:
- … Lionel Butler and Ray Nagus on the wings, with Chico Motlop, Stewie Thompson in the centres.
‘Junior’ Lang, Clive, was the five-eight and ‘Shorty’ Graeme Walker was the half back, and ‘The Prince’,
Phil De La Cruz, was lock. His two second rows were Don Ling and Dave Napier …
Who was also, around about that time, the heavyweight boxing champion of the Northern Territory:
- … while the front rowers were John Maley and George Killen …
John, obviously, is the father of the member for Goyder, Peter Maley:
- … and the hooker was Doug McAllister.
Frank gives a really good description of how the Territory and France had a very big, hard, physical clash at Richardson Park, where the Territory, whilst the crowd had come down to watch their team play, did themselves proud in taking on the French national side, and lost the match 36 points to 19.
There are many fond memories that people were talking about last night at the book launch. I had to look sometimes twice, if not three times, to recognise many of the people because, obviously, we have all aged. However, present at the book launch last night were some whose names I would like to run through. The former patron of the League and a former member of this Assembly was present, Peter Adamson, our current mayor; Doodles Ah Mat; and the Albion brothers were present. It was Paul who played an important role in helping Frank put some of the history together in regards to players who played over the years and had made a name for themselves. Some are listed in the book at the back and it would be interesting to run through a few of those names.
There was Nungah Ah Mat who played for the mighty brothers club; Roy Albion I have mentioned; Jim Anderson was a legend throughout his playing days as captain coach of the Buffaloes Aussie Rules Football Club, but played with great distinction in the 1950s and 1960s with the Wallabies; Sam Backo, as we all know, went on and played for Canberra at the highest levels with the Australian Rugby League; Steve Balch, another member of this Chamber in recent times; Tim Baldwin played with the Waratahs Club for a few years in the 1970s; Joe and Reuben Cooper played with distinction with the RSL Club; and Gerry De La Cruz, a younger brother of Phil and Normie, also played at the highest levels with a stint in Canberra but played here with Nightcliff and also, from memory, with the Northern Suburbs.
Fred Finch, also a previous member, gets a mention as being the patron and involved with ensuring that Rugby League went forward in the 1990s. Fabian Francis played football for the Melbourne Football Club in Aussie Rules, at the AFL level, and also with the Brisbane Bears and Port Power. Eddie Fry, the brother of Norman, who played with distinction back in the 1970s, represented South Adelaide in Aussie Rules in South Australia. Forrester Grayson played for Redcliffe in Brisbane and represented Queensland. Another ex-member, Steve Hatton, was involved in his early days with the Cats Football Club at Nhulunbuy, and was later on a League patron and also the Nightcliff President.
Bruce Jarmyn, who has won the Nichols Medal in Aussie Rules, also played with distinction in representing Rugby League. We go on and see there is Daniel Keelan, Steve Ladd, Fred Larkin, and Sion Leysley. Vic Ludwig, the President of St Mary’s Football Club, was involved in the early days as President of the RSL Rugby League. Fred McCue, our local ABC talkback host, was a very good player and played for the Territory on a number of occasions. There was also Chookie McDowell with the Indigenous Sports Foundation, Bruce McGuire, Duncan McGillivray, and Jonathon McLeod. Another former member, Phillip Mitchell, the previous member for Millner, also played with distinction. Also mentioned is Mo Motlop, and Harold Muir who went away and played with – it has here Manly Waringa. I thought it was Wynnum Manly in the Brisbane competition; I stand to be corrected. There is Tommy Nickels from the big Nickels family, and Keith and Lloydy - his uncles played with distinction with the Canberra Raiders.
We had the former mayor, Richardson, who was also involved in quite a big way, obviously, because Richardson Park is named after him. Maurice Rioli, another former member, played junior Rugby in the mid-1970s and went on to become a legend in Aussie Rules. It is quite interesting, Michael McLean was another who went down that path. We see people like Peter Burgoyne, who is playing footie today, Darryl White to a certain extent, and Michael Long.
A lot of those juniors played League in those days because there was no Aussie Rules. The Aussie Rules was in the Wet Season, as you know, and Rugby League was in the Dry Season. Those boys went on and used the Rugby League skills, no doubt, in their pursuit of gaining the highest levels in Aussie Rules. When you saw some of the tackles of people like Maurice Rioli, Michael Long and Michael McLean, you could certainly see that there was a fair bit of Rugby League training, in terms of the way they would wrap up a person with a football.
Others who provided a lot of experience were Steve Rogers, and Frank Stokes who is back home. He had a brilliant career with Brothers and played with Manly in Sydney and has just returned. My Chief of Staff, John Tobin, was a member of the Queensland state representative squad in 1978 before coming to the good country, and John played with distinction up here. It was pleasing to see John put his skills together on the Rugby oval. John ‘Bubba’ Tye and Ernie Wanka, who works for Transport and Works in charge of roads, were also great contributors for Territory sides over the years.
We had a situation where people who were gathered there last night chatted; and could have chatted for hours, although the function finished at 7 pm. I am told many of them arrived early at 5.15 pm and really enjoyed themselves. In my little discussion, I had an idea. I felt that if we could get people together like that at the function for the launch of the book The First Fifty Years of Rugby League in the Northern Territory, we will have to try to get them together at a Rugby League reunion. Those people can, once a year – maybe if you tag it onto a presentation night of the Northern Territory Rugby League. Not that it is for me to tell them how to organise their presentation nights, but if they were to put one reunion night in their calendar during the Rugby season, I am quite sure they would be able to attract at least 400 to 500 people who would be keen to attend.
Games in the early days were played at Gardens Oval, then moved out to Richardson Park which was built with a lot of volunteer labour, with materials and equipment donated by various Darwin businesses and government departments, as well as the Defence Forces. The late Peter La Pira who …
Ms CARTER: Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I move that the member for Arnhem be granted an extension of time such that he may conclude his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr AH KIT: Thank you, member for Port Darwin, I will not be too long.
The late Peter La Pira, no doubt the senior of the La Pira family involved with the Karama and Palmerston Shopping Centres and other developments in the business community, was a civil engineer and contractor at that time. He put in a lot of effort to ensure that the ground was level and fit for games. Peter, along with hundreds of other men and women, worked hard to build a playing field in those years - a field that would receive compliments, both nationally and internationally.
In 2000, Rugby League turned 50, a great milestone, well timed to match the new millennium. They have had their ups and downs, but as a group they have shown great resilience and a heap of self-preservation.
Before I finish, I wish to say a few words about Frank McPherson. Frank remembered me last night, and he let people know, over the microphone, that I was a cheeky little kid who needed a kick up the backside now and then. Frank was quite a good Rugby League player himself in his younger days. He is a true gentleman who has a deep love of Rugby League.
To those who may feel that some pages – not chapters – are missing, at least Frank has made a start in the right direction. I am sure that Frank would not have any qualms about people wanting to improve the content of the book. Frank McPherson is a testament to the game. Without his sterling efforts on this book, a big slice of Darwin’s Rugby League history could have been lost forever. However, he took the time and put in a huge effort to get pen to paper and document five decades of Rugby League in the Northern Territory, and has been able to keep a lot of memories alive for many, many hundreds of people. Last night, many old friends and foes, on and off the field, had a chance to reminisce and dream of more fleet-footed days. Frank McPherson has been able, through his book, The First Fifty Years of Rugby League in the Northern Territory, renew acquaintances, bring back a few memories and, most of all, unite a group of people with one common interest; that is the love of the game.
I wish Frank and his wife well. I was happy to see some his family travel up from down south to be with him for the book launch. I hope that Mick Palmer, from the Darwin Rugby League and Gary Dunbar, get together and ensure that Rugby League has a really successful season, and I wish them well in working towards putting Rugby League back on the map where it was not so long ago.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016