2005-02-10
Madam Speaker Braham took the Chair at 10 am.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, new investment means more than just new jobs. Injecting funds into the local economy broadens our economic base and fires up the spending power of all Territorians.
Every additional dollar invested in the Territory means more retail spending, people in restaurants, and building and renovation projects. New investment is essential to both current and future Territorians. So, what are we doing to attract new investment?
My government is actively growing the investment climate in the Territory by fostering high quality infrastructure to lever significant private sector employment and investment, successfully positioning the Territory in the regional and international economy, lowering business costs, and working in partnership with the private sector to achieve positive economic gains for the Territory.
In the last sittings for 2004, you will recall my statement on the economic development milestones that my government proudly achieved during 2004. The size in monetary terms and breadth of major projects is worth quickly recapping.
There is the $2bn Alcan G3 expansion, an increase in annual alumina production capacity from two million tonnes to 3.8 million tonnes. Early construction activity has commenced. There are currently 290 people employed on-site and, as of mid-December, 1000 Territorians have applied for employment with the project.
There is the Wickham Point LNG plant, a $1.6bn venture. Construction at Wickham Point is now 44% complete. The current building work force is a sizeable one, 1400, and approximately 48% of those are Territorians. Eighteen major subcontracts have been awarded to Territory companies.
There is the $750m Bayu-Undan pipeline, which is well under construction.
There is a record infrastructure spending figure, $1.3bn over the last three years, with some of the key items on that work list being the Desert Peoples’ Centre, the construction of which in Alice Springs is worth $1.5m; the very important Mereenie Loop sealing works, all stages of that over three years at $38m; the East Arm Port oil pipeline Stage II, at just over $8m; the East Arm Port bulk loading facilities at $11.2m; and another important infrastructure spend, the Litchfield Loop Road over three years at $15m.
Mr Dunham interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: A very significant range of investments - he has not taken his pills, Madam Speaker. A very significant range of investments, indeed, that signify confidence in our economy and capacity and confidence in my government.
However, the work does not stop there. I would like to advise this Assembly on the major economic investment projects that we can expect to see commence in 2005:
Mr BURKE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, it is always pleasing to hear about infrastructure projects occurring in the Northern Territory, or those about to occur.
Listening to the list that the Chief Minister read out, it is sad that the Chief Minister would claim credit for 99% of those projects. As she knows, they were not of her doing. They have been in progress for many years and are an indication of the expansion of existing infrastructure, or are an indication of the strong investment of private investors in the Northern Territory.
The one infrastructure development to which the Chief Minister pointed was the Darwin City Waterfront. We know that has a range of problems associated with it and, certainly, the opposition, on behalf - and as the Chief Minister and her government are no longer the auditors or the checkers of that development, they are actually the developers - we and the media, on behalf of Territorians, will be questioning that particular job. You have lost your credibility. You are no longer the auditor on behalf of Territorians. You are the developer and therefore you have a responsibility to answer questions on that waterfront development, and we will be asking them.
There was no mention of Chinatown, the first infrastructure project the Labor government was going to do, which has dropped off the agenda. That was going to do all sorts of things for Territorians. No mention of beef roads and roads outside of unincorporated areas.
I know that the government has complained about the issue. I will tell you what the CLP’s position will be on unincorporated roads: first, we will achieve the $20m from the Commonwealth that you cannot achieve; and, second, not only will we achieve at least $20m from the Commonwealth that they need to put into unincorporated roads, we will match them dollar for dollar on every dollar they put in, at least.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, in five minutes, I did not have an opportunity to talk about every single investment. It is important to restate what is happening. It is interesting that the Opposition Leader would say that none of these projects have started in the last three- and-a-half years. Was the G3 Gove expansion a CLP project? Was it?
These things have happened. It is extraordinary arrogance by the Opposition Leader and the CLP that that everything is theirs. It is the member for Drysdale’s view that government is the CLP’s rightful inheritance. The Opposition Leader pretends to be a new man …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: … not showing all the old arrogance of the CLP, all the old arrogance.
Mr Burke interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, order!
Ms MARTIN: I felt sorry when I sat here yesterday and listened to the Opposition Leader say: ‘I am trying to be a new man. I really am trying’. Well, I have to say that he will have to do better. Yesterday’s man is there loud and clear.
Dr TOYNE (Health): Madam Speaker, the Australian Health Ministers conference met in Sydney on 28 January 2005. This was the first ministerial meeting I chaired.
Chairing the conference provided this government with an opportunity to promote papers in key areas where the expertise of Territory Health professionals, researchers and the community are at the cutting edge of national and international health practice.
It was also an opportunity to ensure that the needs of Territorians are understood and addressed at national level, especially in the area of indigenous and remote health.
I took the opportunity to inform health ministers about progress in two significant national projects being led by the Northern Territory.
The first was on child health and wellbeing reform. This project dove-tails perfectly with the government’s Building Healthier Communities framework, which contains a strong commitment to giving kids a good start in life.
At the AHMC, I presented a paper on the national project by a team from the Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia under the auspices of the Health Reform Agenda Working Group. It provides both an overview of current issues and ideas for practical actions for reform of maternal health, service arrangements, work force strategies and of monitoring child development, health and wellbeing.
Leading this project represents an opportunity for us to consolidate the work we are doing locally, to contribute to national policies and to seek a program of joint initiatives with other jurisdictions on these really important areas of delivery.
The second paper I presented to the assembled ministers was on the excellent project looking at remote area renal services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This represents an impressive body of work - Once again, NT led, and, in addition, many of the consultant team developed their expertise working in the Territory.
The importance of tackling kidney disease and combating preventable chronic disease through providing services closer to home are all key elements of this government’s commitment to building healthy communities.
While the work of this group focuses on the important area of treatment of end-stage kidney disease, it is critical to consider the role of prevention and early detection of kidney disease, and ensuring that all levels of the health system work together to benefit the community in combating these terrible conditions.
This report also provides examples of successful initiatives across urban, regional and remote Australia which have enabled indigenous people with end-stage kidney disease to receive renal services closer to home.
The ministers noted both of these of reports and asked that specific actions on these key areas be brought back to the next AHMC meeting, which I shall be chairing in Alice Springs in July this year. Significantly, this meeting would be the first time the body has met in Central Australia …
Mr Dunham interjecting.
Dr TOYNE: … and this will provide the ministers with a chance to see some of our health issues and solutions first-hand.
Madam Speaker, maybe I stand corrected; I am not aware of it.
My colleague, the Minister for Family and Community Services, will also be chairing the Community Services and Disability Ministerial Conference in Alice Springs, and this will allow us to work together on some of the key issues in child health.
The AHMC meeting in Sydney also provided a very good result for the Territory in the area of e-health. Using technology to deliver better health across all areas of the Territory was another of the commitments in building healthier communities framework. The conference agreed to provide $18.2m nationally over next three years to drive the consistent adoption of critical national e-health priorities across the health sector. The e-health developer will establish Australia-wide systems for patient identification, provider databases and other vital health information. I am confident that the Northern Territory will be at the forefront in benefiting from this injection of funding, given our current involvement in Health Connect trials and E-prescribing.
Many other important issues were also discussed at the conference, including organ donation, Australia’s response to the Asian tsunami disaster, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework, and the National Health Reform Agenda. The meeting enabled me to showcase the excellent work of the Territory’s health professionals in child health and renal disease. It will also benefit the Northern Territory in the provision of national funding for E-health projects.
These are all identified priorities for the Territory and, as such, the council further reinforces this government’s commitment to Building Healthier Communities.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his report.
Naturally, I was aware that he chaired the Australian Health Ministers Council meeting because the minister was at pains to issue media releases advising us all about that. I cannot recall seeing in those media releases that the position of chair rotates on a routine basis.
However, in his report, I note that the minister said he delivered two papers. I hope that he delivered them in a more enthusiastic way than he delivered his report.
Having said that, however, minister, would you be good enough to provide us with copies of those papers? In the space of two minutes, there is really not enough time to devote to getting stuck into some of the issues you raised, however, your papers will, no doubt, be of assistance.
I believe all 25 of us in this Chamber share a commitment to improving the health of all Territorians and, in particular, tackling preventable chronic disease. Minister, if you would be good enough to table those papers so that all of us can see what you said to your colleagues recently, I would be grateful.
I look forward to hearing more from you after the meeting in Alice Springs in July this year and, naturally, as an Alice Springs resident, welcome your ministerial colleagues to Alice Springs.
You referred to various commitments you have made or have been outlined in the Building Healthier Communities document. Yes, there are a number of commitments. What we want to see, however, are some outcomes, not just statements and sentences from you saying that there have been, but actual facts and positive results and some statistical evidence.
I look forward to you providing them to me in due course, but, in the meantime, provision of the two papers would be greatly appreciated.
Dr TOYNE (Health): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the generally positive response from the opposition spokesperson.
We will certainly get you those two papers; you can have a look at them. They are excellent bases on which to develop national initiatives, which we will be talking about in Alice Springs.
As to Building Healthier Communities, that is a public document owned by all 5500 members of our health system in the Northern Territory. We will stand by those priorities. We are auditing them on a quarterly basis, and we are moving a lot of the initiatives forward in that framework.
Mr AH KIT (Community Development): Madam Speaker, I report on the success of the All Stars versus the Western Bulldogs game, and the positive approach taken to managing the numbers of people who came in from townships and communities around the Territory to watch it.
The game attracted a reported crowd of over 8000 people. This is a good sized crowd. I know that many of you went to the game and enjoyed the atmosphere.
It is a unique Territory event that is looked forward to by many. It brings people to town from other regional centres and from the communities. However, like other things that can bring people into town from the communities, such as accessing the health and legal systems or visiting friends and families, sometimes people get stuck in town. They may not have the money to return, or they may get caught up in the lifestyle here.
Research indicates that, while most of these people will move about without causing trouble, a number will make a pest of themselves through bad behaviour. By providing the right support when required, but also being tough if necessary, we are helping people to find path ways into a more stable lifestyle, either in town or back in their community.
The Community Harmony Strategy has been very successful in a lot of ways; however, it also has to be acknowledged that this is not a problem that magically appeared overnight, and will go away with the wave of a wand.
Leading up to the All Stars game, there was a concerted effort to bring the patrolling groups together for a coordinated response. This worked well, with police and the other patrolling groups such as Mission Australia reporting no incidents of antisocial behaviour at the game. The Larrakia Hosts had a presence at the game and were able to talk to countrymen about where to go for accommodation and the bus service.
There have been some significant wins for Community Harmony; for example, the Return to Home Program which started in Darwin in May two years ago, and in Katherine in February 2004. Since that time, 2171 people in Darwin and Katherine have returned to their communities under the program.
Return to Home is significant, not only because the antisocial behaviour in town lessens, but also because people know that they are wanted back home; they are part of the family network to which they contribute and that needs them in return.
An important feature of Return to Home is that it is user-pays. We pay up-front for a person’s flight home and a repayment schedule to be directly debited from their Centrelink payment is set up, so one of our most successful programs is totally self-funded. It is an example of a great idea that has really worked.
Another idea that was instinctively good, and is regarded highly, is the Mala Leaders program. It makes good sense for respected leaders from within a community to come and talk to their own people about their place and country, and their responsibilities. This has included establishing cultural protocols, which have been promoted widely.
We see the direct impact of these visits, too. Last time the Mala elders came to town, three plane loads of people went back to their communities. The idea has taken off so well that strategies to establish cultural protocols, driven and promoted by community leaders, are being put in place or considered right across the Territory in Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Nhulunbuy.
Return to Home and the Mala Leaders programs are two positive and constructive approaches to seeing antisocial behaviour as a holistic issue; a manifestation of the despair of being stuck in town, of feeling disconnected from community. Just because we are capable of thinking about antisocial behaviour in a sophisticated way does not mean that we are soft on bad behaviour. Where it continues and people will not go home and it causes distress to people, we have a strongly integrated approach to hot spot management in managing patrols, planning infrastructure, health interventions, day programs - you name it; there is communication across government and community.
The central theme of discussion surrounding the Community Harmony Program is: ‘How are we going to solve this problem? and not ‘We are not responsible’.
Mr ELFERINK (Macdonnell): Madam Speaker, the minister is quite correct: no problems at the game. What happened in the rest of the community as a result of those people coming to town?
What the minister is talking about is the Community Harmony Project. Let us have a look at the effects of keeping the Community Harmony Project going since they came to office in 2001: 13 700 people were taken into protective custody in 2001 when the Community Harmony Project was started under this government.
Last year, nearly 19 500 were taken into protective custody. These people are returning to Alice Springs, Katherine and Darwin almost as quickly as they go out to the communities. In fact, I am advised that some of them have been witnessed returning by taxi from their communities two days after they have returned home.
This government’s approach is going into a system of credit to make these people pay for their own trips back ...
Mr Dunham: Book-up!
Mr ELFERINK: That is book-up. Currently, a fellow before the Federal Court is being investigated for unconscionable behaviour because of the way that he has forced book-up on certain people, so the government has to be very careful about some of the plans that it puts together.
The other question I have for the minister - and he should be very careful about how he answers this – is: what happens when someone books-up one of these flights on their future income and does not catch the flight? Who pays the bill? I would be really interested to know the answer to that particular doozie.
Madam Speaker, the Community Harmony Program has seen more and more drunks being arrested in the major centres in the Northern Territory. This problem has not gone away; it has become exacerbated. Why is the minister so jumpy? Because when they are doorknocking, they are hearing the complaints on the door step. When they are polling, they are hearing itinerants are a problem on Territorians’ doorsteps.
This program is window dressing. It is about time the minister came clean and realised his program is not working and it is about time he took control of the issue, which is his job.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I also enjoyed the All Stars event. I did see 10 minutes of it and for the rest of the time I was selling hamburgers; but I gather from all the people who were there that it was a great event.
The minister has raised a couple of issues: one was about a sporting event and the second was about antisocial behaviour. I have raised this issue before, but I do wonder, after all the discussion in this parliament about alcohol and the alcohol framework, why we are basically allowed to have full-strength beer and spirits at a sporting event.
Is the reason people go to a football match to enjoy the football match or to enjoy the drinking? I do not think you cannot separate the two. You cannot separate antisocial behaviour, and you cannot separate the effects of big business - that is breweries - using sporting events to market their product.
At Traeger Park in Alice Springs, the selling of beer is light or mid-strength. I ask the government to at least talk to the NTFL to ask why that isn’t considered across the Northern Territory. We are a bit blind if we do not realise that full-strength alcohol has people under the influence much quicker than light beer and these things are related.
On one hand, we cannot say that is the business of the NTFL and on the other hand say that we are concerned about these issues. These issues need looking at. I have been to a number of these events and it is painful to see the state of some of those people at the end of the football match. They may not cause trouble, but you still have to ask why were they there. The government should at least look at talking to the NTFL about the issue of alcohol and its effect on antisocial behaviour.
Mr AH KIT (Community Development): Madam Speaker, let me come back to what I mentioned last night in closing my statement on housing. It was the interview that was done by the Leader of the Opposition in regards to Paul Wiles.
Members interjecting.
Mr AH KIT: Let us be quiet and hear whether this Leader of the Opposition is going to stand by what he said on radio and have you people opposite fall in behind. He said:
Liar, liar, liar!
Members interjecting.
Mr AH KIT: What the member for Macdonnell wants, and what it appears to be, is that Aboriginal people …
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! That should be withdrawn. Everyone knows it is unparliamentary!
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, withdraw that remark.
Mr AH KIT: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Do not use it in future.
Mr AH KIT: The member for Macdonnell should go out and tell people in his electorate that they are not allowed to travel to town because here, he tells one story, and I will make sure that they know out there that you do not want them coming into town.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired minister.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! I agree with the member for Nelson. We should be looking at the CAFL and what they have done to improve football matches.
Mr VATSKALIS (Multicultural Affairs): Madam Speaker, Harmony Day is celebrated across Australia each year on 21 March.
It is a time when all Australians come together to celebrate community harmony and this country’s cultural and linguistic diversity. Because Harmony Day coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Harmony Day is not just a celebration.
In Australia, over 200 languages are spoken and the overall community is made up of people who come from as many different cultural backgrounds. Harmony Day, therefore, is a reminder of our responsibilities as Australian citizens and residents; whether we were born here or not, to recognise and respect the rights of all Australians, to express and share their cultural values without fear of racism or discrimination.
In other words, Harmony Day is a reminder to us all to be vigilant in the fight against racism. Multiculturalism encourages all Australians to be involved in making a contribution to the elimination of racism. By encouraging racial harmony and the acceptance of diversity within our community, we all have the opportunity to achieve social cohesion.
This is an important message, particularly as it is set against the current international backdrop of cultural, religious and ethnic tension. Harmony Day has grown into Australia’s biggest annual multicultural event since its inception in 1999. The values behind Harmony Day represent commonly shared Australian values and concepts:
In the Northern Territory, Harmony Day is celebrated throughout the month of March, providing Territorians with a variety of activities and opportunities for celebration. The Northern Territory government is proud to support this initiative through the Multicultural Affairs Sponsorship Program: $40 000 has been set aside for this purpose.
This year, 41 applications for Harmony Day activities were received from across the Territory, including schools and community groups in Darwin, Nhulunbuy, Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Jabiru, Humpty Doo, Berry Springs and Pine Creek. In total, there were 16 applications from regional and remote areas. This truly demonstrates the commitment of Territorians to this event.
The range of planned activities across the Territory includes an ethnic dance presentation organised by the Katherine Filipino Australian Association. The Multicultural Service of Central Australia in Alice Springs has organised activities which involve the whole community, such as window dressing, citizenship ceremonies, and a multicultural costume parade. The Nhulunbuy Primary School has planned some painting activities, excursions to cultural places, and a sports day to celebrate Harmony Day. Persatuan Indonesia has planned a full range of activities for 19 March at Lake Alexander.
To further advance this successful initiative, I encourage members to promote Harmony Day and encourage community organisations, schools and local government to participate in celebrations during March. Let us join our hands in harmony and continue to move the Territory ahead.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I join the minister in supporting Harmony Day. I repeat his words that Harmony Day started back in 1999, and the then CLP government took it with both hands and promoted it very strongly across the Territory.
I remember taking part in Harmony Days as the presiding person in Alice Springs in 1999, 2000 and 2001. I hope that the minister will continue promoting this for a long time to come.
The Chung Wah reception tonight is a clear indication that we are inclusive of all the ethnic communities in the Territory; the Glenti is another one where it is open to all members of the public across the Territory, which is a good thing to keep promoting.
The Multicultural Services of Central Australia has been a very strong, and perhaps the only, organisation that focuses on multiculturalism for Alice Springs. It has had several lives, starting as the Migrant Resource Centre back in the 1980s. It has continued to grow stronger with each chairman and committee.
I look forward to the minister’s continued support of multiculturalism in the Northern Territory, and being very inclusive of all communities.
What I am unhappy about is that this minister has yet to provide the Chung Wah Society with the funds to send its Lion Dance troupe to Alice Springs. That is pretty poor. They have only two days …
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired, member for Greatorex. The time has expired for ministerial reports.
Mr VATSKALIS: Madam Speaker …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, resume your seat. Time has expired for ministerial reports.
Reports noted pursuant to Sessional Order.
Bill presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of this bill is to provide legal certainty about the performance of various financial management and insurance functions under the Legal Practitioners Act and related legislation.
The Legal Practitioners Amendment Bill provides for various bodies established by the Legal Practitioners Act and associated legislation to be excluded from the application of the Corporations Act 2001. The activities of those bodies and the members and employers carrying out such activities will also be excluded from the application of the Corporations Act 2001.
Before outlining the purpose of the bill in greater detail, I note that the bodies affected by the bill include: The Law Society Northern Territory; the Legal Practitioners’ Trust Committee; the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund Committee; the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund; and the Public Purposes Trust Fund managed by the Law Society Northern Territory.
Section 80 of the Legal Practitioners Act imposes an obligation on lawyers to deposit 50% of trust monies with the Legal Practitioners’ Trust committee. That committee is required to manage the monies paid to it in accordance with the act on behalf of lawyers and their clients. Such monies are repayable to lawyers on demand, and any interest earned on such monies must be paid into the Fidelity Fund managed by the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund Committee.
Additionally, the Law Society Public Purposes Trust Act provides for certain income from trust monies held by legal practitioners to be paid into the Public Purposes Trust Fund managed by the Law Society Northern Territory.
Finally, the act provides for the Law Society to make arrangements on behalf of legal practitioners concerning professional indemnity insurance.
The Trust Committee and the Fidelity Fund Committee are made up of the Master of the Supreme Court and two lawyers appointed by the Law Society. Both committees have entered into administrative arrangements with the Law Society for the management of their financial affairs.
I now return to the particular circumstances that have led to the current bill. The Law Society has received advice from a major Sydney law firm indicating the recent amendments to the Commonwealth’s Corporations Act 2001 may require the bodies the subject of this bill and/or the individuals involved with those bodies to hold Financial Services licences.
The Corporations Act 2001 provides for people and organisations providing financial services, such as advice services and money management services, to be licensed. That legislation came into full effect in March 2004. It is understood that similar advice to that received by our Law Society has been provided to law societies in other Australian jurisdictions.
The Law Society and members of the affected committees are concerned that they may be acting illegally and have sought remedies from both the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory governments. As an interim response to the potential problem, the Commonwealth, through the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, has granted a temporary exemption for the Law Society and others until 1 July 2005. Refer to CO 03/1094 published in the ASIC Special Gazette 50a/03 of 23 December 2003.
The Legal Practitioners Amendment Bill, which is before the House today, provides for a more permanent solution to the concerns raised by the Law Society. The Law Society is concerned that a Financial Services licence under the Corporations Act 2001 may be required by:
the Legal Practitioners’ Trust Committee, which holds a proportion of lawyers’ trust monies in
accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act. Such monies are invested by the committee, with
income being distributed in accordance with the act. A licence may be required because these
activities amount to a holding of money on behalf of third parties;
The basis of this policy position is that these bodies are all performing statutory functions, and it is not practical or, indeed, rational to require a statutory body to be licensed to perform its statutory role. It is also highly unlikely that it was ever intended that the Corporations Act 2001 would apply to bodies such as the Law Society in respect of their statutory functions. This is because the Financial Services Licensing Scheme under the Corporations Act 2001 does not apply to the Crown or authorities of the Crown. Arguably, some of these bodies may effectively be ‘the Crown’, although the Law Society itself, despite being a statutory body, is assumed not to be the Crown.
The policy position adopted in the Territory has been that of the legal practitioners committees, and persons or bodies providing services to them, such as government employees and the Law Society, should not be required to be licensed unnecessarily. The committees are, in essence, an administrative mechanism for the management of monies and the arranging of insurance for which the Northern Territory parliament has already assumed some responsibility.
Turning to the detail of the bill itself, the main clause, clause 3, provides for a declaration that the Trust Committee, the Fidelity Fund Committee, the employees of these bodies, and the members of the two committees are excluded from the application of the Financial Services licensing provisions contained in chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001. They are likewise excluded in relation to any other matters that may be specified in regulations made under that act.
However, proposed section 6B(3) and (4) also make it clear that the exclusion only operates in respect of their relevant statutory functions under the Legal Practitioners Act and the Law Society Public Purposes Trust Act. These provisions have been drafted in this manner because section 5F of the Corporations Act 2001 along with the Corporations Agreement 2002 permit the states and territories to make laws which have the effect of dis-applying the Corporations Act 2001.
In accordance with the Corporations Agreement, I have notified my ministerial colleagues who form the Ministerial Council for Corporations, and no minister has raised any problem with the proposed legislation.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
Continued from 1 December 2004.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I will be brief. The opposition supports these bills, which were provided, in essence, for the operation of the Australian Crime Commission in the Northern Territory, which replaces the National Crime Authority.
The Territory has complementary legislation to enable the National Crime Authority to operate in the Territory and, since it has been replaced, these bills are a mechanism to enable the Australian Crime Commission to operate here. The commission will have the same coercive powers as the NCA, and its aim is to tackle serious organised crime. The offences in the bill reflect the offences that existed in the National Crime Authority legislation.
There are some new features, one of which is a national scheme to assist fighting serious crime which includes a national board of which the Northern Territory Police Commissioner is a member.
The bills are part of a national push and assist a Commonwealth agency, the Australian Crime Commission, to work in states and territories in what was described in the second reading speech as ‘our changing world’. That refers to our changing world in many respects ranging from drugs to terrorism and cyber crime.
These bills are supported. The Attorney-General asked for bipartisan support when he introduced them, and he has it.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I thank the opposition for their support and propose we move through the process.
Motion agreed to; bills read a second time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General) (by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that the bills now be read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bills read a third time.
Continued from 1 December 2004.
Mr DUNHAM (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, this is a fairly short bill and the second reading speech adequately described its intention.
It is not the opposition’s intention to oppose this bill. In fact, the second reading led us to believe that the legislation has been well thought out and has the intention of making the legislative regime relating to marine activities extended to areas where such protection should be afforded, so it is an extension.
It is a very simple bill to read, and we support the government’s action.
Dr BURNS (Parks and Wildlife): Madam Speaker, I thank the opposition for their support for this bill. The intent of it is to clarify the extent of jurisdiction of the act.
The intention of the act when it was first drafted in the early 1980s was that it would have jurisdiction over inland waterways. Legal questions arose and this bill clarifies the jurisdiction of the act regarding inland waterways, and ensures that there is oversight, particularly of drive and hire activities on inland waterways, and ensuring the safety of the public.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Dr BURNS (Parks and Wildlife) (by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
Continued from 1 December 2004.
Motion agreed to; paper noted.
Continued from 30 November 2004.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I address the issues raised by the Auditor-General in his report into contracts awarded by government agencies to Metis Consulting Pty Ltd.
Government welcomed the Auditor-General’s scrutiny of this issue. It is our belief that the Auditor-General should examine issues that potentially raise public concern in the expenditure of taxpayers’ money. The Auditor-General launched this investigation himself and in the report, he has also responded to a letter written to him by the member for Macdonnell.
The Auditor-General’s findings are quite instructive. He did not find any evidence of wrong doing. He found that the actions of government did not depart from the spirit of the procurement policy. He found that Metis had the expertise to do the work contracted, and he found that agencies generally complied with the Procurement Act and its policies, but pointed out some exceptions, which did not fully comply with the process.
Failure to comply with the process occurred only in the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment and the Department of Employment, Education and Training. In the case of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment, the matters determined are technical breaches and come from a failure to properly observe process in gazetting the certificate of exemption, which is fixed, and a failure to adequately check the history of the contract leading to incorrect information on the application for a certificate of exemption.
In relation to DEET, the failure to comply with procedures was more general. The Auditor-General found that there was a weakness in the department’s oversighting procedures. That weakness led to failure to comply with requirements. Again, the Auditor-General did not find any impropriety.
The Commissioner for Public Employment has accepted the Auditor-General’s findings and has acted to review and update internal procedures. The Chief Executive of DEET provided information to me of the breach of tender well in advanced of the Auditor-General’s investigation. I advised the House in answering a question on 16 June last year. It should be noted that I advised the House, not as a result of any question from the opposition, but in an open and transparent manner from a government question. The Chief Executive has assured me that procedures have been tightened considerably and stronger compliance procedures are in place.
I accept that lapses can occur. We are, after all, human and I am satisfied by the assurances of both the commissioner and the chief executive of these two agencies that these matters have been addressed.
The issues raised in relation to the Department of Health and Community Services, the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services and the Department of the Chief Minister have also been addressed by the Auditor-General.
The Auditor-General found that the requirements of the Procurement Act were generally adhered to, though he did identify specific issues for each agency to address. These issues involved correct paperwork and signatures. He also commented on the need for better record keeping of decision making. Again, all agencies have noted these issues raised and have acted to tighten procedures.
The government accepts lapses in procedures of this kind are wrong. We have ensured chief executives are in no doubt about our concern, however they are not hanging offences nor do they demonstrate any of the ill-intent that the opposition so clearly wished to raise during this period.
The Auditor-General has made it clear that no impropriety occurred. It is a critical issue. The continued slur that has been made against senior public servants by the opposition should now be silenced.
Madam Speaker, the government will be vigilant in working to ensure that these sorts of matters do not occur again. Treasury is currently conducting a major exercise in simplifying instructions to agencies and the procedures they have to adopt, as it is an area that has become more and more complex as issues and orders have been added to the list.
Mr ELFERINK (Macdonnell): Madam Speaker, clearly the Auditor-General has indicated pretty much what the Treasurer has indicated: that he can find no evidence of intentional wrongdoing. Frankly, at the risk of being seen to be excessively critical, the Auditor-General’s investigation was not as deep as I would like it to have been.
He said in the document that he did not speak to Metis at all. In fact, we have no idea from the document itself why he makes the assertion as to why he decided that Metis were the people for the contract. You have to remember that Metis was an organisation made of two individuals, a fellow by the Chris Gration and a lady by the name of Susan Harben. It is worth revisiting that, despite earlier denials, Chris Gration and the CEO of Health were people who knew each other. I believe that Mr Gration went to the CEO of Health’s wedding. There were clear links and all of this was pushed away by the government. This was all happening on this Treasurer’s watch, by the way.
Clearly, one of the things that comes out of this report is that even if we cannot establish a deep seated issue or process of impropriety, what clearly has been established is that there are major flaws in the system. The Treasurer admitted that today. Major flaws have occurred on his watch. Documents were not signed, documents were not properly recorded, procedures were not followed. It is very hard to establish on the evidence whether there was impropriety or not.
My experience is that if you do not have the proper records, to establish propriety is something that is not easy to do. To establish impropriety, you need evidence and that evidence is absent, which is what the Auditor-General has indicated. The absence of evidence is something the Auditor-General, quite rightly, takes a conservative interpretation of and said there is no evidence of any impropriety. However, it concerns me that that evidence is absent, and it is absent by virtue of the fact that the paper work is not being done, and that there were flaws in the system.
I have some sympathy for the Auditor-General, because he was given this fairly politically charged inquiry to undertake and, of course, the Auditor-General changed late last year, so one Auditor-General started the inquiry and another completed and signed off on it. I can understand that would have added to the complications of this. Of course, the Auditor-General was naturally too busy looking at the role of government, and is probably not as well staffed as he could be to run these investigations in the detailed way that I am sure the Auditor-General would like to.
There are clearly shortcomings in the process. I am glad the Treasurer has finally decided to turn his attention to the problem of procurement in the Northern Territory. The guidelines are quite clear; they just have not been followed. This matter is now put to bed. I know the procurement process is being reviewed and departments have accepted their liability in relation to this, but it must be remembered that the buck stops with the Treasurer, and it is the Treasurer’s job to make sure that this stuff is properly policed and properly looked into.
This government has now had a warning in relation to this stuff. If the government chooses to engage in further favouritism and those sorts of things into the future, we will be keeping a watch, we will be keeping an eye on it, and we will not be backward in coming forward and raising these issues in the House.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, as members would know, I raised similar issues as a motion for General Business Day, but as it this has been tabled by the Treasurer, I will deal with them now.
When I first brought this to the attention of parliament, I did so because, after listening to a fairly enthusiastic debate about this issue, the one area that was not covered in the debate - or at least was not answered - was whether the CEO of Health had declared a conflict of interest before there was discussion about the tenderers. That was my concern.
I looked at the Procurement Review Board Guidelines, which address several things. First, they say:
Then it goes on further to say:
Under the heading ‘Disclosure of Interest’ it says:
I also note that, in a censure motion debate on 16 June, the Attorney-General, when referring to the procurement process, said:
I also quote from the NT News on 4 December 2004, which refers to the Auditor-General’s report:
I am still not convinced that in the Auditor-General’s report, the issue of whether the CEO of Health declared before there was a discussion about tenders – and he was going to be involved in the decision-making process – that he had a real or perceived conflict of interest.
That is the area that concerns me. The process is there to make sure there is no corruption or perceived corruption in the awarding of tenders. I am not saying the CEO has done anything wrong. However, we have a principle, a set of guidelines, to which we must adhere. Reading through the Auditor-General’s report, I do not believe that area has been covered.
In the recommendations, the Auditor-General noted the comments of the Department of Health and Community Services, which conceded:
From that, you would think there was no note to the Procurement Board that the CEO possibly had a conflict of interest because he knew people involved with Metis.
At page 17 of the Auditor-General’s report, the member for Macdonnell asked:
The answer from the Auditor-General was:
That is the crux of my concern. I am not convinced that these tenders were awarded under a process under which someone who had a real or perceived conflict of interest and declared that interest. That has still not come out in this debate. Really, until we know the answer, there will be unanswered questions at the end of this debate.
People might say it was only a couple of contracts and that does not really matter. Again, it is the principle. Those contracts were worth quite a bit of money.
As I have said before, my experience on local government was that they are very strict on conflicts of interest. I recall the case the vehicle I was using as the President of Litchfield Shire Council falling due for renewal. They received a trade-in price for that vehicle. I then asked the council if I could purchase it for the same as the trade-in price. They said that would have to go to a council meeting. As soon as it came up on the agenda, I had to leave the room. There was no way I could take part because they were very strict on conflict of interest. The figure was around $10 000 and people might say that was not worth worrying about, but we were dealing with public money and we must be very cautious of how we deal with public money.
As I said, I am not satisfied from the Auditor-General’s report that the issues I was concerned about have been fully covered. Perhaps the Auditor-General can look at the question as to whether the CEO did notify the Procurement Board or anyone else who should have known before discussions on those tenders took place.
There is one other thing: comments in reply from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment refer to a criticism by the Auditor-General over a contract that was over $10 000 and should have been looked at by Contract and Procurement Services. The OCPE response was:
I would certainly be interested to know whether the government is doing something about that criticism from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment. It seems there is a grey area, there are some inconsistencies and there is no helpful assistance from some departments. I would be interested to know whether the Treasurer has seen that criticism and whether the government is putting in place some action to rectify what the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment has drawn attention to.
Otherwise, I thank the Auditor-General for his report. It has certainly cleared up some issues. The issue of whether a real or perceived conflict of interest by the CEO was declared at an early stage, and not later told to the minister, is outstanding.
Mr HENDERSON (Business and Industry): Madam Speaker, speaking in relation to the Auditor-General’s examination of contracts awarded to Metis Consulting, I want to talk this morning in response to allegations levelled by the member for Macdonnell that I had interfered, as police minister, with the contract awarded to Metis Consulting for the review of the fire services.
At the time, I provided copies to the parliament - quite unprecedented, I thought - of ministerial briefs to me by the Police Commissioner and copies of the certificate of exemption that was signed. Essentially, the allegation made by the member for Macdonnell was that it was a ‘Labor mates’ type of contract and that I had interfered in the selection of Metis Consulting. The issue in regards to the gazettal, twice, of the contract price being $170 000 or $187 000 was interpreted to be that somehow we had slung some extra money Metis Consulting’s way.
I am very pleased that the Auditor-General’s findings have vindicated the position and documents that I put at the time, any not only vindicates my probity as minister in these matters, but also the Police Commissioner’s. At the end of the day, any allegations that I somehow interfered and directed would have meant that the Police Commissioner would have had to be compliant in taking the instruction on, which I found absolutely offensive. I am very pleased that Auditor-General’s investigation of that procurement has vindicated the Police Commissioner and me.
It is very important that government agencies abide by the Procurement Act. As procurement minister for some time earlier in this term of government, it was a key priority and objective that I instructed all agencies to follow. We can always tighten up and it is good that the Auditor-General has shown where those processes fell down in this instance, and what needs to be done to tighten up.
At the time, questions from the opposition were pertinent until such time as the documentation was provided, which showed that due process had been followed. However, then to carry on and continue to make unfounded allegations of interference and direction when documents had been provided to this parliament that showed quite clearly that there had not been interference and direction – I can take a cheap shot; I throw it, I expect it, but to drag public servants in and allude that somehow they are compliant in receiving illegal ministerial directives - is over the top.
When these types of issues arise and documentation is provided to assure the member for Macdonnell that nothing untoward happened, once he sees that documentation, he should desist from his attack. In this instance, he did not and I am pleased to see that the Auditor-General has set the record straight.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, the Auditor-General’s report has made it very clear that in the case of the CEO of Health and my agency, there has been no wrong doing. There has been no impropriety found. What has been found are some minor technical breaches, particularly regarding the signing-off in writing of decisions made as a procurement was progressed.
There are undertakings in writing in this report by way of responses from my agency that those processes will be corrected in the future. I believe that, whatever the minor break down in the system, certainly the first finding of the Auditor-General that the key aspects of the procurement process has been respected within all of these contract instances. He quoted audit findings from October 2003 on page 5:
The review did find a number of issues, which the audit report says are really more of a technical breach than a major break down in the system.
This is a good opportunity to, again, pay tribute to the quality of the contribution being made by my CEO in Health. It was unfortunate that there were so many unfounded allegations made about his motives or his actions in bringing high level consultancy work to bear on areas of health policy and operations for which he has responsibility.
I also pay tribute to Metis itself. The work that Metis performed for my agency, both before and after I became minister, is of the highest standard, and it is, again, very unfortunate that their name has been disparaged by some of the attempts to score political points out of these incidents.
Let us move on. We certainly have undertakings that the minor technical breaches have now been addressed and will not occur in future. I am very pleased to see the Auditor-General give us a clean bill of health on anything more major than that.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I thank the members for Macdonnell, Nelson, Stuart and Wanguri for contributing to the debate.
The member for Macdonnell really rehashed the original allegations around impropriety and said that it was, of course, very difficult to establish any impropriety. Well, that was what the Auditor-General was charged with in relation to this exercise, so it is really a refusal to acknowledge the Auditor-General’s finding that no impropriety occurred and, from that point of view, the member for Macdonnell really cannot have it both ways. He cannot say it was an impossible ask having the Auditor-General do this because he could not have found any other way. Of course he could have, and he found that there was no impropriety.
His other claim that the government does not staff the Auditor-General’s office sufficiently to conduct this review simply does not stack up. There is no substance to that allegation. If he has evidence to that effect, he should put it before us.
The member for Nelson said that he was still not convinced that the CEO for Health declared a real or perceived conflict. In fact, it is quite clear on page 16, where the Department of Health and Community Services response was cited:
There is the disclosure. I cannot see why you would not be convinced that that is what the CEO of Health is telling the Auditor-General how it was reported. It is accepted by Health, at the final point in that paragraph:
That is accepted by the department. However, to have doubt as to whether this was declared does not seem to make sense to me in relation to what is said there. It clearly states that he ‘verbally informed ministers involved at the time’. That is clear. Sure, it should have been written down, the department accepts that, and will do so in future.
In relation to issues raised by the Commissioner for Public Employment that the member for Nelson commented on, and this goes to the question of CAPS, I quote from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment’s response to the Auditor-General:
I accept the point that the member for Nelson raised: that there is some greyness around this area and it is not clear. We know Treasury is undertaking an exercise in simplifying instructions to agencies across all procurement, so I will make sure - and I would hope my comments here this morning will ensure - that Treasury does pick up this concern and clarifies those requirements in that exercise that they are undertaking to simplify all instructions to agencies around requirements.
Finally, Madam Speaker, my thanks to the Office of the Auditor-General for the work in presenting this report. It is important that everyone understands the role of the Auditor-General; that they have confidence in the office. I believe all members of this House have that trust and confidence in the Office of the Auditor-General, and I commend them for their report into this matter.
Motion agreed to; paper noted.
Mr HENDERSON (Police, Fire and Emergency Services): Madam Speaker, the Northern Territory community and this government is proud of the Northern Territory Police Force and the great results that it achieves. The police force faces some of the most difficult policing challenges in the world: unique demographics in age profiles and diversity of cultures and a relatively small population all spread over a huge land mass.
Northern Territory police officers respond to these challenges with conviction and skill, and they achieve great results. The force’s ability to deliver great results is highlighted in the fight against illicit drugs and the battle to break the cycle of illicit drug distribution and other crime, including violence and crimes against property.
Today, I would like to share with the Assembly and Territorians some of the activities being undertaken by the police in these areas, and to highlight the excellent results being achieved. To most, the link between illicit drugs and other crime is clear. Whilst some people adopt a ‘head in the sand’ approach, the vast majority of Territorians share the belief that we must confront illicit drugs if we are tackle crime in the Territory.
The successes being achieved in the drug enforcement area are a major contributor to the overall drop in crime being experienced in the Territory in the last few years. The successful activities I will highlight today encompass putting drug houses out of business using the government’s strong new anti-drug house laws, disrupting drug distribution networks, and seizing the proceeds of crime - often from drug dealers - with the Martin government’s new confiscation laws.
Some take the view that the consumption and distribution of illicit drugs is a matter of personal choice for the individual and is not something that governments or police should be concerned about. I strongly disagree. Illicit drugs lead to wasted lives, and their destruction and consumption cascades into other crimes of violence and theft throughout the whole community.
Look at the impact on the families, on the victims of property crime who lose their possession to feed a drug user’s habit, the dysfunction drugs cause in bush communities, and the impact on a entire neighbourhood when a drug house sets up shop. All of these impacts mean that illicit drugs are not simply a matter of personal choice. We all have an interest in seeing the supply of illicit drugs disrupted and, wherever possible, closed down.
The Misuse of Drugs Act was amended on 1 August 2002 in order to address the illicit drug trade in the Northern Territory. The government’s tough new laws gave police the powers to declare drug premises and close these premises down. Since commencement of this legislation, Northern Territory Police have seized drugs with an estimated value of $953 000 from alleged drug houses. This has included 18.23 kg of cannabis, 668.5 g of amphetamine, 67 cannabis plants, and 48 tabs of LSD. To date, 208 notices have been issued under this legislation throughout the Territory. Eighty-one of them have been on residences in Darwin, made up of 76 first notices, 11 second notices, and four third notices. Police have also issued drug house notices on three commercial properties. In Alice Springs, police have issued 14 drug house notices: 11 first notices, two second notices and one third notice. Thirteen have been issued in Katherine: 11 first and two second notices. Nine first notices have been issued in Tennant Creek, seven in Nhulunbuy, two in Batchelor and two in Jabiru.
The number of people apprehended for offences relating to the possession, cultivation, manufacture or supply of drugs from these premises is as follows: 78 arrests, 25 summonses and 51 summary infringement notices. In two instances, one in Darwin and one in Alice Springs, the occupiers of these premises failed to heed the initial three notices issued to them under the legislation and the premises were declared drug houses. Both premises have now had the notices revoked by the courts after the owners of the premises were able to show that the occupiers have moved out. In other cases, the warning has been heeded and the tenants were evicted. The drug activity stopped after the issuing of the first, second or third notice. In other instances, offenders have vacated after having three notices issued.
The closure of drug houses has been of huge relief to the surrounding neighbours. One infamous drug house - it even had a well-known nickname, Foils at Moil - was operating within metres of a primary school. Now because of the tough new drug house laws and the excellent work of the Northern Territory Police, Foils at Moil is no more. That residence is now like any other, with no drug dealing taking place.
In targeting the distribution of drugs, police are also cutting right to the source. So far in this financial year, police have successfully dismantled 13 clandestine drug laboratories. Consider the enormous impact this must have had on the amount of drugs available in our community; an outstanding result.
Drug enforcement activities are taking place right across the Territory. In May 2004, Northern Territory Police formed the Remote Community Drug Desk in the Drug Enforcement Section, with the specific aim of targeting, investigating and prosecuting people involved in the distribution of illicit drugs to remote communities. The eight members of the Remote Community Drug Desk, including an intelligence officer, are tasked with the coordination, implementation and leadership of strategic and tactical operations aimed at disrupting the distribution of drugs both to and within remote communities.
Since its inception, the Drug Desk has been highly successful in achieving its aims. Its detectives, on many occasions working closely with the newly formed Drug Detection Dog Unit, have seized 7.7 kg of cannabis, 483 cannabis plants and 95 gm of cannabis seed. This haul has a potential street value of $2m in our remote communities. In addition, the Remote Community Drug Desk has seized $117 000 in cash from people involved in distribution of drugs to remote communities. Drug Desk members have arrested and charged 22 people and summonsed a further 13 people for offences relating to the possession and supply of dangerous drugs. In addition to the drug charges, police have seized 31 firearms in relation to offences, including unregistered firearms, unlicensed shooters, and unsecured firearms.
In many cases, drugs being transported into communities are smuggled and concealed in extraordinary ways. It is a testament to the perseverance of the Northern Territory Police that such great results are being achieved. To highlight some examples: the detection of 150 gm concealed in a Christmas present being transported from Cairns to Nhulunbuy; the detection of 76 gm of cannabis hidden in mince meat being transported from Darwin to the Tiwi Islands; 28 gm of cannabis hidden in a stereo system being sent from Darwin to Wadeye; and a further 3.3 kg located at a commercial premises in Darwin. When applicable, the Remote Community Drug Desk also issues drug house notices. To date, eight such notices have been issued and $60 814 in cash seized from three of these premises.
Last year, I was pleased to announce the establishment of the Northern Territory Police Force’s first Drug Detection Dog Unit. After the unit’s officers underwent weeks of intensive training with Customs in Canberra, the Drug Dog Squad became operational on 22 December 2004 and immediately began to deliver results. The Drug Dog Unit works closely with the Drug Enforcement section, in particular the Remote Community Drug Desk, and travels to communities throughout the Territory, including Alice Springs. To date, the Drug Detection Dog Unit has assisted in 85 searches, resulting in 32 drug seizures.
The government made an election commitment to the people of the Northern Territory to crack down on crime by stopping people from profiting from illegal activity. We delivered on that commitment with the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act which came into force on 1 June 2003. The act provides for three basic categories of property that may be liable for forfeiture: crime use property, for example a vehicle used to transport an offender whilst committing an offence including unlawful entry or robbery; crime-derived property such as money received from the sale of illicit drugs; and drug trafficker’s property. When a person is declared a drug trafficker under section 36A of the Misuse of Drugs Act all property owned or effectively controlled by that person is liable for forfeiture. Any property that has been used in or is the result of an offence subject to a prison term of two or more years can be restrained under the act.
One of the strongest elements of the act is that while the property must relate to a forfeiture offence, a person does not have to be convicted of the offence or any other offence for this act to apply. The act is non-conviction based and reverses the onus of proof. Proceedings under this act are civil, and the standard of proof required is on the balance of probabilities.
Northern Territory Police are to be congratulated on their use of the act to stifle criminals and prevent them from benefiting from their crimes. As of 21 January 2005, Northern Territory Police had 112 restraining orders relating to more than $2.5m worth of property including cash, real estate, vehicles, computer equipment and hydroponics equipment used in a crime and/or derived from a crime. At the moment, around $1.67m worth of property is under restraint. Since the laws came into effect, 59 forfeiture orders have been granted, seeing $348 784 worth of property forfeited.
The criminal property forfeiture legislation has caused considerable disruption to those criminals profiting from both drug and property crime across the Territory through continual vehicle, property and cash seizures.
In August 2004, the Northern Territory Police engaged the services of a full-time forensic accountant, a position dedicated to resource the investigation and mapping of criminal proceeds derived through crime or unexplained wealth. Specifically, the forensic accountant provides the Northern Territory Police with expertise in methods of indirect income analysis - asset betterment and fund statement analysis - and direct income analysis - asset-specific tracing. It is a position that adds yet another facet to the attack on crime by the Northern Territory government and the NT Police.
Today, I have highlighted some of the fantastic results being achieved by the Northern Territory Police in closing down drug houses, clamping down on drug distribution networks and restraining and seizing the proceeds of what is, all too often, drug-related crime. These results, and the Northern Territory police officers who are out there attacking crime, should be subject of congratulations. No one could sensibly describe them as woeful or a waste of taxpayer resources. The cascading effects of just one drug house, one drug dealer or one drug supply network being driven out of action is plain to see.
The information outlined today highlights that Northern Territory Police are achieving significant results right across the Territory. Hundreds and hundreds of Territorians are benefiting directly, and the whole community is better off. The value for money for taxpayers is clear for all to see. The capacity of the police to deliver these types of results comes from strong legislation, which I have outlined. In order to achieve these results, police need the right tools and human resources.
The Martin government’s four-year $75m Building Our Police Force plan is making good progress on both these fronts, including delivering 200 more police on the beat by the end of 2006. The $75m plan includes a $2m per annum boost for the purchasing of day-to-day equipment used by police, and a $1m program to upgrade police coastal patrol boats. On top of the $75m plan, in 2004 the police were allocated a new plane to service Central Australia. This asset will be used to enhance all aspects of policing in Central Australia, including drug enforcement activities.
The lion’s share of this $75m fund injection for police is dedicated to building the human resources of the organisation. The under-funding of the Northern Territory Police by the previous CLP government has been documented in the independent O’Sullivan Report.
Sadly, the police force still suffers from the effect of the recruitment freeze that ran from 1991 to 1994, when not a single officer was recruited. To redress this under-funding and to build the strength of the police force to fight crime and undertake the types of activities I have outlined today, the Martin Labor government has provided an unprecedented level of funding to police. This money is seeing more police recruited than ever before.
Figures provided to me by the Commissioner of Police illustrate this growth. Between 1991 and 1994, not a single officer was recruited. In 1999, there was one recruit squad for constables, with 25 recruits. In 2003, there were four recruit squads with 123 recruits. In 2004, there were four recruit squads with 113 graduates, with 46 recruits currently in the college. In the financial year 2003-04, the strength of the force grew by 81. This financial year, we are seeing very strong growth as record recruitment continues.
These figures underscore the growth in the force and a new and exciting era in Northern Territory policing. Territorians are experiencing the benefits of a higher level of police presence in the community, with more police on the beat and new initiatives including bicycle and trail bike patrols.
The rising strength of the force is also enabling new activities to be undertaken by the police, including the hiring of the first time of a forensic accountant to help track down the proceeds of crime, and drug enforcement officers making good use of the Territory Police’s first ever Drug Detection Dog Unit.
To sustain this record level of recruitment, the Commissioner of Police and I launched a new recruitment campaign to encourage people to consider joining the Northern Territory Police. Part of this campaign is aimed at encouraging Territorians to consider a career in their police force.
I am very pleased that the campaign is working. The Commissioner has advised that the Wet Season recruitment campaign to fill Squads 82 and 83 was highly productive. For Squad 82, 161 applications were received, and as things stand, 27 recruits will commence training next month. For Squad 83, it is estimated around 200 applications will be received.
It is of benefit to all Territorians that the Northern Territory Police have a large pool from which to choose their new recruits because it is critical that the high standards of the Northern Territory Police are maintained. The fantastic results being achieved by Northern Territory Police are because we have professional and hard-working police. It is a wise investment to see that the recruits going the force maintain this high standard.
This government is proud of the achievements of the Northern Territory Police. As outlined in the government’s Building Safer Communities plan 2004 to 2009, the attack on crime, and particularly drug-related crime, is multifaceted. There are a range of activities taking place across a range of agencies. The Territory Police have a front line role and they are playing that role with distinction. In the most simplistic terms, they provide great value for money.
Today I have highlighted the force’s drug law enforcement activities. I look forward to making ministerial statements to the Assembly in the months and years ahead about the outstanding activities being undertaken by this outstanding organisation.
Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Mr BURKE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I read the minister’s statement last night, and apart from the odd jibe, by implication, at the CLP government, there is nothing that you would disagree with in the statement.
It is a good report in detailing not only the government’s gratitude to the efforts of Territory police, and who would not join with them in that? Territory police, everyone in uniform, everyone involved directly or indirectly deserve enormous gratitude from Territorians for the difficult job that they do. As one who has spent the greater part of his working life in uniform, a uniform in Defence, which works closely with police on various occasions, no-one needs to tell me the hard work that they do and the gratitude they should have from the community.
The statement essentially lays out not only that gratitude, which I endorse, but details results in regards to the effect of the implementation by police of the Misuse of Drugs Act. That is good to see. The report on the establishment of a remote community Drug Desk and its efforts in combating illicit drugs in the remote areas of the Northern Territory is good to see and that they are doing very effective work in that area.
I did not see anything in the statement - I may have missed it or misheard it - with regards to the illicit trafficking of kava. I would have thought illicit trafficking of kava would have been very high on the police priority list. We know it is a problem in the East Arnhem area. It was the subject of me, as Health minister, putting a ban on kava before we introduced regulatory mechanisms in the Northern Territory because of the effect it had on some communities. We know that kava trafficking is still occurring, and we know that people are suffering greatly from the cost and the personal effect it has on them from kava trafficking. There was nothing on that, which surprises me. In that respect, it is clearly a report that is primarily aimed at convincing the urban community of the effects of the government in the urban areas. That is good see, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more on kava.
There was also a report on the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act - it is good to see the government introduced it; we would have introduced similar legislation - and the fact that it is having a complementary effect on dealing with illicit drug use.
The minister applauded the fact that the government is spending $75m building the police force as a result of the O’Sullivan Report. That sounds like a lot of money at first blush. You can look at $75m in another way; that is, that the Health budget has blown out by half that amount in one year, in six months. In terms of dollars going into police relative to dollars going into other areas of service delivery, police are getting their $75m over four years as recommended by the O’Sullivan Report and, in my discussions around the place and on indicators coming through in other areas – and I look forward to the Auditor-General’s report to see if there is any mention of it when it is presented next week – the police department is struggling with the priorities and objectives they have been given with the amount of money flowing through from the government on an annual basis.
There is no doubt that a lot of money is going into recruiting and advertising. Each recruit costs more in the equipment they use and drive, the service conditions they operate under, the housing they live in, and all of those things. I am yet to be convinced the dollars are flowing through sufficiently to account for the recruitment that is occurring and ensuring our police force is properly equipped to deal with the build-up which is occurring at this stage.
The central bow of the government’s strategy when it comes to criticising CLP governments is to suggest that because a decision was made in the period 1991 to 1994, not a single police officer was recruited into the Northern Territory. At the time, that decision was taken by the police minister and Chief Minister, as I recall, and the Commissioner of Police, Mr Mick Palmer. No one would doubt his professional ability, evidenced by the achievements in jobs he has carried out since then, including a very important report on illegal detention which has just been announced. This is a man who is highly regarded Australian-wide for his expertise, professionalism and knowledge. To suggest that, somehow, Mr Mick Palmer was in cahoots with government and would see his own police force denuded over that period is just laughable.
The reality was that there was the introduction of auxiliaries into the police system at the time and, as you well know, the introduction of auxiliaries was seen to allow more uniformed police out onto the streets. I see the minister is picking up his pen; he is obviously an expert on an issue that occurred at a time when he was long from parliament. He probably had not even thought about running at that stage …
Mr Henderson: I tabled the letters in parliament where he was pleading for resources. Reed said: ‘No’.
Mr BURKE: Had you run in 1994? Was 1994 your first shot at parliament, or 1997?
Mr Henderson: What was that?
Mr BURKE: Was that your first shot at election?
Mr Henderson: 1994.
Mr BURKE: You ran three times, didn’t you?
Mr Henderson: 1994.
Mr BURKE: 1994. Okay, that was your first shot. So you are now an expert on decisions which were made in government in 1994 when you were a candidate strutting the tracks out there at the time. I would have more faith in the professionalism of Mick Palmer and the policy he felt could be accommodated with the introduction of auxiliaries.
The other interesting thing about it is that if you look at the trend data in policing, your allegation bears no relationship with the trend data that has come through. It is one thing to say: ‘Aren’t we wonderful because we are achieving this in the last quarter? This quarter reflects better than some other quarter that suits us in our own data produced here’. It is quite another thing to stand up to the data which is coming through from the Commonwealth. I would imagine that the minister is going to suggest that the report on government services is something of which no one should take any notice; that the utterances from this Chamber are far more authoritative and indicative than anything that comes out of this report.
It is worth reminding ourselves that the Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services is a very authoritative report. It looks at a whole range of government services, including policing, in a way that, essentially, reports on trend data. No one would dispute the fact that, when we are dealing with much statistical data, one has to get a trend before you can make any real assumptions as to effect and efficient outcomes for that effect. That is what this report on government services does. This is the January 2005 report, of which the foreword reads:
The trend data for 2005 generally looks at policing on some trends. Looking at the periods, as I recall, some trend data is 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04. Other trend data is looking at the periods from 1999 right through to 2003, and other trend data looks at the periods 1998 and 2002 - basically, how we were going in 1998 and how we are now going in 2002. The importance of that trend data is that it puts to bed any suggestion that the Northern Territory Police were ineffective because there was a stop in recruitment over a couple of years. The trend data shows, in fact, that the Northern Territory Police Force was performing better during that period than they were in 2002. So when you say the Northern Territory Police Force was denuded, the facts do not bear what you are saying.
It is one thing to talk about strength, it is another thing to talk about outcomes in relation to strength and the authoritative Commonwealth document shows that the trend data from 1998 for various categories of crime and the ability of the government through its police force to deal with that crime was far better than the trend data in 2002. It remains to be seen what the trend data will show when there is another four year period for 2006-07.
In that context, it is quite mischievous for the government to suggest that the halt in recruiting over that period has led to a rise in crime because it is wrong. It is irresponsible to suggest that a professional police officer of the status of Mick Palmer would have happily gone along with such a situation, which is equally scurrilous.
The important thing about the trend data is that it looks at not only the monies that are being spent on our policing, but the outcomes being achieved against those monies being spent. When I made comment on this particular report, the Police minister was quick to jump on the political band wagon to say: ‘He is just knocking our police force’. A government that has introduced accrual accounting, a government that says it is honest, open honest and transparent - and we know that is a lie - a government that truly wants to ensure that it funds its police force and ensures the outcomes and the effort that the community requires are being achieved, I would have thought the very least would take an interest in it rather than to say it is knocking police.
I am sure the police themselves want to ensure that their matching themselves against the data that is occurring in other states and territories. If that matching is not occurring, would it be a problem or an issue that the police need to deal with? Are these issues that are outside of police control or not? Where does government need to apply a better effort to ensure that those outcomes are achieved? The member for Johnston on many occasions says that he looks at things scientifically. I would have thought this is one occasion when you would say to yourself: ‘Well, if the outcomes relative to other states are not being achieved, what can we do about it? Where do we need to assist our police force to ensure that those outcomes are being achieved?’
It would appear that the outcomes for unlawful entry with intent are being achieved. It seems to me that, on the data - not necessarily in this report, but the data that I have analysed going back through the Justice department figures and figures that have appeared in previous reports on government services - the effect of the police in dealing with unlawful entry is starting to come though. One notation is made in this report that shows the Northern Territory Police are achieving outcomes for house breaking in excess of other states. I think there was about an 11% drop in house breaking on trend data in other states and the drop in the Northern Territory was far in excess of that, which is good.
It shows that our police are effectively targeting house breaking and the factors that contribute to it and, no doubt, the targeting of illicit drug use has had a marked effect in that regard. That is not new from my point of view.
The efforts of police targeting hot spots, intelligence-led policing, the sorts of methodologies in policing that have come out of the New York experience and been adopted through other states in the United States and, in some part, in other states in Australia, particularly New South Wales in the first instance, have certainly been embraced by our current Police Commissioner and there is no doubt in the way that he goes about his business. He holds to those principles of a very strong effort in intelligence-led policing and targeted hot spots and individuals, which was a major factor in the New York experience.
It is worth noting, though, that the New York experience rested its fundamentals on petty crime, the Broken Windows theory, which is basically that if you deal with minor misdemeanours, you will end up dealing with major misdemeanours. The people who commit a major crime are the ones who commit minor crimes. If you target minor crimes, you will identify them. You will clean up your urban areas, you will clean up your community and criminals will move on.
Certainly in the Northern Territory, we have not adopted anything like the broken windows theory, but for the rest of it, there is no doubt that the theories and methodologies that are pretty-well embraced worldwide are coming through in the efforts of our Police Commissioner and how he goes about his business, and that is good.
As I said, the report primarily looks at monies that are spent not only on police, but also on community safety and support and relating outcomes against that spending. It does it on a trend analysis and the results for the Northern Territory need a lot of interrogation. They also show that there is a long way to go.
That was the message I was trying to get through. It is one thing to say that we are doing well, we are spending money on our police force; it is another to recognise that we have a long way to go to meet the benchmarks being achieved in other states. Anyone who read this report in an objective way would say to themselves: ‘If we are trying to attract people to the Northern Territory for our great lifestyle, if we want people to settle in the Northern Territory and enjoy and benefit from the great potential of the Northern Territory, government has a responsibility to ensure that we are in sync with other states and territories on fundamentals with regards the delivery of government services’.
The Commonwealth funds us: 80% of our funding comes from the Commonwealth. They fund the Northern Territory in a way that other states complain about, and they fund the Northern Territory to achieve government services delivery which is on a par with other states and Territories. So part of that government services delivery is enormous extra funding to account for the difficulties that our police have. That extra funding should reflect through in the data to achieve similar benchmarks with other states and territories.
It is interesting, for example, to look at the costs of policing: costs in the Northern Territory far outweigh the cost of policing in any other state or territory in Australia. We spend enormous amounts of money on our police force. In the Northern Territory, we spend $365 per person on policing compared with $84 per person in Queensland. That is a lot money, but no one complains about it because of the difficulties of policing in the Northern Territory. If you look at the amount of money in the Northern Territory that is being spent per capita on policing, that amount of money has risen exponentially, on the data here, since 2000-01, and it will be shown to have risen by similar amounts in earlier reports if you look back. We are spending more and more money on our police. What is worth reflecting on though, is, say, South Australia is spending less and less money on their police. Now, you would say: ‘Okay, South Australia should be having worse indicators in crime’, but South Australia’s crime indicators are better than the Northern Territory’s, right across the board, except, say, in house breaking in the last 12 months.
It begs the question: if we are spending more and more on police, and another state is spending less and less on police, why is our crime higher than that state? What are we doing not as well as other states? Is it a social problem? Is it an indigenous problem? Some would probably quickly say: ‘It is because of indigenous crime’. It may well be, but remember that we are funded to achieve similar levels of service right across the board, so you just cannot say that as quickly as we would like to say it. Those are the sorts of things that I believe come out of this report that are interesting.
The other thing is that if the government praises its efforts in policing, the report looks at public perceptions of crime. It is interesting, because family violence in the Northern Territory, on the graph levels, is far in excess of any other state or territory. Physical assault, excluding sexual assault, is far in excess of that of any other state or territory. Illegal drugs are a problem, but the perception of illegal drugs as a major problem is the lowest in Australia in the Northern Territory, and that only reinforces the point I have made in this parliament on many occasions, and that is, illegal drugs are a problem but they have to be seen in the context of other problems that affect people in the community. The Report on Government Services clearly shows - and that is not a new graph, that is there in earlier reports - that when it comes to illegal drugs, the perception of it being a major problem is the third-lowest in Australia.
The lowest issue, as a major problem, is poor driver behaviour. In the Northern Territory, poor driver behaviour is seen by Territorians as the lowest priority of the questions asked in relation to major problems. Therefore, when you have a speed camera on every corner, when Territorians - including me who has been booked about five times; I think the minister himself has admitted to that - do not think that the people who are complaining are aberrant because the trend data from right across Australia says that the average punter says: ‘I can drive a bit above the speed fairly safely, and if there is someone on the corner who wants to book me, I think it is unfair. There are so many other things that the police and government should be putting their priorities on. Why are they not doing it?’ That is there.
House breaking in 2003–04 is the highest indicator of a major problem in the Northern Territory of any other state or territory. So, there you go; we are doing well, but we have a long way to go to ensure that people believe that their community is safe, and that they are safe regarding housebreaking.
For 2003-04 - and this is not old data, which also shows graphs for 2001–02, and 2002–03 - there was a drop. However, the fewest number of people in Australia who feel safe walking or jogging locally after dark are Territorians. I repeat: the fewest number of people in Australia who feel safe walking or jogging locally are Territorians. You can say: ‘Oh, it must be the poor data; poor sample, etcetera’, and these statistics always have some disclaimers. However, this is only one volume of two, and they would not release it every year unless it has some authority. It is a worrying sign when Territorians feel more unsafe walking or jogging locally after dark than people living in Sydney or Melbourne. That is an indicator of assault and fear of assault, and is why, if you look at the perceptions of what is the highest priority in perception of crime, assault is right up the top. You have a correlation of those two perceptions.
Of people who feel safe or very safe travelling on public transport after dark, Territorians are almost the lowest in Australia, and we do not have a lot of public transport. However, it is a worrying sign when those basic indicators of community safety are not being met. That is the worrying indicator in this report.
If you look at the comparison, as I said, right across the board in crime, an interesting one appears on page 540: Trends in Recorded Crime: Victims of Assault per 100 000 people. The trend data shows from 1999 to 2003, and the Northern Territory is going like that in victims of assault per 100 000 people. That includes three years of the Labor government and has to be compared with other states in Australia such as Western Australia and South Australia where the graph, not exponentially, but certainly, is going down. That type of data is right across this report.
It is very important from a government perspective that, whilst we applaud the effort the police are making, are generous in putting more and more money into police and recruiting, and honestly believe that we are doing everything we can to ensure that they have the resources to make a safe community, we have to be honest with ourselves and say that, in achieving those outcomes, the Northern Territory is a long way short in some indicators. The indicators that jump straight out are the ones we have been citing for some time now: sexual and physical assault and domestic violence are right up there. I have heard the Minister for Family and Community Services say on a number of occasions: ‘It is because more is being reported’. We used to say that in government: ‘We have better reporting mechanisms; we publicise it more; domestic violence is being reported more - aren’t we doing well?’. The reality is that we are doing badly, and the data in the Northern Territory compared with other states shows that very clearly. Domestic violence is a major problem in the Northern Territory, as is violence per se. The chances of an individual being a victim of crime in the Northern Territory are about three times more than they are in other states and territories. Those are very bad statistics.
It is in that context that, on one hand, I applaud the minister’s statement. On those issues where the police have the resources and the legislation to back them, and in the areas the minister has mentioned, they are doing a very good job. I thank them for that. Generally, when it comes to the police force, I would be the first to say that they do an enormously effective job, and we thank them for their day-to-day efforts, which puts great stress on them and on their families. However, I qualify that by saying we need to do a hell of a lot more, which will come through in a determination of CLP polices that will give them the resources they need in a whole range of areas.
The other interesting thing in this report, minister - I do not know whether you have taken the time to look at it closely - is complaints against police in the Northern Territory over the last few years have gone through the roof. In my time in government, talking to police, there is an enormous amount of time devoted to answering complaints and a whole bureaucracy is set up not only within the police force. The knock-down effect of a complaint, the effort involved in an internal investigation to deal with the complaint takes an enormous amount of time and by itself, in many respects, is a sign of a lack of confidence by superiors in their own subordinates. That is forced on them because they have to go through a process which is in many respects onerous and unfair.
We need to get complaints against police down, and part of the problem is the bureaucratic process and the problems they have in dealing with those complaints. We have to improve on that.
Madam Speaker, in general terms, I thank the minister for his statement and I hope he takes notes of my comments.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, before adjourning for lunch, I remind you that you do not refer to members in this House by their Christian name in your interjections. It has happened over the last couple days and I want to remind you about that.
Debate suspended until after Question Time.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, we have a special guest with us today. In the Speaker’s Gallery is Mr Roger Ryan, member for Millner from 1974 to 1977, and Executive Member for Transport and Industry. On behalf of all members, I extend a warm welcome to our very distinguished visitor.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, also in the gallery, we have newcomers to the Department of the Chief Minister; graduate trainees accompanied by Luis Da Rocha. On behalf of all members, I extend a warm welcome to you also.
Members: Hear, hear!
Continued from earlier this day.
Mrs AAGAARD (Nightcliff): Madam Speaker, I support of the minister’s statement on Northern Territory Police achieving great results in attacking drug-related crime.
In his statement, the minister talked about the extensive work that police are doing, and have done over the past three-and-a-half years to help combat the Territory’s illicit drug problem. It is very significant work that the police have done in this period, and the minister and the Police Commissioner, Paul White, are to be commended for such excellent outcomes.
From reading the minister’s statement, it is clear the Misuse of Drugs Act, which was amended in 2002 to address the illicit drug trade in the Northern Territory, is working, with Northern Territory Police seizing $953 000 worth of drugs from alleged drug houses, as well as 208 notices having been issued under the legislation.
The Criminal Property Forfeiture Act, which came into effect on 1 June 2003, fulfilled an election commitment by the government that meant criminals would no longer be able to profit from crime. I was very pleased to read that the Northern Territory Police issued 112 restraining orders relating to more than $2.5m worth of property including cash, real estate, vehicles, computer equipment and hydroponics equipment used in a crime or derived from a crime.
Clearly, one of the key things that has assisted the Northern Territory Police in their work has been the very significant increase in resources for our police: $75m, which includes an increase of 200 police on the beat by the end of 2006. This injection moves to redress the appalling police numbers on coming to government, as well as providing jobs for Territorians.
I agree with the minister that Territorians are experiencing the benefits of a higher level of police presence, with more police on the beat and new initiatives such as the bicycle and trail bike patrols. In my own electorate of Nightcliff, the foot patrols, increased road patrols, as well as the trail bike patrols, have definitely seen a decrease in property crime over the past couple of years.
I commend officers for their assistance with policing matters in my area, especially the Officer-in-Charge of Casuarina Police Station, Mick Read, who is always helpful and prompt in providing whatever response is required by police. I also thank the four members of the police who conduct day and evening shifts of the bike patrol. I have been advised that each shift covers 80 km, which is an extraordinary amount of exercise, I must say. They must be very fit people. I also thank the Public Places Patrol, the foot patrol led by Senior Constable Vince Wilson, which focusses on shopping centres and beach areas, assisted, very ably, by ACPOs Brendan Monck and Tom Matthews, and Probationary Constable Terese Meyer.
This statement focusses on the policing aspects relating to drug law enforcement in the Northern Territory. The government has also undertaken a lot of work in other areas, which is helping with the fight against drugs in our community. We have introduced drug courts to assist with more appropriate dealing with drug addicts. We have looked carefully at the illicit drug problems in the Northern Territory through the Illicit Drugs Task Force in 2001-02, and have established a parliamentary Select Committee on Substance Abuse, which I chair.
This government is very serious about tackling illicit drugs, and is working hard to minimise their harm on our community. As the chair of the select committee, I would like to look at the background and trends in drug use in the Northern Territory, as well as the work of the committee. The Illicit Drugs Task Force, in its recommendations, said on page 5 of its Executive Summary, that illicit drugs are clearly linked with property crime; something that was in doubt when we came to government.
Clearly, the kind of work that the police are now doing with adequate resources is helping to significantly reduce property crime. The Drugs Task Force also pointed to the need to have suitable ways of dealing with drug-related crime and recommended drug courts with diversionary programs. This is happening in the Northern Territory now as well. It also recommended the use of maintenance programs to cut down the use of illegal selling of prescription drugs. This is happening, once again, lowering crime in our urban areas where most of the problems have been. It also recommended an increase in the number of needle and syringe programs across the Northern Territory to cut down on disease related to drug use. This is also happening.
The Legislative Assembly Select Committee on Substance Abuse in the Community has been examining the issues with the regard to the use and abuse of illicit and licit drugs in the Northern Territory for the past three-and-a-half years. During this time, members of that committee have travelled extensively throughout the Territory meeting with people and taking evidence from them at all major centres as well as in many communities. In fact, in this time, it has held a total of 68 meetings and hearings, received a total of 116 written submissions and taken evidence from a total of 447 witnesses. Whilst many of these were expert witnesses, the majority were members of communities who are dealing with the aftermath of substance abuse on a daily basis. As such, members of the committee are well qualified to speak about the effects substance abuse has throughout the Northern Territory.
This is regarding the impact of crime and violence, the social dislocation caused in small communities. This is particularly so of indigenous communities, which have specific social rules that come into play, and the economic impact whereby limited funds intended to feed and sustain a family are siphoned off for alcohol or drugs. That impact is huge. While alcohol and drug fuelled violence is much too common in mainstream society, the level of its prevalence in so many indigenous communities is just unacceptable. As always, it is the women and children who suffer most, leading to a level of despair that contributes to social dislocation and further dysfunctionalism.
On Tuesday of this week, my colleague, the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, spoke about the initiatives to improve education outcomes contained in his report, Building Better Schools. While I will not reiterate my comments in contributing to that debate, I should like to repeat the point the select committee has previously made with regard to improving outcomes for indigenous people and particularly those remote communities. I am pleased that the lack of an economic foundation to many communities as well as the education and training of the young people is something which this government is tackling, and which will, in time, have positive outcomes for everyone in the Northern Territory.
I welcome the initiatives to ensure that all our Territory children are given the opportunity of a decent education in line with that necessary to allow them to become fully functioning members of, and contributors to, our unique and developing society. What we also need to do is stop, or at least reduce, the level of drug and alcohol-caused social dysfunction that communities experience so that these children are physically and emotionally able to take full advantage of these opportunities.
As I think my colleague, the Minister for Justice, said in his contribution to the education debate on Tuesday, the alternative outcome for the Territory is unthinkable. I, therefore, welcome the statement by the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, which detailed the successes to date in addressing drug supply issues.
Though the committee’s visits to many communities, members have been fortunate to meet with a large number of police officers. I have nothing but praise for the work that they do and the dedication they show to contributing to the wellbeing of these communities on a daily basis.
While the major problem in most communities is undoubtedly still alcohol, the exponential growth in the use of cannabis over the past 10 to 12 years is of grave concern. Apart from the dysfunction it causes through binge use and its potential impact on health, it has a huge impact on the economic basis of many communities where thousands and thousands of dollars that should be spent on the general wellbeing of the residence is siphoned off from the community by the dealers. Whilst I was not present at this particular meeting, at one community, the police showed the committee the results of a recent police intervention and arrested a dealer: a lunch box full of cannabis and another full of money, the proceeds of sale.
Sometimes we forget why we are actually doing some of the things that we do as legislators and representatives of our communities. I would like to bring to the attention of members some advisories I received over the past few months from the Drug Advisory Council Australia, which clearly remind us of the issues before us when considering drugs and their effect on our community.
The first one, dated 25 October 2004, is called Amphetamine Threat to Australia:
The Drug Advisory Council of Australia comments:
They are the issues we could be looking at. The advisory reminds us of one of the reasons we want to ensure there is the least amount of drug use in the Northern Territory as possible.
A second advisory, dated 31 January this year, is entitled Mental Disorders linked to Cannabis:
The source of this was United Press International, 16 January 2005:
The Society recommends that:
The source of this was The Respiratory Health Effects of Cannabis by Taylor and Hall in Internal Medicine Journal 2003, 33. We are looking at fairly serious issues related to drugs, not simply drug-related crime.
Returning to the statement, I particularly applaud the establishment of the Drug Detection Dog Unit in the Northern Territory, and I am very sorry that the dog to which the minister referred to as Monte is not here today. I understand he is a very diligent dog doing a lot of work in the community. This dog unit has immeasurably increased the ability of the police to intercept drugs as they enter a community, given the innovative means we have been told about used to transport cannabis in to some areas.
While I am talking about remote communities, I should add that we cannot be complacent about the lack of evidence of a real problem with the so-called harder drugs in the remote areas. What is emerging in anecdotal evidence from communities in North Queensland is that there is a growing problem with injectable drugs. We need to be vigilant. As happened with the growth of cannabis use outside the major centres in the Northern Territory, the entrepreneurial nature of drug dealing means there is always someone waiting to identify a potential market and take advantage of it. The nature of the illicit drug supply industry is such that this is guaranteed.
Members would be aware that the Select Committee on Substance Abuse in the Community tabled its Report on Petrol Sniffing in Remote Communities in October last year. As its terms of reference enable it to generate its own inquiries, it has now identified urban use substance abuse as an area for inquiry, and is currently looking at a program to undertake that. Without pre-empting the deliberations of the committee and with full regard to the contributions of all members to those deliberations, I will touch on my personal concerns in relation to this issue.
As the mother of teenage children and a member who has very close contact with the five schools in my electorate, I am particularly interested in exploring those factors which come into play during the early teenage years, which lead young people to experiment with drugs. While we can accept that most young people do experiment with substance abuse, and even misuse of some kind during their adolescent years, what leads some to move on to the abuse of drugs and possibly addiction? Are there factors that can be identified to allow us to intervene to change the outcomes for these people?
Madam Speaker, I am looking forward to taking evidence regarding these issues from expert witnesses, as well as those members of the community who have experience with youth and can contribute. As part of its inquiry, the committee plans to talk to people in the major centres, and I look forward to reporting to the Legislative Assembly on the results of the inquiry later in the year. Once the committee has established its proposed program, I will ensure that all members are advised of it.
In summing up, I congratulate the minister on his statement, and the Northern Territory police on the work they do overall, and particularly in the area of drug interventions.
Mr MALEY (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I rise to briefly comment on the ministerial statement as it relates to the electorate of Goyder.
From the outset, I make it clear that I hold the police and the work they do in the highest regard. The profession of being a police officer is difficult and, in my view, the community overwhelmingly supports the police service. For many years, my dad, who was a police officer, had a sticker on the back of the car that went something like: ‘Protect your police or protect yourself’.
Mr Henderson: A very fine officer he was as well.
Mr MALEY: Indeed. And married into …
Mr Henderson: That’s all right. A very fine officer. My father-in-law is good friends with your father.
Mr MALEY: Yes, yes. Apparently they have been drinking together in New South Wales and swapping stories. However, I digress!
Members of the police, as with any individuals, need to have their proper checks and balances. Overwhelmingly, the Northern Territory Police Force enjoys an excellent reputation amongst the other services throughout the states and territories and the Commonwealth.
The only disappointment is that I have seen this Labor government try to capitalise on the good work of the Northern Territory Police Force for political purposes. There are a couple of examples of that. The best would have to be the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act, which came into force on or about June 2003. That legislation is not something that came into existence when there was a change of government. It was legislation that took many years to prepare. There was an ongoing process, which germinated when the CLP was in government. The lawyers who worked on that did an enormous amount of work. There was a draft, very close to the finished product, and very similar to the act this government adopted.
The Drug Detection Unit is a great idea. In the NT News yesterday, there was a picture of a dog and Constable Young who enjoys a very good reputation as an honest, hard-working and fair police officer. There is no doubt having officers of his calibre in the Dog Squad will only add to the success of that important program.
People in my electorate certainly want a strong police force on the ground, and they want to see a strong police presence. There is nothing like knowing that the police are not far away if something goes wrong. Then, of course, a phone call can be made …
Mr Henderson: You will have a police station in a minute.
Mr MALEY: … and the police will be there. The minister interjects with ‘police station’. Indeed, the Humpty Doo police station is a great CLP initiative …
Members interjecting.
Mr MALEY: … one which the Labor Party followed. I was on the side of the road when the then Minister Reed, the previous member for Katherine, made the announcement. Sure enough, a few days later, my opponent’s Labor Party paraphernalia mirrored the promise that there was going to be this wonderful police station at Humpty Doo. It is great to see that the Labor Party has adopted with open arms this fantastic initiative and delivered, albeit vicariously, on that CLP promise.
I note the minister is listening carefully. Perhaps he can address a couple of important issues in his reply. There is some confusion as to whether this police station will be 24 hours. Will it be 8 am to 4 pm or business hours? There is a need, in my view, for a 24-hour police facility. Confirmation from the minister in his response would be appreciated, and something that would calm the minds of many rural people.
There is another aspect that has attracted some media attention. Indeed, the minister himself has made certain comments about it. There was an expectation that the facility would include an ambulance. I asked a question of the minister two years ago, in October 2002. There were references to a police station and ambulance centre and whether the government would deliver on that promise. There have, of course, been various comments in the Litchfield Times about whether or not there would be an ambulance service in the area.
It is fair to say that, as well as the need for security and a police station, there is also a need for an ambulance service and for better medical facilities in the rural area. I am asking the minister to respond in his closing remarks about whether there are any plans to expand the current facility to include an ambulance centre. If there are plans, what sort of time frame are we looking at and what sort of facility can rural people expect to enjoy in the future?
I am digressing a little, but it is an important matter to raise. The Labor government’s priors on supporting rural people with health facilities is fairly dismal. The only real publicity the Martin Labor government achieved on the health prospects of rural people was when it decided to close the 24-hour facility at the Palmerston Health Precinct. People were upset about that. They remain upset about that, and this is an opportunity for the police minister to say there is something on the horizon regarding an ambulance or medical facility being incorporated into the new and very impressive police facility at Humpty Doo.
There is no doubt that the consumption of illicit drugs is a serious problem, and police are certainly on the job. However, there are other forms of criminal conduct that damage the very fabric of our rural community. I am asking the question: what is the government doing about domestic violence, for example? What is the government doing about offences of violence against women and assaults generally? What sort of resources and initiatives does this government have to deal with the itinerant problem? Itinerants are not generally a big problem in rural area, that is true, but at Coolalinga, I was recently approached by the owner of a shop - I am not going to go provide his particulars – who said that itinerants had, for the very first time, begun hanging about the public area off the Coolalinga Woolworths supermarket and that he had witnessed some of those itinerants insult our tourists. Many tourists stop there to refuel and buy products. He said there conduct was generally offensive to all decent-minded rural people.
I am interested to see whether this government will support the police and support rural people in dealing with these other matters that are becoming a problem. We have seen the Martin Labor government rebadge a number of provisions of the Northern Territory Criminal Code. We have seen the Martin Labor government trot out statistics and try to persuade Territory people that everything is okay, it is just getting better and better. The real test is what you see when you walk down the mall and what you see in the foyer area of the Woolworths supermarket at Coolalinga. There is no doubt that these Labor opportunists have trapezed in here and tried to take the credit for the good work of the Northern Territory Police, but we are yet to see any hard evidence on the ground of a Labor initiative.
Madam Speaker, ultimately the only way to have a long-term reduction in antisocial behaviour is to ensure that we live in a prosperous society that has wealth-creating projects, jobs, self-respect and dignity, but on that front, the Labor government has simply not delivered. They have not delivered one single major project during this term of government. Really, the feel-good comments, the bandaids it throws up now in that: ‘We will deal with this issue’ are clearly not going to have a long term effect on the level of crime. Of course, it relates to the economy.
Nevertheless, credit where credit is due. The police are doing very well. The Dog Squad is a great initiative. I look forward to a response from the minister in relation to the two succinct queries I raised on behalf of rural people.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I will not be long because I was fortunate enough to hear what the member for Brennan said this morning and I think even the police minister will concede that many of his comments were very useful and, we hope, of assistance to the minister. We are all here for the same reason, and that is to get good results for everyone in the Northern Territory. There is no need in me revisiting some of the matters the member for Brennan raised.
Accordingly, I propose to deal with a couple of matters. For my part, I thank the minister for the statement. I agree with what the member for Brennan said. There are some really good initiatives here. I am curious, however, about the minister’s comments on page 3 about some people taking the view that consumption of illicit drugs is a matter of personal choice and it is not something the government or police should be concerned about. The minister said he strongly disagreed with that. I wonder whether he has spoken to his Chief Minister who is on the public record as having consumed marijuana. I do not know whether there is a strong a disagreement between the two of them, but certainly, on the basis of what the minister has said and the Chief Minister’s public comments, one can only conclude that there is some disagreement.
I note that the minister refers to crimes of violence and theft, and I agree that the impact of illicit drug use is a factor not only in crime, but family break downs and so on.
The minister might, if he wishes, explain why it is that he did not talk about, as the member for Goyder said, domestic violence and sexual assaults. We all know that whether it is in remote communities or in the suburbs of Darwin, Palmerston or Alice Springs, violence against women occurs not only because of alcohol abuse; we know that much of it is drug-related. It would have been nice to have heard from the minister as to any initiatives he might have in relation to those matters. I thank him for his indication of a head nod, so I look forward to hearing from him in reply.
On page 5 of the statement, the minister detailed the number of people apprehended for offences. I refer the minister to page 86 of the September Quarter Crime Statistics under the heading of Explanatory Notes, which is under the bigger heading of Outcomes for Drug Offences. It says, and I quote:
In other words, the crime statistics do not provide us with the number of people who appeared before the courts. I wrote to the Attorney-General about this a year or so ago and, from memory, he confirmed that yes, either those figures as to the number of people who go before the court are not kept or perhaps he would not give them to me; I cannot remember. I wonder, though, why it is that the minister in his statement can very accurately provide figures as to the number of people apprehended, and yet in the crime statistics under Drug Offences, that is not provided. It may just be some sort of failure between the two systems. In the interests of clarity, we should be provided with the number of people who actually go before court if the government is serious, and I think it is, about trying to provide detailed crime statistics. So I point out what appears to be an inconsistency.
While I am on page 86 of the crime statistics, I will refer to page 6 of the minister’s statement. He refers to Foils at Moil and said that is no more and there is no more drug dealing taking place at that site. My question to the minister is: does he believe that because Foils at Moil is closed down that people dealing drugs from that site no longer deal drugs? I hope the minister will be honest with me and say that he does not for a moment think that those people have stopped dealing drugs. The fact is that those people have simply moved on. I note that, with respect, the minister has not referred to that.
The inference seems to be that Foils at Moil has closed, therefore it is all over, Red Rover. We know that those people have just moved on. So I wonder if the minister might talk in his reply about what police are doing in order to basically chase these people down because they just move.
Returning to page 86 of the September Quarter Crime Statistics, I will not repeat all of it, but it says that a total of 214 drug offences were finalised by the courts between 1 July 2004 and 30 September 2004. The principal penalty for 17% of those offences was an actual term of imprisonment, and then it gives figures as to what happened with other offences - note not offenders. The principal penalty for 17% was an actual term of imprisonment. I would be grateful if the minister would make a comment as to whether he thinks, in any quarter, only 17% of drug dealers being put in gaol is satisfactory. I ask him for an indication. I know he cannot comment on particular cases, but I would have thought that 17% of drug dealers copping an actual term of imprisonment was pretty low. I would like to hear his comments on that because whilst he, understandably, trumpets the numbers of arrests and so on, I would have liked him to have followed it through to what I regard is its logical conclusion by saying how many went to gaol. I have had to find that out by myself, which has not been difficult, but I would like the minister’s views as to whether he thinks that is reasonable.
Again, on page 86, it says that possession and non-commercial dealing in illicit drugs accounted for 81% of drug offences finalised by the courts from 1 July 2004 to 30 September 2004. It also says that 23% of offences under that group were associated with an actual term of imprisonment. I suggest that is a fairly low figure.
Finally, on page 87 of the crime statistics, it gives a whole year picture, and it says a total of 628 drug offences were finalised by the courts between 1 July 2003 and 30 June 2004, and the principal penalty for 19% of these offences was an actual term of imprisonment. I reckon that is an extremely low imprisonment rate over a 12 month period for drug dealers. I would like the minister to comment on that. In essence, I am asking whether he is happy with those outcomes.
My second question is: can he provide me with the average length of gaol terms? I think averages are provided elsewhere in the crime statistics, and I am sure that the minister can obtain that information.
Part of the reason I have gone to the crime statistics and obtained information from the September quarter is that it completes the picture. If the police minister is making a statement about police and drugs, he owes it to all of us to get to the end point regarding the offending, and not just to say things like: ‘Foils at Moil has gone, end of story’, or ‘We have apprehended X number of people, end of story’. There is a logical follow through and I would have liked him to have commented on that and, as I said, what initiatives, if any, he is working on in relation to domestic violence and sexual assaults.
With those remarks, I will conclude and generally extend my congratulations to the minister.
Mr DUNHAM (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, it is important to speak to these statements because, as we saw in Question Time today, it would appear that the government is trying to create some sort of a proposition that the current government is doing an excellent job in stark comparison to the previous government. It is one of those bidding wars where you say: ‘You are tough on drugs. No, we are tougher on drugs’. Unfortunately, as my colleague the member for Araluen has just pointed out, the empirical data is a little bit tricky to find.
There are a number of statements that are distorted and paraded as something that someone said when, in fact, they said nothing of the sort. It is important, therefore, in a debate like this to make sure that there are some other facets to the debate and how things are viewed.
Going straight to the business of what the previous Chief Minister, the member for Brennan, said when he was in government about matters relating to illicit drugs is very interesting because, if you read what he said and if you read this government’s own report on the committee headed up by Dr Val Asche, they are pretty much in accord. What it found was the problems faced by other jurisdictions with some of the illicit drugs are vastly more problematic in those places than it is here.
Whether you want to call that minuscule - and they use various descriptive words - or not, the fact is we have a different drugs problem in this place, and it has to be treated with different strategies. It is no good borrowing solutions from elsewhere and then saying: ‘We have come up with this great idea because they do it in Queensland’. The fact remains that you can do a survey of the inmates of our various prisons and of prisons in other places, and you will find vastly different problems. Many of them are in Territory prisons for problems with drugs – basically licit drugs: alcohol.
I am not saying that there are not problems with illicit drugs in this place. However, when you look at New South Wales, where you have over 20% of the prison population, for instance, on methadone provided by state agencies, you can see it is a vastly different demographic profile.
We should have a debate that is frank. We should talk about our differences and a concerted approach to address the problems that are unique to the Territory. I applaud the government on some of the initiatives. The Forensic Accountant is a great idea. White-collar crime is a difficult matter to pursue; it is often only one step away from the drug trade where there are various devices to clean money and change its identity so it looks as if it is not an ill-gotten gain. The minister should be congratulated for that initiative. It is a great idea for someone within the force to be able to pursue with that type of operation.
The sniffer dogs are a great idea, too. It is a very adaptable resource and can be used in our schools or on transport facilities. It is having great success in remote communities, and that is a good idea. I was interested to see in the media that much of the ganga haul was accompanied by illicit firearms. It would appear for every person apprehended, they are also someone who possesses a gun. While that is not a reflection on gun owners, it is certainly a reflection on ganga growers because there is no doubt that plenty of people in our society who choose to pursue this illicit activity have other problems with their interface with the law, particularly arming themselves with deadly weapons.
The minister said in his statement:
That is true. He went on to say:
That is also true. The long and the short of it, though, is that alcohol remains our major problem. The dismantling of the Living with Alcohol program, and the fact that it has been illicit drug focussed is a problem. We have problems with the licit substances of alcohol, petrol and kava. These are not illicit drugs, but they feature very prominently in our crime and prisoner profiles. If you go to our prisons, you will probably outnumber by a factor of some tens the people there for speed and amphetamine crime versus people there for alcohol-related crimes.
It is very easy to pick this up as the bullseye or the target, that we are going for it and, because we are making some inroads, we have addressed the crime problem. The crime problem is a bit more complex than that. I was interested that at page three, the minister said:
The Chief Minister said that. It is on the record that the Chief Minister said that the consumption of marijuana was pretty much akin to having a glass of wine. She did not differentiate between one product being legal and the other illegal. She did not differentiate between the harmful affects of ganga smoking versus the possible therapeutic affects of one glass of wine, nor did she seem to realise that when leaders in our community make comments such as that, people listen to them.
Therefore, when the minister for police rails against those who take the view that consumption and distribution of illicit drugs should not be trivialised in that way, it is something he should have fireside chat with his Chief Minister about. She promulgated such a view in the Northern Territory News and while she can then backflip and say: ‘What I meant was the ganga when I was a uni student is different from the ganga now. It is more dangerous for you now than when I was a kid. When I was a kid it was something that we all did. I distance myself from those comments because I did it, but I am going to wag my finger at you and say: “Don’t you dare do it because it is very dangerous, and anyway, the government says it is illegal.”.’
It is very hard to pull those comments back in the same way that the minister chooses to misconstrue the comments of the previous Chief Minister. He should pull the whole comment out and read it. Their own task force on drugs found pretty much exactly the same circumstance. Before he tries to run a political campaign that the words that came from the member for Brennan’s mouth as Chief Minister on this matter, which are now conveniently misconstrued and come out summarised as ‘the drugs problem is minuscule’, he should read the whole quote. He should then conveniently juxtapose that with his own independent inquiry that took off under the chairmanship of Dr Val Asche and he will find that they are in accord.
However, if he wants to run that argument, he should be aware that people are going to continue to say that the Chief Minister is a supporter of marijuana use, was so open about its consumption when she was a young person and so ambivalent about the use of this drug in society, so he can expect that to feature in the same debate.
The reason I put that on the public record is because I suspect we are going to go into an election shortly. I suspect we are going to debate matters relating to this government’s very heavy-handed approach to people who are illicit drug users. I can assure him that every time he talks about the previous government having a head-in-the-sand approach, or a soft approach to illicit drugs or an approach where the previous Chief Minister was reputed to say that the problem is minuscule, I will talk about the Chief Minister’s drug problem because it would appear from the attitude of some of those opposite that she is actually passing some of these cigarettes among some of her members because the wacky baccy debate is coming …
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Drysdale, withdraw that remark, that suggestion.
Mr DUNHAM: I withdraw it. I doubt she would …
Madam SPEAKER: Do not go down the path of making derogatory remarks such as that.
Mr DUNHAM: I withdraw it. It is a salutary lesson, Madam Speaker, that people are offended when they are confronted with words that someone has said. In the case of the Chief Minister, I will be careful that use exactly her quote from the NT News and I would caution the Police minister that if he is going to continue to make various allegations about the priority status that we afford to drugs in our community, it would enter into the debate. So please do not be so sensitive and offended about this matter because if you bring it on, it will be brought on.
This may have been raised by previous speakers: the maths. Two hundred and eight notices have been issued and I then run through the maths and I get to 138, so there are 70 notices that are not in this statement, which goes down to half a gram when it lists drugs. I would have thought that something as salient as a notice would have been included. Perhaps it has been edited out; maybe there were 70 notices issued in remote parts of the Territory that did not make into the body of the statement.
If you do the maths, there are some problems. There are problems in the first line where the minister talked about notices: 81 of them being on residences in Darwin, made up of 76 first notices, 11 second notices and four third notices, which comes to 91. So perhaps by 81 he had meant 91, and even if you include those, you are still short some 70 notices. As my colleague, the member for Araluen, said, this sort of data is very important for us because it is the basis of the government making comparative analysis and it is really important that data is able to be scrutinised and interrogated.
I was interested that the police minister, in other debates, seems to possess an understanding of how devious and tricky people who use and deal drugs are. We have talked about this before. There are one or two of us that have had the unfortunate experience of having someone we know well who has been addicted to drugs. If the police minister is in that category, he would not be taking much comfort from the fact that they put a notice on a house, the people moved out and we are rid of the drug problem.
That is pretty simplistic thinking. These people do not disappear off the face of the earth; they do not desist from their drug habit; they do not disappear into the ether. Some die, unfortunately. In the main, if they have been chucked out of the house, they are in another house. Do not assume that you have shut a house and therefore the drug dealing has ceased.
I have been in a position to speak to drug dealers and consumers and the biggest issue for them is the advent of the mobile phone, which means that you do not have to have a static base to deal in drugs. The people I talk to in therapeutic communities nearly always have mobile phones; some have two. When I went to the Naltrexone clinic, where people were valiantly trying to give up drugs, the first advice the practitioner gave them was: ‘Get rid of your mobile phone. Put it in the bin. I have a bucket of water. When you leave, put it in the bin’.
This notion that Foils at Moil was obvious and trading - Foils at Moil was raided on a number of occasions prior to any of this legislation, and it was rarely that people were arrested. The reason for that is that there are extensive surveillance lookout and possession techniques that are used by people who trade in drugs that make it very difficult for police.
To take a lot of comfort from the fact that you have shut two houses or whatever it was and the former tenants have now joined society - I think is good; if I were the next door neighbour, I certainly would not want to have them next to me - really, you are driving it further underground. It is an immensely difficult problem to address with the mobility people have now and their electronic communication devices. I suggest that the people involved in this have found some other method of dealing.
The Remote Community Drug Desk is a great idea. I will include the previous government in this: for too long, there have been attitudes in the bush about different behaviours that are acceptable in remote communities than there are in town. There have been enormous concerns expressed to me by Aboriginal people for a long time, particularly about ganga, and I have spoken in this House before about it. When we were looking at the alarming issue of suicide in remote communities, I was hearing anecdotal advice from Aboriginal people, particularly older Aboriginal women, that ganga was implicated. It was commonly put to me that this phenomenon that we were seeing at the time was ganga-related.
The good work that was done by the coroner at the Tiwi Islands found that not to be so, though in my own heart, I still believe that the psychological effects of ganga over-use would certainly be a contributor to depression and eventual suicide. So I applaud the Remote Area Drug Desk. I know that when the government set up its drugs task force, if people go back to that debate, and it was sprung on us, so it was not as if we had enough time to prepare, but even without much preparation, I noted that there were two very important issues missing: first, they were not going to remote communities; and second, they were not talking about marijuana.
This parliament has to take a much more strengthened role about the common and seemingly acceptable use of marijuana. It is very common in remote communities, I am led to believe. I also believe that people are not educated well enough on the health and deleterious effects of substantial and significant ganga use. I applaud the minister on that. We will find that it is one of those things where we have to start with attitudes and behaviour as well as the rigor of policing, regulation, punishment and protection.
There are two arms to it, and I would see the contribution by the various health spokesmen as important on this matter because we have a big row to hoe with the use of nicotine in these communities, the use of kava, the use of petrol, and the use of alcohol. To have yet another problem layered upon that makes the job a little more difficult. I do not pretend that the solutions will be easy, but we have to be continually trying what we can to make inroads into this terrible problem.
The congratulations to the police force I also believe are due. Our police force has not suffered the reputation loss that many of the other forces in Australia have suffered, with collusion between criminal and law enforcement activity, particularly in matters relating to drugs. That is a great credit to them because, in my own mind, if such an incident did occur, it would not have the same systemic problems that seem to beset other forces, and I believe it would be a remote and unique set of circumstances if such a case was proved against a police officer. I am very confident in our police force. I am confident in their very robust and active approach to pursuing miscreants, particularly those associated with the drug trade. They deserve our applause, and everyone who speaks would quite readily put that on the record.
The business about O’Sullivan and upgrading the police force and that sort of stuff pretty much fits with some of the rhetoric about the status and calibre of the drug problem as announced by a previous Chief Minister, and I leave that as political rhetoric. Nonetheless, with the O’Sullivan report, that is legitimate debate; I do not have any problem with the minister trotting that stuff out and proudly proclaiming that he has done something or another, because he can demonstrate that.
What I am saying is that the election is here. This is obviously something that is going to be at the forefront of government. There are a number of issues that should be brought to this parliament for debate and they have not been. For instance, there has been an announcement of a $10m drug program for petrol sniffing, and that has not been mentioned in this House. What we are seeing at the moment is a series of issues coming from the government by way of statement that parade their credentials in a good light. I do not think they have had a hit with the housing one, nor the multicultural one listed later. On this particular one, if they want to go to the electorate and parade their credentials in some way that puts them in a good light, I look forward to it and I ask that debate be level-headed and empirically based.
Mr KIELY (Sanderson): Madam Speaker, I had a little trouble following the member for Drysdale’s line about drugs, but let me tell you about the Foils at Moil house on Lee Point Road and what it means to the community to be rid of it. The member for Johnston, when he was a candidate, was aware of this house because people constantly raised the issue with him. I, too, had similar issues raised with me when I was a candidate getting around Sanderson. Why was that? The member for Drysdale said: ‘We knew about Foils at Moil. We raided it a couple of times, but what the heck, we could never catch anyone’. It is amazing, isn’t it? We got in here with good legislation, worked with the police service and we were able to close it.
The member for Drysdale keeps trying to say: ‘What is wrong with a little choof and a little marijuana; it is a benign sort of drug’. What he is overlooking is that Foils at Moil was selling dope out of the house in one gram packets, and I think the nominal fee was something like $50, and they were selling it to 12-year-olds. They were selling it to 13- and 14-year-olds, they were selling it to 8-year-olds. They were selling it to any kid on a push bike who could get there, who was either cashed up with $50 or had something to trade. That was what Foils at Moil was all about. Do not be kidded that this was a harmless little outlet where it was above ground. The CLP said: ‘Have a look at this house. We know where the dope is now. At least it is over there and who gives a hoot about the people in Moil? Who gives a hoot about the people in Anula, or Wulagi, or anywhere along that stretch? It is a small packet over there. They are safe seats. We will let that go and then we can monitor what is going on’.
I will tell you what was happening out of that property: the houses all along the walkway coming out from Parer Drive and up to Anula shops, where there is not adequate lighting, were being broken into consistently. They were having their DVDs knocked off, windows smashed, fishing lines knocked off. The people in Wulagi were suffering the same fate, the people in all the units at Northlakes – being broken into with stilsons. These house breaks were not done by what you might call a professional class of break-in person who was knocking off the television. The items stolen were transportable and easily traded for drugs. It was the kids of the area on their push bikes.
When I was doorknocking there, it was nothing to be on someone’s doorstep and they would say: ‘We were broken into, and so was the house down there’. The units in Northlakes were a favourite target at one stage. As I said, all up and down the walkways, those poor people could not leave anything out without it being knocked off and ending up at Foils at Moil. What you had was a type of Fagin operating from there. I am glad we introduced drug house legislation because it stopped that behaviour.
The member for Nightcliff spoke about her participation as the chair of the Select Committee on Substance Abuse and told us that drug houses are linked to crime. I have seen it. I know, and the people in Anula know it. They are thankful for this government changing the legislation so their property is now safe and secure. It has less probability of being knocked off by kids who just want swap it for a small bag of dope so they can go and have a choof at the age of 10, 11 or 12.
If knocking over that house has not reduced crime in the area, reduced antisocial behaviour, made our homes and our feelings of security greater, and increased attendance at schools, I will go he. Those are the benefits of the drug house legislation. Let us not just say: ‘We like our drug houses out in the suburbs because then we know where it is - and who gives a hoot about the neighbours?’. There are direct consequences of knocking over Foils at Moil for the people of Sanderson, and I am happy about it.
A couple of years ago, after the drug house legislation was introduced, we held some community meetings for a safer Sanderson. We held them at Anula and Wulagi schools, with the police and Neighbourhood Watch in attendance. There were some representatives of council and officers from the Department of Justice. Of course, the public came along and we asked them what they thought. People said: ‘Look, since your knocked over Foils at Moil, our suburbs are a safer and better place to be’.
Contrary to what some of the opposition people would yell, scream, rant and rave in interjections, I do get around my area doorknocking. As a matter of fact, last weekend I was in Kestrel Circuit. They can go out there and follow behind me; I do not mind at all. I received reports at one or two houses that they had been broken into and they knew a couple of other houses that had been broken into during the night.
This government does not lay claim to stopping crime in the Territory. That is a nonsense. What this government does lay claim to is working hard to reduce crime and the causes of crime. That is what it is all about; it is about working and consistently being on target to bring down crime and the causes of crime. We have lowered the rate of property crime, but that is not to say that property crime will not continue in one form or another. We have certainly brought down the number of break-ins by kids. We are working on it. I sincerely wish that we could do away with it. However, society being what it is, with people who are antisocial, who will not work or who, for one reason or another - in a lot of cases these days unfortunately, heavier drug-related - tend to take what they consider to be the easy option of house breaking.
With the different types of policing regimes in place, thanks to the good work of the service and the direction they have taken under the commissioner and his management team, we are seeing increased use of DNA. We are seeing intelligence-led policing. These are the tools that are helping to reduce everything for us. It is a long, hard struggle. It is a constant battle out there. I commend the police for their tenacity and will, and I applaud the support that we give them to ensure them that they have the tools to carry on tackling the causes of crime and reducing it within our community.
None of us in this community can hold up their heads about the rate of crime against the person in our community, and none of us do. It is a shame. It is a blight on our community. We are trying our best to equip the police with the necessary tools so that they can apprehend perpetrators, support survivors, not only through police, but the Department of Justice and a range of mechanisms within our community, we are working to do it.
When I say it is an indictment on all of us in here and all of us in the community, we live next door to the people who become the victims. A little community mindedness, an eye on neighbours and a supporting hand will go a long way. We should say: ‘If you hear someone scream, pick up the phone and get the police’. We should be more proactive as a community to help people. It is a dreadful shame that it is the most vulnerable in the community who suffer. It is predominantly women. It is predominantly children who are the victims and survivors of these dreadful behaviours perpetrated, in the main, by men. We acknowledge that but, we are doing something about it and we will work with the community. I am hopeful that we will have some success.
As I said, when I was doorknocking around the streets recently, one of the issues that comes home to me time and again no matter what suburb I am visiting - be it in Northlakes, along Lakes Crescent or Carnoustie Circuit, be it on Wulagi Crescent or down Brolga Street, be it in Anula along Yanyula Drive or Union Terrace - is speeding in the suburbs.
The Leader of the Opposition has said Territorians, this amorphous body out there, do not give a hoot about speeding. I tell you what: the people in Wulagi do; the people in Anula do; the people in Northlakes do. I am forever and always making representations to council saying: ‘This is your street. Can you come and have a look at it? Can you come and work with the community? Can we look at some sort of traffic calming or traffic management devices that can help the community address the issue of speeding?’
I also inform my local police at Casuarina. I let them know and tell them that I have been informed that there is a speeding issue on Union Terrace, on Wulagi Crescent, on Brolga Street and around Kestrel Circuit. I let them know that this is a concern to the citizens. I have seen the police in the streets, in the suburbs, with their radar set up. The Leader of the Opposition scoffed and said: ‘Speed camera! Trying to get more revenue!’. These are the wishes of the people who live on these streets, whose kids are out there playing. These are the wishes of the people who have had to grab their kids out of the way of oncoming traffic because the driver wasn’t alert or attentive enough.
Road trauma is one of the biggest costs to our society. It is not so much the death because there is finality to that, but if you have someone who has been in an accident and has trauma, needs intensive care and ongoing therapy and rehabilitation, take into account the lack of capacity to work and the ongoing pain they suffer, it is a great cost and a great shame. I have many friends injured in car accidents, and friends who have died in car accidents. The need to address road trauma is a vital issue.
I welcome speed cameras. Anyone who has travelled on Bagot Road will tell you that since the speed cameras have been in place, traffic has reduced to a safer speed and it is not so much of a freeway coming into work of a morning. If that is crook, so be it. If the Leader of the Opposition reckons speed cameras are only revenue raisers - and I notice he said he has had to pay about five fines; he is a bit slow to learn - so be it. May people who have been caught five times go on to be caught 10 times. Those people, recidivist speeders, should be made to sit in the hospital and have a look at people who are hurt and injured from speeding accidents. They should see the injuries and that might have a greater impact than a $50 speeding fine. At times, I do not think the fines are adequate.
Look at the emphasis on road safety in Victoria and have a look and the fine and de-merit regime. I am pleased to say that arising from the O’Sullivan Report, over $75m will be allocated to the police. That is cash, up-front and it recognises the need for better traffic management by the police, and it will happen. To have anyone say that it is okay to speed on our roads and Territorians think that is cool - it ain’t!
We have open speed limits on the Stuart Highway, and no one is going to be changing that while this government is here and my feet are on the ground. We will retain that. We have distances to travel and good roads to travel them on, but the streets of Wulagi, Moil and Bakewell are not the Stuart Highway. Foolish statements that speeding in our suburbs is okay is an indictment on the member and reveal the lack of sensitivity about what road trauma can do to individuals, families and society. It shows a callousness and neglect that goes way beyond anything that can be forgiven. The Leader of the Opposition needs to recognise that and should visit people who are busted up in hospital. As you may have guessed, I am passionate about the issue of speeding. It is something we need to address.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I pass on information I pick up when I am doorknocking to police for their intelligence-led strategies, as I pass on anecdotal information. In my travels, I have not received one complaint about police. In the main, there was a very positive view about what our police are tyring to achieve, particularly the bicycle and mounted police. These strategies are fantastic.
I do not know whether it is a placebo effect, but when the bike police are out and about, the community feels great. My commendation to the officers at Palmerston, Casuarina and in town for the work they do, which is fantastic. If two police officers getting round on bikes makes everyone feel better, it is a great investment. They are effective, too. I have spoken to some of the officers on bikes, and they tell some ripping yarns. One of the better ones I heard was about kids on bikes at night without lights. They were in a park. The police rode up in amongst them and said ‘G’day’. Well, these kids just about fainted. They spoke to these kids and they got them home. That is a fantastic result from the bicycle police.
In our area we have a strong Neighbourhood Watch, but we also have good, alert, integrated members of the community in our shops. In particular, I would like to mention Scotty at Wulagi shops. I have spoken about him before. Scotty has actually been awarded a commendation from Deputy Police Commissioner Wernham for his work that led to the arrest of a violent criminal who held up the Moil shops with a knife and was then loitering at Wulagi shops. Scotty was on to him. He phoned police and said: ‘I have a bloke down here who looks like he fits the identity of the chap you are looking for’. Police came down and they were able to get him. Scotty is a very active member of the community. His shop is a bit of a focal point for Wulagi. A lot of information comes his way. He works with the kids, and works very closely with the police, passing on information to them. He is trying very hard to work with other members of the community like Paul White and John Lee of Neighbourhood Watch to get a local Neighbourhood Watch up and running and active in Wulagi again. I commend them for that effort, and they have my full support. I will be down there working extremely hard with them.
Shopkeepers like the owners of the Malak shops, Henry and Susannah Yap, work well with the kids who come in there, and instead of trying to rough them up and throw them out, they work in a collective spirit with the children, and that has worked wonders. It is amazing what a little bit of reward and understanding and compassion can do for people.
I have had the pleasure of living out bush. As a matter of fact, I met my wife when she was working out bush. I have travelled around the Territory to many communities, and I have met many police who work out in the bush. They do it tough and they do it hard - not as tough and hard as the communities they look after. People who live on communities are doing it really hard, really tough, but that is not to say that they do not deserve a police presence and the security that such a presence offers. The police out bush deserve a pat on the back. You will find, nine times out of 10, that the police officers working on communities have great respect for the communities they work with, much the same as the empathy urban police have for their areas. They identify really well. Generally speaking, the communities love their police. I commend those officers and their families who are out there with them, helping Territorians and serving their community.
That will do me for a wrap on that. The NT Police Service has my 100% support, particularly in the way that they are battling the causes of crime.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I rise to respond to the minister’s statement on achieving great results in attacking drug-related crime. I could speak a lot on the types of drugs that he is talking about, but I wanted to refer mainly to incidents that are caused by a drug that seems to cause so much of a problem in our community, and that is alcohol.
First, I acknowledge the work that the Northern Territory Police do in our community. They do an excellent job. They have an enormous task to carry out, and they have quite a few challenges in that they have great distances to cover, huge areas to cover, and a variety of incidents, of course, that distance challenges them with. I believe they do an excellent job. I congratulate them for all that they do and the effort that they put in. As the previous speaker said, those stationed in outlying communities have long distances to travel with added challenges, and I applaud and congratulate the police for what they do.
I am very pleased to see that there are new police in the force. There is a young man from Katherine who is going through his training right now, Shawn Hohn. It has been his dream to serve in the Northern Territory Police Force, and his dream is being realised.
However, I wanted to speak about one of my real concerns, which is the worrying trend in Katherine of incidents related to alcohol. I will go through three that have occurred since Christmas. They are of great concern and reflect very badly on what is happening in our community. One of the worrying aspects of these incidents is that the three of them were random, spontaneous, unprovoked and carried out by groups of young people. I do not think I will refer to them again as I am speaking as ‘groups’; I will be referring to them as ‘gangs’, which is more appropriate. The added distressing part of one of these assaults that occurred in Katherine is that children witnessed their family car being trashed and it is something that they are still traumatised about.
The first of the incidents occurred just after Christmas when Shannan and David Van De Weyer and their two daughters, Nicki aged 10, and Tessa, aged seven, were driving in their Holden Rodeo ute to a park near their home, where they were going to have some recreation. These people are great supporters of the parks in Katherine and started a program several years ago called Park Mates. They try to encourage families around Katherine to utilise the parks much more.
On the way to the park in their vehicle, they passed a group of around seven people who were obviously intoxicated and walking along the road. One of the group who had already passed the car, as they had slowed down to avoid them, turned and slammed into the driver’s side door. He then rolled down the side of the vehicle and hit the ground, taking the side rear vision mirror with him. Following this, the family drove into a nearby fuel station to call the police and an ambulance because they feared this person had cut themself. Unfortunately, this group followed them into the service station. Mrs Van De Weyer grabbed her children from the vehicle and rushed them into the service station shop while the mob began to chase her husband with two garden stakes that they had taken from the back of the ute.
In the confusion, panic and noise that was being made, the Van De Weyers thought that the stakes were a knife. You can imagine the fear this woman had for her children. While this was happening, a woman from out of this group began hitting one of the guys holding a stake with a pair of thongs. Added to that, another man pulled a sledge hammer out of the back of the ute and proceeded to smash the windscreen and passenger side as well as the panels of the ute.
The police arrived to find about 15 people around the damaged vehicle with another 10 or so walking towards the service station to join in the mle. Thankfully, when the police arrived, they diffused the situation. Thank goodness they arrived when they did. In the meantime, Mr Van De Weyer had managed to escape to a vacant lot, which was nearby, and was hiding in the dark. He knew his wife and children were safe inside the shop.
It is too frightening to imagine what could have happened to this family if the police had not arrived when they did, as this group of drunken people were on a roll, so to speak. It is no wonder that they were terrified during this incident and, unfortunately, are still traumatised.
To add to their stress, the vehicle that was trashed was Mr Van De Weyer’s work vehicle in addition to being their family vehicle, which left them in quite a predicament until a very generous Darwin businessman kindly gave them a vehicle. It was a very generous gesture by this man and is very much appreciated by the Van De Weyers.
The whole incident was caused by the heavy consumption of the most harmful type of drug we have in our community: alcohol.
The next incident was the daylight mugging of a 64-year-old crippled pensioner, Mr Terry Dickens. This appalling attack by five boys aged between 14 and 16 happened by surrounding his motorised wheelchair; mugging him and snatching his light coloured canvas bag, which contained his wallet, before they ran away. Naturally, Mr Dickens was powerless to chase these young men and was very upset. Fortunately, a cyclist witnessed the theft and was able to report what he saw. Mr Dickens’ empty wallet was later found at a nearby telephone box. In this case, I do not believe that alcohol was a contributing factor.
About two weeks later, a young father, Darren Crotti, wanted to go to the BP 24-hour service station in Katherine to buy some items for his family. He was driving along Railway Terrace just on dark and noticed a group of people fighting in the area we call the Town Square. As he drove by, this group spilled onto the road, continuing their fighting. Darren stopped, put his car into reverse to keep away from them, but was unable to go far because there was a car behind him. Three of this group ran towards his car, with one jumping on the bonnet and smashing the car window. Darren was helpless to do anything except sit in his car and wait until he was able to drive away safely - with a smashed windscreen. Needless to say, he did not even get to the shop to buy the goodies for the family. He could not wait to get home to call the police.
Again, we have a family not only traumatised by the attack, but also severely financially disadvantaged. Darren, his wife Anne, and three children cannot afford to replace the smashed windscreen. They have received a quote for $330 to replace the windscreen, which is right out of their reach. To add to the trauma, in the last week the car has been defected, which effectively leaves this family of two adults and three school children, without a vehicle. The reason it was defected was because it had a smashed front windscreen.
The issue that bothers me is how can these drug-related incidents, and they are alcohol-related incidents, happen to families who have no recourse to get repayment or compensation for the damage to their property? That is the area the government needs to address so there is some way that these people can have recourse and be compensated for what has happened to them. They are severely disadvantaged.
I want to finish on how easy it is for cannabis to be obtained in the Territory. As this House is well aware, my husband and I have had the Red Gum Tourist Park for 11 years. We are well aware of a couple of houses in Katherine South which are known as ‘druggie houses’. Two of those were mentioned in the minister’s statement. In the time we have been there, twice I have had packets of dried marijuana dropped on the floor. It must be so freely available around the place that it was dropped on the floor and the owner did not even miss it. No one was game to come back and ask me if I had picked it up because it would have identified them, obviously. Those two packets, I am very pleased to say, were burnt in the incinerator, and I have not ever attempted to try the stuff myself.
I want to ask the minister if the government could look at areas of addressing compensation for people who have been severely disadvantaged by actions caused by drunken behaviour or any sort of criminal behaviour; if they can get some recompense because they should not be severely disadvantaged when it has nothing to do with them in the first place.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I support the minister’s statement. It has been an interesting debate. It is obvious that some members have a good understanding of the issues surrounding illicit drugs and law enforcement. Others, unfortunately, do not.
I agree with the minister’s point about the unique demographics of the Northern Territory, which means that police, law and order and drug-related issues are a challenge. Illicit drugs, for good and bad reasons, have been used in human civilisations for thousands of years. For law makers over that period of time, there has been a constant debate over what to do about them. The abuse of illicit drugs can lead to many damaging effects to the individual, family and the community at large.
Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, many individuals will try illicit drugs. The issue is not about getting rid of illicit drugs all together, and informed members would acknowledge this. The real issue is minimising use of illicit drugs and the consequential damage or cost to individuals, families and society. How do we do that? By minimising access to them. If we minimise access, we will reduce crime, which will have a positive effect on the wider community.
How, then, do we minimise access to illicit drugs? The minister’s statement outlined what this government has attempted to do, which is to declare war on illicit drugs. One of the key weapons in that war is the police, as is the case in any civilisation.
The minister pointed out that for a variety of reasons, police resources were under-funded between 1991 and 1994. We had a lack of police in urban and remote areas. What this government has attempted to do is identify, through the O’Sullivan Report, the need for a huge investment in police resources because that investment will be returned manifold by a safer, happier and more drug-free community.
I pick up on the new Opposition Leader’s comments in the past about the drug problem being ‘minuscule’ in the Northern Territory. I have done a little bit of research on this matter over the last few days, and I refer members to a document entitled Profile of Young Australians: Facts, Figures and Issues by Susan Pitman et al, 2003, published by the Foundation for Young Australians, South Melbourne.
We have had the Opposition Leader on previous occasions talk about the use of illicit drugs in the Northern Territory being ‘miniscule’. Australia-wide facts show, and I will point to facts, figures and studies within the Northern Territory, that, unfortunately, illicit drug use is quite high in the Northern Territory and over-representative compared with the rest of the country.
One of the key issues is cannabis use in the Northern Territory. We all know that drugs cause a lot of damage within the community and, unfortunately, alcohol, which is a legal drug, has probably caused the most damage. That is one of the issues that this Martin Labor government has taken on and the member for Nightcliff chairs the substance abuse committee. I look forward to the findings of that committee over the coming weeks, months and years.
From the same study:
Members of the opposition raised the issue of incarceration rates going up, and unfortunately, the member for Brennan personally attacked and blamed me for the reason indigenous incarceration rates are increasing. If people understand the general issues in crime, particularly criminology and crime trends, not only in this country, but throughout the world, in all populations and through all age groups, races, cultures and ethnic backgrounds, politicians like the Opposition Leader would refrain personal attacks and trying to corrupt the debate.
The reality is that we have had a shortage of police. In the statement, the minister said that the Labor government is well on the way to having and extra 200 police by 2006. We are going to have a larger police presence in urban and remote areas around the Northern Territory.
Anecdotal evidence from people who work with NAALAS, KRALAS, WA Legal Aid, Aboriginal Legal Aid and other legal aid services throughout Australia is that there are many crimes in indigenous communities going unreported. This has been happening for the last 26 or 27 years of self-government. This government has said enough is enough: we are drawing a line in the sand and will properly resource the police force that will attack the issue.
With this police presence in remote and urban areas, we are going to see more reporting of crime, and the greater reporting of crime will lead to more charges being laid, which is going to lead to more indigenous and non-indigenous background people facing the court system and, quite possibly, going to gaol.
Yes, property crime has gone down, that is one thing; but what about assault against the person, what about assaults, sexual assaults, murders etcetera? Anecdotal evidence from people working in remote areas like Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs both in the police force and the legal field suggests that at the moment, people are not reporting crimes. Logically, we will see a spike in reported crimes over the next few years.
The opposition will try to make a political point out of this, claiming that crime has gone through the roof and it is a disaster under the Labor Party, etcetera. If they do not corrupt the debate for political gain, they will acknowledge the reality: that for the first time, crime in the remote and rural areas of the Northern Territory will be reported, acted upon, and people will be prosecuted. Hopefully, those who commit serious crime will be put into gaol. There is no excuse for serious or sexual assaults or murder. People need to serve the time for the crimes that they commit.
The Royal Commission into Deaths In Custody, of course, identified incarceration rates for indigenous people as being at the lower end of the scale of criminal offences. There is study upon study of incarceration rates of indigenous people far outweighing those of a non-indigenous background for the same offences and what their penalties are. Our aim, in attacking the indigenous incarceration rate, will be at that low end of the scale. The Minister for Justice and Attorney-General has flagged in the House that he will attempt to do this over the next few years. That will, hopefully, take away the lower end of the scale of the incarceration rate, as Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody and many other studies have suggested needs to be done all around Australia.
We are going to see a spike in serious assaults, sexual assaults and murders being reported to and acted upon by a properly-resourced police department which will be able to get out to the remote areas, gather the facts, arrest the offenders, and make sure that they appear in court.
People who have worked in criminology, whether it is defending, prosecuting or law enforcement, believe what I believe: there is a clear link between illicit drugs and crime.
The study, for which I do not have the correct reference point, says:
We are now saying that we need to attack illicit drug and the police force is the main vehicle to do that.
One of the reasons I am passionate about this issue is because when I first came back to the Northern Territory from studying law in Western Australia, I was amazed by the change of illicit drug use by indigenous and non-indigenous urban youth. I was amazed by the amount of speed that was being used. I came to know about it when I was working as a summer clerk with Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission. I was amazed by the number of young people using illicit drugs. It was quite a shock. When I grew up in the Northern Territory, of course, marijuana was the main illicit drug. I had never heard of all the other drugs – heroin, speed or ecstasy. Then there was the socially accepted drug called alcohol, which people drank at the barbeques. Even then, there was not a clear understanding of what damage was really being done in the Darwin community.
There was a place called Foils at Moil and another place called Speed Plus, which was just outside of my electorate but was affecting it. I cannot remember the name, but there was also one in Fannie Bay. Foils at Moil was a shocking example of criminals, for all the wrong reasons, flaunting their use and sale of illicit drugs. Everyone knew about it in the Northern Territory, the general public, police and politicians. They did not care who knew; they were not held accountable for their actions. I supported our drug house legislation because it has got rid of that terrible place and the effect on the community.
I distinctly remember meeting an elderly indigenous man who is held in high regard around town. We had been talking about it and I drove down Lee Point Road. At the front of Foils at Moil was a big Aboriginal flag and a big Torres Strait Islander flag. I thought to myself: ‘You do not represent anything about what I believe as an Aboriginal person’. As the member for Sanderson was saying, it is well known that they were selling drugs to 10-, 12- and 14-year-olds. It is well known that they were swapping those drugs for sexual favours.
There is story after story of people robbing homes around that area - Moil, Wagaman and Anula - and taking people’s property - videos, TVs - walking down the street straight into that place and swapping thousand-dollar videos for a satchel of cannabis. This was happening through the mid-1990s. It was not until Labor was elected and introduced drug house legislation that the place was shut down.
What are the effects that I have seen? Since Speed Plus has moved from my electorate, guess what happened? Property crime went down. People had reduced opportunity to fence stolen property. It became more difficult to unload stolen goods. Anyone who has ever seen about speed use will know that it amplifies people’s emotions very quickly and it is a very addictive drug. It drives people to need to feed the habit. It is easily made, easy to access and easy to use. I was amazed by young indigenous people who were using that drug. It has been mentioned that there is not one individual in this House who probably has not been touched by the use of drugs.
There is a study, Responding to the Needs of Indigenous People Who Inject Drugs, for the Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council of South Australia, by Carole Holly and Jodie Shoobridge, 2003. Under the heading Trends in Indigenous Injecting, the authors cite reasons for using drugs as:
These have been cited by community consultants and injectors as some of the causes of emotional pain experienced by indigenous people.
This is widely believed to contribute to drug use, particularly by young people:
I congratulate the minister on the Remote Community Drug Desk and the Drug Detection Dog Unit. We often hear the member for Arafura talk about drugs in her electorate and what is going on out there. These units are going to have a great effect in the wider community, definitely in remote areas and in some urban areas. The Criminal Property Forfeiture Act provides for a crack down on profiteering and hits criminals in the hip pocket and makes it unprofitable for them to enter into drug enterprises. All these elements combined will work well.
I congratulate the minister on the $75m that he has been able to pull out of Cabinet, with the support of all government members and, no doubt, the wider community, to put into the Police Force. I look forward to 200 more police in 2006. The recruitment figures are fantastic and appear at page 15 of the statement.
There has to be a change of culture in the way we look at law and order issues. This government is serious about providing police with the ability to deal with crimes in all areas of the Territory. The big issue is what to do with the increasing number of people who are incarcerated. I would like to see restorative justice methods used to ensure that people do not repeat offend, and give them the opportunity to undertake educational courses that are related to potential employment. We should also educate people about why they are committing crimes; what, in their background, has led them to commit crimes.
I reiterate that I do not believe that the incidence of assault, sexual assault and murder has risen. I think reporting is on the increase because there are more police on the beat and we are going to have a spike and what appears to be an increase in assaults. Anecdotal evidence indicates that they have been around all the time and that there are still communities in the NT, which is unbelievable, that have 1000-plus Australian citizens but do not have a police presence. That is amazing, but will change with this $75m program. The reality is that as we go into these remote areas, people will start reporting crime and crime statistics will rise.
In urban areas, the work that we have done in relation to property offences is fantastic. There are fewer break and enters, fewer crimes occurring and this is because of the attack on illicit drugs and the connection between the need to feed an illicit drug habit and crime.
I am concerned about a couple of things, one of which is the drug culture in the wider community. We all know it is exists. The key issue revolves around minimising its effect because we are never going to completely rid society of it. By minimising access, we will help reduce crime. In the long run, we are going to have to attack the causes of crime, which are all related to poverty, poor housing, employment, poor education and health.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I support the minister who does a fantastic job for all Territorians, however they vote.
Ms CARTER (Port Darwin): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I welcome the minister’s statement.
There would not be one member in this House who does not appreciate the ongoing, energetic efforts of our police service, a group of people dear to our heart for many years. Members should go into the Main Hall and see the display by the Police History Association dealing particularly with their efforts during Cyclone Tracy. I do not think anyone can view that display and not be moved by the efforts of the police following Cyclone Tracy 30 years ago. We know that if anything similar were to happen today, a similar, selfless effort would be made by our police.
I am pleased to say I believe I have a very good relationship with police, particularly with those who operate out of the Mitchell Centre in Darwin. They do a great service for the people living in the area of Port Darwin. Often, their service goes unrecognised, and it is only the complaints that we dwell on. That is a shame because most days there is nothing to complain about because the service is moving along smoothly and the officers are doing their work well.
My only concern, and I do mention it frequently in this House, is about police response to antisocial behaviour in the CBD. All members would be aware of the importance of industries such as tourism, and the need, of course, as parliamentarians to work within the system to provide our citizens with a safe place to live and a feeling of safety.
Unfortunately, from time to time, that feeling of safety is disrupted, and it is my belief that this can be addressed quite well by increased visible presence of police in certain areas. I argue that most of the major urban centres in the Northern Territory could well do with increased visible presence of police, walking, as opposed to driving, around key areas. It brings me to a conclusion that maybe one of the reasons we do not have visible policing at a constant level is because perhaps we do not have enough police, or, for some reason, they are not out on the streets. They need to be there.
I remember when this government first came to power. As the local member, I raised the issue of problems with safety in Mitchell Street, and I was very pleased with the response provided. It was not long before we saw foot patrols in Mitchell Street augmenting the security services that operate in that area. For some time, many months, people felt much better about their personal safety when they were in Mitchell Street, in particular, and the CBD in general. It was great to see foot patrols, not operating at a set time which people who choose to misbehave get used to and are able to avoid, but to see sporadic foot patrols walking through Mitchell Street and the CBD, and it certainly made people feel a whole lot safer about their environment.
It is my observation that the prevalence of foot patrols has fallen away somewhat, and the result of that has been an increase of public drinking in the CBD. Last night I stepped out of the Chamber to attend a small meeting in the CBD. I was absent for an hour, between 7 pm and 8 pm. I use this as a one-off experience that happens frequently in the CBD. I parked near the mall in Knuckey Street, just behind the minibus rank, and walked down Knuckey Street towards Mitchell Street. I saw two well-dressed white women walking through West Lane coming on to Knuckey Street carrying some fairly upmarket shopping bags, and it was about five to seven at this stage. I wonder, as women, whether they had chosen to use West Lane as their means of getting from Bennett Street - which is where I suspect, looking at their shopping bags, they had been - to access Knuckey Street as opposed to going through the mall because, as you walk past the mall and Knuckey Street intersection at 7 pm, it is a pretty desolate looking place.
All you will see is people sitting around drinking in the area. Locals know that and I suspect these women made a choice to walk down a street that you would have thought would be a little less safe than the mall. It was an interesting observation at that time of night that people are choosing to avoid walking through the mall because they, possibly, perceive unsavoury characters in the mall and that they might be hassled in some way.
Then I went to my meeting and, at 8 pm I came out of the meeting and I was once again in Knuckey Street. It was quite a scary moment because, as I came around a corner, there was an Aboriginal woman who was obviously drunk, who was exceedingly aggressive and lunging at a man who appeared to be a waiter from Salvatore’s coffee shop. He was protecting himself with some sort of metal lid or tray. I did not have a phone with me at the time or I would have contacted police. This man was quite obviously distressed and frightened, and I was not silly enough to intervene because we know the trouble that you can get into with this. This Aboriginal woman pursued this man and he had to keep turning around to make sure he was not going to get a thump on the back of the head, until he was able to make his way back into Salvatore’s at 8 pm on a Wednesday night.
As I got towards my car, I noticed a group of people, whom I would describe as itinerants, walking along Knuckey Street towards the Esplanade. They were carrying Coke bottles with a yellow liquid in it. I do not know about you, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, but my expectation is that those Coke bottles contained white wine. My constant frustration is that I can go wandering around the CBD at almost any time and see people walking around with Coke bottles with a yellow liquid in it. I am frustrated as to why there is not someone in an official capacity tipping out that alcohol. Under our current laws, that group is meant to be the police and my concern is: why are they not tipping out alcohol in places like the CBD? It is our prime tourist and population area. All it needs is constant pressure, pressure, pressure on public drinkers to tip out their alcohol so that, eventually you annoy them - to put it politely - so much that they will go and do their drinking in a less public place.
This is the frustration. My concern is that, for some reason, the police are not doing it. The police station is only 20 m up the road. As I say, any one of us could wander around there now, and there is a fair chance that you will be able to spot it. My request to the minister is that he encourages police to put significant pressure on our public drinkers, tipping out their alcohol, as the law provides, in an effort to encourage these public drinkers to move into other areas.
I argue that the end result is that if this does not happen, as I do not believe it is happening well enough at the moment, we see the outcome on the other side of the street, which was a drunken woman chasing a city worker and, by the look on his face, terrifying him. This is where this government needs to lift its game to put pressure on people who are drinking publicly.
Maybe the police are sick of doing tip out, and I would not blame them. If I were a police officer, I reckon it would only take about six months before I got sick to death of that sort of a job. I hope that they are rotated in an effort to ensure they do not have to do that sort of thing all the time.
Maybe the police are not the right people to be doing this. Maybe there is some other group that could be trained and provide this sort of a service so that we are not imposing on the police such a ghastly job. Maybe it is something the Night Patrol could do. I do not know. However, it is just a matter of tipping out alcohol in areas that are deemed to be not appropriate for drinking and ensure that it happens. It is known as pressure, pressure, pressure. By put that pressure on, you will annoy these people enough so they will not be sitting in Raintree Park constantly drinking yellow liquid out of Coke bottles. The police do a good job, but it is not good enough in addressing this because you can walk up the street and see it.
I hope the minister can use his position and his resources to come up with some other solution because the current solution is not working. You only have to go to Cairns and speak to the people who run Cairns, the Mayor for example, and ask the administrators of the Cairns area how they dealt with itinerants and public drinking. You will be told that the answer is pressure, pressure, pressure. You must keep the pressure on people so that they do not drink in public and, that way, we will overcome this problem. People will not be frightened as they walk through Knuckey Street and the mall and we can go on having a wonderful lifestyle in the Northern Territory.
Debate adjourned.
Mr VATSKALIS (Multicultural Affairs): Mr Deputy Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to provide a statement on the Northern Territory’s first multicultural policy, Building on the Territory’s Diversity. As honourable members are aware, the policy was officially launched on 3 February amidst a wonderful cross-section of people from different cultures, religious faiths and backgrounds.
From the end of the World War II to date, over 5.6 million migrants have arrived in Australia from over 100 countries. In the same period, around one million people left the country. These migrants established churches, community groups, welfare associations, schools and sporting clubs, which were used to preserve and develop those aspects of their culture which they valued. In the process, Australia embraced a greater and greater degree of ethnic and cultural diversity. The records show that these new migrants have enriched and strengthened Australia with their cultures, their energy and their commitment. By any international standard, the multicultural nation that is modern Australia is a success.
The Northern Territory is a living example of this success. The Territory is an outstanding example of how of people from different backgrounds, beliefs, customs and values can come together, live in harmony and enrich Australian society; and how valuable cultural diversity is in developing a broader world view and applying this in our approach to business and government service provision. Having said that, we should not take this success story for granted.
Multiculturalism is hard work. It is still, in some places, a contested idea. For some, multiculturalism is unsettling, possibly threatening and perceived as a rejection or loss of the more traditional Australian identity of the early European settlers. On the other hand, there is an increasing understanding and acceptance of the benefits of multiculturalism. As Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis put it in their book Productive Diversity:
This is one of the reasons why the government has developed a policy of multiculturalism. The government is committed to multiculturalism, as a matter of human right and dignity for all those who have chosen to migrate and settle in this part of the world. It is a policy that emphasises the importance of integrating diversity in our community and the benefits derived from it for all Territorians. It enhances the wellbeing of all Territorians by acknowledging and accepting their diversity and providing assurances of equal opportunities to all individuals, whatever their cultural, linguistic or ethnic background.
The policy also aims to develop and guide our public sector into a new generation, one that is committed to better consideration and understanding of issues associated with a multicultural community. Such a non-discriminatory approach will benefit all Territorians and provide the basis on which the harmonious society that currently exists can be further developed, thus contributing positively to the socio-economic life of the Territory.
The policy was developed by the Office of Multicultural Affairs after a consultant had canvassed the views of the community. The process included discussions with key stakeholders, surveys, community meetings, forums and workshops, coupled with feedback from government departments and agencies. Time was also spent considering equivalent or similar policies and frameworks in other states and territories. Central to this policy is the value it places on diversity; its merits and the challenges it presents. Diversity does not imply separateness. Integration of diversity into the one social matrix is the key to multiculturalism. However, achieving equality among all Territorians requires the prior recognition of differences.
Further, I wish to make it clear that the policy is more than a commitment to the elimination of possible or actual discrimination in the public sector. It is about embracing cultural diversity as an immeasurable value of the way we are.
As honourable members will already be aware, the government, as part of its overall consideration of multicultural issues, changed the name of the Office of Ethnic Affairs to the Office of Multicultural Affairs in December 2004. The office will be undertaking an important role in co-ordinating and promoting the implementation of this policy across all government departments and agencies. The office will also continue to offer its existing services and manage the government’s generous multicultural affairs sponsorship program now totalling $717 000 annually and $1.5m to be granted over the next three years under the Ethnic Communities Facility Development Program.
In addition to this, the government has made a commitment to provide ongoing funding to the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory in Darwin and Multicultural Community Services of Central Australia in Alice Springs.
Before I take honourable members through the key principles set out in the policy, I would first like to talk about some relevant aspects of the Northern Territory’s multicultural history. At the outset, it needs to be acknowledged that most of the Australian population is not, by ancestry, indigenous to this country and that indigenous Australians were here long before Australian settlement.
The arrival of Europeans over 200 years ago at Port Jackson and Botany Bay was the beginning of many other cultures taking root in Australia: English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh placed their joint influence on Australia and its indigenous population.
There is a perception that the movement of people to Australia from the Asia-Pacific region is a relatively recent development. However, there is evidence that indigenous people of northern Australia had contact with their Asian neighbours from the Indonesian Archipelago and further to the north over 800 years ago. In fact, the first Australian export industry was established in the 16th century, with Chinese demand for sea cucumber or trepang, turtle, trochus shell and other seafood that was in plentiful supply in the north Australian seas. The trade was conducted by enterprising sea farers from Indonesian islands such as Macassar, Sumba and East Timor. Other sea faring Asians included the Koepangers, Malays, Manilamen, Japanese, Sinhalese and Chinese who came to the Kimberley and other northern ports to work in the pearling, fishing and other connected industries.
The Chinese began migrating to Australia in the mid-19th century and started to come to the Northern Territory in the 1870s following the discovery of gold at Pine Creek. Records indicate that more than 7000 Chinese moved to the area during this period.
Also in the mid-19th century, Afghan cameleers played a critical role in opening up the vast Australian outback. In those times, camel trains were a crucial life support system to outback communities. These cameleers came from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Turkish Ottoman Empire and their labour and skills in hot, dry, arid conditions made possible a number of key projects including: the Overland Telegraph Line between Adelaide and Darwin; the Queensland border fence; the Transcontinental Railway Line between Port Augusta in South Australia and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia; the rabbit-proof fence; and the Canning Stock Route in Western Australia.
Cameleers were also vital to the early wool and mining industries. What’s more, some of the exploratory expeditions which traversed the most inhospitable parts of Australia only survived because of the expertise and endurance of the cameleers in the hot and waterless land; they were also dependent upon indigenous Australians’ skill and knowledge of the country.
Other major contributions to the development of the Northern Territory came from a range of workers from other Asian countries including Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia with their involvement in the pearling industry.
After the passage of the Immigration Restriction Act, which was also known as the White Australia Policy, following Federation in 1901, the number of Chinese living in Australia shrunk from 30 000 in 1901 to 9000 over the next 50 years.
The history of migration to the Northern Territory is one significantly influenced by the White Australia Policy. The motivation behind this policy appeared to be a growing dislike or fear in the eastern states of the Chinese. This was to have dire consequences for the Northern Territory, which by 1911 was under Commonwealth control, and heavily relied on migrants to further develop its community.
From the early days, Europeans were reluctant to venture into the northern part of Australia. Northern Australia was viewed as being a place of harsh and dangerous conditions, and necessitated hard labour to provide the level of civilised living acceptable to most European settlers. With few migrants of European origin prepared to move to the Northern Territory, low population levels, low productivity resulted and concern started to grow as industry started to stagnate and, in some cases, collapse.
During the first half of the last century, fears grew for the safety of Australia, as Japan’s occupation of the Pacific grew and a lack of population in the Top End left Australia vulnerable to invasion. It was clear that the attempt to control immigration in Australia generally was impacting severely on the development and future of the Territory. For the Commonwealth, the Territory had become a liability and it was clear that some concessions had to be made.
Recounted in the publication History of the Settlement of Filipino families in the Northern Territory prepared by the Filipino Association of the Northern Territory in 2003 is a report recommending that migration and work restrictions be lifted to save the future of the pearling industry.
It was only after the World War II, Arthur Caldwell, the first Minister for Immigration, with the help of the trade union movement, introduced changes to the immigration policy which, while maintaining the White Australia Policy, enabled the federal Labor government to bring selected numbers of Europeans, other than from Britain and Ireland, to Australia. Migrants from Mediterranean countries have greatly and intensively contributed to the development of the Northern Territory.
Early in the 20th century, Maltese and Greeks moved to the Territory to work in Vesteys Meatworks, in an attempt to establish a frozen meat industry. Italians have played their part in the fishing, mining, civil engineering and building industries since the 1930s and, following World War II, impoverished Italian migrants developed market gardens and brought the flavours of the Mediterranean to Australian kitchens.
An important contribution was made by the Greeks, particularly in the 1950s. Many Greeks left their homeland soon after World War II and chose Australia as their new home. Many moved to the Northern Territory and led the way in the pearling and construction industries. Today the name Paspaley is synonymous with the Territory.
It was only after the Immigration Restriction Act was abolished by the Labor government of Gough Whitlam in 1973 that the broader immigration program reaching Asia, South America and Southern Africa resumed, with the Northern Territory as a preferred destination. Many of those living in the Territory today are descended from our early migrant communities. The Chinese, Afghans, Indonesians, Greeks, Italians, Filipino, East Timorese and other Asian communities were and remain a vital and substantial part of our population.
Refugee status - mainly for the boat people of South Vietnam and other South-East Asian countries, but also for people from other turbulent parts of the world, including East Timor, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon and other Pacific Islands, eastern European countries - provided a new flow of potential residents for the Northern Territory.
The results of the last Census in 2001 show that the Northern Territory has the highest number of people speaking a language other than English at home – 24.4%. One in four Territorians does not have English as their primary language. The 2001 Census also shows that some of the fastest growing populations in the Northern Territory included people from the following countries: Solomon Islands, Romania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cambodia, Tonga, Poland, Thailand, Zimbabwe and Vietnam.
More recently, civil wars in African countries has seen the emergence of developing communities of refugees and migrants from Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. While the reasons for the emergence of these communities are tragic, it is an exciting development which will both add to our dynamic culture and challenge our ability to facilitate a harmonious integration into the Territory.
These are all nations possessing both language and cultural differences to the Australian way of life. It is imperative that, on the arrival of new members to our community, we have the capacity to foster, promote and utilise these differences for the benefit of all. Beyond the sharing of food, acceptance of each other’s cultural and spiritual values and peaceful coexistence, the philosophy of multiculturalism, more importantly, questions the cultural supremacy of the majority community. Multiculturalism promotes the concept that newly-arrived ethnic groups are equal partners in the social and political life of the nation in order to enhance cohesion within the community.
The Territory’s strong response to those who have suffered the terrible consequences of the Asian tsunamis on 26 December was remarkable. It is perhaps because Territorians understood better than most the severe consequence of natural disasters, having just marked the 30th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy. There was deep compassion and empathy on the part of all Territorians for those in Asia who suffered personal loss and tragedy. In this respect, the Northern Territory government has, in addition to the $450 000 donated to Care Australia, Australian Red Cross and World Vision for the tsunami disaster, agreed to match dollar-for-dollar any donations made by the following organisations to the tsunami relief: Indonesia Australia Association of the Northern Territory; Persatuan Indonesia Darwin; Thai Lao Australian Association of the Northern Territory; Thai and Australian Friendship Association; Thai Theravada Association; Indian Cultural Society of the NT; and Sri Lanka/Australian Friendship Association of the NT. All other community groups, while too numerous to name, should be congratulated for their fundraising efforts which saw the strong sympathy of our multicultural community to such a human tragedy.
When discussing multiculturalism in the Territory, it needs to be remembered that an integral and valuable part of it comes from the indigenous contribution to our society. Considering that close to 30% of the Northern Territory population is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, real multiculturalism could not be achieved if it were not inclusive of the indigenous component. In fact, no reconciliation can be possible without all-inclusive multiculturalism. In this respect, the government is developing an indigenous policy, which is expected to follow a path parallel to the multicultural policy so that, ultimately, the two can complement each other.
Building on the Territory’s Diversity is directed towards acknowledging, respecting and valuing cultural diversity. This means, in practical terms, ensuring that the recent migrant gets proper access to health services, among others; that an interpreter is arranged to ensure clear understanding of the process required to obtain the necessary health care; that the process employed to determine the person’s health needs is sufficiently flexible; and that the staff implementing it are sufficiently trained in cross-cultural issues to ensure that appropriate cultural consideration is given in making an informed decision. It also means that when a skilled migrant arrives in the Territory and applies for a job, consideration is given to his or her skills and abilities, and that an accent, like mine, or ethnicity are not factors preventing that applicant that applicant from fair consideration for that job.
It is envisaged that people from non-English speaking backgrounds are given opportunities to complete their education; to be educated in the Australian way and still retain their own culture so they can develop a sense of identity and confidence in themselves and their future.
The policy goes further than the elimination of racism. It is about embracing and accepting cultural, linguistic and spiritual differences. It is an opportunity to foster the benefits of these differences. The basic elements that underlie this policy are set out in four broad principles to which this government is committed. They are: valuing diversity; fair access; encouraging participation; and mutual respect. The government recognises that, over time, new issues and different challenges affecting migrants and ethnic Territorians will emerge. Accordingly, the policy is intended to be a living document which can be varied and amended to reflect changing needs and priorities.
Let me now speak to each of these key principles.
Valuing diversity: first, we must welcome and value diversity. In the Northern Territory, a person is able to live and express their customs and beliefs without fear of oppression or threat of persecution. Diversity is not perceived as a problem to be overcome but, rather, an important contribution to social and economic growth. Multiculturalism acknowledges, accepts, and integrates cultural differences and welcomes cultural difference as an enriching value to the common good. The coexistence of people from diverse cultural, linguistic and spiritual backgrounds provides benefits for the whole community on two levels. First, on a day-to-day level in the quality of our life; just look at our markets, restaurants, businesses and architecture. They are all influenced by the diversity of the Territory community. Second, at a less obvious but much deeper level, the development of multiculturalism empowers different social groups and individuals to contribute to the affairs of public life and, ultimately, to the direction the government may take. This gives each one of us a sense of achievement and belonging as we proudly identify as being Territorians.
Fair access: it is central to Territorian values that everyone gets a fair go, to be given the opportunity to reach higher goals in one’s professional, economic or personal endeavours. This principle is about working towards a system where no person will be denied participation because of their socio-economic status or their cultural circumstances. Fair access implies that, irrespective of a person’s ethnicity, language, gender, religion or disability, they will receive equitable treatment when accessing government services and programs. When considering cultural differences, fair access implies that government agencies will design and deliver services and programs based on strong evidence of the needs of individuals from different cultural backgrounds, and of the way they interact with government services as a result of their cultural background. It also implies that people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds will be provided with the opportunity to voice their concerns about the way services and programs are delivered, and that government agencies will listen to them and act upon those concerns where appropriate.
Encouraging participation: the participation of all Territorians from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds in all aspects of life, be it cultural, social, economic or political, is strongly encouraged. It enables all Territorians to be actively involved in the Northern Territory’s decision making processes and contribute to future development of the Territory. It also encourages diversity in the make-up of our public sector and on boards and committees, and ensures engagement with the community so that individual and collective voices are heard and urgent concerns addressed. Structures and policies must be put in place that enhance the capacity of people to exercise this right. This includes removing or minimising any barriers to participation by promoting multicultural and cross-cultural awareness and providing appropriate language training and assistance.
Mutual respect: no policy on multiculturalism is complete without a strong aspiration to foster respect for other cultures, spiritualities and languages. The acceptance that all cultures are equally valuable is the basic principle upon which social harmony can flourish. In a democracy, differences do not have to be eliminated, but the political, legal, and social framework must allow for those differences to be acknowledged and respected.
Building on the Territory’s Diversity and its four principles are designed to provide the future framework for the delivery of government services and programs in the Northern Territory. Under this policy, all government agencies will be required to examine their policies and practices with a view to ensuring they are responsive to the needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. This may result in changes in the way services are delivered, or simple staff training to ensure that staff are aware of how their own values and attitudes affect their interaction with people from other cultural backgrounds.
Recent Territory examples of developments with a multicultural focus include the Staff Recruitment and Retention Strategy and the Work Force Development Strategy of the Department of Employment, Education and Training, which promotes the value of diversity by departmental staff. Also, the Department of Justice, following a review of the Parole Board of the Northern Territory in 2001, reformed the selection process to ensure that people of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds were able to serve on the board.
These are the kinds of changes we can expect across the Northern Territory Public Service. Each department will be required to contribute to an annual report on achievements against the policy and areas for improvement. This information will be made publicly available.
A Senior Officers Group on Multicultural Affairs will be established with responsibility for overseeing the coordination and implementation of the policy and identification of emerging issues. While the Senior Officers Group will have the capacity to establish working groups on specific issues where necessary, it will remain the responsibility of each department to design their own response to the policy. The first meeting of this group is to be held in mid-February and will be supported by the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
I have described how the government will be held accountable on this policy, but what can it actually achieve? Policies of a similar nature have been developed in other countries, and other states and territories in Australia with important changes flowing from their implementation. Performance indicators have been used to measure this change. In the Australian Capital Territory, developments that have taken place since the introduction of a similar policy include the establishment of the ACT Government Multicultural Staff Network charged with responsibility for conducting an audit of staff language skills in order to maximise staff performance. The network also provides support for staff from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. A requirement to provide cross-cultural training for staff has been included in executive performance agreements, whether new or when reviewed.
With the introduction of a multicultural policy in Tasmania, there has been an increase in the number of refugees and migrants wishing to settle there, and increased awareness of the need to provide appropriate services to those from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Cross-cultural training encouraging cultural sensitivity has been undertaken in a range of sectors, and there has been a documented increase in the number of people accessing English language classes at TAFE. As a result of the introduction of the Australian government’s Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society, there has been greater use of interpreters by government agencies and improved community engagement strategies including the first ever round table for the Family Court.
We in the Northern Territory have the advantage of being able to draw from the experience of other jurisdictions that have evaluated existing policies and discovered their limitations. By learning from their experience, we can avoid repeating the same errors.
The South Australian policy, Declaration of Principles for a Multicultural South Australia, for instance, has demonstrated after evaluation a lack of a whole-of-government approach to multicultural issues. The Territory government has already established a mechanism to address this issue by forming the Senior Officers Group on Multicultural Affairs.
In the Territory, it is hoped that implementation of Building the Territory’s Diversity will result in improved service delivery and raise the awareness of both public sector employees and the broader community on multicultural issues. Indicators of success will include increasing the number of people from multicultural backgrounds sitting on boards and committees and holding positions of influence.
In conclusion, I thank the multicultural community of the Northern Territory for its time and commitment in assisting with the development of this policy and enabling this project to come to fruition. Without them, our policy would have little meaning. Together with all Territorians, we can work to continue to make the Territory a vibrant, rewarding and harmonious home for all the people of many ethnicities who live here. This is all part of this government’s commitment to move the Territory ahead. I would also like to thank my advisor Chandra Seneviratne and the member for Sanderson for his contribution for developing this statement. Their work is excellent and I value their contributions.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Mr DUNHAM (Drysdale): Mr Deputy Speaker, there is great pride in the fact that this is a tolerant multicultural society that is very accepting of people from different cultural and racial backgrounds, views, beliefs, and it is for that reason that some of us took such offence at Labor’s campaign at the last election.
It was a racist, illegal campaign that used push-polling as a technique, and the bogey man of One Nation to portray the CLP as opposed to those great and precious values that we hold dear in this statement, and which are evident notwithstanding 27 years of CLP management as the government of the day.
The government should appreciate that there are people who see some irony in the member for Casuarina talking about how embracing it all is when, after the election, virtually the first words he uttered were that he owed his seat to the Labor Party’s strategy of using One Nation. The push-polling, the inherit racism and the arguable legality of the campaign is something that is their heritage and something they have to live with.
The Labor Party has also to live with the heritage - they claim to have been a party for a long time - that they are the party that supported the White Australia Policy, supported the Immigration Restriction Act for the better part of a century. So the Labor Party that claims its proud heritage as coming out of shearer strikes in Queensland and all the rest of it also has a heritage of supporting the White Australia Policy for the better part of a century; the CLP never has. We, as two parties in this House, can quite rightly stand here and say: ‘The White Australia Policy that is the hallmark and foundation stone of the Labor Party is something that we are glad that they have abandoned, albeit very lately’.
The White Australia Policy is a bit of a blight on the immigration policy of Australia and it is understandable, given the very narrow views of some of the earlier settlers and the fact that they came from very narrow parts of the world. Because the words are used so frequently, I thought I would read a small definition of what it was, and I will source this book later if people are interested, but essentially I am quoting from a book called The Australian Soldier’s Pocket Book:
White Australia:
It was seen as an economic thing; it was seen as the cheap coolie labour from Asia having a problem with our own work force. You can understand in those xenophobic days that this could have been a problem, but it has its heritage in the trade union movement and in the Australian Labor Party. I am sure both of them now have substantial regrets about that. However, before we run the political heritage of the various parties in this place, I can say on the Parliamentary Record that the CLP is very proud of its multicultural policies.
Ms Lawrie: Proud of preferencing One Nation, are you?
Mr DUNHAM: We are proud – well, there is an interjection there about One Nation. One Nation was used as a bogie man at the last election. It was used as a bogie man, for instance, in the seat of Millner, where no one from One Nation stood. So it was used as a push-polling technique in Millner to encourage people to vote in a particular way.
The Labor Party preferenced various groups, including communists, socialists and people who invaded this Parliament. So before you start talking about who preferences whom, remember that to have a valid ballot paper, you have to preference everyone, so do not run the story that you did in a racist and illegal way through your push polling in the last campaign.
The CLP was the first Cabinet, I believe, in Australia to have an Asian-born minister. We were the first state or territory government to set up a Department of Asian Relations and Trade. We were the smallest jurisdiction in our province in the world, and we provided the most succour, support and help to the fledgling nation of East Timor. The Parliamentary Record behind you, Mr Deputy Speaker, shows, in page after page, the enormous effort that was put in by Northern Territory people, by the government of the day, by citizens, bureaucrats, public servants and others, it was an immense effort put in to providing assistance to those people.
To hear the Chief Minister belittle that in this parliament offended me deeply. In fact, it offended me more deeply than the racist campaign they ran at the last election because, it is not just attacking the government; it is attacking all the people around the government, people who advised us, people who met people there in buses and ambulances. I was fortunate enough to go to tent city at the Kalymnian Brotherhood and see those people, the parlous state they were in. I was fortunate enough to see some of the public servants who had quite a deal of proximity with those people. It is one of those things where you could not help but be moved. To hear the Chief Minister use words like how we have been bagging this particular nation is a terrible indictment on the Chief Minister. It also trashes the immense effort that Territorians put in.
We are also proud of the funds and assistance by way of land grants to various associations here to provide club rooms, halls and houses of worship in Darwin. I am fortunate that within close proximity to my house, there is a Buddhist temple, which I have visited on a number of occasions. Hindus worship and people of the Muslim faith worship within a very short distance from each other.
Those things happened long before Labor achieved government. They happened in a way that had great community acceptance. They happened in a way there was no NIMBY attitude about, no we do not want to have a mosque next to us. It augers well for this community that it has such an attitude to people who have come from afar.
We have also had significant programs through our schools about understanding our new neighbours. In fact, there were programs where Bahasa was taught in most schools. There were sister school relationships, and the Darwin City Council has sister city relationships. We had sister hospital relationships with our near north, we have provided exchange programs, we have used federal aid money to provide assistance with disease control, reconstructive surgery and a variety of other things. The list is full of our relationship, our goodwill, our support, our tolerance of people to our north.
The minister has introduced what he calls the first multicultural policy. It is a little bit like, in the cattle industry, branding somebody else’s beast. We do not mind the fact that he shares our vision, but to make an assumption that with this statement there is a whole new era is nonsensical. In the Main Hall is a bust of a man called Harry Chan who was a Lord Mayor and who occupied the predecessor of the Chair you occupy, Mr Deputy Speaker, as a chairman in this parliament. We have had two Chinese Lords Mayor: Alec Fong Lim was well known and much loved as a Lord Mayor. We have a heritage where we have not had the same anti-Asian and anti-foreign xenophobia and hostility as they have had in other places. We have a powerful record of relationships with all sorts of people from other places. There are some things in the statement that look a little like preaching and are a bit like a finger-wagging approach to the attitude of Territorians.
The minister applauded this excellent speech and, while it is not a bad speech, it certainly is not an excellent speech. It is wrong, in fact, in many places, and that is a bit disappointing because if the minister is going to put so much into something, he should make sure that he presents it in a way that is beyond question.
When I read the statement last night, I was interested that he was pleased with Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis, who wrote a book. They say that it is clearly too late to retreat to some imaginary sheltered village of identically-shared values. I belong to many organisations with share values. The Catholic Church, to which I belong, has many shared values. Many people I know from places overseas go to club houses and share their values. In fact, that is what multiculturalism is all about; it is about providing the capacity for people to muster together, to embrace, rejoice and take comfort in their shared values. That is a great thing, and for whoever these people are - and I do not know them - to be saying unless we are all distinctly separate and do not have shared values, there is something wrong. I do not agree with that source.
I was interested in the business about the White Australia Policy about which I talked before. The minister believed that this was motivated by a growing dislike or fear in the eastern states of the Chinese. It was straight up and down a worry that cheap Asian labour would displace good white Anglo-Saxon stock out of jobs. It is a very simple read in The Bulletin to understand that policy because The Bulletin was the magazine pretty much of the average Australian and the working class, and they were pretty florid in how they described this stuff. In today’s society, it is quite offensive. If you read back issues of The Bulletin, it is a rare Australian these days who could read it without feeling some discomfort. Certainly, in one of them, if you look at the cartoons, the commentary, the banners that were used by The Bulletin, you can understand where the White Australia Policy came from and where it was promoted. Not so here.
The fact that we are a frontier town a long way from the rest of Australia was good because we developed separately here. We developed our own little enclave of people who did not have those attitudes. We have many Japanese people come here, as the minister pointed out. We had many Chinese, Sri Lankan and people from the Philippines who lived here. It is impressive to see their progeny now participating in the Territory in all walks of life. These people must have sometimes three and four and six generations.
Whatever happened on the eastern seaboard and promoted their attitudes, policies and acts of parliament was not so here, and it never was so. It should not be for people who visit to preach to us about our relationships, for instance, with Aboriginal people. It is something that has disappointed me for a long time, how people can come from other places and tell us about how our relationships with Aboriginal people, for instance, disappoints and affects them. The statement reads:
That is not true. It is true that they took greater comfort in places that replicated Mother England from whence they came. They did go to places such as New South Wales, for instance, and places that looked like the country they had come from. However, Europeans were well numbered here and there were many of them and many of them were frontier types. Many of them left a legacy that was good and many of them left a legacy that was bad. Many of them were attracted as treasure seekers, like my forefathers who were gold diggers, and they found it, too. They found gold and they prospered and when they went to see their families in far flung places like Ireland, they realised how quickly this country rewarded people who were prepared to work compared with where they had come from.
They came for the same reasons we should attract people today. They came because this place provided an opportunity for them; it rewarded their effort. It took them into the bosom of the family that is here and that is exactly the same policy that this government should be pursuing now to attract people to this place. If you work, you can do your thing here.
Interestingly, the minister mentioned Arthur Caldwell, and I will not mention the very famous quote for which Arthur Caldwell is renowned, but it seems to be an interesting spin that he attempted to do something, along with the trade union movement, to address this problem of the infamous Immigration Restriction Act. I shall not go there because enough has been said and it is your heritage, not mine.
I was interested, too, that the statement becomes a little starry-eyed in respect of when people come here. We have to accept what ever it is that they bring with them - ‘their cultural and spiritual values’, to quote exactly. It should be said that there are cultural and spiritual values in some other countries that are abhorrent here. We have discussed them in this House. There are some things that offend our laws. Some countries have a different attitude, for instance, to drugs. As a young fellow, I was in Iran and I saw people openly smoking hashish, which is not acceptable here, although it is a custom and it is something that has been accepted for a long time in those countries. Polygamy is accepted in other countries. Female genital mutilation is accepted in other countries. The status of women in some countries is a cultural thing that in Australia, we find offensive.
We have to be careful - in much the same way as when we had the debate about the protection of children in Aboriginal culture when it is seen that Aboriginal men have some rights that they can subscribe to culturally that interfere with another human’s right and safety and livelihood. In this parliament, we have to say that there are some lines in the sand; that if you come to Australia, there are some cultural practices that have to be accepted here. I know that in rebuttal, there are going to be people calling me a dinosaur, but people who travel to other countries see that some things that are tolerated, accepted, even promoted in other countries would not be so here. This is not a fine line; this is quite a broad line. This is a line that says: people who come to Australia, we think that you should retain your links with your heritage and your motherland, we think that you should be able to muster together in communities that have those shared values and beliefs, but there are some things within your suite of cultural and spiritual values that are offensive to us.
I was interested in last week’s Weekend Australian where there was a significant interview from a refugee who made some disparaging remarks about homosexuals because in his cultural values, that was something he had difficulty with. People were writing in and saying: ‘I hope you share the same level of tolerance as people show you because you have also been harassed’ and whatever, and that is what we are talking about here. We are talking about humans across the globe who have different approaches to different things. In Australia, we often make strong rules about things that are totally acceptable in other places. I do not think that we should resile from that on the basis that what we are doing is discriminatory or offending someone’s cultural mores or whatever. We have to say: in Australia there are certain things that may well be acceptable in other places that are not acceptable here.
The Chief Minister has done a disservice to Australia’s relationship – and certainly the Territory’s relationship – with Indonesia with the comments that were made by one of her advisors. I know Dennis Schulz personally. He is a great bloke, and the larrikin comments you can make on air are not the comments that you can make and publish if you work on the 5th floor of this building.
Everyone knows that if you want to be as culturally appropriate and acceptable as the minister claims he is that those distinctions are not readily understood in Indonesia: that the Chief Minister can have someone giving her advice who says things in the public domain from which she distances herself. They believe that the people who advise the Chief Minister must possess similar attitudes and respect for their country as the Chief Minister claims she possesses. It is a problem.
I point out to members that if they go to the Parliamentary Record of 30 April 1987, they will find where Mr Hatton sought the resignation of a minister, Mr Harris, the then member for Port Darwin, over comments that he made which, ironically, turned out to be true, and they related to Fiji and other places that he saw as powder kegs in our region. Unbeknownst to ASIO and others, Mr Harris was closer to the mark than they were. Nonetheless, he made a statement in an adjournment debate and the next day, Mr Hatton sought his resignation. I can read portions of it into Hansard, which is probably a good idea in a debate like this. He said:
Read the debate: I do not think Tom Harris’ remarks were as offensive as those of Dennis Schulz. We have to show countries to our near north that things they value and take seriously, like their reputation as a government of standing and a sovereign government being called ‘corrupt’ by the government or government advisors closest to them is a matter for the Chief Minister to take on. This is a serious issue and should not be swept aside.
The minister’s statement has the flavour that we will all be happy if we get on with each other, but in society, there have to be pressure valves so that in the event that people do not get on, they can resort to devices that are not the rule of arms and other methods that make this planet such an unsafe place in some areas.
I had a good friend who worked for SBS in the early days, and he said that one of the biggest problems in Australia with division and friction between racial groups was soccer. I was surprised to hear it. He told me if you go to the soccer down south, they wear their national colours, they wave national flags, they all play on one team in a racial cohort, they do not trade people into other teams - and I was stunned to hear it. I am talking about the 1980s. He said it is a problem because people come here and they usurp normal, everyday things to pursue ancient vendettas and problems.
We have to be vigilant to that because we are blind to some of the problems that have occurred in other places and some of the feuding that has occurred, sometimes over centuries. I put to the minister that it is really important that we, as members of parliament, can provide some of that pressure relief, and that we can intervene sometimes in a way that is conciliatory. It is important that people who are leaders of ethnic communities feel that they can approach us for advice or assistance. The democratic principle that we represent here is very powerful and has a potency that leads this place through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, which has strong affiliations with countries around the world. The CPA has the potential to be as strong as the United Nations, I suggest, because of powerful bonds of friendship and a shared democratic origin.
When we get into these racial fights at election time, I do not think it serves us well because, essentially, what you have is the current government going out saying: ‘You cannot trust those people because they do not believe in your faith systems’, or ‘in some way, they are bigoted towards you’. That is one of the tragic legacies the Labor Party has after its foray into the last election.
The minister has produced a glossy, and for someone who claims to be knowledgeable about cultural sensitivities, it is a little strange on one of the pages. Members would be aware that Cherie Blair is doing a little round the world trip, and she put her foot into it by going to New Zealand and calling them Australians, and if there is something Australians do not like to be called – apart from Pommy, I guess – it is a New Zealander. While our flags might be similar and we might look the same and sound the same and come from a similar place on the globe and play the same sports, New Zealanders are New Zealanders and Australians are Australians. I was surprised to see on the chart on page 18 that the minister claims the country of birth for England is 21.9% Scotland is 5.4%; however, for the UK it is 3.6%. That just does not compute. You cannot have 21% of the people born overseas coming from England, and yet only 3% coming from the UK because, as we know, England is a subset of the UK.
For the minister to commit such a gaffe of the style of a Cherie Blair – I thought New Zealanders and Australians were twins – is not very good in this document. It tells you two things. First, they are the biggest group. So the biggest group that he singled out – people whose country of birth was England - and then he goes on to claim that, while 21.9% come from England, only 3% come from the UK. That is a mathematical impossibility.
By all means, put that out. I guess you have put it out already. That is the sort of thing that offends people, and it is a subliminal offence, I guess. As much as we have a proximity to England, there are people who take offence at being called a Pommy if they are not, and there are many English people who do not like to be called Scots, and vice versa, I can assure you. The minister has paraded a document about being sensitive to some of the issues relating to things that motivate and aggravate people from other nations. I suggest that is a blunder of almost Cherie Blair proportions.
The statement is, I suppose, supported in the main. It states much of the obvious. The mistakes that are in it I do not think are fatal to the statement; they are just mistakes. But you would think that if someone is that interested, they would do a bit more work in research. Basically, it shows that someone has glibly done this when they should have done it with a lot more professional effort. Mistakes of that type go more to a giggling behind the hand thing rather than really offending people from those places in the world. They do go to the minister trotting this thing out to parade bona fides that are not his; trotting out bona fides to say: ‘I care. I am a man who is overseas born and therefore I can readily associate with all these other nations’. That is good, but you rest with the terrible legacy of the last election where you ran a racist, and I would say illegal, push-polling campaign which has eroded the status of this place and which, hopefully, we will not see again at the next outing, but one never knows.
Ms LAWRIE (Karama): Mr Deputy Speaker, this evening I thank our Minister for Multicultural Affairs for the important statement that he has delivered this evening. How appropriate that we are discussing building on the Territory’s diversity on this, the Lunar New Year, with Lunar New Year celebrations going on in the Main Hall of Parliament House.
It is the Year of the Rooster, and we have just heard the old rooster of the CLP crowing about their great legacy in the Territory, crowing about how they have delivered everything in a very multicultural way, crowing about how we are so unique and crowing about how the CLP Territory Party does not have any historical link to the White Australia Policy, even though, as usual, he continues to deny the very stark and obvious links between the CLP and the Liberal Party: former CLP Chief Minister Shane Stone is now President of the Liberal Party; or the Liberals in Canberra pulling the strings of the CLP here. Political pundits believe it is simply a matter of time before the name changes to Liberty Party NT Branch. The old rooster on the other side can crow - the old rooster who runs the numbers to depose the member for Blain and reinstall the old guard, yesterday’s man, the member for Brennan.
However, the reality is that the statement today is about putting down for the future a very positive and proud policy of diversity in the Territory. We are a government that is moving ahead; we are not bogged down in the ideological rhetoric that the old roosters of the CLP crow about.
Yes, it is an absolute shame that the Territory will have to carry through its political history that the CLP chose to preference One Nation at the 2001 election. There were audible gasps of horror that around Australia when the party chose to do that, and I believe it was a significant factor in many people voting against them for the first time in their lives.
It is no secret that I was born and raised in the Territory and I have many friends with whom I grew up who had never voted against the CLP before because it was a habit of their parents to vote CLP, and they had not really questioned that habit. Well, they voted differently last time, and for many of them, it was on the basis of that horrendous preferencing of One Nation, political opportunism at the time, which started the slippery slide into defeat of the CLP.
I am pleased because it does give the Territory an opportunity for a healthy democratic change that means new initiatives. It is always healthy in a democracy to see cyclical changes in government. I hope our government is taken into many terms to bed down the changes that we are trying to introduce in the Territory for the benefit of all Territorians. We have just begun what I believe is a long journey of fundamental improvements to the living conditions, the lifestyle and the potential of the Territory.
It is my delight to be living in a diverse community. I cannot recall a time when I have not been actively involved in the issues surrounding multiculturalism. As a child growing up in Darwin, my friends came from a very broad range of backgrounds from Chinese, Greek, many of indigenous mates, and Italian. I remember when the Vietnamese and the Timorese arrived here, how the community of Darwin embraced those refugees, took them to their bosom and watched them proudly become Territorians.
The interaction I have with people from a range of homelands who have settled and called the Territory home is an enjoyable aspect of my daily working life. They are first, second or third generation Territorians now who are very proud of their multicultural diversity. In the Karama electorate, we have Chinese, Italian, Greek, new African immigrants, as well as Filipinos, Thais, Sri Lankan and Indian. The East Timorese are a wonderful community within Karama and Malak. There are many Timorese families, and I am hoping to go to Timor soon with some of my Timorese constituents, to enjoy some celebrations there. It is a real joy to see them embrace, recognise and love their own culture and the way their culture can be enjoyed here in Darwin and celebrated, including the continuation of language, rituals and ceremonies. All my life, I have enjoyed attending a range of different celebrations. It has opened my eyes to the world. It is certainly encouraged me to travel widely to see the cultures in their homelands. I have real joy taking my children to those celebrations. My children love the Cambodian and Vietnamese celebrations; they are just fantastic communities, very vibrant, strong communities here in our diverse Territory community.
I thank the minister for the effort he put into the multicultural policy. I recognise that this policy has been a long time in the making. It is a very good policy that will establish the respect that we need to show each other and enshrine rights and responsibilities to ensure a strong and vibrant multicultural Territory.
I enjoyed attending the opening of the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory’s new premises at the Malak Shopping Centre. They are sharing it with the Multilingual Broadcasting Association. They are wonderful premises. They had been in pretty poor premises in the city. It is no secret to anyone who has been to Palm Court that they were pretty cramped. They needed decent facilities and took the bold step of coming out to Malak and setting up a base. They have lovely new premises out at Malak Shopping Centre and it really has enhanced our community in Malak to have a multicultural community setting up their offices in the electorate. Already, I have had reports from the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory that there has been a significant increase in visitors to their offices as a result of the move, so it seems the move has been a success.
I am delighted that it is in close walking distance to many of our African families who are the latest refugees in our community. I sincerely hope that that becomes a very much a hub of support for our African families. I would like to see continued meetings of our African youth. They have been using my electorate office and I welcome them to continue using my electorate office, but I also encourage them to use multicultural facilities there. Certainly, I hope that various programs can operate to support the African women.
I listened with interest to the member for Drysdale say that he had a friend in SBS who said that a large problem for multicultural communities here is soccer. The history of soccer in the 1980s in Australia was one of division and there are still issues for soccer down south around racial groups gathering, but I have to say that was not the biggest problem in the 1980s.
I had the pleasure of working with SBS in the 1980s - 52 language groups at Radio 3EA where I visited once or twice a week at least. I was their union official. I am very proud to have been the union official for broadcasters and journalists there. The biggest issue was then, and continues to be, access to employment. They say that they still find an overtone of discrimination in Australia for people who come from a non-English speaking background. They find it very difficult if they have an accent or if they look different to have the same access to employment as those who are born here, who come from a more Anglo-Saxon background.
Interestingly enough, here we are in 2005, and in working closely with the African communities, as I do, what is their single largest issue? It is access to employment. Yes, it was terribly sad to see the soccer riots that occurred in the 1980s between the Croatian and Greek communities and then the Serbs verses Croatians. It was all played out in the soccer spectator areas, but I have to say that recognising as divisive as that can be, that was theatre compared to the daily struggle in people’s lives to get a decent job, to put food on their family’s table in a land that many of them came to because it held so much economic promise.
Many people, when they come to nations such as Australia, come as economic refugees. Yes, we have a significant number of refugees here who have come from horrible, war-torn circumstances, but many people come as economic refugees. Whether they come from war-torn countries or whether they come through economic imperative, they all come wanting a better life for themselves, a life of peace which they find, for a life that heralds economic improvement, that climb up the ladder of opportunity, as Mark Latham put it. The barriers to good employment were and are very real.
Member for Drysdale, if you really want to have a chat to people from diverse communities and backgrounds, ask them whether the biggest issue is soccer or access to good jobs. I would be interested hear from the member for Drysdale about the answer because in my experience, it is access to good jobs.
I congratulate the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory’s 2004-05 committee on their election. We have a new President, Jenny Medwell. Jenny is a very articulate, strong, outstanding leader for the multicultural community and is ably assisted by the wonderful and talented Emma Sullivan. The Vice-President is Yogan Sathianathan, who has an amazing history of leadership in the Top End with the MCNT and will ably assist Jenny and Emma in their leadership positions. Madhu Dasgupta is a wonderful person whom I have met on various occasions - a very able Secretary, and Luchi Santer is the Treasurer. Committee members are John Newman, Thyra Ou, Indrani Doloswala, Fatumata Dorbor, Pitia Charles Dickens and Dominique Aldjura.
Of those committee members, I want to single out Thyra Ou. With Harmony Day coming up, I want to acknowledge the role she played in Harmony Day last year. She came up with the national slogan: You + Me = Us. She was recognised nationally for that slogan. Thyra is a Cambodian woman who can be relied on at any occasion, any time, putting the hard work in. She is a tireless volunteer and worker for the broader multicultural community of the Northern Territory. I respect her enormously, and I am delighted to have her as a constituent in Karama.
I also recognise the great work of Tim Robinson in his role of Executive Officer of the MCNT. I know he is leaving to go on to an exciting career at the ABC, but Tim Robinson has worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth move out to Malak for the council and that its programs are increased. He sought and won new funding for the council. His hard work has been appreciated by many people in the multicultural community, so I thank him for his hard work and look forward to our continued friendship. He is a lovely family man.
I want to acknowledge a special occasion last weekend called Darwin Helps. It was organised by members of the multicultural community to raise funds for the victims of the Asian tsunamis. In particular, I want to thank Jay Lamech. Jay is a member of the Burmese community, and it was Jay’s idea to organise this fund raiser. Jay worked tirelessly for many weeks to pull it together. It was held at the Chan Building, and some 350 people attended and there were good funds raised on the night. I am waiting to hear of the precise figure. Jay, congratulations to you. It is people such as you who bring home the wonderful aspects of community and volunteer work. It is all selfless work and Jay is well known in Darwin’s multicultural community. He is the head of the Police Ethnic Advisory Council and he works tirelessly to ensure that we have a harmonious community. Congratulations to Jay on Darwin Helps. It was pleasant to be there with my family. My children sat up at the stage taking video pictures of all the performers who made the night extremely enjoyable. There was a fantastic crowd that was as diverse as you would see anywhere in the world.
I congratulate the minister on this statement. I know he has gone to a lot of effort to pursue multiculturalism in the Territory, to enshrine it with progressive policy. Yes, without a doubt, we have always been a multicultural society, from the German settlers in the Centre up to the Japanese, Chinese Greek and Italian early settlers in the Top End. We are very fortunate people to have such a wonderful history of which we can be proud.
The minister’s statement, whilst recognising and marking our tremendous history, is laying a wonderful blueprint for the progressive future of multiculturalism in the Territory. You do need policy to enshrine a framework to move forward. The minister has delivered the policy, and I thank him and his hard-working staff in the Office of the Multicultural Affairs for the efforts that they have gone to.
Mr AH KIT (Community Development): Mr Deputy Speaker, the title of my contribution tonight is: A funny thing happened on the way to the footy. I say ‘the title’ because yesterday, the title A fair go for all in Territory housing attracted a fair bit of criticism from members opposite. Maybe this will, too, but we will wait and see what responses we get if they choose to criticise.
I support my colleague in his production of the Territory’s first comprehensive statement on multicultural affairs. In doing so, I would like to repeat and expand on some comments I made last week at the reception in the Main Hall for the Western Bulldogs and Indigenous All Stars. I am referring to the ways in which Darwin and the Top End have cemented themselves as uniquely multicultural societies over the last century, and the ways in which sport has been pivotal in creating that situation. It is a lesson from history that shows us how sport, of all other human activities, can unite people. I draw much of this information from a wonderful book chapter entitled Separatism and Solidarity written by Julia Martinez, which I recommend to all members of the House.
Back in 1926, a funny thing happened on the way to the footy. In its wisdom, the Darwin Town Council banned Aboriginal and Chinese people using the then Darwin Oval, now the park on the Esplanade, which was used back in those days to play Aussie Rules. What had, until then, been a competition that included all Darwinites playing footy together became the European’s only sporting competition. Indeed, the Darwin Town Council abolished the then Northern Territory Football League and established a North Australian Football League that excluded players on racial grounds.
One of the great ironies in this, of course, was that this new colour bar excluded Reuben Cooper, the Aboriginal bloke who introduced Aussie Rules to Darwin in the 1910s after learning to play the game while at school down south. So the following year, Aboriginal, Chinese and European footballers turned around and established a soccer competition for a couple of years. In February 1927, the first such soccer game was played between the half-caste Waratahs side and the Chinese Recreation Club.
Imagine where we would be today if that had gone on for more than a couple of years. Would we be looking at the Longs, Riolis, McAdams and others playing for the Socceroos instead of the AFL, or Wanderers playing Hellenic, or a Bob Elix battling a Zico Ilic for the presidency of Soccer NT? Who knows? It probably does not bear thinking about it. As it turned out, a wonderful thing happened back in the 1920s: an act of real reconciliation decades before the term became widespread in the rest of the nation.
Territorians, united, did not take it lying down. Public meetings were held and it was the people of Darwin, many of them wharfies and other unionists, who united with their Chinese and Aboriginal team mates to overturn the colour bar in Darwin sport. As a Mr H Edwards, a member of the Vesteys team put it:
But these links between the Chinese and Aboriginal families of early Darwin reflected social links that started at school. In 1925 Darwin, for example, there were 44 Anglo kids, 66 Chinese and 11 Aboriginal children. These Anglos were not just of Irish, Scottish or British stock, but southern Europeans as well. It was more complicated than that because Darwin was already developing as a multicultural community, with many other ethnic heritages joining the mix.
As Martinez notes, the so-called ‘coloured’ football players of the time reflected a mixed heritage:
Diana Giese, in an interview with Joe Sarib, a man of Javanese-Chinese descent, wanted to play footy after watching games contested by the ‘coloured’ athletes of Darwin. Athletes such as Steve Abala, Ali Ah Matt, Benny Baban and Don Bonson were described by Giese as ‘founders of the football dynasties of Darwin’.
By 1930, the colour bar in footy in Darwin had been beaten back and, since then, footy has been open to all and reflective of the cultural diversity of Darwin and the Top End. In 1933, the journalist Ernestine Hill described the tone of what footy has been like since that time:
It was a financial relationship as well as a playing one. Wanderers’ chief backer was Ernie Lee, whose pallbearers when he died in 1932 were F Chafez, F Spain, C Spain, E Conanan, A Cubillo, E Tapper and J Cubillo - a real cross-section of Darwin, with English, Filipino and Aboriginal sportsmen playing a leading role in a Chinese funeral. In turn, many of these people worked together as members of the North Australian Workers Union.
Back in the 1930s, the junior town team was captained by H Chin, son of a prominent Chinese, and included the Moo brothers as well as Aboriginal children. As Martinez comments:
This written historical account certainly echoed through my experiences growing up in Darwin. My father, with both Chinese and Aboriginal heritage, had a long relationship with Charles See-Kee, who ran the Northern Territory Basketball Association for some 21 years. Many members in this House would remember and even today will probably run into Bennie Lew Fatt who played in the Australian Basketball Championships in the 1960s, and of whose personal story it has been said:
That is part of the point, I guess: when those histories are all pulled together, it will be seen as a history of sharing on the footy oval, the basketball courts and beyond. It is something in which broader politics are blurred.
When he was still in this place, I remember trading insults across this Chamber from time to time with Fred Finch. However, on Saturday afternoons I respected him as the Patron of my beloved Darwin Buffalos football side.
Likewise, the previous government, which appointed a Greek man Administrator, would have been aware that John Anictomatis played football for Buffalos. Certainly, in this government’s appointment of a man of Irish decent, His Honour the Administrator Ted Egan, we knew of his track record with the St Mary’s club, a club he founded and captained. Alec Fong Lim, the former Lord Mayor of Darwin, was as well known for his participation in tennis, cricket, footy and basketball as he was for his political leanings.
This is something of which we in this place can be genuinely proud. I still walk down the street or meet people at the pub whose shared past with me and my family has been through sport despite the many cultures and walks of life from which we have all come. There is an inbuilt respect that was born on the playing field and not, may I say, on the hallowed fields of ruling class Eton, but on the cosmopolitan and rough outfield of the old Darwin Oval.
We did a quick survey of the staff in my office this morning. In it, we share heritages across the British, Irish, Scottish, Chinese, Dutch, German, Torres Strait Island, Takalak, Waanyi, Garawa, Warumungu, Pitjantjatjara, Arrernte and Luritja peoples - 14 lines of descent amongst a mere handful of people. Other members here might like to do the same in their offices. Indeed, it would be an interesting exercise for people in their respective workplaces across the Territory. What you would find is that we are a truly multicultural community, something that this statement celebrates and seeks to strengthen.
Madam Speaker, I commend the minister’s statement to the House.
Debate adjourned.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move, on behalf of the Chief Minister, pursuant to Standing Order 93, to nominate Wednesday, 16 February 2005 as the next sitting day on which General Business will have precedence over Government Business.
Motion agreed to.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker I move that:
Motion agreed.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Madam Speaker, 21 Nhulunbuy students received their Northern Territory Certificate of Education in December last year. I congratulate them all on the hard work and commitment over the past few years of schooling with their results reflecting their efforts.
Mitchell Fleming received the highest NTCE score at Nhulunbuy High of 88. His Tertiary Entrance Rank was 95.9%, putting him in the top 4% of all students in the Territory. Mitchell plans to attend the University of Queensland where he will study a Bachelor of Commerce. I wish him well. Mitchell completed all of his education in Nhulunbuy.
An artist from Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre has been honoured in the short list for the National Sculpture Prize to be held at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra in the near future. Gunybi Ganambarr from GanGan has only been producing art for the last three years, although he has been one of the region’s most sought-after ceremonial Yidaki players for some time. His heavily carved 3 m memorial pole Dhanbarr has been selected from 635 entries to be one of the few in the running for the $50 000 prize. This caps off a year of great success for the region’s artists represented by the Yirrkala Arts Centre.
Waturr and Gawirrin Gumana, Wanyunbi Marika, Nawurapu Wunungmurra all had successful solo exhibitions in prestigious Sydney galleries. Three of Wanyubi’s works were purchased for the Kerry Packer Collection. Naminapu-Maymuru White and Wukun Wanambi both had exhibitions in Darwin, which completely sold out. My congratulations to all these artists and to Will Stubbs and his team at Buku-Larrnggay who have the commitment, drive and understanding to support these artists both locally and on the world stage.
I was extremely happy to be part of the opening of newly upgraded airstrip at Gapuwiyak late last year. It will ensure access to the remote community during the Wet Season. The aerodrome is the eighth busiest remote community aerodrome in the Territory, catering for 90 aircraft, 5000 passengers and 33 tonnes of freight a year. The Territory government provided more than $1m for the upgrade, which included the sealing of the airstrip to provide all-weather access. Prior to the upgrade, the airstrip was subject to frequent closure as a result of wet weather.
The 2004 Rotary Vocational Service Awards were held late December and recognised the contribution of an individual within the workplace. Mrs Chris Price has been a dedicated employee for Nhulunbuy Newsagency for the past 30 years. Her pride and level of skill and efficiency, her personal qualities encouraged her manager to nominate her. Local Yirrkala resident, Mr Clifford Wanambi, was nominated by YBE for demonstrating dedication and a highly professional standard of work and excellence within the YBE workplace. Clifford has a strong work ethic, constantly produces a high quality of work and encourages development of cross-cultural friendships within his employment. Both Chris and Clifford are outstanding recipients of the Rotary award, and I extend my congratulations to them.
The Nhulunbuy community reached deep into their pockets and donated goods to support the tsunami appeal. Graham Johnson, from Nhulunbuy Fire Station and Constable Joedy Kitchen spent time collecting donations. Nhulunbuy Over Threes raised $5244.50 with their morning tea organised by Tanya Davey and Tanya Leahy, with a number of volunteers busy baking and collecting raffle tickets. Through the electorate office, we organised a container and a half of household goods, 329 boxes organised and packed. I acknowledge those who assisted with this huge task: Ann Barr, Simone O’Mealley, Tanya Lay, Leonie Bean, John Keogh, Leslie Moynahan, Mike and Pauline Hindle, Marie Martinez, Christina Burke, Kiwi Deb, Daniel Haig, Patrick O’Brien, and my electorate staff. I would also like to thank Perkins, Wridgeways, GIS, the Neighbourhood Centre, the Catholic Church, Gove District Hospital and Nhulunbuy Corporation for their assistance as well.
It is humbling to see unity of purpose and dedication to our neighbours. My admiration for our community is great, and I know that the generous donations and hard work of so many people will be greatly appreciated when these goods are delivered to the affected areas.
Two local MAF pilots have departed Gove for the Aceh province to assist with relief efforts. In the midst of scenes of incredible need, Adrian Smith and Russell Duncan will help rebuild and save lives in partnership with the Samaritans Purse and Operation Blessing International, as well as assisting the Indonesian government when flights required. Our thoughts are with Adrian and Russell and their families during their time of separation and demanding workload on the pilots as they assist with the relief effort.
A Gove legend and a lovable larrikin, Harry Fincham or ‘Oil Can’, passed away on 14 January. Arriving in Gove in 1969, Harry had already lived a full and memorable life. Falsifying his birth certificate to join the army in World War II, Harry served five years in Borneo and another two in New Guinea. During this time, both his parents died. Harry was released to take care of his three younger siblings. He married Joy to make the adoption a reality and she later had their two daughters, Denise and Sue. Harry worked on the construction site and later became the corporation’s backhoe operator. Oil Can and his mates established the Nhulunbuy Corporation Fishing Club. Harry was a proud Australian. He loved a beer and a bet. He was a hard worker, and so earned respect, but rejected promotion and overtime. When Harry met someone, he embraced them as a good mate. Oil Can will remain in the memories of those who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Blue, or David Douglas, was awarded Nhulunbuy Region 2005 Australian of the Year award for his contribution to the Nhulunbuy community. A long time resident, he arrived with his family in 1972 when he completed his schooling. As a teenager, Blue was involved in the Surf Club and represented Gove in a team that competed in the National Titles.
However, it is dancing with which most people associate Blue. As a young boy, he helped his father with bush dances held in their backyard and began teaching dance steps to newcomers. He held classes for residents to practice ballroom and bush dancing for pleasure. An involvement with the debutante ball since 1986 has seen Blue teach an almost endless procession of teenagers the finer art of ballroom dancing. Blue was also involved with Gove Showtime, which organised performers to come into the town for entertainment. Blue regularly provides his time voluntarily to operate the sound and light equipment for various functions around town. A person always willing to help others, Blue is certainly a worthy recipient of the citizenship award.
The Young Nhulunbuy Citizen of the Year is Lee Chandler, a young man who managed to maintain a balance between studies and sport, providing a role model to his younger peers. Lee has been a member of Nhulunbuy High School Representative Council and its Vice-President. He was also captain for Roper, leading by example competing in all events in swimming and athletics carnivals. An accomplished sportsman, Lee has represented the NT and Australian Rugby League sides, gaining a Northern Territory Institute of Sport scholarship. He also excelled at touch footy, BMX, volleyball, cricket, golf and squash, and has earned NT selection almost in every sport. Lee also contributes to working bees, fund raising activities, junior coaching and refereeing.
Lee was awarded the coveted Trevor ‘Curly’ Jenkins Award, the Snowy Oaks Awards for all-round ability, the Walkabout Lodge Outstanding Sportsman Award as well as school awards. Lee has accepted entry to James Cook University to undertake a Bachelor of Sports Science degree. He is an honest, forthright young man with a sense of priority who shows leadership and friendship to all, and is a worthy winner of the Junior Citizenship Award.
The Australia Day Community Event of the Year was awarded to the Darwin Symphony Orchestra Arnhem Land Overture Concert. Jane Stone initiated the idea, and with her volunteer committee was able to organise a great evening’s entertainment, with a mix of classical music, humour, song and local participation. The logistics for staging the concert were enormous. My congratulations to Jane and her team for an outstanding evening of entertainment. It was a great night.
I want to put on the record the achievements and commitment of Ted Bailey, who recently retired as Darwin Turf Club’s Chairman. He was the Darwin Turf Club’s longest-serving chairman, first serving in the role from 1988 to 1999, and then again from 2003 to 2005. During his time as Chairman, he oversaw major changes and improvements to the club, including development of The Laurels bar and The Grandstand, plus new stable blocks. He was instrumental in obtaining Principal Club status and recognition as a member of the Australian Racing Board. He oversaw massive growth in the Darwin Cup Carnival, and was instrumental in attracting high profile racing personalities to the carnival.
During his tenure as Darwin Turf Club Chairman, Ted played a leading role not only in development of the wonderful facilities at Fannie Bay, but also the establishment of Darwin Turf Club’s reputation on the Australian scene. Ted is warmly regarded by many high profile members of the Australian racing industry. They have enormous respect for him and he has always had their ear. He was of huge benefit to both the Turf Club and the Territory government during some difficult times. Ted certainly well and truly served his time with the Turf Club, and the Territory owes him a great debt for the enormous contribution he has made to our racing industry. I wish him the very best for his retirement, and I look forward to seeing him at cup time.
I also take the opportunity to welcome the appointment of Charles Burkitt, who takes over from Ted as the new Chairman of the Darwin Turf Club. Charles is a born and bred Territorian, with proven business acumen and, indeed, a passion for racing. At just 32 years of age, he is the youngest Chairman the club has ever had, and I am absolutely positive he will bring youthful enthusiasm coupled with real business nouse to the job. Charles has been Vice-Chairman of the Darwin Turf Club for two years. He has been well groomed for this position by Ted Bailey. I am absolutely confident that the Darwin Turf Club is in safe hands with Charles, and I take the opportunity to wish Charles, his committee and the Darwin Turf Club all the very best.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I discuss an issue about which I have spoken before in this Chamber. It is the Crimes (Victims Assistance) Act. Members will recall that, for some time now, I have been complaining loud and long about the reductions to costs made in 2002 by this government. Some members will also recall the committee stage of that debate. It was colourful, to say the least, and it emerged during the committee stage that the ramifications of the cost reductions may impact on victims of crime. That has proven to be the case, and I have so not only at the last estimates hearing, but in the Chamber on 17 June 2004.
On that occasion, I expressed the level of my concern, and that representatives of law firms had spoken to me, and the advice I was receiving was that fewer victims of crime were, in fact, accessing claims for compensation, that they were being denied access to justice because fewer lawyers were doing that sort of work. The reason they were not doing that sort of work any more was that it had become completely unaffordable for them to do so. At the time, I tabled a copy of a letter from one law firm in Alice Springs - and I will not repeat it all - that said:
I was aware that law firms throughout the Territory continued to reduce the amount of work that they do in this area, and I have received a number of representations from many solicitors.
In November 2004, as a result of yet another plea from local solicitors in Alice Springs - and what I could say was an act of desperation, having raised the matter in parliament on several occasions - I wrote directly to the Law Society. That letter is dated 15 November. I wrote to the President, Ms Merran Short. I will not repeat all of the letter, but I will quote a couple of parts of it:
I am aware that, in addition to the Law Society, individual solicitors have made representations either to the Attorney-General or to his office, such is the seriousness with which solicitors around the Territory regard this situation - that is, the reduction of costs brought in by this government. So concerned were they that the Attorney-General himself seemed to ignore their pleas and, indeed, the information I was putting to him.
There is another aspect of this debacle, and that is the inequity in the Crimes (Victims Assistance) fee structure, and this also caused great concern among lawyers. The fees to which an applicant is entitled are set in the legislation. That applicant’s solicitors generally do more work than the respondent’s solicitors is well known in the profession. The fees of legal practitioners acting for the Northern Territory government, however, are not regulated by the legislation. Those fees are generally capped, however, I understand the amount is still about $500 to $1000 higher than the maximum able to be obtained under the legislation.
It is the case that, when acting for the Northern Territory, there is no distinction between the capping of fees in matters that are under $5000 or over $5000. That is clearly an inequity. In other words, if you act for a respondent, it seems as though you are paid more. That is not fair.
In any event, the situation is that the Attorney-General or his office has received probably what could be described as a hammering over this issue. It is not just the member for Araluen who has raised this issue, or the member for Goyder who expressed concerns during the committee stage amendments. So desperate was I, based on the information I had received from a number of individuals and law firms, that I wrote directly to the Law Society and, in essence, said: ‘I cannot do anything else. Will you please get onto the Attorney-General?’.
That is the history of this matter. I understand that the Department of Justice is now working on this area with a view to reviewing the fees. In other words, the Attorney-General may or is likely to review the costs and, therefore, remedy the mess that he created a couple of years ago. The Minister for Justice and Attorney-General has claimed in one way or another in this place and outside that he is supportive of victims of crime. My view is that actions speak louder than words. He did create a mess, he refused my pleas to fix it and now, in an election year, appears set to concede defeat and fix what can only be described as a stuff-up.
If my information is correct, I am delighted. I look forward to what I understand will be an announcement by the Attorney-General at some stage over the new few months.
In politics, I suppose you would describe this as a bit of a win. However, I am terribly concerned about the victims of crime who have been severely disadvantaged as a result of the Attorney-General’s intransigence over the last couple of years. I do not think it hurts any of us to admit that a mistake has been made and that will fix it. Unfortunately, the Attorney-General in my view has left it too long, but the indications that I have now received - not from the Attorney-General, I might add. I have not been given the courtesy of an indication from him. I am not suggesting for a moment that he is required to give me that, but I would have thought that given that I have raised this matter on a number of occasions, and given my interest in this area, perhaps I could have had an indication. However, my information is that he looks set to fix the problem and, to that extent, I am very happy.
Mr BALDWIN (Daly): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I would like to join with the member for Nhulunbuy in passing my condolences to Denise Fincham on the passing of her father whom, I must say, I did not know; but I do know Denise. My condolences go to her and her family.
It was with great sadness today that I learnt of the passing of Margaret Thompson, who was a long-term Katherine rural resident who was involved in the community in Katherine for many years, and was well-known constituent and a friend who helped me out over my time of living and working in the Katherine rural area. I extend on my condolences and that of my family to George and his family for their great loss and sadness of this time.
Turning to another issue, I put on the record the work that has been done at Port Keats on the school and the efforts of the community as a whole, the partners in the COAG Agreement, the community members and parents for getting the kids back to school under their Giving Every Kid A Chance program, which started last year.
The efforts of all those involved has seen a massive increase in the number of students who are attending school. That has created quite a lot of difficulty regarding resources and logistics - so much so that as we heard Dale Seaniger, the Deputy CEO of Thamarrurr Council, say on radio this morning that the kids have to sit on the floor and do their lessons in very cramped conditions. Whilst there has been a great win in one area, and that is to get the attendance levels right up, and I mean a long way from what they have been in the past by all of the players getting together and encouraging the kids to school, it has left them with a severe problem of some urgency to fix.
I know talks have been going on between the Department of Employment, Education and Training, the Catholic Education Office and the federal government and some action has been taken as we speak to get extra resources and equipment out to Wadeye as quickly as possible. However, those actions need to ensure that the needs of those children are met as soon as possible.
There is a bigger issue: a tender has been let to review the status of the school, it being a Catholic mission school administered through Catholic Education. This tender will look at the status of the school, but it will take some time. Regardless of the outcome of that process and its passage through various government agencies, committees and executive government, we need to make sure that while the process is under way, whatever resources are needed to provide the children of Port Keats to ensure that they are sitting in a comfortable teaching and learning environment that those resources are made available immediately. That includes human resources as well as the physical. I encourage the minister to make sure he keeps an eye on what is happening out there.
What the community has done is a great news story and it has come about after a lot of groundwork over the last few years and an attitude that started with the Thamarrurr Council and its predecessors and the middle management group who are taking control of their own lives. It has culminated in the kids who have not been going to school turning up in great numbers. In fact, there are something like 180 children at school now who have never seen the inside of a classroom. They are not just school starters; these are kids of all age groups who have never been to school. They believe there are probably another 70 that they have not got to school out of the total school age group. So it is a good news story. It needs careful watching and some immediate action to make sure the resources are available to let those kids enjoy a healthy and comfortable learning environment.
I now turn to another matter, and this is directed to the minister for DBIRD. Today I learnt that the CEO of DBIRD communicated with his staff that they need to cut their spending by some $1.1m in order to meet their budget outcome. The indication is that there has been over-spending on the Vet lab at Berrimah, which seems strange because I would have thought that is capital expenditure and nothing to do with operational. Anyway, the communication is that he has ordered the budget to be reined in by $1.1m by June and that includes general cost cutting across the board, no recruiting and various other measures.
Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I hope the minister can explain why that should happen. I hope it is not a general indication of what is going on and that the same is not happening across other departments. I am sure he would be happy to provide an explanation as to what that is all about. I hope that they do come in on budget, but that is something that we will know come Estimates and the bringing down of the next budget. It is disturbing when you hear of these measures being taken. An explanation is all I am seeking at this stage.
Mr ELFERINK (Macdonnell): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I defend the defenceless and, in this instance, the person I am defending is the Lord Mayor of the capital of the Northern Territory, Darwin.
The reason is because this morning on radio, the Chief Minister sought to attack the Lord Mayor of Darwin in a most unseemly fashion. It is no secret that the Lord Mayor of Darwin was a CLP minister in the former government. However, that did not justify the attack launched by the Chief Minister this morning. Basically, the thrust of her attack was that he was doing the bidding of the CLP and was indistinguishable from his CLP mates in the opposition. That is an outrageous assertion not because he is a former member of the CLP, but because the Lord Mayor of Darwin is not acting unilaterally; he is acting in accordance with the desires of the Darwin City Council.
There are certain things that we have to understand about the position of the Lord Mayor. The first is that he is directly elected by the people. Unlike the Chief Minister in this place, the Lord Mayor is directly elected by an electorate substantially larger than any single member’s in this House. He is representative of a legitimate tier of government, and he is much more directly representative of the people of Darwin than the Chief Minister.
The other part of the attack that concerned me is that he is part of a committee. He is an alderman with special status by virtue of his direct election and his office. Nevertheless, he is part of a committee, and that is the legitimately elected Darwin City Council which, I understand, has unanimously voted to take a certain position in relation to the waterfront. That position is one of caution. What the Lord Mayor of Darwin has been doing is counselling caution in the same way that the opposition has been counselling caution, in the same way that the Darwin City Council has been counselling caution, in the way that so many other groups and bodies have been counselling caution on how the waterfront proceeds. We have seen on both channels of the television news this evening that it is a major concern; it is not just the opposition, the Darwin City Council or the Lord Mayor signalling caution as to how we proceed, and saying: ‘Let’s not go so fast’; many people and organisations in Darwin are saying it.
By implication, the Chief Minister is now accusing any person who counsels caution of being a CLP lackey or CLP sympathetic, and that is certainly not the case. I know that one of the aldermen on the Darwin City Council is a former member of this place, John Bailey. He would be most upset, especially to hear it drop like little pearls of wisdom from the lips of the Chief Minister, that he is a CLP lackey doing the CLP’s bidding. I imagine that he would choke on that, gag on it in ways that his gorge would rise at it. No, he is a man who is saying: ‘Hang on, let us have a look at what is going on’.
The other thing is that, because of the way the Chief Minister has arranged this, she is not simply putting taxpayers’ money into a deal; she has established herself as a partner in construction. Why is this important? The decision to become a partner in the process of developing the waterfront area means that she has a vested interest in its construction not only at a political level, but at a partnership and business level. Such an interest is not reflected by the Darwin City Council or in the position of the Lord Mayor who has no business or political interest. No, I will rephrase that; it is not correct. The Lord Mayor has no business interest in this case. Why is this important? This stuff still has to go through the Development Consent Authority.
It is within the power of the minister for Planning to overturn the decision of the DCA. He and, by proxy the Chief Minister, has a potential conflict of interest because as partners in the development, they have the power to overturn the decision of the DCA. Who has the legitimacy as a disinterested third party in a business case? It is the council represented by the Lord Mayor of Darwin. That is what he is doing. He is representing his position as Lord Mayor of Darwin. They have a case before the DCA, they have an interest and they have standing.
They are on the back foot. One of the business partners of the consortium has a vested interest in the outcome at a business level. The criticism from the Chief Minister, as a business partner, of the Lord Mayor of Darwin, who has a disinterested business case, is starting to look very flimsy. For the Chief Minister to accuse the Lord Mayor and aldermen of Darwin City Council of being stooges and political lackeys to the position of the CLP is an outrageous accusation that she is making from the position of a person with a business case. What is worse, she holds the other card: her government has the ability to overturn a decision from the DCA.
To dismiss any person who raises a question about this development as a CLP lackey is political opportunism magnified a million-fold compared with anything of which she could accuse the Lord Mayor of because he …
Mr Henderson: A CLP lackey!
Mr ELFERINK: I pick up on that interjection. The Leader of Government Business and member for Wanguri said that the Lord Mayor is a CLP lackey. I invite the member by interjection to say that is the case for the rest of the council.
Mr Henderson: I am talking about the Lord Mayor.
Mr ELFERINK: Well, you see, this is the interesting thing: he does not have the courage to accuse the council, which has made this decision unanimously, of being CLP lackeys because he knows the position of the Lord Mayor is that of the leader of the council. That is the untenable position of the Leader of Government Business.
The Lord Mayor has a mandate which far exceeds the mandate of the Chief Minister in this instance. Although a former minister of a CLP government, the Lord Mayor is doing his job. For the Chief Minister to take the position she has is reprehensible and is politically opportune. If she thinks she can taint the council as being a bunch of CLP lackeys, that will justify her interference in future processes that should be followed to ensure this development proceeds sensibly.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
MINISTERIAL REPORTS
Investment in the Territory
Investment in the Territory
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, new investment means more than just new jobs. Injecting funds into the local economy broadens our economic base and fires up the spending power of all Territorians.
Every additional dollar invested in the Territory means more retail spending, people in restaurants, and building and renovation projects. New investment is essential to both current and future Territorians. So, what are we doing to attract new investment?
My government is actively growing the investment climate in the Territory by fostering high quality infrastructure to lever significant private sector employment and investment, successfully positioning the Territory in the regional and international economy, lowering business costs, and working in partnership with the private sector to achieve positive economic gains for the Territory.
In the last sittings for 2004, you will recall my statement on the economic development milestones that my government proudly achieved during 2004. The size in monetary terms and breadth of major projects is worth quickly recapping.
There is the $2bn Alcan G3 expansion, an increase in annual alumina production capacity from two million tonnes to 3.8 million tonnes. Early construction activity has commenced. There are currently 290 people employed on-site and, as of mid-December, 1000 Territorians have applied for employment with the project.
There is the Wickham Point LNG plant, a $1.6bn venture. Construction at Wickham Point is now 44% complete. The current building work force is a sizeable one, 1400, and approximately 48% of those are Territorians. Eighteen major subcontracts have been awarded to Territory companies.
There is the $750m Bayu-Undan pipeline, which is well under construction.
There is a record infrastructure spending figure, $1.3bn over the last three years, with some of the key items on that work list being the Desert Peoples’ Centre, the construction of which in Alice Springs is worth $1.5m; the very important Mereenie Loop sealing works, all stages of that over three years at $38m; the East Arm Port oil pipeline Stage II, at just over $8m; the East Arm Port bulk loading facilities at $11.2m; and another important infrastructure spend, the Litchfield Loop Road over three years at $15m.
Mr Dunham interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: A very significant range of investments - he has not taken his pills, Madam Speaker. A very significant range of investments, indeed, that signify confidence in our economy and capacity and confidence in my government.
However, the work does not stop there. I would like to advise this Assembly on the major economic investment projects that we can expect to see commence in 2005:
- the $500m Blacktip project, including gas field development, the offshore gas pipeline and onshore
gas processing plant. The construction is expected to take place largely during 2006-07, with the
construction work force for the gas processing plant peaking at over 100 people.
from Wadeye to the Alcan Gove alumina plant. Construction is expected to occur over the same time
as the offshore project, season of 2006-07, and the construction work force will peak at 800. The
short-listed consortia for the build, own and operate contract for the pipeline will submit final bids
soon, with an investment decision expected in the second quarter of this year.
started, later this year we hope, it will herald the commencement of the $1bn staged precinct revival
in the heart of Darwin and will deliver, at last, a convention and exhibition centre for the Top End. As
we know, the proposal by the preferred consortium led by ABM AMRO and Sitzler Barclay Mowlem
Joint Venture and Toga, among others, will provide jobs and growth in our economy. There are many
community benefits from the proposal, not forgetting, of course, the wave pool;
this early Dry and complete by the end of 2005;
per annum for export via the rail to China, will generate more than 80 jobs at the mine and includes an $86m
mining contract over 10 years and a 50 km haul road connection to the railway; and
government has committed $11.2m for a new bulk handling facility at East Arm to support this and other
future mineral developments.
Mr BURKE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, it is always pleasing to hear about infrastructure projects occurring in the Northern Territory, or those about to occur.
Listening to the list that the Chief Minister read out, it is sad that the Chief Minister would claim credit for 99% of those projects. As she knows, they were not of her doing. They have been in progress for many years and are an indication of the expansion of existing infrastructure, or are an indication of the strong investment of private investors in the Northern Territory.
The one infrastructure development to which the Chief Minister pointed was the Darwin City Waterfront. We know that has a range of problems associated with it and, certainly, the opposition, on behalf - and as the Chief Minister and her government are no longer the auditors or the checkers of that development, they are actually the developers - we and the media, on behalf of Territorians, will be questioning that particular job. You have lost your credibility. You are no longer the auditor on behalf of Territorians. You are the developer and therefore you have a responsibility to answer questions on that waterfront development, and we will be asking them.
There was no mention of Chinatown, the first infrastructure project the Labor government was going to do, which has dropped off the agenda. That was going to do all sorts of things for Territorians. No mention of beef roads and roads outside of unincorporated areas.
I know that the government has complained about the issue. I will tell you what the CLP’s position will be on unincorporated roads: first, we will achieve the $20m from the Commonwealth that you cannot achieve; and, second, not only will we achieve at least $20m from the Commonwealth that they need to put into unincorporated roads, we will match them dollar for dollar on every dollar they put in, at least.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, in five minutes, I did not have an opportunity to talk about every single investment. It is important to restate what is happening. It is interesting that the Opposition Leader would say that none of these projects have started in the last three- and-a-half years. Was the G3 Gove expansion a CLP project? Was it?
These things have happened. It is extraordinary arrogance by the Opposition Leader and the CLP that that everything is theirs. It is the member for Drysdale’s view that government is the CLP’s rightful inheritance. The Opposition Leader pretends to be a new man …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: … not showing all the old arrogance of the CLP, all the old arrogance.
Mr Burke interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, order!
Ms MARTIN: I felt sorry when I sat here yesterday and listened to the Opposition Leader say: ‘I am trying to be a new man. I really am trying’. Well, I have to say that he will have to do better. Yesterday’s man is there loud and clear.
Australian Health Ministers Conference
Dr TOYNE (Health): Madam Speaker, the Australian Health Ministers conference met in Sydney on 28 January 2005. This was the first ministerial meeting I chaired.
Chairing the conference provided this government with an opportunity to promote papers in key areas where the expertise of Territory Health professionals, researchers and the community are at the cutting edge of national and international health practice.
It was also an opportunity to ensure that the needs of Territorians are understood and addressed at national level, especially in the area of indigenous and remote health.
I took the opportunity to inform health ministers about progress in two significant national projects being led by the Northern Territory.
The first was on child health and wellbeing reform. This project dove-tails perfectly with the government’s Building Healthier Communities framework, which contains a strong commitment to giving kids a good start in life.
At the AHMC, I presented a paper on the national project by a team from the Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia under the auspices of the Health Reform Agenda Working Group. It provides both an overview of current issues and ideas for practical actions for reform of maternal health, service arrangements, work force strategies and of monitoring child development, health and wellbeing.
Leading this project represents an opportunity for us to consolidate the work we are doing locally, to contribute to national policies and to seek a program of joint initiatives with other jurisdictions on these really important areas of delivery.
The second paper I presented to the assembled ministers was on the excellent project looking at remote area renal services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This represents an impressive body of work - Once again, NT led, and, in addition, many of the consultant team developed their expertise working in the Territory.
The importance of tackling kidney disease and combating preventable chronic disease through providing services closer to home are all key elements of this government’s commitment to building healthy communities.
While the work of this group focuses on the important area of treatment of end-stage kidney disease, it is critical to consider the role of prevention and early detection of kidney disease, and ensuring that all levels of the health system work together to benefit the community in combating these terrible conditions.
This report also provides examples of successful initiatives across urban, regional and remote Australia which have enabled indigenous people with end-stage kidney disease to receive renal services closer to home.
The ministers noted both of these of reports and asked that specific actions on these key areas be brought back to the next AHMC meeting, which I shall be chairing in Alice Springs in July this year. Significantly, this meeting would be the first time the body has met in Central Australia …
Mr Dunham interjecting.
Dr TOYNE: … and this will provide the ministers with a chance to see some of our health issues and solutions first-hand.
Madam Speaker, maybe I stand corrected; I am not aware of it.
My colleague, the Minister for Family and Community Services, will also be chairing the Community Services and Disability Ministerial Conference in Alice Springs, and this will allow us to work together on some of the key issues in child health.
The AHMC meeting in Sydney also provided a very good result for the Territory in the area of e-health. Using technology to deliver better health across all areas of the Territory was another of the commitments in building healthier communities framework. The conference agreed to provide $18.2m nationally over next three years to drive the consistent adoption of critical national e-health priorities across the health sector. The e-health developer will establish Australia-wide systems for patient identification, provider databases and other vital health information. I am confident that the Northern Territory will be at the forefront in benefiting from this injection of funding, given our current involvement in Health Connect trials and E-prescribing.
Many other important issues were also discussed at the conference, including organ donation, Australia’s response to the Asian tsunami disaster, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework, and the National Health Reform Agenda. The meeting enabled me to showcase the excellent work of the Territory’s health professionals in child health and renal disease. It will also benefit the Northern Territory in the provision of national funding for E-health projects.
These are all identified priorities for the Territory and, as such, the council further reinforces this government’s commitment to Building Healthier Communities.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his report.
Naturally, I was aware that he chaired the Australian Health Ministers Council meeting because the minister was at pains to issue media releases advising us all about that. I cannot recall seeing in those media releases that the position of chair rotates on a routine basis.
However, in his report, I note that the minister said he delivered two papers. I hope that he delivered them in a more enthusiastic way than he delivered his report.
Having said that, however, minister, would you be good enough to provide us with copies of those papers? In the space of two minutes, there is really not enough time to devote to getting stuck into some of the issues you raised, however, your papers will, no doubt, be of assistance.
I believe all 25 of us in this Chamber share a commitment to improving the health of all Territorians and, in particular, tackling preventable chronic disease. Minister, if you would be good enough to table those papers so that all of us can see what you said to your colleagues recently, I would be grateful.
I look forward to hearing more from you after the meeting in Alice Springs in July this year and, naturally, as an Alice Springs resident, welcome your ministerial colleagues to Alice Springs.
You referred to various commitments you have made or have been outlined in the Building Healthier Communities document. Yes, there are a number of commitments. What we want to see, however, are some outcomes, not just statements and sentences from you saying that there have been, but actual facts and positive results and some statistical evidence.
I look forward to you providing them to me in due course, but, in the meantime, provision of the two papers would be greatly appreciated.
Dr TOYNE (Health): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the generally positive response from the opposition spokesperson.
We will certainly get you those two papers; you can have a look at them. They are excellent bases on which to develop national initiatives, which we will be talking about in Alice Springs.
As to Building Healthier Communities, that is a public document owned by all 5500 members of our health system in the Northern Territory. We will stand by those priorities. We are auditing them on a quarterly basis, and we are moving a lot of the initiatives forward in that framework.
Community Harmony Program and AFL All Stars Game
Mr AH KIT (Community Development): Madam Speaker, I report on the success of the All Stars versus the Western Bulldogs game, and the positive approach taken to managing the numbers of people who came in from townships and communities around the Territory to watch it.
The game attracted a reported crowd of over 8000 people. This is a good sized crowd. I know that many of you went to the game and enjoyed the atmosphere.
It is a unique Territory event that is looked forward to by many. It brings people to town from other regional centres and from the communities. However, like other things that can bring people into town from the communities, such as accessing the health and legal systems or visiting friends and families, sometimes people get stuck in town. They may not have the money to return, or they may get caught up in the lifestyle here.
Research indicates that, while most of these people will move about without causing trouble, a number will make a pest of themselves through bad behaviour. By providing the right support when required, but also being tough if necessary, we are helping people to find path ways into a more stable lifestyle, either in town or back in their community.
The Community Harmony Strategy has been very successful in a lot of ways; however, it also has to be acknowledged that this is not a problem that magically appeared overnight, and will go away with the wave of a wand.
Leading up to the All Stars game, there was a concerted effort to bring the patrolling groups together for a coordinated response. This worked well, with police and the other patrolling groups such as Mission Australia reporting no incidents of antisocial behaviour at the game. The Larrakia Hosts had a presence at the game and were able to talk to countrymen about where to go for accommodation and the bus service.
There have been some significant wins for Community Harmony; for example, the Return to Home Program which started in Darwin in May two years ago, and in Katherine in February 2004. Since that time, 2171 people in Darwin and Katherine have returned to their communities under the program.
Return to Home is significant, not only because the antisocial behaviour in town lessens, but also because people know that they are wanted back home; they are part of the family network to which they contribute and that needs them in return.
An important feature of Return to Home is that it is user-pays. We pay up-front for a person’s flight home and a repayment schedule to be directly debited from their Centrelink payment is set up, so one of our most successful programs is totally self-funded. It is an example of a great idea that has really worked.
Another idea that was instinctively good, and is regarded highly, is the Mala Leaders program. It makes good sense for respected leaders from within a community to come and talk to their own people about their place and country, and their responsibilities. This has included establishing cultural protocols, which have been promoted widely.
We see the direct impact of these visits, too. Last time the Mala elders came to town, three plane loads of people went back to their communities. The idea has taken off so well that strategies to establish cultural protocols, driven and promoted by community leaders, are being put in place or considered right across the Territory in Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Nhulunbuy.
Return to Home and the Mala Leaders programs are two positive and constructive approaches to seeing antisocial behaviour as a holistic issue; a manifestation of the despair of being stuck in town, of feeling disconnected from community. Just because we are capable of thinking about antisocial behaviour in a sophisticated way does not mean that we are soft on bad behaviour. Where it continues and people will not go home and it causes distress to people, we have a strongly integrated approach to hot spot management in managing patrols, planning infrastructure, health interventions, day programs - you name it; there is communication across government and community.
The central theme of discussion surrounding the Community Harmony Program is: ‘How are we going to solve this problem? and not ‘We are not responsible’.
Mr ELFERINK (Macdonnell): Madam Speaker, the minister is quite correct: no problems at the game. What happened in the rest of the community as a result of those people coming to town?
What the minister is talking about is the Community Harmony Project. Let us have a look at the effects of keeping the Community Harmony Project going since they came to office in 2001: 13 700 people were taken into protective custody in 2001 when the Community Harmony Project was started under this government.
Last year, nearly 19 500 were taken into protective custody. These people are returning to Alice Springs, Katherine and Darwin almost as quickly as they go out to the communities. In fact, I am advised that some of them have been witnessed returning by taxi from their communities two days after they have returned home.
This government’s approach is going into a system of credit to make these people pay for their own trips back ...
Mr Dunham: Book-up!
Mr ELFERINK: That is book-up. Currently, a fellow before the Federal Court is being investigated for unconscionable behaviour because of the way that he has forced book-up on certain people, so the government has to be very careful about some of the plans that it puts together.
The other question I have for the minister - and he should be very careful about how he answers this – is: what happens when someone books-up one of these flights on their future income and does not catch the flight? Who pays the bill? I would be really interested to know the answer to that particular doozie.
Madam Speaker, the Community Harmony Program has seen more and more drunks being arrested in the major centres in the Northern Territory. This problem has not gone away; it has become exacerbated. Why is the minister so jumpy? Because when they are doorknocking, they are hearing the complaints on the door step. When they are polling, they are hearing itinerants are a problem on Territorians’ doorsteps.
This program is window dressing. It is about time the minister came clean and realised his program is not working and it is about time he took control of the issue, which is his job.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I also enjoyed the All Stars event. I did see 10 minutes of it and for the rest of the time I was selling hamburgers; but I gather from all the people who were there that it was a great event.
The minister has raised a couple of issues: one was about a sporting event and the second was about antisocial behaviour. I have raised this issue before, but I do wonder, after all the discussion in this parliament about alcohol and the alcohol framework, why we are basically allowed to have full-strength beer and spirits at a sporting event.
Is the reason people go to a football match to enjoy the football match or to enjoy the drinking? I do not think you cannot separate the two. You cannot separate antisocial behaviour, and you cannot separate the effects of big business - that is breweries - using sporting events to market their product.
At Traeger Park in Alice Springs, the selling of beer is light or mid-strength. I ask the government to at least talk to the NTFL to ask why that isn’t considered across the Northern Territory. We are a bit blind if we do not realise that full-strength alcohol has people under the influence much quicker than light beer and these things are related.
On one hand, we cannot say that is the business of the NTFL and on the other hand say that we are concerned about these issues. These issues need looking at. I have been to a number of these events and it is painful to see the state of some of those people at the end of the football match. They may not cause trouble, but you still have to ask why were they there. The government should at least look at talking to the NTFL about the issue of alcohol and its effect on antisocial behaviour.
Mr AH KIT (Community Development): Madam Speaker, let me come back to what I mentioned last night in closing my statement on housing. It was the interview that was done by the Leader of the Opposition in regards to Paul Wiles.
Members interjecting.
Mr AH KIT: Let us be quiet and hear whether this Leader of the Opposition is going to stand by what he said on radio and have you people opposite fall in behind. He said:
- Well, I can promise Aboriginal Territorians a new beginning in Aboriginal relations, a new Denis Burke,
a new Denis Burke and in the policies that I bring forward in that regard they will quickly see that it has
always been my desire to put the past behind us and I do not want to revisit it again.
Liar, liar, liar!
Members interjecting.
Mr AH KIT: What the member for Macdonnell wants, and what it appears to be, is that Aboriginal people …
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! That should be withdrawn. Everyone knows it is unparliamentary!
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, withdraw that remark.
Mr AH KIT: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Do not use it in future.
Mr AH KIT: The member for Macdonnell should go out and tell people in his electorate that they are not allowed to travel to town because here, he tells one story, and I will make sure that they know out there that you do not want them coming into town.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired minister.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! I agree with the member for Nelson. We should be looking at the CAFL and what they have done to improve football matches.
Harmony Day 2005
Mr VATSKALIS (Multicultural Affairs): Madam Speaker, Harmony Day is celebrated across Australia each year on 21 March.
It is a time when all Australians come together to celebrate community harmony and this country’s cultural and linguistic diversity. Because Harmony Day coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Harmony Day is not just a celebration.
In Australia, over 200 languages are spoken and the overall community is made up of people who come from as many different cultural backgrounds. Harmony Day, therefore, is a reminder of our responsibilities as Australian citizens and residents; whether we were born here or not, to recognise and respect the rights of all Australians, to express and share their cultural values without fear of racism or discrimination.
In other words, Harmony Day is a reminder to us all to be vigilant in the fight against racism. Multiculturalism encourages all Australians to be involved in making a contribution to the elimination of racism. By encouraging racial harmony and the acceptance of diversity within our community, we all have the opportunity to achieve social cohesion.
This is an important message, particularly as it is set against the current international backdrop of cultural, religious and ethnic tension. Harmony Day has grown into Australia’s biggest annual multicultural event since its inception in 1999. The values behind Harmony Day represent commonly shared Australian values and concepts:
- Harmony - bringing all of us together to celebrate the many faces of Australia and treating those around
us with consideration and dignity;
other cultures;
embracing the best of traditional Australian values: justice, equality, fairness and mateship; and
acceptance of others.
In the Northern Territory, Harmony Day is celebrated throughout the month of March, providing Territorians with a variety of activities and opportunities for celebration. The Northern Territory government is proud to support this initiative through the Multicultural Affairs Sponsorship Program: $40 000 has been set aside for this purpose.
This year, 41 applications for Harmony Day activities were received from across the Territory, including schools and community groups in Darwin, Nhulunbuy, Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Jabiru, Humpty Doo, Berry Springs and Pine Creek. In total, there were 16 applications from regional and remote areas. This truly demonstrates the commitment of Territorians to this event.
The range of planned activities across the Territory includes an ethnic dance presentation organised by the Katherine Filipino Australian Association. The Multicultural Service of Central Australia in Alice Springs has organised activities which involve the whole community, such as window dressing, citizenship ceremonies, and a multicultural costume parade. The Nhulunbuy Primary School has planned some painting activities, excursions to cultural places, and a sports day to celebrate Harmony Day. Persatuan Indonesia has planned a full range of activities for 19 March at Lake Alexander.
To further advance this successful initiative, I encourage members to promote Harmony Day and encourage community organisations, schools and local government to participate in celebrations during March. Let us join our hands in harmony and continue to move the Territory ahead.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I join the minister in supporting Harmony Day. I repeat his words that Harmony Day started back in 1999, and the then CLP government took it with both hands and promoted it very strongly across the Territory.
I remember taking part in Harmony Days as the presiding person in Alice Springs in 1999, 2000 and 2001. I hope that the minister will continue promoting this for a long time to come.
The Chung Wah reception tonight is a clear indication that we are inclusive of all the ethnic communities in the Territory; the Glenti is another one where it is open to all members of the public across the Territory, which is a good thing to keep promoting.
The Multicultural Services of Central Australia has been a very strong, and perhaps the only, organisation that focuses on multiculturalism for Alice Springs. It has had several lives, starting as the Migrant Resource Centre back in the 1980s. It has continued to grow stronger with each chairman and committee.
I look forward to the minister’s continued support of multiculturalism in the Northern Territory, and being very inclusive of all communities.
What I am unhappy about is that this minister has yet to provide the Chung Wah Society with the funds to send its Lion Dance troupe to Alice Springs. That is pretty poor. They have only two days …
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired, member for Greatorex. The time has expired for ministerial reports.
Mr VATSKALIS: Madam Speaker …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, resume your seat. Time has expired for ministerial reports.
Reports noted pursuant to Sessional Order.
LEGAL PRACTITIONERS AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 279)
(Serial 279)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of this bill is to provide legal certainty about the performance of various financial management and insurance functions under the Legal Practitioners Act and related legislation.
The Legal Practitioners Amendment Bill provides for various bodies established by the Legal Practitioners Act and associated legislation to be excluded from the application of the Corporations Act 2001. The activities of those bodies and the members and employers carrying out such activities will also be excluded from the application of the Corporations Act 2001.
Before outlining the purpose of the bill in greater detail, I note that the bodies affected by the bill include: The Law Society Northern Territory; the Legal Practitioners’ Trust Committee; the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund Committee; the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund; and the Public Purposes Trust Fund managed by the Law Society Northern Territory.
Section 80 of the Legal Practitioners Act imposes an obligation on lawyers to deposit 50% of trust monies with the Legal Practitioners’ Trust committee. That committee is required to manage the monies paid to it in accordance with the act on behalf of lawyers and their clients. Such monies are repayable to lawyers on demand, and any interest earned on such monies must be paid into the Fidelity Fund managed by the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund Committee.
Additionally, the Law Society Public Purposes Trust Act provides for certain income from trust monies held by legal practitioners to be paid into the Public Purposes Trust Fund managed by the Law Society Northern Territory.
Finally, the act provides for the Law Society to make arrangements on behalf of legal practitioners concerning professional indemnity insurance.
The Trust Committee and the Fidelity Fund Committee are made up of the Master of the Supreme Court and two lawyers appointed by the Law Society. Both committees have entered into administrative arrangements with the Law Society for the management of their financial affairs.
I now return to the particular circumstances that have led to the current bill. The Law Society has received advice from a major Sydney law firm indicating the recent amendments to the Commonwealth’s Corporations Act 2001 may require the bodies the subject of this bill and/or the individuals involved with those bodies to hold Financial Services licences.
The Corporations Act 2001 provides for people and organisations providing financial services, such as advice services and money management services, to be licensed. That legislation came into full effect in March 2004. It is understood that similar advice to that received by our Law Society has been provided to law societies in other Australian jurisdictions.
The Law Society and members of the affected committees are concerned that they may be acting illegally and have sought remedies from both the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory governments. As an interim response to the potential problem, the Commonwealth, through the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, has granted a temporary exemption for the Law Society and others until 1 July 2005. Refer to CO 03/1094 published in the ASIC Special Gazette 50a/03 of 23 December 2003.
The Legal Practitioners Amendment Bill, which is before the House today, provides for a more permanent solution to the concerns raised by the Law Society. The Law Society is concerned that a Financial Services licence under the Corporations Act 2001 may be required by:
the Legal Practitioners’ Trust Committee, which holds a proportion of lawyers’ trust monies in
accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act. Such monies are invested by the committee, with
income being distributed in accordance with the act. A licence may be required because these
activities amount to a holding of money on behalf of third parties;
Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund. A licence may be required because the committee both holds money
and provides advice about the investment of such money;
money is arguably held within this fund for the benefit of third parties. In addition, various members
of the trust and the Law Society provide advice about management of the monies in the fund; and, finally
the Law Society, in its statutory role under the Legal Practitioners Act, arranges and holds a master policy
under which most legal practitioners operating as solicitors are provided with indemnity insurance. This activity
may also require the Law Society to be licensed under the Corporations Act.
The basis of this policy position is that these bodies are all performing statutory functions, and it is not practical or, indeed, rational to require a statutory body to be licensed to perform its statutory role. It is also highly unlikely that it was ever intended that the Corporations Act 2001 would apply to bodies such as the Law Society in respect of their statutory functions. This is because the Financial Services Licensing Scheme under the Corporations Act 2001 does not apply to the Crown or authorities of the Crown. Arguably, some of these bodies may effectively be ‘the Crown’, although the Law Society itself, despite being a statutory body, is assumed not to be the Crown.
The policy position adopted in the Territory has been that of the legal practitioners committees, and persons or bodies providing services to them, such as government employees and the Law Society, should not be required to be licensed unnecessarily. The committees are, in essence, an administrative mechanism for the management of monies and the arranging of insurance for which the Northern Territory parliament has already assumed some responsibility.
Turning to the detail of the bill itself, the main clause, clause 3, provides for a declaration that the Trust Committee, the Fidelity Fund Committee, the employees of these bodies, and the members of the two committees are excluded from the application of the Financial Services licensing provisions contained in chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001. They are likewise excluded in relation to any other matters that may be specified in regulations made under that act.
However, proposed section 6B(3) and (4) also make it clear that the exclusion only operates in respect of their relevant statutory functions under the Legal Practitioners Act and the Law Society Public Purposes Trust Act. These provisions have been drafted in this manner because section 5F of the Corporations Act 2001 along with the Corporations Agreement 2002 permit the states and territories to make laws which have the effect of dis-applying the Corporations Act 2001.
In accordance with the Corporations Agreement, I have notified my ministerial colleagues who form the Ministerial Council for Corporations, and no minister has raised any problem with the proposed legislation.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
AUSTRALIAN CRIME COMMISSION (NORTHERN TERRITORY) BILL
(Serial 265)
AUSTRALIAN CRIME COMMISSION (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL
(Serial 266)
(Serial 265)
AUSTRALIAN CRIME COMMISSION (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL
(Serial 266)
Continued from 1 December 2004.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I will be brief. The opposition supports these bills, which were provided, in essence, for the operation of the Australian Crime Commission in the Northern Territory, which replaces the National Crime Authority.
The Territory has complementary legislation to enable the National Crime Authority to operate in the Territory and, since it has been replaced, these bills are a mechanism to enable the Australian Crime Commission to operate here. The commission will have the same coercive powers as the NCA, and its aim is to tackle serious organised crime. The offences in the bill reflect the offences that existed in the National Crime Authority legislation.
There are some new features, one of which is a national scheme to assist fighting serious crime which includes a national board of which the Northern Territory Police Commissioner is a member.
The bills are part of a national push and assist a Commonwealth agency, the Australian Crime Commission, to work in states and territories in what was described in the second reading speech as ‘our changing world’. That refers to our changing world in many respects ranging from drugs to terrorism and cyber crime.
These bills are supported. The Attorney-General asked for bipartisan support when he introduced them, and he has it.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I thank the opposition for their support and propose we move through the process.
Motion agreed to; bills read a second time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General) (by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that the bills now be read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bills read a third time.
MARINE AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 269)
(Serial 269)
Continued from 1 December 2004.
Mr DUNHAM (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, this is a fairly short bill and the second reading speech adequately described its intention.
It is not the opposition’s intention to oppose this bill. In fact, the second reading led us to believe that the legislation has been well thought out and has the intention of making the legislative regime relating to marine activities extended to areas where such protection should be afforded, so it is an extension.
It is a very simple bill to read, and we support the government’s action.
Dr BURNS (Parks and Wildlife): Madam Speaker, I thank the opposition for their support for this bill. The intent of it is to clarify the extent of jurisdiction of the act.
The intention of the act when it was first drafted in the early 1980s was that it would have jurisdiction over inland waterways. Legal questions arose and this bill clarifies the jurisdiction of the act regarding inland waterways, and ensures that there is oversight, particularly of drive and hire activities on inland waterways, and ensuring the safety of the public.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Dr BURNS (Parks and Wildlife) (by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
MOTION
Note Paper - Remuneration Tribunal Determination No 1 of 2004
Members of the Legislative Assembly, Members of the Executive Council
or Ministers of the Territory
Note Paper - Remuneration Tribunal Determination No 1 of 2004
Members of the Legislative Assembly, Members of the Executive Council
or Ministers of the Territory
Continued from 1 December 2004.
Motion agreed to; paper noted.
MOTION
Note Paper – Auditor-General’s Report to the Legislative Assembly:
Examination of Contracts Awarded by Government Agencies
to Metis Consulting Pty Limited
Note Paper – Auditor-General’s Report to the Legislative Assembly:
Examination of Contracts Awarded by Government Agencies
to Metis Consulting Pty Limited
Continued from 30 November 2004.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I address the issues raised by the Auditor-General in his report into contracts awarded by government agencies to Metis Consulting Pty Ltd.
Government welcomed the Auditor-General’s scrutiny of this issue. It is our belief that the Auditor-General should examine issues that potentially raise public concern in the expenditure of taxpayers’ money. The Auditor-General launched this investigation himself and in the report, he has also responded to a letter written to him by the member for Macdonnell.
The Auditor-General’s findings are quite instructive. He did not find any evidence of wrong doing. He found that the actions of government did not depart from the spirit of the procurement policy. He found that Metis had the expertise to do the work contracted, and he found that agencies generally complied with the Procurement Act and its policies, but pointed out some exceptions, which did not fully comply with the process.
Failure to comply with the process occurred only in the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment and the Department of Employment, Education and Training. In the case of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment, the matters determined are technical breaches and come from a failure to properly observe process in gazetting the certificate of exemption, which is fixed, and a failure to adequately check the history of the contract leading to incorrect information on the application for a certificate of exemption.
In relation to DEET, the failure to comply with procedures was more general. The Auditor-General found that there was a weakness in the department’s oversighting procedures. That weakness led to failure to comply with requirements. Again, the Auditor-General did not find any impropriety.
The Commissioner for Public Employment has accepted the Auditor-General’s findings and has acted to review and update internal procedures. The Chief Executive of DEET provided information to me of the breach of tender well in advanced of the Auditor-General’s investigation. I advised the House in answering a question on 16 June last year. It should be noted that I advised the House, not as a result of any question from the opposition, but in an open and transparent manner from a government question. The Chief Executive has assured me that procedures have been tightened considerably and stronger compliance procedures are in place.
I accept that lapses can occur. We are, after all, human and I am satisfied by the assurances of both the commissioner and the chief executive of these two agencies that these matters have been addressed.
The issues raised in relation to the Department of Health and Community Services, the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services and the Department of the Chief Minister have also been addressed by the Auditor-General.
The Auditor-General found that the requirements of the Procurement Act were generally adhered to, though he did identify specific issues for each agency to address. These issues involved correct paperwork and signatures. He also commented on the need for better record keeping of decision making. Again, all agencies have noted these issues raised and have acted to tighten procedures.
The government accepts lapses in procedures of this kind are wrong. We have ensured chief executives are in no doubt about our concern, however they are not hanging offences nor do they demonstrate any of the ill-intent that the opposition so clearly wished to raise during this period.
The Auditor-General has made it clear that no impropriety occurred. It is a critical issue. The continued slur that has been made against senior public servants by the opposition should now be silenced.
Madam Speaker, the government will be vigilant in working to ensure that these sorts of matters do not occur again. Treasury is currently conducting a major exercise in simplifying instructions to agencies and the procedures they have to adopt, as it is an area that has become more and more complex as issues and orders have been added to the list.
Mr ELFERINK (Macdonnell): Madam Speaker, clearly the Auditor-General has indicated pretty much what the Treasurer has indicated: that he can find no evidence of intentional wrongdoing. Frankly, at the risk of being seen to be excessively critical, the Auditor-General’s investigation was not as deep as I would like it to have been.
He said in the document that he did not speak to Metis at all. In fact, we have no idea from the document itself why he makes the assertion as to why he decided that Metis were the people for the contract. You have to remember that Metis was an organisation made of two individuals, a fellow by the Chris Gration and a lady by the name of Susan Harben. It is worth revisiting that, despite earlier denials, Chris Gration and the CEO of Health were people who knew each other. I believe that Mr Gration went to the CEO of Health’s wedding. There were clear links and all of this was pushed away by the government. This was all happening on this Treasurer’s watch, by the way.
Clearly, one of the things that comes out of this report is that even if we cannot establish a deep seated issue or process of impropriety, what clearly has been established is that there are major flaws in the system. The Treasurer admitted that today. Major flaws have occurred on his watch. Documents were not signed, documents were not properly recorded, procedures were not followed. It is very hard to establish on the evidence whether there was impropriety or not.
My experience is that if you do not have the proper records, to establish propriety is something that is not easy to do. To establish impropriety, you need evidence and that evidence is absent, which is what the Auditor-General has indicated. The absence of evidence is something the Auditor-General, quite rightly, takes a conservative interpretation of and said there is no evidence of any impropriety. However, it concerns me that that evidence is absent, and it is absent by virtue of the fact that the paper work is not being done, and that there were flaws in the system.
I have some sympathy for the Auditor-General, because he was given this fairly politically charged inquiry to undertake and, of course, the Auditor-General changed late last year, so one Auditor-General started the inquiry and another completed and signed off on it. I can understand that would have added to the complications of this. Of course, the Auditor-General was naturally too busy looking at the role of government, and is probably not as well staffed as he could be to run these investigations in the detailed way that I am sure the Auditor-General would like to.
There are clearly shortcomings in the process. I am glad the Treasurer has finally decided to turn his attention to the problem of procurement in the Northern Territory. The guidelines are quite clear; they just have not been followed. This matter is now put to bed. I know the procurement process is being reviewed and departments have accepted their liability in relation to this, but it must be remembered that the buck stops with the Treasurer, and it is the Treasurer’s job to make sure that this stuff is properly policed and properly looked into.
This government has now had a warning in relation to this stuff. If the government chooses to engage in further favouritism and those sorts of things into the future, we will be keeping a watch, we will be keeping an eye on it, and we will not be backward in coming forward and raising these issues in the House.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, as members would know, I raised similar issues as a motion for General Business Day, but as it this has been tabled by the Treasurer, I will deal with them now.
When I first brought this to the attention of parliament, I did so because, after listening to a fairly enthusiastic debate about this issue, the one area that was not covered in the debate - or at least was not answered - was whether the CEO of Health had declared a conflict of interest before there was discussion about the tenderers. That was my concern.
I looked at the Procurement Review Board Guidelines, which address several things. First, they say:
- Tender assessment shall be undertaken by officers with relevant skills and knowledge appropriate
to the value and importance of the requirement and who are free of any conflict of interest which
might undermine the objectivity of the assessment.
Then it goes on further to say:
- Guiding principles for ethical behaviour for all employees of the NT Government are summarised
as follows:
* Individual employees should not allow their conduct to warrant any suspicion of conflict
between their official duty and their private interest. Where there is or might be a conflict,
it should be disclosed. Where the interests of members of their immediate family are
involved, they should also be disclosed where they are known. When an employee possesses
such an interest, the Chief Executive Officer will decide whether the basis of that interest
should be discontinued, or the employee should cease the duties involved, or will give
permission to continue.
Under the heading ‘Disclosure of Interest’ it says:
- If there is any form of current or prospective personal interest, it must be disclosed to the Agency.
In most cases, the early and open disclosure of such an interest will allow management to prevent
a conflict of interest from arising.
I also note that, in a censure motion debate on 16 June, the Attorney-General, when referring to the procurement process, said:
- Process: All NT government agencies must comply with the Northern Territory procurement policy.
- It states that a certificate of exemption from Public Tender may be issued by the accountable officer for amounts
under $50 000. The CEO of the Department of Health and Community Services is that accountable officer in
the case of Health.
- Certificates of exemption from Public Tender issued by the accountable officer for amounts under
$50 000 do not go before the minister, but must nevertheless be reported to the Procurement Review
Board.’
I also quote from the NT News on 4 December 2004, which refers to the Auditor-General’s report:
- An independent report has found no evidence to support conflict of interest claims against
Territory Health boss Robert Griew.
- But the Auditor-General’s report was scathing of the NT government’s failure to comply with
procurement guidelines.
- The allegations relate to three contracts awarded to Metis Consulting, a company run by Mr Griew’s
close friend and former Labor staffer Chris Gration.
- The report found Mr Griew had informed government ministers - including Health Minister Peter Toyne -
that he knew Mr Gration before the awarding of three health contracts worth a total of $78 000.
But it found details of their friendship were not passed to the Procurement Review Board, which checks
the awarding of tenders.
And Auditor-General Frank McGuiness said there was no written evidence to support Mr Griew’s claims
that he informed ministers of the friendship.
‘At the end of the day I have got no real evidence to support what has been said,’ he told the Northern
Territory News.
‘It just makes it harder for me to say, “I am very comfortable with what I am seeing”.’
The three contracts were awarded through a certificate of exemption, bypassing the competitive tender
process.
I am still not convinced that in the Auditor-General’s report, the issue of whether the CEO of Health declared before there was a discussion about tenders – and he was going to be involved in the decision-making process – that he had a real or perceived conflict of interest.
That is the area that concerns me. The process is there to make sure there is no corruption or perceived corruption in the awarding of tenders. I am not saying the CEO has done anything wrong. However, we have a principle, a set of guidelines, to which we must adhere. Reading through the Auditor-General’s report, I do not believe that area has been covered.
In the recommendations, the Auditor-General noted the comments of the Department of Health and Community Services, which conceded:
- Nonetheless the recommendation that a written note of the prior relationships would have been prudent and
should be required in future contracts is accepted.
From that, you would think there was no note to the Procurement Board that the CEO possibly had a conflict of interest because he knew people involved with Metis.
At page 17 of the Auditor-General’s report, the member for Macdonnell asked:
- Did the CEO of Health declare his relationship with a Director of Metis to the Procurement Review Board (PRB)?
The answer from the Auditor-General was:
- The Chief Executive of Health has advised me that he notified the minister of the existence of a prior
personal and professional relationship at the time Metis was selected. I am not aware of similar advice
having been provided to the Procurement Review Board.
That is the crux of my concern. I am not convinced that these tenders were awarded under a process under which someone who had a real or perceived conflict of interest and declared that interest. That has still not come out in this debate. Really, until we know the answer, there will be unanswered questions at the end of this debate.
People might say it was only a couple of contracts and that does not really matter. Again, it is the principle. Those contracts were worth quite a bit of money.
As I have said before, my experience on local government was that they are very strict on conflicts of interest. I recall the case the vehicle I was using as the President of Litchfield Shire Council falling due for renewal. They received a trade-in price for that vehicle. I then asked the council if I could purchase it for the same as the trade-in price. They said that would have to go to a council meeting. As soon as it came up on the agenda, I had to leave the room. There was no way I could take part because they were very strict on conflict of interest. The figure was around $10 000 and people might say that was not worth worrying about, but we were dealing with public money and we must be very cautious of how we deal with public money.
As I said, I am not satisfied from the Auditor-General’s report that the issues I was concerned about have been fully covered. Perhaps the Auditor-General can look at the question as to whether the CEO did notify the Procurement Board or anyone else who should have known before discussions on those tenders took place.
There is one other thing: comments in reply from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment refer to a criticism by the Auditor-General over a contract that was over $10 000 and should have been looked at by Contract and Procurement Services. The OCPE response was:
- … It is accepted that ‘CAPS has sole responsibility for the management of the tender process for all contracts
in excess of $10 000’, however, it does not appear the intent of this is fully understood either within CAPS or
across the NTPS. It should be noted that this point has been an area of uncertainty within this office as CAPS
do not enforce this requirement and the advice provided by the various staff within CAPS apply the
responsibility inconsistently. This office does submit all tender processes in compliance with the above
to CAPS for processing with the exception of tenders involving a sole supplier. Also, when these ‘exceptions’
have been submitted to the Procurement Review Board for approval no feedback has been provided to this office
highlighting the requirement to use CAPS. Similarly, when the assistance of the Department of Justice is sought
to draft appropriate consultancy agreements to expedite these ‘exceptions’ no feedback or comments are
provided to indicate that the requests should be either submitted through CAPS or contain a CAPS reference.
I would certainly be interested to know whether the government is doing something about that criticism from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment. It seems there is a grey area, there are some inconsistencies and there is no helpful assistance from some departments. I would be interested to know whether the Treasurer has seen that criticism and whether the government is putting in place some action to rectify what the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment has drawn attention to.
Otherwise, I thank the Auditor-General for his report. It has certainly cleared up some issues. The issue of whether a real or perceived conflict of interest by the CEO was declared at an early stage, and not later told to the minister, is outstanding.
Mr HENDERSON (Business and Industry): Madam Speaker, speaking in relation to the Auditor-General’s examination of contracts awarded to Metis Consulting, I want to talk this morning in response to allegations levelled by the member for Macdonnell that I had interfered, as police minister, with the contract awarded to Metis Consulting for the review of the fire services.
At the time, I provided copies to the parliament - quite unprecedented, I thought - of ministerial briefs to me by the Police Commissioner and copies of the certificate of exemption that was signed. Essentially, the allegation made by the member for Macdonnell was that it was a ‘Labor mates’ type of contract and that I had interfered in the selection of Metis Consulting. The issue in regards to the gazettal, twice, of the contract price being $170 000 or $187 000 was interpreted to be that somehow we had slung some extra money Metis Consulting’s way.
I am very pleased that the Auditor-General’s findings have vindicated the position and documents that I put at the time, any not only vindicates my probity as minister in these matters, but also the Police Commissioner’s. At the end of the day, any allegations that I somehow interfered and directed would have meant that the Police Commissioner would have had to be compliant in taking the instruction on, which I found absolutely offensive. I am very pleased that Auditor-General’s investigation of that procurement has vindicated the Police Commissioner and me.
It is very important that government agencies abide by the Procurement Act. As procurement minister for some time earlier in this term of government, it was a key priority and objective that I instructed all agencies to follow. We can always tighten up and it is good that the Auditor-General has shown where those processes fell down in this instance, and what needs to be done to tighten up.
At the time, questions from the opposition were pertinent until such time as the documentation was provided, which showed that due process had been followed. However, then to carry on and continue to make unfounded allegations of interference and direction when documents had been provided to this parliament that showed quite clearly that there had not been interference and direction – I can take a cheap shot; I throw it, I expect it, but to drag public servants in and allude that somehow they are compliant in receiving illegal ministerial directives - is over the top.
When these types of issues arise and documentation is provided to assure the member for Macdonnell that nothing untoward happened, once he sees that documentation, he should desist from his attack. In this instance, he did not and I am pleased to see that the Auditor-General has set the record straight.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, the Auditor-General’s report has made it very clear that in the case of the CEO of Health and my agency, there has been no wrong doing. There has been no impropriety found. What has been found are some minor technical breaches, particularly regarding the signing-off in writing of decisions made as a procurement was progressed.
There are undertakings in writing in this report by way of responses from my agency that those processes will be corrected in the future. I believe that, whatever the minor break down in the system, certainly the first finding of the Auditor-General that the key aspects of the procurement process has been respected within all of these contract instances. He quoted audit findings from October 2003 on page 5:
Key procedures over the use of certificates of exemption in all cases selected for review were found to
have operated.
The review did find a number of issues, which the audit report says are really more of a technical breach than a major break down in the system.
This is a good opportunity to, again, pay tribute to the quality of the contribution being made by my CEO in Health. It was unfortunate that there were so many unfounded allegations made about his motives or his actions in bringing high level consultancy work to bear on areas of health policy and operations for which he has responsibility.
I also pay tribute to Metis itself. The work that Metis performed for my agency, both before and after I became minister, is of the highest standard, and it is, again, very unfortunate that their name has been disparaged by some of the attempts to score political points out of these incidents.
Let us move on. We certainly have undertakings that the minor technical breaches have now been addressed and will not occur in future. I am very pleased to see the Auditor-General give us a clean bill of health on anything more major than that.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I thank the members for Macdonnell, Nelson, Stuart and Wanguri for contributing to the debate.
The member for Macdonnell really rehashed the original allegations around impropriety and said that it was, of course, very difficult to establish any impropriety. Well, that was what the Auditor-General was charged with in relation to this exercise, so it is really a refusal to acknowledge the Auditor-General’s finding that no impropriety occurred and, from that point of view, the member for Macdonnell really cannot have it both ways. He cannot say it was an impossible ask having the Auditor-General do this because he could not have found any other way. Of course he could have, and he found that there was no impropriety.
His other claim that the government does not staff the Auditor-General’s office sufficiently to conduct this review simply does not stack up. There is no substance to that allegation. If he has evidence to that effect, he should put it before us.
The member for Nelson said that he was still not convinced that the CEO for Health declared a real or perceived conflict. In fact, it is quite clear on page 16, where the Department of Health and Community Services response was cited:
- The CEO verbally informed ministers involved at the time of the two sole tender contracts between DHCS
and Metis of his prior social and professional relationship with Metis principals, as well as of their capacities.
There is the disclosure. I cannot see why you would not be convinced that that is what the CEO of Health is telling the Auditor-General how it was reported. It is accepted by Health, at the final point in that paragraph:
- … the recommendation that a written note of the prior relationships would have been prudent and should
be required in future contracts is accepted.
That is accepted by the department. However, to have doubt as to whether this was declared does not seem to make sense to me in relation to what is said there. It clearly states that he ‘verbally informed ministers involved at the time’. That is clear. Sure, it should have been written down, the department accepts that, and will do so in future.
In relation to issues raised by the Commissioner for Public Employment that the member for Nelson commented on, and this goes to the question of CAPS, I quote from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment’s response to the Auditor-General:
- This office does submit all tender processes in compliance with the above to CAPS for processing with the
exception of tenders involving a sole supplier. Also, when these ‘exceptions’ have been submitted to the
Procurement Review Board for approval, no feedback has been provided to the office highlighting the
requirement to use CAPS. Similarly, when the assistance of Justice has been sought to draft
appropriate consultancy agreements to expedite these ‘exceptions’ no feedback or comments have been
provided to indicate the request should be either submitted through CAPS or contain a CAPS reference.
I accept the point that the member for Nelson raised: that there is some greyness around this area and it is not clear. We know Treasury is undertaking an exercise in simplifying instructions to agencies across all procurement, so I will make sure - and I would hope my comments here this morning will ensure - that Treasury does pick up this concern and clarifies those requirements in that exercise that they are undertaking to simplify all instructions to agencies around requirements.
Finally, Madam Speaker, my thanks to the Office of the Auditor-General for the work in presenting this report. It is important that everyone understands the role of the Auditor-General; that they have confidence in the office. I believe all members of this House have that trust and confidence in the Office of the Auditor-General, and I commend them for their report into this matter.
Motion agreed to; paper noted.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Northern Territory Police - Drug-Related Crime
Northern Territory Police - Drug-Related Crime
Mr HENDERSON (Police, Fire and Emergency Services): Madam Speaker, the Northern Territory community and this government is proud of the Northern Territory Police Force and the great results that it achieves. The police force faces some of the most difficult policing challenges in the world: unique demographics in age profiles and diversity of cultures and a relatively small population all spread over a huge land mass.
Northern Territory police officers respond to these challenges with conviction and skill, and they achieve great results. The force’s ability to deliver great results is highlighted in the fight against illicit drugs and the battle to break the cycle of illicit drug distribution and other crime, including violence and crimes against property.
Today, I would like to share with the Assembly and Territorians some of the activities being undertaken by the police in these areas, and to highlight the excellent results being achieved. To most, the link between illicit drugs and other crime is clear. Whilst some people adopt a ‘head in the sand’ approach, the vast majority of Territorians share the belief that we must confront illicit drugs if we are tackle crime in the Territory.
The successes being achieved in the drug enforcement area are a major contributor to the overall drop in crime being experienced in the Territory in the last few years. The successful activities I will highlight today encompass putting drug houses out of business using the government’s strong new anti-drug house laws, disrupting drug distribution networks, and seizing the proceeds of crime - often from drug dealers - with the Martin government’s new confiscation laws.
Some take the view that the consumption and distribution of illicit drugs is a matter of personal choice for the individual and is not something that governments or police should be concerned about. I strongly disagree. Illicit drugs lead to wasted lives, and their destruction and consumption cascades into other crimes of violence and theft throughout the whole community.
Look at the impact on the families, on the victims of property crime who lose their possession to feed a drug user’s habit, the dysfunction drugs cause in bush communities, and the impact on a entire neighbourhood when a drug house sets up shop. All of these impacts mean that illicit drugs are not simply a matter of personal choice. We all have an interest in seeing the supply of illicit drugs disrupted and, wherever possible, closed down.
The Misuse of Drugs Act was amended on 1 August 2002 in order to address the illicit drug trade in the Northern Territory. The government’s tough new laws gave police the powers to declare drug premises and close these premises down. Since commencement of this legislation, Northern Territory Police have seized drugs with an estimated value of $953 000 from alleged drug houses. This has included 18.23 kg of cannabis, 668.5 g of amphetamine, 67 cannabis plants, and 48 tabs of LSD. To date, 208 notices have been issued under this legislation throughout the Territory. Eighty-one of them have been on residences in Darwin, made up of 76 first notices, 11 second notices, and four third notices. Police have also issued drug house notices on three commercial properties. In Alice Springs, police have issued 14 drug house notices: 11 first notices, two second notices and one third notice. Thirteen have been issued in Katherine: 11 first and two second notices. Nine first notices have been issued in Tennant Creek, seven in Nhulunbuy, two in Batchelor and two in Jabiru.
The number of people apprehended for offences relating to the possession, cultivation, manufacture or supply of drugs from these premises is as follows: 78 arrests, 25 summonses and 51 summary infringement notices. In two instances, one in Darwin and one in Alice Springs, the occupiers of these premises failed to heed the initial three notices issued to them under the legislation and the premises were declared drug houses. Both premises have now had the notices revoked by the courts after the owners of the premises were able to show that the occupiers have moved out. In other cases, the warning has been heeded and the tenants were evicted. The drug activity stopped after the issuing of the first, second or third notice. In other instances, offenders have vacated after having three notices issued.
The closure of drug houses has been of huge relief to the surrounding neighbours. One infamous drug house - it even had a well-known nickname, Foils at Moil - was operating within metres of a primary school. Now because of the tough new drug house laws and the excellent work of the Northern Territory Police, Foils at Moil is no more. That residence is now like any other, with no drug dealing taking place.
In targeting the distribution of drugs, police are also cutting right to the source. So far in this financial year, police have successfully dismantled 13 clandestine drug laboratories. Consider the enormous impact this must have had on the amount of drugs available in our community; an outstanding result.
Drug enforcement activities are taking place right across the Territory. In May 2004, Northern Territory Police formed the Remote Community Drug Desk in the Drug Enforcement Section, with the specific aim of targeting, investigating and prosecuting people involved in the distribution of illicit drugs to remote communities. The eight members of the Remote Community Drug Desk, including an intelligence officer, are tasked with the coordination, implementation and leadership of strategic and tactical operations aimed at disrupting the distribution of drugs both to and within remote communities.
Since its inception, the Drug Desk has been highly successful in achieving its aims. Its detectives, on many occasions working closely with the newly formed Drug Detection Dog Unit, have seized 7.7 kg of cannabis, 483 cannabis plants and 95 gm of cannabis seed. This haul has a potential street value of $2m in our remote communities. In addition, the Remote Community Drug Desk has seized $117 000 in cash from people involved in distribution of drugs to remote communities. Drug Desk members have arrested and charged 22 people and summonsed a further 13 people for offences relating to the possession and supply of dangerous drugs. In addition to the drug charges, police have seized 31 firearms in relation to offences, including unregistered firearms, unlicensed shooters, and unsecured firearms.
In many cases, drugs being transported into communities are smuggled and concealed in extraordinary ways. It is a testament to the perseverance of the Northern Territory Police that such great results are being achieved. To highlight some examples: the detection of 150 gm concealed in a Christmas present being transported from Cairns to Nhulunbuy; the detection of 76 gm of cannabis hidden in mince meat being transported from Darwin to the Tiwi Islands; 28 gm of cannabis hidden in a stereo system being sent from Darwin to Wadeye; and a further 3.3 kg located at a commercial premises in Darwin. When applicable, the Remote Community Drug Desk also issues drug house notices. To date, eight such notices have been issued and $60 814 in cash seized from three of these premises.
Last year, I was pleased to announce the establishment of the Northern Territory Police Force’s first Drug Detection Dog Unit. After the unit’s officers underwent weeks of intensive training with Customs in Canberra, the Drug Dog Squad became operational on 22 December 2004 and immediately began to deliver results. The Drug Dog Unit works closely with the Drug Enforcement section, in particular the Remote Community Drug Desk, and travels to communities throughout the Territory, including Alice Springs. To date, the Drug Detection Dog Unit has assisted in 85 searches, resulting in 32 drug seizures.
The government made an election commitment to the people of the Northern Territory to crack down on crime by stopping people from profiting from illegal activity. We delivered on that commitment with the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act which came into force on 1 June 2003. The act provides for three basic categories of property that may be liable for forfeiture: crime use property, for example a vehicle used to transport an offender whilst committing an offence including unlawful entry or robbery; crime-derived property such as money received from the sale of illicit drugs; and drug trafficker’s property. When a person is declared a drug trafficker under section 36A of the Misuse of Drugs Act all property owned or effectively controlled by that person is liable for forfeiture. Any property that has been used in or is the result of an offence subject to a prison term of two or more years can be restrained under the act.
One of the strongest elements of the act is that while the property must relate to a forfeiture offence, a person does not have to be convicted of the offence or any other offence for this act to apply. The act is non-conviction based and reverses the onus of proof. Proceedings under this act are civil, and the standard of proof required is on the balance of probabilities.
Northern Territory Police are to be congratulated on their use of the act to stifle criminals and prevent them from benefiting from their crimes. As of 21 January 2005, Northern Territory Police had 112 restraining orders relating to more than $2.5m worth of property including cash, real estate, vehicles, computer equipment and hydroponics equipment used in a crime and/or derived from a crime. At the moment, around $1.67m worth of property is under restraint. Since the laws came into effect, 59 forfeiture orders have been granted, seeing $348 784 worth of property forfeited.
The criminal property forfeiture legislation has caused considerable disruption to those criminals profiting from both drug and property crime across the Territory through continual vehicle, property and cash seizures.
In August 2004, the Northern Territory Police engaged the services of a full-time forensic accountant, a position dedicated to resource the investigation and mapping of criminal proceeds derived through crime or unexplained wealth. Specifically, the forensic accountant provides the Northern Territory Police with expertise in methods of indirect income analysis - asset betterment and fund statement analysis - and direct income analysis - asset-specific tracing. It is a position that adds yet another facet to the attack on crime by the Northern Territory government and the NT Police.
Today, I have highlighted some of the fantastic results being achieved by the Northern Territory Police in closing down drug houses, clamping down on drug distribution networks and restraining and seizing the proceeds of what is, all too often, drug-related crime. These results, and the Northern Territory police officers who are out there attacking crime, should be subject of congratulations. No one could sensibly describe them as woeful or a waste of taxpayer resources. The cascading effects of just one drug house, one drug dealer or one drug supply network being driven out of action is plain to see.
The information outlined today highlights that Northern Territory Police are achieving significant results right across the Territory. Hundreds and hundreds of Territorians are benefiting directly, and the whole community is better off. The value for money for taxpayers is clear for all to see. The capacity of the police to deliver these types of results comes from strong legislation, which I have outlined. In order to achieve these results, police need the right tools and human resources.
The Martin government’s four-year $75m Building Our Police Force plan is making good progress on both these fronts, including delivering 200 more police on the beat by the end of 2006. The $75m plan includes a $2m per annum boost for the purchasing of day-to-day equipment used by police, and a $1m program to upgrade police coastal patrol boats. On top of the $75m plan, in 2004 the police were allocated a new plane to service Central Australia. This asset will be used to enhance all aspects of policing in Central Australia, including drug enforcement activities.
The lion’s share of this $75m fund injection for police is dedicated to building the human resources of the organisation. The under-funding of the Northern Territory Police by the previous CLP government has been documented in the independent O’Sullivan Report.
Sadly, the police force still suffers from the effect of the recruitment freeze that ran from 1991 to 1994, when not a single officer was recruited. To redress this under-funding and to build the strength of the police force to fight crime and undertake the types of activities I have outlined today, the Martin Labor government has provided an unprecedented level of funding to police. This money is seeing more police recruited than ever before.
Figures provided to me by the Commissioner of Police illustrate this growth. Between 1991 and 1994, not a single officer was recruited. In 1999, there was one recruit squad for constables, with 25 recruits. In 2003, there were four recruit squads with 123 recruits. In 2004, there were four recruit squads with 113 graduates, with 46 recruits currently in the college. In the financial year 2003-04, the strength of the force grew by 81. This financial year, we are seeing very strong growth as record recruitment continues.
These figures underscore the growth in the force and a new and exciting era in Northern Territory policing. Territorians are experiencing the benefits of a higher level of police presence in the community, with more police on the beat and new initiatives including bicycle and trail bike patrols.
The rising strength of the force is also enabling new activities to be undertaken by the police, including the hiring of the first time of a forensic accountant to help track down the proceeds of crime, and drug enforcement officers making good use of the Territory Police’s first ever Drug Detection Dog Unit.
To sustain this record level of recruitment, the Commissioner of Police and I launched a new recruitment campaign to encourage people to consider joining the Northern Territory Police. Part of this campaign is aimed at encouraging Territorians to consider a career in their police force.
I am very pleased that the campaign is working. The Commissioner has advised that the Wet Season recruitment campaign to fill Squads 82 and 83 was highly productive. For Squad 82, 161 applications were received, and as things stand, 27 recruits will commence training next month. For Squad 83, it is estimated around 200 applications will be received.
It is of benefit to all Territorians that the Northern Territory Police have a large pool from which to choose their new recruits because it is critical that the high standards of the Northern Territory Police are maintained. The fantastic results being achieved by Northern Territory Police are because we have professional and hard-working police. It is a wise investment to see that the recruits going the force maintain this high standard.
This government is proud of the achievements of the Northern Territory Police. As outlined in the government’s Building Safer Communities plan 2004 to 2009, the attack on crime, and particularly drug-related crime, is multifaceted. There are a range of activities taking place across a range of agencies. The Territory Police have a front line role and they are playing that role with distinction. In the most simplistic terms, they provide great value for money.
Today I have highlighted the force’s drug law enforcement activities. I look forward to making ministerial statements to the Assembly in the months and years ahead about the outstanding activities being undertaken by this outstanding organisation.
Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Mr BURKE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I read the minister’s statement last night, and apart from the odd jibe, by implication, at the CLP government, there is nothing that you would disagree with in the statement.
It is a good report in detailing not only the government’s gratitude to the efforts of Territory police, and who would not join with them in that? Territory police, everyone in uniform, everyone involved directly or indirectly deserve enormous gratitude from Territorians for the difficult job that they do. As one who has spent the greater part of his working life in uniform, a uniform in Defence, which works closely with police on various occasions, no-one needs to tell me the hard work that they do and the gratitude they should have from the community.
The statement essentially lays out not only that gratitude, which I endorse, but details results in regards to the effect of the implementation by police of the Misuse of Drugs Act. That is good to see. The report on the establishment of a remote community Drug Desk and its efforts in combating illicit drugs in the remote areas of the Northern Territory is good to see and that they are doing very effective work in that area.
I did not see anything in the statement - I may have missed it or misheard it - with regards to the illicit trafficking of kava. I would have thought illicit trafficking of kava would have been very high on the police priority list. We know it is a problem in the East Arnhem area. It was the subject of me, as Health minister, putting a ban on kava before we introduced regulatory mechanisms in the Northern Territory because of the effect it had on some communities. We know that kava trafficking is still occurring, and we know that people are suffering greatly from the cost and the personal effect it has on them from kava trafficking. There was nothing on that, which surprises me. In that respect, it is clearly a report that is primarily aimed at convincing the urban community of the effects of the government in the urban areas. That is good see, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more on kava.
There was also a report on the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act - it is good to see the government introduced it; we would have introduced similar legislation - and the fact that it is having a complementary effect on dealing with illicit drug use.
The minister applauded the fact that the government is spending $75m building the police force as a result of the O’Sullivan Report. That sounds like a lot of money at first blush. You can look at $75m in another way; that is, that the Health budget has blown out by half that amount in one year, in six months. In terms of dollars going into police relative to dollars going into other areas of service delivery, police are getting their $75m over four years as recommended by the O’Sullivan Report and, in my discussions around the place and on indicators coming through in other areas – and I look forward to the Auditor-General’s report to see if there is any mention of it when it is presented next week – the police department is struggling with the priorities and objectives they have been given with the amount of money flowing through from the government on an annual basis.
There is no doubt that a lot of money is going into recruiting and advertising. Each recruit costs more in the equipment they use and drive, the service conditions they operate under, the housing they live in, and all of those things. I am yet to be convinced the dollars are flowing through sufficiently to account for the recruitment that is occurring and ensuring our police force is properly equipped to deal with the build-up which is occurring at this stage.
The central bow of the government’s strategy when it comes to criticising CLP governments is to suggest that because a decision was made in the period 1991 to 1994, not a single police officer was recruited into the Northern Territory. At the time, that decision was taken by the police minister and Chief Minister, as I recall, and the Commissioner of Police, Mr Mick Palmer. No one would doubt his professional ability, evidenced by the achievements in jobs he has carried out since then, including a very important report on illegal detention which has just been announced. This is a man who is highly regarded Australian-wide for his expertise, professionalism and knowledge. To suggest that, somehow, Mr Mick Palmer was in cahoots with government and would see his own police force denuded over that period is just laughable.
The reality was that there was the introduction of auxiliaries into the police system at the time and, as you well know, the introduction of auxiliaries was seen to allow more uniformed police out onto the streets. I see the minister is picking up his pen; he is obviously an expert on an issue that occurred at a time when he was long from parliament. He probably had not even thought about running at that stage …
Mr Henderson: I tabled the letters in parliament where he was pleading for resources. Reed said: ‘No’.
Mr BURKE: Had you run in 1994? Was 1994 your first shot at parliament, or 1997?
Mr Henderson: What was that?
Mr BURKE: Was that your first shot at election?
Mr Henderson: 1994.
Mr BURKE: You ran three times, didn’t you?
Mr Henderson: 1994.
Mr BURKE: 1994. Okay, that was your first shot. So you are now an expert on decisions which were made in government in 1994 when you were a candidate strutting the tracks out there at the time. I would have more faith in the professionalism of Mick Palmer and the policy he felt could be accommodated with the introduction of auxiliaries.
The other interesting thing about it is that if you look at the trend data in policing, your allegation bears no relationship with the trend data that has come through. It is one thing to say: ‘Aren’t we wonderful because we are achieving this in the last quarter? This quarter reflects better than some other quarter that suits us in our own data produced here’. It is quite another thing to stand up to the data which is coming through from the Commonwealth. I would imagine that the minister is going to suggest that the report on government services is something of which no one should take any notice; that the utterances from this Chamber are far more authoritative and indicative than anything that comes out of this report.
It is worth reminding ourselves that the Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services is a very authoritative report. It looks at a whole range of government services, including policing, in a way that, essentially, reports on trend data. No one would dispute the fact that, when we are dealing with much statistical data, one has to get a trend before you can make any real assumptions as to effect and efficient outcomes for that effect. That is what this report on government services does. This is the January 2005 report, of which the foreword reads:
- In a recent … survey of users, 92% of central agency respondents considered the Report ‘important’ for
evaluating and formulating government policy; and 91% considered it so for briefing ministers and
departmental executives.
The trend data for 2005 generally looks at policing on some trends. Looking at the periods, as I recall, some trend data is 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04. Other trend data is looking at the periods from 1999 right through to 2003, and other trend data looks at the periods 1998 and 2002 - basically, how we were going in 1998 and how we are now going in 2002. The importance of that trend data is that it puts to bed any suggestion that the Northern Territory Police were ineffective because there was a stop in recruitment over a couple of years. The trend data shows, in fact, that the Northern Territory Police Force was performing better during that period than they were in 2002. So when you say the Northern Territory Police Force was denuded, the facts do not bear what you are saying.
It is one thing to talk about strength, it is another thing to talk about outcomes in relation to strength and the authoritative Commonwealth document shows that the trend data from 1998 for various categories of crime and the ability of the government through its police force to deal with that crime was far better than the trend data in 2002. It remains to be seen what the trend data will show when there is another four year period for 2006-07.
In that context, it is quite mischievous for the government to suggest that the halt in recruiting over that period has led to a rise in crime because it is wrong. It is irresponsible to suggest that a professional police officer of the status of Mick Palmer would have happily gone along with such a situation, which is equally scurrilous.
The important thing about the trend data is that it looks at not only the monies that are being spent on our policing, but the outcomes being achieved against those monies being spent. When I made comment on this particular report, the Police minister was quick to jump on the political band wagon to say: ‘He is just knocking our police force’. A government that has introduced accrual accounting, a government that says it is honest, open honest and transparent - and we know that is a lie - a government that truly wants to ensure that it funds its police force and ensures the outcomes and the effort that the community requires are being achieved, I would have thought the very least would take an interest in it rather than to say it is knocking police.
I am sure the police themselves want to ensure that their matching themselves against the data that is occurring in other states and territories. If that matching is not occurring, would it be a problem or an issue that the police need to deal with? Are these issues that are outside of police control or not? Where does government need to apply a better effort to ensure that those outcomes are achieved? The member for Johnston on many occasions says that he looks at things scientifically. I would have thought this is one occasion when you would say to yourself: ‘Well, if the outcomes relative to other states are not being achieved, what can we do about it? Where do we need to assist our police force to ensure that those outcomes are being achieved?’
It would appear that the outcomes for unlawful entry with intent are being achieved. It seems to me that, on the data - not necessarily in this report, but the data that I have analysed going back through the Justice department figures and figures that have appeared in previous reports on government services - the effect of the police in dealing with unlawful entry is starting to come though. One notation is made in this report that shows the Northern Territory Police are achieving outcomes for house breaking in excess of other states. I think there was about an 11% drop in house breaking on trend data in other states and the drop in the Northern Territory was far in excess of that, which is good.
It shows that our police are effectively targeting house breaking and the factors that contribute to it and, no doubt, the targeting of illicit drug use has had a marked effect in that regard. That is not new from my point of view.
The efforts of police targeting hot spots, intelligence-led policing, the sorts of methodologies in policing that have come out of the New York experience and been adopted through other states in the United States and, in some part, in other states in Australia, particularly New South Wales in the first instance, have certainly been embraced by our current Police Commissioner and there is no doubt in the way that he goes about his business. He holds to those principles of a very strong effort in intelligence-led policing and targeted hot spots and individuals, which was a major factor in the New York experience.
It is worth noting, though, that the New York experience rested its fundamentals on petty crime, the Broken Windows theory, which is basically that if you deal with minor misdemeanours, you will end up dealing with major misdemeanours. The people who commit a major crime are the ones who commit minor crimes. If you target minor crimes, you will identify them. You will clean up your urban areas, you will clean up your community and criminals will move on.
Certainly in the Northern Territory, we have not adopted anything like the broken windows theory, but for the rest of it, there is no doubt that the theories and methodologies that are pretty-well embraced worldwide are coming through in the efforts of our Police Commissioner and how he goes about his business, and that is good.
As I said, the report primarily looks at monies that are spent not only on police, but also on community safety and support and relating outcomes against that spending. It does it on a trend analysis and the results for the Northern Territory need a lot of interrogation. They also show that there is a long way to go.
That was the message I was trying to get through. It is one thing to say that we are doing well, we are spending money on our police force; it is another to recognise that we have a long way to go to meet the benchmarks being achieved in other states. Anyone who read this report in an objective way would say to themselves: ‘If we are trying to attract people to the Northern Territory for our great lifestyle, if we want people to settle in the Northern Territory and enjoy and benefit from the great potential of the Northern Territory, government has a responsibility to ensure that we are in sync with other states and territories on fundamentals with regards the delivery of government services’.
The Commonwealth funds us: 80% of our funding comes from the Commonwealth. They fund the Northern Territory in a way that other states complain about, and they fund the Northern Territory to achieve government services delivery which is on a par with other states and Territories. So part of that government services delivery is enormous extra funding to account for the difficulties that our police have. That extra funding should reflect through in the data to achieve similar benchmarks with other states and territories.
It is interesting, for example, to look at the costs of policing: costs in the Northern Territory far outweigh the cost of policing in any other state or territory in Australia. We spend enormous amounts of money on our police force. In the Northern Territory, we spend $365 per person on policing compared with $84 per person in Queensland. That is a lot money, but no one complains about it because of the difficulties of policing in the Northern Territory. If you look at the amount of money in the Northern Territory that is being spent per capita on policing, that amount of money has risen exponentially, on the data here, since 2000-01, and it will be shown to have risen by similar amounts in earlier reports if you look back. We are spending more and more money on our police. What is worth reflecting on though, is, say, South Australia is spending less and less money on their police. Now, you would say: ‘Okay, South Australia should be having worse indicators in crime’, but South Australia’s crime indicators are better than the Northern Territory’s, right across the board, except, say, in house breaking in the last 12 months.
It begs the question: if we are spending more and more on police, and another state is spending less and less on police, why is our crime higher than that state? What are we doing not as well as other states? Is it a social problem? Is it an indigenous problem? Some would probably quickly say: ‘It is because of indigenous crime’. It may well be, but remember that we are funded to achieve similar levels of service right across the board, so you just cannot say that as quickly as we would like to say it. Those are the sorts of things that I believe come out of this report that are interesting.
The other thing is that if the government praises its efforts in policing, the report looks at public perceptions of crime. It is interesting, because family violence in the Northern Territory, on the graph levels, is far in excess of any other state or territory. Physical assault, excluding sexual assault, is far in excess of that of any other state or territory. Illegal drugs are a problem, but the perception of illegal drugs as a major problem is the lowest in Australia in the Northern Territory, and that only reinforces the point I have made in this parliament on many occasions, and that is, illegal drugs are a problem but they have to be seen in the context of other problems that affect people in the community. The Report on Government Services clearly shows - and that is not a new graph, that is there in earlier reports - that when it comes to illegal drugs, the perception of it being a major problem is the third-lowest in Australia.
The lowest issue, as a major problem, is poor driver behaviour. In the Northern Territory, poor driver behaviour is seen by Territorians as the lowest priority of the questions asked in relation to major problems. Therefore, when you have a speed camera on every corner, when Territorians - including me who has been booked about five times; I think the minister himself has admitted to that - do not think that the people who are complaining are aberrant because the trend data from right across Australia says that the average punter says: ‘I can drive a bit above the speed fairly safely, and if there is someone on the corner who wants to book me, I think it is unfair. There are so many other things that the police and government should be putting their priorities on. Why are they not doing it?’ That is there.
House breaking in 2003–04 is the highest indicator of a major problem in the Northern Territory of any other state or territory. So, there you go; we are doing well, but we have a long way to go to ensure that people believe that their community is safe, and that they are safe regarding housebreaking.
For 2003-04 - and this is not old data, which also shows graphs for 2001–02, and 2002–03 - there was a drop. However, the fewest number of people in Australia who feel safe walking or jogging locally after dark are Territorians. I repeat: the fewest number of people in Australia who feel safe walking or jogging locally are Territorians. You can say: ‘Oh, it must be the poor data; poor sample, etcetera’, and these statistics always have some disclaimers. However, this is only one volume of two, and they would not release it every year unless it has some authority. It is a worrying sign when Territorians feel more unsafe walking or jogging locally after dark than people living in Sydney or Melbourne. That is an indicator of assault and fear of assault, and is why, if you look at the perceptions of what is the highest priority in perception of crime, assault is right up the top. You have a correlation of those two perceptions.
Of people who feel safe or very safe travelling on public transport after dark, Territorians are almost the lowest in Australia, and we do not have a lot of public transport. However, it is a worrying sign when those basic indicators of community safety are not being met. That is the worrying indicator in this report.
If you look at the comparison, as I said, right across the board in crime, an interesting one appears on page 540: Trends in Recorded Crime: Victims of Assault per 100 000 people. The trend data shows from 1999 to 2003, and the Northern Territory is going like that in victims of assault per 100 000 people. That includes three years of the Labor government and has to be compared with other states in Australia such as Western Australia and South Australia where the graph, not exponentially, but certainly, is going down. That type of data is right across this report.
It is very important from a government perspective that, whilst we applaud the effort the police are making, are generous in putting more and more money into police and recruiting, and honestly believe that we are doing everything we can to ensure that they have the resources to make a safe community, we have to be honest with ourselves and say that, in achieving those outcomes, the Northern Territory is a long way short in some indicators. The indicators that jump straight out are the ones we have been citing for some time now: sexual and physical assault and domestic violence are right up there. I have heard the Minister for Family and Community Services say on a number of occasions: ‘It is because more is being reported’. We used to say that in government: ‘We have better reporting mechanisms; we publicise it more; domestic violence is being reported more - aren’t we doing well?’. The reality is that we are doing badly, and the data in the Northern Territory compared with other states shows that very clearly. Domestic violence is a major problem in the Northern Territory, as is violence per se. The chances of an individual being a victim of crime in the Northern Territory are about three times more than they are in other states and territories. Those are very bad statistics.
It is in that context that, on one hand, I applaud the minister’s statement. On those issues where the police have the resources and the legislation to back them, and in the areas the minister has mentioned, they are doing a very good job. I thank them for that. Generally, when it comes to the police force, I would be the first to say that they do an enormously effective job, and we thank them for their day-to-day efforts, which puts great stress on them and on their families. However, I qualify that by saying we need to do a hell of a lot more, which will come through in a determination of CLP polices that will give them the resources they need in a whole range of areas.
The other interesting thing in this report, minister - I do not know whether you have taken the time to look at it closely - is complaints against police in the Northern Territory over the last few years have gone through the roof. In my time in government, talking to police, there is an enormous amount of time devoted to answering complaints and a whole bureaucracy is set up not only within the police force. The knock-down effect of a complaint, the effort involved in an internal investigation to deal with the complaint takes an enormous amount of time and by itself, in many respects, is a sign of a lack of confidence by superiors in their own subordinates. That is forced on them because they have to go through a process which is in many respects onerous and unfair.
We need to get complaints against police down, and part of the problem is the bureaucratic process and the problems they have in dealing with those complaints. We have to improve on that.
Madam Speaker, in general terms, I thank the minister for his statement and I hope he takes notes of my comments.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, before adjourning for lunch, I remind you that you do not refer to members in this House by their Christian name in your interjections. It has happened over the last couple days and I want to remind you about that.
Debate suspended until after Question Time.
DISTINGUISHED VISITOR
Mr Roger Ryan
Mr Roger Ryan
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, we have a special guest with us today. In the Speaker’s Gallery is Mr Roger Ryan, member for Millner from 1974 to 1977, and Executive Member for Transport and Industry. On behalf of all members, I extend a warm welcome to our very distinguished visitor.
Members: Hear, hear!
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, also in the gallery, we have newcomers to the Department of the Chief Minister; graduate trainees accompanied by Luis Da Rocha. On behalf of all members, I extend a warm welcome to you also.
Members: Hear, hear!
MOTION
Note Statement - Northern Territory Police: Drug-Related Crime
Note Statement - Northern Territory Police: Drug-Related Crime
Continued from earlier this day.
Mrs AAGAARD (Nightcliff): Madam Speaker, I support of the minister’s statement on Northern Territory Police achieving great results in attacking drug-related crime.
In his statement, the minister talked about the extensive work that police are doing, and have done over the past three-and-a-half years to help combat the Territory’s illicit drug problem. It is very significant work that the police have done in this period, and the minister and the Police Commissioner, Paul White, are to be commended for such excellent outcomes.
From reading the minister’s statement, it is clear the Misuse of Drugs Act, which was amended in 2002 to address the illicit drug trade in the Northern Territory, is working, with Northern Territory Police seizing $953 000 worth of drugs from alleged drug houses, as well as 208 notices having been issued under the legislation.
The Criminal Property Forfeiture Act, which came into effect on 1 June 2003, fulfilled an election commitment by the government that meant criminals would no longer be able to profit from crime. I was very pleased to read that the Northern Territory Police issued 112 restraining orders relating to more than $2.5m worth of property including cash, real estate, vehicles, computer equipment and hydroponics equipment used in a crime or derived from a crime.
Clearly, one of the key things that has assisted the Northern Territory Police in their work has been the very significant increase in resources for our police: $75m, which includes an increase of 200 police on the beat by the end of 2006. This injection moves to redress the appalling police numbers on coming to government, as well as providing jobs for Territorians.
I agree with the minister that Territorians are experiencing the benefits of a higher level of police presence, with more police on the beat and new initiatives such as the bicycle and trail bike patrols. In my own electorate of Nightcliff, the foot patrols, increased road patrols, as well as the trail bike patrols, have definitely seen a decrease in property crime over the past couple of years.
I commend officers for their assistance with policing matters in my area, especially the Officer-in-Charge of Casuarina Police Station, Mick Read, who is always helpful and prompt in providing whatever response is required by police. I also thank the four members of the police who conduct day and evening shifts of the bike patrol. I have been advised that each shift covers 80 km, which is an extraordinary amount of exercise, I must say. They must be very fit people. I also thank the Public Places Patrol, the foot patrol led by Senior Constable Vince Wilson, which focusses on shopping centres and beach areas, assisted, very ably, by ACPOs Brendan Monck and Tom Matthews, and Probationary Constable Terese Meyer.
This statement focusses on the policing aspects relating to drug law enforcement in the Northern Territory. The government has also undertaken a lot of work in other areas, which is helping with the fight against drugs in our community. We have introduced drug courts to assist with more appropriate dealing with drug addicts. We have looked carefully at the illicit drug problems in the Northern Territory through the Illicit Drugs Task Force in 2001-02, and have established a parliamentary Select Committee on Substance Abuse, which I chair.
This government is very serious about tackling illicit drugs, and is working hard to minimise their harm on our community. As the chair of the select committee, I would like to look at the background and trends in drug use in the Northern Territory, as well as the work of the committee. The Illicit Drugs Task Force, in its recommendations, said on page 5 of its Executive Summary, that illicit drugs are clearly linked with property crime; something that was in doubt when we came to government.
Clearly, the kind of work that the police are now doing with adequate resources is helping to significantly reduce property crime. The Drugs Task Force also pointed to the need to have suitable ways of dealing with drug-related crime and recommended drug courts with diversionary programs. This is happening in the Northern Territory now as well. It also recommended the use of maintenance programs to cut down the use of illegal selling of prescription drugs. This is happening, once again, lowering crime in our urban areas where most of the problems have been. It also recommended an increase in the number of needle and syringe programs across the Northern Territory to cut down on disease related to drug use. This is also happening.
The Legislative Assembly Select Committee on Substance Abuse in the Community has been examining the issues with the regard to the use and abuse of illicit and licit drugs in the Northern Territory for the past three-and-a-half years. During this time, members of that committee have travelled extensively throughout the Territory meeting with people and taking evidence from them at all major centres as well as in many communities. In fact, in this time, it has held a total of 68 meetings and hearings, received a total of 116 written submissions and taken evidence from a total of 447 witnesses. Whilst many of these were expert witnesses, the majority were members of communities who are dealing with the aftermath of substance abuse on a daily basis. As such, members of the committee are well qualified to speak about the effects substance abuse has throughout the Northern Territory.
This is regarding the impact of crime and violence, the social dislocation caused in small communities. This is particularly so of indigenous communities, which have specific social rules that come into play, and the economic impact whereby limited funds intended to feed and sustain a family are siphoned off for alcohol or drugs. That impact is huge. While alcohol and drug fuelled violence is much too common in mainstream society, the level of its prevalence in so many indigenous communities is just unacceptable. As always, it is the women and children who suffer most, leading to a level of despair that contributes to social dislocation and further dysfunctionalism.
On Tuesday of this week, my colleague, the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, spoke about the initiatives to improve education outcomes contained in his report, Building Better Schools. While I will not reiterate my comments in contributing to that debate, I should like to repeat the point the select committee has previously made with regard to improving outcomes for indigenous people and particularly those remote communities. I am pleased that the lack of an economic foundation to many communities as well as the education and training of the young people is something which this government is tackling, and which will, in time, have positive outcomes for everyone in the Northern Territory.
I welcome the initiatives to ensure that all our Territory children are given the opportunity of a decent education in line with that necessary to allow them to become fully functioning members of, and contributors to, our unique and developing society. What we also need to do is stop, or at least reduce, the level of drug and alcohol-caused social dysfunction that communities experience so that these children are physically and emotionally able to take full advantage of these opportunities.
As I think my colleague, the Minister for Justice, said in his contribution to the education debate on Tuesday, the alternative outcome for the Territory is unthinkable. I, therefore, welcome the statement by the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, which detailed the successes to date in addressing drug supply issues.
Though the committee’s visits to many communities, members have been fortunate to meet with a large number of police officers. I have nothing but praise for the work that they do and the dedication they show to contributing to the wellbeing of these communities on a daily basis.
While the major problem in most communities is undoubtedly still alcohol, the exponential growth in the use of cannabis over the past 10 to 12 years is of grave concern. Apart from the dysfunction it causes through binge use and its potential impact on health, it has a huge impact on the economic basis of many communities where thousands and thousands of dollars that should be spent on the general wellbeing of the residence is siphoned off from the community by the dealers. Whilst I was not present at this particular meeting, at one community, the police showed the committee the results of a recent police intervention and arrested a dealer: a lunch box full of cannabis and another full of money, the proceeds of sale.
Sometimes we forget why we are actually doing some of the things that we do as legislators and representatives of our communities. I would like to bring to the attention of members some advisories I received over the past few months from the Drug Advisory Council Australia, which clearly remind us of the issues before us when considering drugs and their effect on our community.
The first one, dated 25 October 2004, is called Amphetamine Threat to Australia:
- Australian Federal Police have warned that Australia is under threat of an explosion of amphetamines.
Amphetamines from the Golden Triangle in Asia are overtaking heroin as the illicit drug provided by drug
criminals.
Three tonnes of chemicals used to make amphetamines have been seized by offshore Australian Federal
Police this year alone.
- Drug syndicates are now steering away from heroin to the easier produced amphetamines, which are cheaper
and quicker to make.
Ingredients for amphetamine are freely available in China, Burma, and Thailand, and are transported
through the Philippines and Fiji.
The Drug Advisory Council of Australia comments:
Australia is an easy target for illicit drugs because we have an increasing use of illicit drugs by our
community.
Australia must reduce the use of illicit drugs in order to cut off the money flowing out of Australia to terrorist
and criminal organisations.
The large illicit drug market here fuels the drug imports into Australia. The benefits for Australia of lower
drug usage are less deaths, health problems and crime caused by the large illicit drug demand.
Overseas experience has proven that the best way to reduce drug use is to use the courts to divert users
in to detoxification and rehabilitation to a drug-free state.
They are the issues we could be looking at. The advisory reminds us of one of the reasons we want to ensure there is the least amount of drug use in the Northern Territory as possible.
A second advisory, dated 31 January this year, is entitled Mental Disorders linked to Cannabis:
- Doctors in the United Kingdom have linked cannabis use with increasing rates of depression, psychosis,
and schizophrenia.
The Royal College of General Practitioners has warned that greater acceptance of the use of cannabis and
stronger forms of cannabis were the cause of the mental disorders.
The College warned that health warnings are falling on deaf ears, especially for teenagers who are physically
and mentally still developing.
Genetically modified forms of cannabis, called ‘skunk’, are not only causing psychosis, depression and
schizophrenia, but also respiratory conditions like asthma.
The source of this was United Press International, 16 January 2005:
- A recently published study has revealed that smoking cannabis once or twice a week doubled the risk of
developing psychotic symptoms later in life and a spokesman for Kings College, London, has disclosed
that doctors have been aware of the link between cannabis use and psychosis for more than 20 years.
Australian Federal Police have warned that highly toxic forms of cannabis called ‘skunk’ are available
in Australia.
- The Thoracic Society of Australia New Zealand has slammed smoking cannabis because of its respiratory risks.
The THC in cannabis is proven to cause cancer. Carbon monoxide levels are five times higher after smoking
just one cannabis joint than a cigarette. Tar levels are four times greater from one cannabis joint than from
one cigarette.
Cannabis smoke inflames airways, induces chronic bronchitis, is mutagenic and causes cancer of the tongue and
lungs. The effects accumulate on lung and respiratory functions the longer a user smokes cannabis. Respiratory
ill-health will increase if cannabis consumption increases in the community.
The Society recommends that:
- ... every step should be taken to discourage cannabis smoking.
The source of this was The Respiratory Health Effects of Cannabis by Taylor and Hall in Internal Medicine Journal 2003, 33. We are looking at fairly serious issues related to drugs, not simply drug-related crime.
Returning to the statement, I particularly applaud the establishment of the Drug Detection Dog Unit in the Northern Territory, and I am very sorry that the dog to which the minister referred to as Monte is not here today. I understand he is a very diligent dog doing a lot of work in the community. This dog unit has immeasurably increased the ability of the police to intercept drugs as they enter a community, given the innovative means we have been told about used to transport cannabis in to some areas.
While I am talking about remote communities, I should add that we cannot be complacent about the lack of evidence of a real problem with the so-called harder drugs in the remote areas. What is emerging in anecdotal evidence from communities in North Queensland is that there is a growing problem with injectable drugs. We need to be vigilant. As happened with the growth of cannabis use outside the major centres in the Northern Territory, the entrepreneurial nature of drug dealing means there is always someone waiting to identify a potential market and take advantage of it. The nature of the illicit drug supply industry is such that this is guaranteed.
Members would be aware that the Select Committee on Substance Abuse in the Community tabled its Report on Petrol Sniffing in Remote Communities in October last year. As its terms of reference enable it to generate its own inquiries, it has now identified urban use substance abuse as an area for inquiry, and is currently looking at a program to undertake that. Without pre-empting the deliberations of the committee and with full regard to the contributions of all members to those deliberations, I will touch on my personal concerns in relation to this issue.
As the mother of teenage children and a member who has very close contact with the five schools in my electorate, I am particularly interested in exploring those factors which come into play during the early teenage years, which lead young people to experiment with drugs. While we can accept that most young people do experiment with substance abuse, and even misuse of some kind during their adolescent years, what leads some to move on to the abuse of drugs and possibly addiction? Are there factors that can be identified to allow us to intervene to change the outcomes for these people?
Madam Speaker, I am looking forward to taking evidence regarding these issues from expert witnesses, as well as those members of the community who have experience with youth and can contribute. As part of its inquiry, the committee plans to talk to people in the major centres, and I look forward to reporting to the Legislative Assembly on the results of the inquiry later in the year. Once the committee has established its proposed program, I will ensure that all members are advised of it.
In summing up, I congratulate the minister on his statement, and the Northern Territory police on the work they do overall, and particularly in the area of drug interventions.
Mr MALEY (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I rise to briefly comment on the ministerial statement as it relates to the electorate of Goyder.
From the outset, I make it clear that I hold the police and the work they do in the highest regard. The profession of being a police officer is difficult and, in my view, the community overwhelmingly supports the police service. For many years, my dad, who was a police officer, had a sticker on the back of the car that went something like: ‘Protect your police or protect yourself’.
Mr Henderson: A very fine officer he was as well.
Mr MALEY: Indeed. And married into …
Mr Henderson: That’s all right. A very fine officer. My father-in-law is good friends with your father.
Mr MALEY: Yes, yes. Apparently they have been drinking together in New South Wales and swapping stories. However, I digress!
Members of the police, as with any individuals, need to have their proper checks and balances. Overwhelmingly, the Northern Territory Police Force enjoys an excellent reputation amongst the other services throughout the states and territories and the Commonwealth.
The only disappointment is that I have seen this Labor government try to capitalise on the good work of the Northern Territory Police Force for political purposes. There are a couple of examples of that. The best would have to be the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act, which came into force on or about June 2003. That legislation is not something that came into existence when there was a change of government. It was legislation that took many years to prepare. There was an ongoing process, which germinated when the CLP was in government. The lawyers who worked on that did an enormous amount of work. There was a draft, very close to the finished product, and very similar to the act this government adopted.
The Drug Detection Unit is a great idea. In the NT News yesterday, there was a picture of a dog and Constable Young who enjoys a very good reputation as an honest, hard-working and fair police officer. There is no doubt having officers of his calibre in the Dog Squad will only add to the success of that important program.
People in my electorate certainly want a strong police force on the ground, and they want to see a strong police presence. There is nothing like knowing that the police are not far away if something goes wrong. Then, of course, a phone call can be made …
Mr Henderson: You will have a police station in a minute.
Mr MALEY: … and the police will be there. The minister interjects with ‘police station’. Indeed, the Humpty Doo police station is a great CLP initiative …
Members interjecting.
Mr MALEY: … one which the Labor Party followed. I was on the side of the road when the then Minister Reed, the previous member for Katherine, made the announcement. Sure enough, a few days later, my opponent’s Labor Party paraphernalia mirrored the promise that there was going to be this wonderful police station at Humpty Doo. It is great to see that the Labor Party has adopted with open arms this fantastic initiative and delivered, albeit vicariously, on that CLP promise.
I note the minister is listening carefully. Perhaps he can address a couple of important issues in his reply. There is some confusion as to whether this police station will be 24 hours. Will it be 8 am to 4 pm or business hours? There is a need, in my view, for a 24-hour police facility. Confirmation from the minister in his response would be appreciated, and something that would calm the minds of many rural people.
There is another aspect that has attracted some media attention. Indeed, the minister himself has made certain comments about it. There was an expectation that the facility would include an ambulance. I asked a question of the minister two years ago, in October 2002. There were references to a police station and ambulance centre and whether the government would deliver on that promise. There have, of course, been various comments in the Litchfield Times about whether or not there would be an ambulance service in the area.
It is fair to say that, as well as the need for security and a police station, there is also a need for an ambulance service and for better medical facilities in the rural area. I am asking the minister to respond in his closing remarks about whether there are any plans to expand the current facility to include an ambulance centre. If there are plans, what sort of time frame are we looking at and what sort of facility can rural people expect to enjoy in the future?
I am digressing a little, but it is an important matter to raise. The Labor government’s priors on supporting rural people with health facilities is fairly dismal. The only real publicity the Martin Labor government achieved on the health prospects of rural people was when it decided to close the 24-hour facility at the Palmerston Health Precinct. People were upset about that. They remain upset about that, and this is an opportunity for the police minister to say there is something on the horizon regarding an ambulance or medical facility being incorporated into the new and very impressive police facility at Humpty Doo.
There is no doubt that the consumption of illicit drugs is a serious problem, and police are certainly on the job. However, there are other forms of criminal conduct that damage the very fabric of our rural community. I am asking the question: what is the government doing about domestic violence, for example? What is the government doing about offences of violence against women and assaults generally? What sort of resources and initiatives does this government have to deal with the itinerant problem? Itinerants are not generally a big problem in rural area, that is true, but at Coolalinga, I was recently approached by the owner of a shop - I am not going to go provide his particulars – who said that itinerants had, for the very first time, begun hanging about the public area off the Coolalinga Woolworths supermarket and that he had witnessed some of those itinerants insult our tourists. Many tourists stop there to refuel and buy products. He said there conduct was generally offensive to all decent-minded rural people.
I am interested to see whether this government will support the police and support rural people in dealing with these other matters that are becoming a problem. We have seen the Martin Labor government rebadge a number of provisions of the Northern Territory Criminal Code. We have seen the Martin Labor government trot out statistics and try to persuade Territory people that everything is okay, it is just getting better and better. The real test is what you see when you walk down the mall and what you see in the foyer area of the Woolworths supermarket at Coolalinga. There is no doubt that these Labor opportunists have trapezed in here and tried to take the credit for the good work of the Northern Territory Police, but we are yet to see any hard evidence on the ground of a Labor initiative.
Madam Speaker, ultimately the only way to have a long-term reduction in antisocial behaviour is to ensure that we live in a prosperous society that has wealth-creating projects, jobs, self-respect and dignity, but on that front, the Labor government has simply not delivered. They have not delivered one single major project during this term of government. Really, the feel-good comments, the bandaids it throws up now in that: ‘We will deal with this issue’ are clearly not going to have a long term effect on the level of crime. Of course, it relates to the economy.
Nevertheless, credit where credit is due. The police are doing very well. The Dog Squad is a great initiative. I look forward to a response from the minister in relation to the two succinct queries I raised on behalf of rural people.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I will not be long because I was fortunate enough to hear what the member for Brennan said this morning and I think even the police minister will concede that many of his comments were very useful and, we hope, of assistance to the minister. We are all here for the same reason, and that is to get good results for everyone in the Northern Territory. There is no need in me revisiting some of the matters the member for Brennan raised.
Accordingly, I propose to deal with a couple of matters. For my part, I thank the minister for the statement. I agree with what the member for Brennan said. There are some really good initiatives here. I am curious, however, about the minister’s comments on page 3 about some people taking the view that consumption of illicit drugs is a matter of personal choice and it is not something the government or police should be concerned about. The minister said he strongly disagreed with that. I wonder whether he has spoken to his Chief Minister who is on the public record as having consumed marijuana. I do not know whether there is a strong a disagreement between the two of them, but certainly, on the basis of what the minister has said and the Chief Minister’s public comments, one can only conclude that there is some disagreement.
I note that the minister refers to crimes of violence and theft, and I agree that the impact of illicit drug use is a factor not only in crime, but family break downs and so on.
The minister might, if he wishes, explain why it is that he did not talk about, as the member for Goyder said, domestic violence and sexual assaults. We all know that whether it is in remote communities or in the suburbs of Darwin, Palmerston or Alice Springs, violence against women occurs not only because of alcohol abuse; we know that much of it is drug-related. It would have been nice to have heard from the minister as to any initiatives he might have in relation to those matters. I thank him for his indication of a head nod, so I look forward to hearing from him in reply.
On page 5 of the statement, the minister detailed the number of people apprehended for offences. I refer the minister to page 86 of the September Quarter Crime Statistics under the heading of Explanatory Notes, which is under the bigger heading of Outcomes for Drug Offences. It says, and I quote:
- The number of offences processed by the court does not reflect the number of individuals who appeared
before the court or the number of occasions on which sentence was passed.
In other words, the crime statistics do not provide us with the number of people who appeared before the courts. I wrote to the Attorney-General about this a year or so ago and, from memory, he confirmed that yes, either those figures as to the number of people who go before the court are not kept or perhaps he would not give them to me; I cannot remember. I wonder, though, why it is that the minister in his statement can very accurately provide figures as to the number of people apprehended, and yet in the crime statistics under Drug Offences, that is not provided. It may just be some sort of failure between the two systems. In the interests of clarity, we should be provided with the number of people who actually go before court if the government is serious, and I think it is, about trying to provide detailed crime statistics. So I point out what appears to be an inconsistency.
While I am on page 86 of the crime statistics, I will refer to page 6 of the minister’s statement. He refers to Foils at Moil and said that is no more and there is no more drug dealing taking place at that site. My question to the minister is: does he believe that because Foils at Moil is closed down that people dealing drugs from that site no longer deal drugs? I hope the minister will be honest with me and say that he does not for a moment think that those people have stopped dealing drugs. The fact is that those people have simply moved on. I note that, with respect, the minister has not referred to that.
The inference seems to be that Foils at Moil has closed, therefore it is all over, Red Rover. We know that those people have just moved on. So I wonder if the minister might talk in his reply about what police are doing in order to basically chase these people down because they just move.
Returning to page 86 of the September Quarter Crime Statistics, I will not repeat all of it, but it says that a total of 214 drug offences were finalised by the courts between 1 July 2004 and 30 September 2004. The principal penalty for 17% of those offences was an actual term of imprisonment, and then it gives figures as to what happened with other offences - note not offenders. The principal penalty for 17% was an actual term of imprisonment. I would be grateful if the minister would make a comment as to whether he thinks, in any quarter, only 17% of drug dealers being put in gaol is satisfactory. I ask him for an indication. I know he cannot comment on particular cases, but I would have thought that 17% of drug dealers copping an actual term of imprisonment was pretty low. I would like to hear his comments on that because whilst he, understandably, trumpets the numbers of arrests and so on, I would have liked him to have followed it through to what I regard is its logical conclusion by saying how many went to gaol. I have had to find that out by myself, which has not been difficult, but I would like the minister’s views as to whether he thinks that is reasonable.
Again, on page 86, it says that possession and non-commercial dealing in illicit drugs accounted for 81% of drug offences finalised by the courts from 1 July 2004 to 30 September 2004. It also says that 23% of offences under that group were associated with an actual term of imprisonment. I suggest that is a fairly low figure.
Finally, on page 87 of the crime statistics, it gives a whole year picture, and it says a total of 628 drug offences were finalised by the courts between 1 July 2003 and 30 June 2004, and the principal penalty for 19% of these offences was an actual term of imprisonment. I reckon that is an extremely low imprisonment rate over a 12 month period for drug dealers. I would like the minister to comment on that. In essence, I am asking whether he is happy with those outcomes.
My second question is: can he provide me with the average length of gaol terms? I think averages are provided elsewhere in the crime statistics, and I am sure that the minister can obtain that information.
Part of the reason I have gone to the crime statistics and obtained information from the September quarter is that it completes the picture. If the police minister is making a statement about police and drugs, he owes it to all of us to get to the end point regarding the offending, and not just to say things like: ‘Foils at Moil has gone, end of story’, or ‘We have apprehended X number of people, end of story’. There is a logical follow through and I would have liked him to have commented on that and, as I said, what initiatives, if any, he is working on in relation to domestic violence and sexual assaults.
With those remarks, I will conclude and generally extend my congratulations to the minister.
Mr DUNHAM (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, it is important to speak to these statements because, as we saw in Question Time today, it would appear that the government is trying to create some sort of a proposition that the current government is doing an excellent job in stark comparison to the previous government. It is one of those bidding wars where you say: ‘You are tough on drugs. No, we are tougher on drugs’. Unfortunately, as my colleague the member for Araluen has just pointed out, the empirical data is a little bit tricky to find.
There are a number of statements that are distorted and paraded as something that someone said when, in fact, they said nothing of the sort. It is important, therefore, in a debate like this to make sure that there are some other facets to the debate and how things are viewed.
Going straight to the business of what the previous Chief Minister, the member for Brennan, said when he was in government about matters relating to illicit drugs is very interesting because, if you read what he said and if you read this government’s own report on the committee headed up by Dr Val Asche, they are pretty much in accord. What it found was the problems faced by other jurisdictions with some of the illicit drugs are vastly more problematic in those places than it is here.
Whether you want to call that minuscule - and they use various descriptive words - or not, the fact is we have a different drugs problem in this place, and it has to be treated with different strategies. It is no good borrowing solutions from elsewhere and then saying: ‘We have come up with this great idea because they do it in Queensland’. The fact remains that you can do a survey of the inmates of our various prisons and of prisons in other places, and you will find vastly different problems. Many of them are in Territory prisons for problems with drugs – basically licit drugs: alcohol.
I am not saying that there are not problems with illicit drugs in this place. However, when you look at New South Wales, where you have over 20% of the prison population, for instance, on methadone provided by state agencies, you can see it is a vastly different demographic profile.
We should have a debate that is frank. We should talk about our differences and a concerted approach to address the problems that are unique to the Territory. I applaud the government on some of the initiatives. The Forensic Accountant is a great idea. White-collar crime is a difficult matter to pursue; it is often only one step away from the drug trade where there are various devices to clean money and change its identity so it looks as if it is not an ill-gotten gain. The minister should be congratulated for that initiative. It is a great idea for someone within the force to be able to pursue with that type of operation.
The sniffer dogs are a great idea, too. It is a very adaptable resource and can be used in our schools or on transport facilities. It is having great success in remote communities, and that is a good idea. I was interested to see in the media that much of the ganga haul was accompanied by illicit firearms. It would appear for every person apprehended, they are also someone who possesses a gun. While that is not a reflection on gun owners, it is certainly a reflection on ganga growers because there is no doubt that plenty of people in our society who choose to pursue this illicit activity have other problems with their interface with the law, particularly arming themselves with deadly weapons.
The minister said in his statement:
- To most, a link between illicit drugs and crime is clear.
That is true. He went on to say:
- While some will adopt a head-in-the-sand approach, the vast majority of Territorians share the belief that
we must confront illicit drugs if we are to tackle crime in the Territory.
That is also true. The long and the short of it, though, is that alcohol remains our major problem. The dismantling of the Living with Alcohol program, and the fact that it has been illicit drug focussed is a problem. We have problems with the licit substances of alcohol, petrol and kava. These are not illicit drugs, but they feature very prominently in our crime and prisoner profiles. If you go to our prisons, you will probably outnumber by a factor of some tens the people there for speed and amphetamine crime versus people there for alcohol-related crimes.
It is very easy to pick this up as the bullseye or the target, that we are going for it and, because we are making some inroads, we have addressed the crime problem. The crime problem is a bit more complex than that. I was interested that at page three, the minister said:
- Some take the view that the consumption and distribution of illicit drugs is a matter of personal choice for
the individual, and that it’s not something the government or police should be concerned about.
The Chief Minister said that. It is on the record that the Chief Minister said that the consumption of marijuana was pretty much akin to having a glass of wine. She did not differentiate between one product being legal and the other illegal. She did not differentiate between the harmful affects of ganga smoking versus the possible therapeutic affects of one glass of wine, nor did she seem to realise that when leaders in our community make comments such as that, people listen to them.
Therefore, when the minister for police rails against those who take the view that consumption and distribution of illicit drugs should not be trivialised in that way, it is something he should have fireside chat with his Chief Minister about. She promulgated such a view in the Northern Territory News and while she can then backflip and say: ‘What I meant was the ganga when I was a uni student is different from the ganga now. It is more dangerous for you now than when I was a kid. When I was a kid it was something that we all did. I distance myself from those comments because I did it, but I am going to wag my finger at you and say: “Don’t you dare do it because it is very dangerous, and anyway, the government says it is illegal.”.’
It is very hard to pull those comments back in the same way that the minister chooses to misconstrue the comments of the previous Chief Minister. He should pull the whole comment out and read it. Their own task force on drugs found pretty much exactly the same circumstance. Before he tries to run a political campaign that the words that came from the member for Brennan’s mouth as Chief Minister on this matter, which are now conveniently misconstrued and come out summarised as ‘the drugs problem is minuscule’, he should read the whole quote. He should then conveniently juxtapose that with his own independent inquiry that took off under the chairmanship of Dr Val Asche and he will find that they are in accord.
However, if he wants to run that argument, he should be aware that people are going to continue to say that the Chief Minister is a supporter of marijuana use, was so open about its consumption when she was a young person and so ambivalent about the use of this drug in society, so he can expect that to feature in the same debate.
The reason I put that on the public record is because I suspect we are going to go into an election shortly. I suspect we are going to debate matters relating to this government’s very heavy-handed approach to people who are illicit drug users. I can assure him that every time he talks about the previous government having a head-in-the-sand approach, or a soft approach to illicit drugs or an approach where the previous Chief Minister was reputed to say that the problem is minuscule, I will talk about the Chief Minister’s drug problem because it would appear from the attitude of some of those opposite that she is actually passing some of these cigarettes among some of her members because the wacky baccy debate is coming …
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Drysdale, withdraw that remark, that suggestion.
Mr DUNHAM: I withdraw it. I doubt she would …
Madam SPEAKER: Do not go down the path of making derogatory remarks such as that.
Mr DUNHAM: I withdraw it. It is a salutary lesson, Madam Speaker, that people are offended when they are confronted with words that someone has said. In the case of the Chief Minister, I will be careful that use exactly her quote from the NT News and I would caution the Police minister that if he is going to continue to make various allegations about the priority status that we afford to drugs in our community, it would enter into the debate. So please do not be so sensitive and offended about this matter because if you bring it on, it will be brought on.
This may have been raised by previous speakers: the maths. Two hundred and eight notices have been issued and I then run through the maths and I get to 138, so there are 70 notices that are not in this statement, which goes down to half a gram when it lists drugs. I would have thought that something as salient as a notice would have been included. Perhaps it has been edited out; maybe there were 70 notices issued in remote parts of the Territory that did not make into the body of the statement.
If you do the maths, there are some problems. There are problems in the first line where the minister talked about notices: 81 of them being on residences in Darwin, made up of 76 first notices, 11 second notices and four third notices, which comes to 91. So perhaps by 81 he had meant 91, and even if you include those, you are still short some 70 notices. As my colleague, the member for Araluen, said, this sort of data is very important for us because it is the basis of the government making comparative analysis and it is really important that data is able to be scrutinised and interrogated.
I was interested that the police minister, in other debates, seems to possess an understanding of how devious and tricky people who use and deal drugs are. We have talked about this before. There are one or two of us that have had the unfortunate experience of having someone we know well who has been addicted to drugs. If the police minister is in that category, he would not be taking much comfort from the fact that they put a notice on a house, the people moved out and we are rid of the drug problem.
That is pretty simplistic thinking. These people do not disappear off the face of the earth; they do not desist from their drug habit; they do not disappear into the ether. Some die, unfortunately. In the main, if they have been chucked out of the house, they are in another house. Do not assume that you have shut a house and therefore the drug dealing has ceased.
I have been in a position to speak to drug dealers and consumers and the biggest issue for them is the advent of the mobile phone, which means that you do not have to have a static base to deal in drugs. The people I talk to in therapeutic communities nearly always have mobile phones; some have two. When I went to the Naltrexone clinic, where people were valiantly trying to give up drugs, the first advice the practitioner gave them was: ‘Get rid of your mobile phone. Put it in the bin. I have a bucket of water. When you leave, put it in the bin’.
This notion that Foils at Moil was obvious and trading - Foils at Moil was raided on a number of occasions prior to any of this legislation, and it was rarely that people were arrested. The reason for that is that there are extensive surveillance lookout and possession techniques that are used by people who trade in drugs that make it very difficult for police.
To take a lot of comfort from the fact that you have shut two houses or whatever it was and the former tenants have now joined society - I think is good; if I were the next door neighbour, I certainly would not want to have them next to me - really, you are driving it further underground. It is an immensely difficult problem to address with the mobility people have now and their electronic communication devices. I suggest that the people involved in this have found some other method of dealing.
The Remote Community Drug Desk is a great idea. I will include the previous government in this: for too long, there have been attitudes in the bush about different behaviours that are acceptable in remote communities than there are in town. There have been enormous concerns expressed to me by Aboriginal people for a long time, particularly about ganga, and I have spoken in this House before about it. When we were looking at the alarming issue of suicide in remote communities, I was hearing anecdotal advice from Aboriginal people, particularly older Aboriginal women, that ganga was implicated. It was commonly put to me that this phenomenon that we were seeing at the time was ganga-related.
The good work that was done by the coroner at the Tiwi Islands found that not to be so, though in my own heart, I still believe that the psychological effects of ganga over-use would certainly be a contributor to depression and eventual suicide. So I applaud the Remote Area Drug Desk. I know that when the government set up its drugs task force, if people go back to that debate, and it was sprung on us, so it was not as if we had enough time to prepare, but even without much preparation, I noted that there were two very important issues missing: first, they were not going to remote communities; and second, they were not talking about marijuana.
This parliament has to take a much more strengthened role about the common and seemingly acceptable use of marijuana. It is very common in remote communities, I am led to believe. I also believe that people are not educated well enough on the health and deleterious effects of substantial and significant ganga use. I applaud the minister on that. We will find that it is one of those things where we have to start with attitudes and behaviour as well as the rigor of policing, regulation, punishment and protection.
There are two arms to it, and I would see the contribution by the various health spokesmen as important on this matter because we have a big row to hoe with the use of nicotine in these communities, the use of kava, the use of petrol, and the use of alcohol. To have yet another problem layered upon that makes the job a little more difficult. I do not pretend that the solutions will be easy, but we have to be continually trying what we can to make inroads into this terrible problem.
The congratulations to the police force I also believe are due. Our police force has not suffered the reputation loss that many of the other forces in Australia have suffered, with collusion between criminal and law enforcement activity, particularly in matters relating to drugs. That is a great credit to them because, in my own mind, if such an incident did occur, it would not have the same systemic problems that seem to beset other forces, and I believe it would be a remote and unique set of circumstances if such a case was proved against a police officer. I am very confident in our police force. I am confident in their very robust and active approach to pursuing miscreants, particularly those associated with the drug trade. They deserve our applause, and everyone who speaks would quite readily put that on the record.
The business about O’Sullivan and upgrading the police force and that sort of stuff pretty much fits with some of the rhetoric about the status and calibre of the drug problem as announced by a previous Chief Minister, and I leave that as political rhetoric. Nonetheless, with the O’Sullivan report, that is legitimate debate; I do not have any problem with the minister trotting that stuff out and proudly proclaiming that he has done something or another, because he can demonstrate that.
What I am saying is that the election is here. This is obviously something that is going to be at the forefront of government. There are a number of issues that should be brought to this parliament for debate and they have not been. For instance, there has been an announcement of a $10m drug program for petrol sniffing, and that has not been mentioned in this House. What we are seeing at the moment is a series of issues coming from the government by way of statement that parade their credentials in a good light. I do not think they have had a hit with the housing one, nor the multicultural one listed later. On this particular one, if they want to go to the electorate and parade their credentials in some way that puts them in a good light, I look forward to it and I ask that debate be level-headed and empirically based.
Mr KIELY (Sanderson): Madam Speaker, I had a little trouble following the member for Drysdale’s line about drugs, but let me tell you about the Foils at Moil house on Lee Point Road and what it means to the community to be rid of it. The member for Johnston, when he was a candidate, was aware of this house because people constantly raised the issue with him. I, too, had similar issues raised with me when I was a candidate getting around Sanderson. Why was that? The member for Drysdale said: ‘We knew about Foils at Moil. We raided it a couple of times, but what the heck, we could never catch anyone’. It is amazing, isn’t it? We got in here with good legislation, worked with the police service and we were able to close it.
The member for Drysdale keeps trying to say: ‘What is wrong with a little choof and a little marijuana; it is a benign sort of drug’. What he is overlooking is that Foils at Moil was selling dope out of the house in one gram packets, and I think the nominal fee was something like $50, and they were selling it to 12-year-olds. They were selling it to 13- and 14-year-olds, they were selling it to 8-year-olds. They were selling it to any kid on a push bike who could get there, who was either cashed up with $50 or had something to trade. That was what Foils at Moil was all about. Do not be kidded that this was a harmless little outlet where it was above ground. The CLP said: ‘Have a look at this house. We know where the dope is now. At least it is over there and who gives a hoot about the people in Moil? Who gives a hoot about the people in Anula, or Wulagi, or anywhere along that stretch? It is a small packet over there. They are safe seats. We will let that go and then we can monitor what is going on’.
I will tell you what was happening out of that property: the houses all along the walkway coming out from Parer Drive and up to Anula shops, where there is not adequate lighting, were being broken into consistently. They were having their DVDs knocked off, windows smashed, fishing lines knocked off. The people in Wulagi were suffering the same fate, the people in all the units at Northlakes – being broken into with stilsons. These house breaks were not done by what you might call a professional class of break-in person who was knocking off the television. The items stolen were transportable and easily traded for drugs. It was the kids of the area on their push bikes.
When I was doorknocking there, it was nothing to be on someone’s doorstep and they would say: ‘We were broken into, and so was the house down there’. The units in Northlakes were a favourite target at one stage. As I said, all up and down the walkways, those poor people could not leave anything out without it being knocked off and ending up at Foils at Moil. What you had was a type of Fagin operating from there. I am glad we introduced drug house legislation because it stopped that behaviour.
The member for Nightcliff spoke about her participation as the chair of the Select Committee on Substance Abuse and told us that drug houses are linked to crime. I have seen it. I know, and the people in Anula know it. They are thankful for this government changing the legislation so their property is now safe and secure. It has less probability of being knocked off by kids who just want swap it for a small bag of dope so they can go and have a choof at the age of 10, 11 or 12.
If knocking over that house has not reduced crime in the area, reduced antisocial behaviour, made our homes and our feelings of security greater, and increased attendance at schools, I will go he. Those are the benefits of the drug house legislation. Let us not just say: ‘We like our drug houses out in the suburbs because then we know where it is - and who gives a hoot about the neighbours?’. There are direct consequences of knocking over Foils at Moil for the people of Sanderson, and I am happy about it.
A couple of years ago, after the drug house legislation was introduced, we held some community meetings for a safer Sanderson. We held them at Anula and Wulagi schools, with the police and Neighbourhood Watch in attendance. There were some representatives of council and officers from the Department of Justice. Of course, the public came along and we asked them what they thought. People said: ‘Look, since your knocked over Foils at Moil, our suburbs are a safer and better place to be’.
Contrary to what some of the opposition people would yell, scream, rant and rave in interjections, I do get around my area doorknocking. As a matter of fact, last weekend I was in Kestrel Circuit. They can go out there and follow behind me; I do not mind at all. I received reports at one or two houses that they had been broken into and they knew a couple of other houses that had been broken into during the night.
This government does not lay claim to stopping crime in the Territory. That is a nonsense. What this government does lay claim to is working hard to reduce crime and the causes of crime. That is what it is all about; it is about working and consistently being on target to bring down crime and the causes of crime. We have lowered the rate of property crime, but that is not to say that property crime will not continue in one form or another. We have certainly brought down the number of break-ins by kids. We are working on it. I sincerely wish that we could do away with it. However, society being what it is, with people who are antisocial, who will not work or who, for one reason or another - in a lot of cases these days unfortunately, heavier drug-related - tend to take what they consider to be the easy option of house breaking.
With the different types of policing regimes in place, thanks to the good work of the service and the direction they have taken under the commissioner and his management team, we are seeing increased use of DNA. We are seeing intelligence-led policing. These are the tools that are helping to reduce everything for us. It is a long, hard struggle. It is a constant battle out there. I commend the police for their tenacity and will, and I applaud the support that we give them to ensure them that they have the tools to carry on tackling the causes of crime and reducing it within our community.
None of us in this community can hold up their heads about the rate of crime against the person in our community, and none of us do. It is a shame. It is a blight on our community. We are trying our best to equip the police with the necessary tools so that they can apprehend perpetrators, support survivors, not only through police, but the Department of Justice and a range of mechanisms within our community, we are working to do it.
When I say it is an indictment on all of us in here and all of us in the community, we live next door to the people who become the victims. A little community mindedness, an eye on neighbours and a supporting hand will go a long way. We should say: ‘If you hear someone scream, pick up the phone and get the police’. We should be more proactive as a community to help people. It is a dreadful shame that it is the most vulnerable in the community who suffer. It is predominantly women. It is predominantly children who are the victims and survivors of these dreadful behaviours perpetrated, in the main, by men. We acknowledge that but, we are doing something about it and we will work with the community. I am hopeful that we will have some success.
As I said, when I was doorknocking around the streets recently, one of the issues that comes home to me time and again no matter what suburb I am visiting - be it in Northlakes, along Lakes Crescent or Carnoustie Circuit, be it on Wulagi Crescent or down Brolga Street, be it in Anula along Yanyula Drive or Union Terrace - is speeding in the suburbs.
The Leader of the Opposition has said Territorians, this amorphous body out there, do not give a hoot about speeding. I tell you what: the people in Wulagi do; the people in Anula do; the people in Northlakes do. I am forever and always making representations to council saying: ‘This is your street. Can you come and have a look at it? Can you come and work with the community? Can we look at some sort of traffic calming or traffic management devices that can help the community address the issue of speeding?’
I also inform my local police at Casuarina. I let them know and tell them that I have been informed that there is a speeding issue on Union Terrace, on Wulagi Crescent, on Brolga Street and around Kestrel Circuit. I let them know that this is a concern to the citizens. I have seen the police in the streets, in the suburbs, with their radar set up. The Leader of the Opposition scoffed and said: ‘Speed camera! Trying to get more revenue!’. These are the wishes of the people who live on these streets, whose kids are out there playing. These are the wishes of the people who have had to grab their kids out of the way of oncoming traffic because the driver wasn’t alert or attentive enough.
Road trauma is one of the biggest costs to our society. It is not so much the death because there is finality to that, but if you have someone who has been in an accident and has trauma, needs intensive care and ongoing therapy and rehabilitation, take into account the lack of capacity to work and the ongoing pain they suffer, it is a great cost and a great shame. I have many friends injured in car accidents, and friends who have died in car accidents. The need to address road trauma is a vital issue.
I welcome speed cameras. Anyone who has travelled on Bagot Road will tell you that since the speed cameras have been in place, traffic has reduced to a safer speed and it is not so much of a freeway coming into work of a morning. If that is crook, so be it. If the Leader of the Opposition reckons speed cameras are only revenue raisers - and I notice he said he has had to pay about five fines; he is a bit slow to learn - so be it. May people who have been caught five times go on to be caught 10 times. Those people, recidivist speeders, should be made to sit in the hospital and have a look at people who are hurt and injured from speeding accidents. They should see the injuries and that might have a greater impact than a $50 speeding fine. At times, I do not think the fines are adequate.
Look at the emphasis on road safety in Victoria and have a look and the fine and de-merit regime. I am pleased to say that arising from the O’Sullivan Report, over $75m will be allocated to the police. That is cash, up-front and it recognises the need for better traffic management by the police, and it will happen. To have anyone say that it is okay to speed on our roads and Territorians think that is cool - it ain’t!
We have open speed limits on the Stuart Highway, and no one is going to be changing that while this government is here and my feet are on the ground. We will retain that. We have distances to travel and good roads to travel them on, but the streets of Wulagi, Moil and Bakewell are not the Stuart Highway. Foolish statements that speeding in our suburbs is okay is an indictment on the member and reveal the lack of sensitivity about what road trauma can do to individuals, families and society. It shows a callousness and neglect that goes way beyond anything that can be forgiven. The Leader of the Opposition needs to recognise that and should visit people who are busted up in hospital. As you may have guessed, I am passionate about the issue of speeding. It is something we need to address.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I pass on information I pick up when I am doorknocking to police for their intelligence-led strategies, as I pass on anecdotal information. In my travels, I have not received one complaint about police. In the main, there was a very positive view about what our police are tyring to achieve, particularly the bicycle and mounted police. These strategies are fantastic.
I do not know whether it is a placebo effect, but when the bike police are out and about, the community feels great. My commendation to the officers at Palmerston, Casuarina and in town for the work they do, which is fantastic. If two police officers getting round on bikes makes everyone feel better, it is a great investment. They are effective, too. I have spoken to some of the officers on bikes, and they tell some ripping yarns. One of the better ones I heard was about kids on bikes at night without lights. They were in a park. The police rode up in amongst them and said ‘G’day’. Well, these kids just about fainted. They spoke to these kids and they got them home. That is a fantastic result from the bicycle police.
In our area we have a strong Neighbourhood Watch, but we also have good, alert, integrated members of the community in our shops. In particular, I would like to mention Scotty at Wulagi shops. I have spoken about him before. Scotty has actually been awarded a commendation from Deputy Police Commissioner Wernham for his work that led to the arrest of a violent criminal who held up the Moil shops with a knife and was then loitering at Wulagi shops. Scotty was on to him. He phoned police and said: ‘I have a bloke down here who looks like he fits the identity of the chap you are looking for’. Police came down and they were able to get him. Scotty is a very active member of the community. His shop is a bit of a focal point for Wulagi. A lot of information comes his way. He works with the kids, and works very closely with the police, passing on information to them. He is trying very hard to work with other members of the community like Paul White and John Lee of Neighbourhood Watch to get a local Neighbourhood Watch up and running and active in Wulagi again. I commend them for that effort, and they have my full support. I will be down there working extremely hard with them.
Shopkeepers like the owners of the Malak shops, Henry and Susannah Yap, work well with the kids who come in there, and instead of trying to rough them up and throw them out, they work in a collective spirit with the children, and that has worked wonders. It is amazing what a little bit of reward and understanding and compassion can do for people.
I have had the pleasure of living out bush. As a matter of fact, I met my wife when she was working out bush. I have travelled around the Territory to many communities, and I have met many police who work out in the bush. They do it tough and they do it hard - not as tough and hard as the communities they look after. People who live on communities are doing it really hard, really tough, but that is not to say that they do not deserve a police presence and the security that such a presence offers. The police out bush deserve a pat on the back. You will find, nine times out of 10, that the police officers working on communities have great respect for the communities they work with, much the same as the empathy urban police have for their areas. They identify really well. Generally speaking, the communities love their police. I commend those officers and their families who are out there with them, helping Territorians and serving their community.
That will do me for a wrap on that. The NT Police Service has my 100% support, particularly in the way that they are battling the causes of crime.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I rise to respond to the minister’s statement on achieving great results in attacking drug-related crime. I could speak a lot on the types of drugs that he is talking about, but I wanted to refer mainly to incidents that are caused by a drug that seems to cause so much of a problem in our community, and that is alcohol.
First, I acknowledge the work that the Northern Territory Police do in our community. They do an excellent job. They have an enormous task to carry out, and they have quite a few challenges in that they have great distances to cover, huge areas to cover, and a variety of incidents, of course, that distance challenges them with. I believe they do an excellent job. I congratulate them for all that they do and the effort that they put in. As the previous speaker said, those stationed in outlying communities have long distances to travel with added challenges, and I applaud and congratulate the police for what they do.
I am very pleased to see that there are new police in the force. There is a young man from Katherine who is going through his training right now, Shawn Hohn. It has been his dream to serve in the Northern Territory Police Force, and his dream is being realised.
However, I wanted to speak about one of my real concerns, which is the worrying trend in Katherine of incidents related to alcohol. I will go through three that have occurred since Christmas. They are of great concern and reflect very badly on what is happening in our community. One of the worrying aspects of these incidents is that the three of them were random, spontaneous, unprovoked and carried out by groups of young people. I do not think I will refer to them again as I am speaking as ‘groups’; I will be referring to them as ‘gangs’, which is more appropriate. The added distressing part of one of these assaults that occurred in Katherine is that children witnessed their family car being trashed and it is something that they are still traumatised about.
The first of the incidents occurred just after Christmas when Shannan and David Van De Weyer and their two daughters, Nicki aged 10, and Tessa, aged seven, were driving in their Holden Rodeo ute to a park near their home, where they were going to have some recreation. These people are great supporters of the parks in Katherine and started a program several years ago called Park Mates. They try to encourage families around Katherine to utilise the parks much more.
On the way to the park in their vehicle, they passed a group of around seven people who were obviously intoxicated and walking along the road. One of the group who had already passed the car, as they had slowed down to avoid them, turned and slammed into the driver’s side door. He then rolled down the side of the vehicle and hit the ground, taking the side rear vision mirror with him. Following this, the family drove into a nearby fuel station to call the police and an ambulance because they feared this person had cut themself. Unfortunately, this group followed them into the service station. Mrs Van De Weyer grabbed her children from the vehicle and rushed them into the service station shop while the mob began to chase her husband with two garden stakes that they had taken from the back of the ute.
In the confusion, panic and noise that was being made, the Van De Weyers thought that the stakes were a knife. You can imagine the fear this woman had for her children. While this was happening, a woman from out of this group began hitting one of the guys holding a stake with a pair of thongs. Added to that, another man pulled a sledge hammer out of the back of the ute and proceeded to smash the windscreen and passenger side as well as the panels of the ute.
The police arrived to find about 15 people around the damaged vehicle with another 10 or so walking towards the service station to join in the mle. Thankfully, when the police arrived, they diffused the situation. Thank goodness they arrived when they did. In the meantime, Mr Van De Weyer had managed to escape to a vacant lot, which was nearby, and was hiding in the dark. He knew his wife and children were safe inside the shop.
It is too frightening to imagine what could have happened to this family if the police had not arrived when they did, as this group of drunken people were on a roll, so to speak. It is no wonder that they were terrified during this incident and, unfortunately, are still traumatised.
To add to their stress, the vehicle that was trashed was Mr Van De Weyer’s work vehicle in addition to being their family vehicle, which left them in quite a predicament until a very generous Darwin businessman kindly gave them a vehicle. It was a very generous gesture by this man and is very much appreciated by the Van De Weyers.
The whole incident was caused by the heavy consumption of the most harmful type of drug we have in our community: alcohol.
The next incident was the daylight mugging of a 64-year-old crippled pensioner, Mr Terry Dickens. This appalling attack by five boys aged between 14 and 16 happened by surrounding his motorised wheelchair; mugging him and snatching his light coloured canvas bag, which contained his wallet, before they ran away. Naturally, Mr Dickens was powerless to chase these young men and was very upset. Fortunately, a cyclist witnessed the theft and was able to report what he saw. Mr Dickens’ empty wallet was later found at a nearby telephone box. In this case, I do not believe that alcohol was a contributing factor.
About two weeks later, a young father, Darren Crotti, wanted to go to the BP 24-hour service station in Katherine to buy some items for his family. He was driving along Railway Terrace just on dark and noticed a group of people fighting in the area we call the Town Square. As he drove by, this group spilled onto the road, continuing their fighting. Darren stopped, put his car into reverse to keep away from them, but was unable to go far because there was a car behind him. Three of this group ran towards his car, with one jumping on the bonnet and smashing the car window. Darren was helpless to do anything except sit in his car and wait until he was able to drive away safely - with a smashed windscreen. Needless to say, he did not even get to the shop to buy the goodies for the family. He could not wait to get home to call the police.
Again, we have a family not only traumatised by the attack, but also severely financially disadvantaged. Darren, his wife Anne, and three children cannot afford to replace the smashed windscreen. They have received a quote for $330 to replace the windscreen, which is right out of their reach. To add to the trauma, in the last week the car has been defected, which effectively leaves this family of two adults and three school children, without a vehicle. The reason it was defected was because it had a smashed front windscreen.
The issue that bothers me is how can these drug-related incidents, and they are alcohol-related incidents, happen to families who have no recourse to get repayment or compensation for the damage to their property? That is the area the government needs to address so there is some way that these people can have recourse and be compensated for what has happened to them. They are severely disadvantaged.
I want to finish on how easy it is for cannabis to be obtained in the Territory. As this House is well aware, my husband and I have had the Red Gum Tourist Park for 11 years. We are well aware of a couple of houses in Katherine South which are known as ‘druggie houses’. Two of those were mentioned in the minister’s statement. In the time we have been there, twice I have had packets of dried marijuana dropped on the floor. It must be so freely available around the place that it was dropped on the floor and the owner did not even miss it. No one was game to come back and ask me if I had picked it up because it would have identified them, obviously. Those two packets, I am very pleased to say, were burnt in the incinerator, and I have not ever attempted to try the stuff myself.
I want to ask the minister if the government could look at areas of addressing compensation for people who have been severely disadvantaged by actions caused by drunken behaviour or any sort of criminal behaviour; if they can get some recompense because they should not be severely disadvantaged when it has nothing to do with them in the first place.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I support the minister’s statement. It has been an interesting debate. It is obvious that some members have a good understanding of the issues surrounding illicit drugs and law enforcement. Others, unfortunately, do not.
I agree with the minister’s point about the unique demographics of the Northern Territory, which means that police, law and order and drug-related issues are a challenge. Illicit drugs, for good and bad reasons, have been used in human civilisations for thousands of years. For law makers over that period of time, there has been a constant debate over what to do about them. The abuse of illicit drugs can lead to many damaging effects to the individual, family and the community at large.
Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, many individuals will try illicit drugs. The issue is not about getting rid of illicit drugs all together, and informed members would acknowledge this. The real issue is minimising use of illicit drugs and the consequential damage or cost to individuals, families and society. How do we do that? By minimising access to them. If we minimise access, we will reduce crime, which will have a positive effect on the wider community.
How, then, do we minimise access to illicit drugs? The minister’s statement outlined what this government has attempted to do, which is to declare war on illicit drugs. One of the key weapons in that war is the police, as is the case in any civilisation.
The minister pointed out that for a variety of reasons, police resources were under-funded between 1991 and 1994. We had a lack of police in urban and remote areas. What this government has attempted to do is identify, through the O’Sullivan Report, the need for a huge investment in police resources because that investment will be returned manifold by a safer, happier and more drug-free community.
I pick up on the new Opposition Leader’s comments in the past about the drug problem being ‘minuscule’ in the Northern Territory. I have done a little bit of research on this matter over the last few days, and I refer members to a document entitled Profile of Young Australians: Facts, Figures and Issues by Susan Pitman et al, 2003, published by the Foundation for Young Australians, South Melbourne.
- Young people’s involvement with illicit drugs
Over a third of Australians (37.7%) over the age of 14 years had used an illicit drug at least once in their
life with 16.9% doing so in the previous twelve months. Overall, recent drug use has declined since its
peak in 1998. Cannabis use, however, has remained relatively constant since 1991 at around 13% of
the over 14 years population. Heroin use peaked in 1998 but the use of ecstasy and designer drugs,
which are closely associated with the rave and nightclub scene for young people, appears to be on the
rise to 2.9% in 2001.
Young people's involvement with illicit drugs follows the wider community pattern of being more likely
among males, in urban areas, among those of lower socio-economic status and Indigenous identity, as
well as being less likely among those with a non-English speaking background.
While illicit drugs are used by a wide cross-section of young people, there are high risk youth populations
where prevalence of drug involvement is greater, such as the homeless, unemployed, those with mental
health problems and young people in the correctional system.
We have had the Opposition Leader on previous occasions talk about the use of illicit drugs in the Northern Territory being ‘miniscule’. Australia-wide facts show, and I will point to facts, figures and studies within the Northern Territory, that, unfortunately, illicit drug use is quite high in the Northern Territory and over-representative compared with the rest of the country.
One of the key issues is cannabis use in the Northern Territory. We all know that drugs cause a lot of damage within the community and, unfortunately, alcohol, which is a legal drug, has probably caused the most damage. That is one of the issues that this Martin Labor government has taken on and the member for Nightcliff chairs the substance abuse committee. I look forward to the findings of that committee over the coming weeks, months and years.
From the same study:
- Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in both the general population 14 years and over, and
among young people. Its use among late adolescents and young adults has been described as endemic.
Concerns have been raised about the extent to which its use serves as a gateway to other drug use and
behaviours associated with increased risk of suicide. The gateway theory has been controversial but
findings from the Victorian Adolescent Cohort Study and the 21-year New Zealand study provide some
support for the theory when cannabis use is regular.
Members of the opposition raised the issue of incarceration rates going up, and unfortunately, the member for Brennan personally attacked and blamed me for the reason indigenous incarceration rates are increasing. If people understand the general issues in crime, particularly criminology and crime trends, not only in this country, but throughout the world, in all populations and through all age groups, races, cultures and ethnic backgrounds, politicians like the Opposition Leader would refrain personal attacks and trying to corrupt the debate.
The reality is that we have had a shortage of police. In the statement, the minister said that the Labor government is well on the way to having and extra 200 police by 2006. We are going to have a larger police presence in urban and remote areas around the Northern Territory.
Anecdotal evidence from people who work with NAALAS, KRALAS, WA Legal Aid, Aboriginal Legal Aid and other legal aid services throughout Australia is that there are many crimes in indigenous communities going unreported. This has been happening for the last 26 or 27 years of self-government. This government has said enough is enough: we are drawing a line in the sand and will properly resource the police force that will attack the issue.
With this police presence in remote and urban areas, we are going to see more reporting of crime, and the greater reporting of crime will lead to more charges being laid, which is going to lead to more indigenous and non-indigenous background people facing the court system and, quite possibly, going to gaol.
Yes, property crime has gone down, that is one thing; but what about assault against the person, what about assaults, sexual assaults, murders etcetera? Anecdotal evidence from people working in remote areas like Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs both in the police force and the legal field suggests that at the moment, people are not reporting crimes. Logically, we will see a spike in reported crimes over the next few years.
The opposition will try to make a political point out of this, claiming that crime has gone through the roof and it is a disaster under the Labor Party, etcetera. If they do not corrupt the debate for political gain, they will acknowledge the reality: that for the first time, crime in the remote and rural areas of the Northern Territory will be reported, acted upon, and people will be prosecuted. Hopefully, those who commit serious crime will be put into gaol. There is no excuse for serious or sexual assaults or murder. People need to serve the time for the crimes that they commit.
The Royal Commission into Deaths In Custody, of course, identified incarceration rates for indigenous people as being at the lower end of the scale of criminal offences. There is study upon study of incarceration rates of indigenous people far outweighing those of a non-indigenous background for the same offences and what their penalties are. Our aim, in attacking the indigenous incarceration rate, will be at that low end of the scale. The Minister for Justice and Attorney-General has flagged in the House that he will attempt to do this over the next few years. That will, hopefully, take away the lower end of the scale of the incarceration rate, as Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody and many other studies have suggested needs to be done all around Australia.
We are going to see a spike in serious assaults, sexual assaults and murders being reported to and acted upon by a properly-resourced police department which will be able to get out to the remote areas, gather the facts, arrest the offenders, and make sure that they appear in court.
People who have worked in criminology, whether it is defending, prosecuting or law enforcement, believe what I believe: there is a clear link between illicit drugs and crime.
The study, for which I do not have the correct reference point, says:
- Some witnesses estimate that the proportion of prison population with a drug or alcohol problem was
as high as 75%. Certainly, that is consistent with the informal evidence given to the committee by the
staff and prisoners in its inquiry-related visits to gaols in four jurisdictions around Australia.
We are now saying that we need to attack illicit drug and the police force is the main vehicle to do that.
One of the reasons I am passionate about this issue is because when I first came back to the Northern Territory from studying law in Western Australia, I was amazed by the change of illicit drug use by indigenous and non-indigenous urban youth. I was amazed by the amount of speed that was being used. I came to know about it when I was working as a summer clerk with Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission. I was amazed by the number of young people using illicit drugs. It was quite a shock. When I grew up in the Northern Territory, of course, marijuana was the main illicit drug. I had never heard of all the other drugs – heroin, speed or ecstasy. Then there was the socially accepted drug called alcohol, which people drank at the barbeques. Even then, there was not a clear understanding of what damage was really being done in the Darwin community.
There was a place called Foils at Moil and another place called Speed Plus, which was just outside of my electorate but was affecting it. I cannot remember the name, but there was also one in Fannie Bay. Foils at Moil was a shocking example of criminals, for all the wrong reasons, flaunting their use and sale of illicit drugs. Everyone knew about it in the Northern Territory, the general public, police and politicians. They did not care who knew; they were not held accountable for their actions. I supported our drug house legislation because it has got rid of that terrible place and the effect on the community.
I distinctly remember meeting an elderly indigenous man who is held in high regard around town. We had been talking about it and I drove down Lee Point Road. At the front of Foils at Moil was a big Aboriginal flag and a big Torres Strait Islander flag. I thought to myself: ‘You do not represent anything about what I believe as an Aboriginal person’. As the member for Sanderson was saying, it is well known that they were selling drugs to 10-, 12- and 14-year-olds. It is well known that they were swapping those drugs for sexual favours.
There is story after story of people robbing homes around that area - Moil, Wagaman and Anula - and taking people’s property - videos, TVs - walking down the street straight into that place and swapping thousand-dollar videos for a satchel of cannabis. This was happening through the mid-1990s. It was not until Labor was elected and introduced drug house legislation that the place was shut down.
What are the effects that I have seen? Since Speed Plus has moved from my electorate, guess what happened? Property crime went down. People had reduced opportunity to fence stolen property. It became more difficult to unload stolen goods. Anyone who has ever seen about speed use will know that it amplifies people’s emotions very quickly and it is a very addictive drug. It drives people to need to feed the habit. It is easily made, easy to access and easy to use. I was amazed by young indigenous people who were using that drug. It has been mentioned that there is not one individual in this House who probably has not been touched by the use of drugs.
There is a study, Responding to the Needs of Indigenous People Who Inject Drugs, for the Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council of South Australia, by Carole Holly and Jodie Shoobridge, 2003. Under the heading Trends in Indigenous Injecting, the authors cite reasons for using drugs as:
- Indigenous people often use drugs as a means of coping with, and escaping from, unhappiness,
emotional pain or low self-esteem, which may have a myriad of causes including:
lack of cultural identity, family fragmentation, and generations of
disadvantage;
but also within the family;
These have been cited by community consultants and injectors as some of the causes of emotional pain experienced by indigenous people.
- boredom, through lack of employment or meaningful activity …
This is widely believed to contribute to drug use, particularly by young people:
a lack of positive role models for young people
I congratulate the minister on the Remote Community Drug Desk and the Drug Detection Dog Unit. We often hear the member for Arafura talk about drugs in her electorate and what is going on out there. These units are going to have a great effect in the wider community, definitely in remote areas and in some urban areas. The Criminal Property Forfeiture Act provides for a crack down on profiteering and hits criminals in the hip pocket and makes it unprofitable for them to enter into drug enterprises. All these elements combined will work well.
I congratulate the minister on the $75m that he has been able to pull out of Cabinet, with the support of all government members and, no doubt, the wider community, to put into the Police Force. I look forward to 200 more police in 2006. The recruitment figures are fantastic and appear at page 15 of the statement.
There has to be a change of culture in the way we look at law and order issues. This government is serious about providing police with the ability to deal with crimes in all areas of the Territory. The big issue is what to do with the increasing number of people who are incarcerated. I would like to see restorative justice methods used to ensure that people do not repeat offend, and give them the opportunity to undertake educational courses that are related to potential employment. We should also educate people about why they are committing crimes; what, in their background, has led them to commit crimes.
I reiterate that I do not believe that the incidence of assault, sexual assault and murder has risen. I think reporting is on the increase because there are more police on the beat and we are going to have a spike and what appears to be an increase in assaults. Anecdotal evidence indicates that they have been around all the time and that there are still communities in the NT, which is unbelievable, that have 1000-plus Australian citizens but do not have a police presence. That is amazing, but will change with this $75m program. The reality is that as we go into these remote areas, people will start reporting crime and crime statistics will rise.
In urban areas, the work that we have done in relation to property offences is fantastic. There are fewer break and enters, fewer crimes occurring and this is because of the attack on illicit drugs and the connection between the need to feed an illicit drug habit and crime.
I am concerned about a couple of things, one of which is the drug culture in the wider community. We all know it is exists. The key issue revolves around minimising its effect because we are never going to completely rid society of it. By minimising access, we will help reduce crime. In the long run, we are going to have to attack the causes of crime, which are all related to poverty, poor housing, employment, poor education and health.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I support the minister who does a fantastic job for all Territorians, however they vote.
Ms CARTER (Port Darwin): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I welcome the minister’s statement.
There would not be one member in this House who does not appreciate the ongoing, energetic efforts of our police service, a group of people dear to our heart for many years. Members should go into the Main Hall and see the display by the Police History Association dealing particularly with their efforts during Cyclone Tracy. I do not think anyone can view that display and not be moved by the efforts of the police following Cyclone Tracy 30 years ago. We know that if anything similar were to happen today, a similar, selfless effort would be made by our police.
I am pleased to say I believe I have a very good relationship with police, particularly with those who operate out of the Mitchell Centre in Darwin. They do a great service for the people living in the area of Port Darwin. Often, their service goes unrecognised, and it is only the complaints that we dwell on. That is a shame because most days there is nothing to complain about because the service is moving along smoothly and the officers are doing their work well.
My only concern, and I do mention it frequently in this House, is about police response to antisocial behaviour in the CBD. All members would be aware of the importance of industries such as tourism, and the need, of course, as parliamentarians to work within the system to provide our citizens with a safe place to live and a feeling of safety.
Unfortunately, from time to time, that feeling of safety is disrupted, and it is my belief that this can be addressed quite well by increased visible presence of police in certain areas. I argue that most of the major urban centres in the Northern Territory could well do with increased visible presence of police, walking, as opposed to driving, around key areas. It brings me to a conclusion that maybe one of the reasons we do not have visible policing at a constant level is because perhaps we do not have enough police, or, for some reason, they are not out on the streets. They need to be there.
I remember when this government first came to power. As the local member, I raised the issue of problems with safety in Mitchell Street, and I was very pleased with the response provided. It was not long before we saw foot patrols in Mitchell Street augmenting the security services that operate in that area. For some time, many months, people felt much better about their personal safety when they were in Mitchell Street, in particular, and the CBD in general. It was great to see foot patrols, not operating at a set time which people who choose to misbehave get used to and are able to avoid, but to see sporadic foot patrols walking through Mitchell Street and the CBD, and it certainly made people feel a whole lot safer about their environment.
It is my observation that the prevalence of foot patrols has fallen away somewhat, and the result of that has been an increase of public drinking in the CBD. Last night I stepped out of the Chamber to attend a small meeting in the CBD. I was absent for an hour, between 7 pm and 8 pm. I use this as a one-off experience that happens frequently in the CBD. I parked near the mall in Knuckey Street, just behind the minibus rank, and walked down Knuckey Street towards Mitchell Street. I saw two well-dressed white women walking through West Lane coming on to Knuckey Street carrying some fairly upmarket shopping bags, and it was about five to seven at this stage. I wonder, as women, whether they had chosen to use West Lane as their means of getting from Bennett Street - which is where I suspect, looking at their shopping bags, they had been - to access Knuckey Street as opposed to going through the mall because, as you walk past the mall and Knuckey Street intersection at 7 pm, it is a pretty desolate looking place.
All you will see is people sitting around drinking in the area. Locals know that and I suspect these women made a choice to walk down a street that you would have thought would be a little less safe than the mall. It was an interesting observation at that time of night that people are choosing to avoid walking through the mall because they, possibly, perceive unsavoury characters in the mall and that they might be hassled in some way.
Then I went to my meeting and, at 8 pm I came out of the meeting and I was once again in Knuckey Street. It was quite a scary moment because, as I came around a corner, there was an Aboriginal woman who was obviously drunk, who was exceedingly aggressive and lunging at a man who appeared to be a waiter from Salvatore’s coffee shop. He was protecting himself with some sort of metal lid or tray. I did not have a phone with me at the time or I would have contacted police. This man was quite obviously distressed and frightened, and I was not silly enough to intervene because we know the trouble that you can get into with this. This Aboriginal woman pursued this man and he had to keep turning around to make sure he was not going to get a thump on the back of the head, until he was able to make his way back into Salvatore’s at 8 pm on a Wednesday night.
As I got towards my car, I noticed a group of people, whom I would describe as itinerants, walking along Knuckey Street towards the Esplanade. They were carrying Coke bottles with a yellow liquid in it. I do not know about you, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, but my expectation is that those Coke bottles contained white wine. My constant frustration is that I can go wandering around the CBD at almost any time and see people walking around with Coke bottles with a yellow liquid in it. I am frustrated as to why there is not someone in an official capacity tipping out that alcohol. Under our current laws, that group is meant to be the police and my concern is: why are they not tipping out alcohol in places like the CBD? It is our prime tourist and population area. All it needs is constant pressure, pressure, pressure on public drinkers to tip out their alcohol so that, eventually you annoy them - to put it politely - so much that they will go and do their drinking in a less public place.
This is the frustration. My concern is that, for some reason, the police are not doing it. The police station is only 20 m up the road. As I say, any one of us could wander around there now, and there is a fair chance that you will be able to spot it. My request to the minister is that he encourages police to put significant pressure on our public drinkers, tipping out their alcohol, as the law provides, in an effort to encourage these public drinkers to move into other areas.
I argue that the end result is that if this does not happen, as I do not believe it is happening well enough at the moment, we see the outcome on the other side of the street, which was a drunken woman chasing a city worker and, by the look on his face, terrifying him. This is where this government needs to lift its game to put pressure on people who are drinking publicly.
Maybe the police are sick of doing tip out, and I would not blame them. If I were a police officer, I reckon it would only take about six months before I got sick to death of that sort of a job. I hope that they are rotated in an effort to ensure they do not have to do that sort of thing all the time.
Maybe the police are not the right people to be doing this. Maybe there is some other group that could be trained and provide this sort of a service so that we are not imposing on the police such a ghastly job. Maybe it is something the Night Patrol could do. I do not know. However, it is just a matter of tipping out alcohol in areas that are deemed to be not appropriate for drinking and ensure that it happens. It is known as pressure, pressure, pressure. By put that pressure on, you will annoy these people enough so they will not be sitting in Raintree Park constantly drinking yellow liquid out of Coke bottles. The police do a good job, but it is not good enough in addressing this because you can walk up the street and see it.
I hope the minister can use his position and his resources to come up with some other solution because the current solution is not working. You only have to go to Cairns and speak to the people who run Cairns, the Mayor for example, and ask the administrators of the Cairns area how they dealt with itinerants and public drinking. You will be told that the answer is pressure, pressure, pressure. You must keep the pressure on people so that they do not drink in public and, that way, we will overcome this problem. People will not be frightened as they walk through Knuckey Street and the mall and we can go on having a wonderful lifestyle in the Northern Territory.
Debate adjourned.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Building on the Territory’s Diversity
Building on the Territory’s Diversity
Mr VATSKALIS (Multicultural Affairs): Mr Deputy Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to provide a statement on the Northern Territory’s first multicultural policy, Building on the Territory’s Diversity. As honourable members are aware, the policy was officially launched on 3 February amidst a wonderful cross-section of people from different cultures, religious faiths and backgrounds.
From the end of the World War II to date, over 5.6 million migrants have arrived in Australia from over 100 countries. In the same period, around one million people left the country. These migrants established churches, community groups, welfare associations, schools and sporting clubs, which were used to preserve and develop those aspects of their culture which they valued. In the process, Australia embraced a greater and greater degree of ethnic and cultural diversity. The records show that these new migrants have enriched and strengthened Australia with their cultures, their energy and their commitment. By any international standard, the multicultural nation that is modern Australia is a success.
The Northern Territory is a living example of this success. The Territory is an outstanding example of how of people from different backgrounds, beliefs, customs and values can come together, live in harmony and enrich Australian society; and how valuable cultural diversity is in developing a broader world view and applying this in our approach to business and government service provision. Having said that, we should not take this success story for granted.
Multiculturalism is hard work. It is still, in some places, a contested idea. For some, multiculturalism is unsettling, possibly threatening and perceived as a rejection or loss of the more traditional Australian identity of the early European settlers. On the other hand, there is an increasing understanding and acceptance of the benefits of multiculturalism. As Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis put it in their book Productive Diversity:
- Diversity is now the most pressing global issue. It is clearly too late to retreat into some imaginary
sheltered village of identically shared values.
This is one of the reasons why the government has developed a policy of multiculturalism. The government is committed to multiculturalism, as a matter of human right and dignity for all those who have chosen to migrate and settle in this part of the world. It is a policy that emphasises the importance of integrating diversity in our community and the benefits derived from it for all Territorians. It enhances the wellbeing of all Territorians by acknowledging and accepting their diversity and providing assurances of equal opportunities to all individuals, whatever their cultural, linguistic or ethnic background.
The policy also aims to develop and guide our public sector into a new generation, one that is committed to better consideration and understanding of issues associated with a multicultural community. Such a non-discriminatory approach will benefit all Territorians and provide the basis on which the harmonious society that currently exists can be further developed, thus contributing positively to the socio-economic life of the Territory.
The policy was developed by the Office of Multicultural Affairs after a consultant had canvassed the views of the community. The process included discussions with key stakeholders, surveys, community meetings, forums and workshops, coupled with feedback from government departments and agencies. Time was also spent considering equivalent or similar policies and frameworks in other states and territories. Central to this policy is the value it places on diversity; its merits and the challenges it presents. Diversity does not imply separateness. Integration of diversity into the one social matrix is the key to multiculturalism. However, achieving equality among all Territorians requires the prior recognition of differences.
Further, I wish to make it clear that the policy is more than a commitment to the elimination of possible or actual discrimination in the public sector. It is about embracing cultural diversity as an immeasurable value of the way we are.
As honourable members will already be aware, the government, as part of its overall consideration of multicultural issues, changed the name of the Office of Ethnic Affairs to the Office of Multicultural Affairs in December 2004. The office will be undertaking an important role in co-ordinating and promoting the implementation of this policy across all government departments and agencies. The office will also continue to offer its existing services and manage the government’s generous multicultural affairs sponsorship program now totalling $717 000 annually and $1.5m to be granted over the next three years under the Ethnic Communities Facility Development Program.
In addition to this, the government has made a commitment to provide ongoing funding to the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory in Darwin and Multicultural Community Services of Central Australia in Alice Springs.
Before I take honourable members through the key principles set out in the policy, I would first like to talk about some relevant aspects of the Northern Territory’s multicultural history. At the outset, it needs to be acknowledged that most of the Australian population is not, by ancestry, indigenous to this country and that indigenous Australians were here long before Australian settlement.
The arrival of Europeans over 200 years ago at Port Jackson and Botany Bay was the beginning of many other cultures taking root in Australia: English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh placed their joint influence on Australia and its indigenous population.
There is a perception that the movement of people to Australia from the Asia-Pacific region is a relatively recent development. However, there is evidence that indigenous people of northern Australia had contact with their Asian neighbours from the Indonesian Archipelago and further to the north over 800 years ago. In fact, the first Australian export industry was established in the 16th century, with Chinese demand for sea cucumber or trepang, turtle, trochus shell and other seafood that was in plentiful supply in the north Australian seas. The trade was conducted by enterprising sea farers from Indonesian islands such as Macassar, Sumba and East Timor. Other sea faring Asians included the Koepangers, Malays, Manilamen, Japanese, Sinhalese and Chinese who came to the Kimberley and other northern ports to work in the pearling, fishing and other connected industries.
The Chinese began migrating to Australia in the mid-19th century and started to come to the Northern Territory in the 1870s following the discovery of gold at Pine Creek. Records indicate that more than 7000 Chinese moved to the area during this period.
Also in the mid-19th century, Afghan cameleers played a critical role in opening up the vast Australian outback. In those times, camel trains were a crucial life support system to outback communities. These cameleers came from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Turkish Ottoman Empire and their labour and skills in hot, dry, arid conditions made possible a number of key projects including: the Overland Telegraph Line between Adelaide and Darwin; the Queensland border fence; the Transcontinental Railway Line between Port Augusta in South Australia and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia; the rabbit-proof fence; and the Canning Stock Route in Western Australia.
Cameleers were also vital to the early wool and mining industries. What’s more, some of the exploratory expeditions which traversed the most inhospitable parts of Australia only survived because of the expertise and endurance of the cameleers in the hot and waterless land; they were also dependent upon indigenous Australians’ skill and knowledge of the country.
Other major contributions to the development of the Northern Territory came from a range of workers from other Asian countries including Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia with their involvement in the pearling industry.
After the passage of the Immigration Restriction Act, which was also known as the White Australia Policy, following Federation in 1901, the number of Chinese living in Australia shrunk from 30 000 in 1901 to 9000 over the next 50 years.
The history of migration to the Northern Territory is one significantly influenced by the White Australia Policy. The motivation behind this policy appeared to be a growing dislike or fear in the eastern states of the Chinese. This was to have dire consequences for the Northern Territory, which by 1911 was under Commonwealth control, and heavily relied on migrants to further develop its community.
From the early days, Europeans were reluctant to venture into the northern part of Australia. Northern Australia was viewed as being a place of harsh and dangerous conditions, and necessitated hard labour to provide the level of civilised living acceptable to most European settlers. With few migrants of European origin prepared to move to the Northern Territory, low population levels, low productivity resulted and concern started to grow as industry started to stagnate and, in some cases, collapse.
During the first half of the last century, fears grew for the safety of Australia, as Japan’s occupation of the Pacific grew and a lack of population in the Top End left Australia vulnerable to invasion. It was clear that the attempt to control immigration in Australia generally was impacting severely on the development and future of the Territory. For the Commonwealth, the Territory had become a liability and it was clear that some concessions had to be made.
Recounted in the publication History of the Settlement of Filipino families in the Northern Territory prepared by the Filipino Association of the Northern Territory in 2003 is a report recommending that migration and work restrictions be lifted to save the future of the pearling industry.
It was only after the World War II, Arthur Caldwell, the first Minister for Immigration, with the help of the trade union movement, introduced changes to the immigration policy which, while maintaining the White Australia Policy, enabled the federal Labor government to bring selected numbers of Europeans, other than from Britain and Ireland, to Australia. Migrants from Mediterranean countries have greatly and intensively contributed to the development of the Northern Territory.
Early in the 20th century, Maltese and Greeks moved to the Territory to work in Vesteys Meatworks, in an attempt to establish a frozen meat industry. Italians have played their part in the fishing, mining, civil engineering and building industries since the 1930s and, following World War II, impoverished Italian migrants developed market gardens and brought the flavours of the Mediterranean to Australian kitchens.
An important contribution was made by the Greeks, particularly in the 1950s. Many Greeks left their homeland soon after World War II and chose Australia as their new home. Many moved to the Northern Territory and led the way in the pearling and construction industries. Today the name Paspaley is synonymous with the Territory.
It was only after the Immigration Restriction Act was abolished by the Labor government of Gough Whitlam in 1973 that the broader immigration program reaching Asia, South America and Southern Africa resumed, with the Northern Territory as a preferred destination. Many of those living in the Territory today are descended from our early migrant communities. The Chinese, Afghans, Indonesians, Greeks, Italians, Filipino, East Timorese and other Asian communities were and remain a vital and substantial part of our population.
Refugee status - mainly for the boat people of South Vietnam and other South-East Asian countries, but also for people from other turbulent parts of the world, including East Timor, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon and other Pacific Islands, eastern European countries - provided a new flow of potential residents for the Northern Territory.
The results of the last Census in 2001 show that the Northern Territory has the highest number of people speaking a language other than English at home – 24.4%. One in four Territorians does not have English as their primary language. The 2001 Census also shows that some of the fastest growing populations in the Northern Territory included people from the following countries: Solomon Islands, Romania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cambodia, Tonga, Poland, Thailand, Zimbabwe and Vietnam.
More recently, civil wars in African countries has seen the emergence of developing communities of refugees and migrants from Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. While the reasons for the emergence of these communities are tragic, it is an exciting development which will both add to our dynamic culture and challenge our ability to facilitate a harmonious integration into the Territory.
These are all nations possessing both language and cultural differences to the Australian way of life. It is imperative that, on the arrival of new members to our community, we have the capacity to foster, promote and utilise these differences for the benefit of all. Beyond the sharing of food, acceptance of each other’s cultural and spiritual values and peaceful coexistence, the philosophy of multiculturalism, more importantly, questions the cultural supremacy of the majority community. Multiculturalism promotes the concept that newly-arrived ethnic groups are equal partners in the social and political life of the nation in order to enhance cohesion within the community.
The Territory’s strong response to those who have suffered the terrible consequences of the Asian tsunamis on 26 December was remarkable. It is perhaps because Territorians understood better than most the severe consequence of natural disasters, having just marked the 30th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy. There was deep compassion and empathy on the part of all Territorians for those in Asia who suffered personal loss and tragedy. In this respect, the Northern Territory government has, in addition to the $450 000 donated to Care Australia, Australian Red Cross and World Vision for the tsunami disaster, agreed to match dollar-for-dollar any donations made by the following organisations to the tsunami relief: Indonesia Australia Association of the Northern Territory; Persatuan Indonesia Darwin; Thai Lao Australian Association of the Northern Territory; Thai and Australian Friendship Association; Thai Theravada Association; Indian Cultural Society of the NT; and Sri Lanka/Australian Friendship Association of the NT. All other community groups, while too numerous to name, should be congratulated for their fundraising efforts which saw the strong sympathy of our multicultural community to such a human tragedy.
When discussing multiculturalism in the Territory, it needs to be remembered that an integral and valuable part of it comes from the indigenous contribution to our society. Considering that close to 30% of the Northern Territory population is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, real multiculturalism could not be achieved if it were not inclusive of the indigenous component. In fact, no reconciliation can be possible without all-inclusive multiculturalism. In this respect, the government is developing an indigenous policy, which is expected to follow a path parallel to the multicultural policy so that, ultimately, the two can complement each other.
Building on the Territory’s Diversity is directed towards acknowledging, respecting and valuing cultural diversity. This means, in practical terms, ensuring that the recent migrant gets proper access to health services, among others; that an interpreter is arranged to ensure clear understanding of the process required to obtain the necessary health care; that the process employed to determine the person’s health needs is sufficiently flexible; and that the staff implementing it are sufficiently trained in cross-cultural issues to ensure that appropriate cultural consideration is given in making an informed decision. It also means that when a skilled migrant arrives in the Territory and applies for a job, consideration is given to his or her skills and abilities, and that an accent, like mine, or ethnicity are not factors preventing that applicant that applicant from fair consideration for that job.
It is envisaged that people from non-English speaking backgrounds are given opportunities to complete their education; to be educated in the Australian way and still retain their own culture so they can develop a sense of identity and confidence in themselves and their future.
The policy goes further than the elimination of racism. It is about embracing and accepting cultural, linguistic and spiritual differences. It is an opportunity to foster the benefits of these differences. The basic elements that underlie this policy are set out in four broad principles to which this government is committed. They are: valuing diversity; fair access; encouraging participation; and mutual respect. The government recognises that, over time, new issues and different challenges affecting migrants and ethnic Territorians will emerge. Accordingly, the policy is intended to be a living document which can be varied and amended to reflect changing needs and priorities.
Let me now speak to each of these key principles.
Valuing diversity: first, we must welcome and value diversity. In the Northern Territory, a person is able to live and express their customs and beliefs without fear of oppression or threat of persecution. Diversity is not perceived as a problem to be overcome but, rather, an important contribution to social and economic growth. Multiculturalism acknowledges, accepts, and integrates cultural differences and welcomes cultural difference as an enriching value to the common good. The coexistence of people from diverse cultural, linguistic and spiritual backgrounds provides benefits for the whole community on two levels. First, on a day-to-day level in the quality of our life; just look at our markets, restaurants, businesses and architecture. They are all influenced by the diversity of the Territory community. Second, at a less obvious but much deeper level, the development of multiculturalism empowers different social groups and individuals to contribute to the affairs of public life and, ultimately, to the direction the government may take. This gives each one of us a sense of achievement and belonging as we proudly identify as being Territorians.
Fair access: it is central to Territorian values that everyone gets a fair go, to be given the opportunity to reach higher goals in one’s professional, economic or personal endeavours. This principle is about working towards a system where no person will be denied participation because of their socio-economic status or their cultural circumstances. Fair access implies that, irrespective of a person’s ethnicity, language, gender, religion or disability, they will receive equitable treatment when accessing government services and programs. When considering cultural differences, fair access implies that government agencies will design and deliver services and programs based on strong evidence of the needs of individuals from different cultural backgrounds, and of the way they interact with government services as a result of their cultural background. It also implies that people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds will be provided with the opportunity to voice their concerns about the way services and programs are delivered, and that government agencies will listen to them and act upon those concerns where appropriate.
Encouraging participation: the participation of all Territorians from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds in all aspects of life, be it cultural, social, economic or political, is strongly encouraged. It enables all Territorians to be actively involved in the Northern Territory’s decision making processes and contribute to future development of the Territory. It also encourages diversity in the make-up of our public sector and on boards and committees, and ensures engagement with the community so that individual and collective voices are heard and urgent concerns addressed. Structures and policies must be put in place that enhance the capacity of people to exercise this right. This includes removing or minimising any barriers to participation by promoting multicultural and cross-cultural awareness and providing appropriate language training and assistance.
Mutual respect: no policy on multiculturalism is complete without a strong aspiration to foster respect for other cultures, spiritualities and languages. The acceptance that all cultures are equally valuable is the basic principle upon which social harmony can flourish. In a democracy, differences do not have to be eliminated, but the political, legal, and social framework must allow for those differences to be acknowledged and respected.
Building on the Territory’s Diversity and its four principles are designed to provide the future framework for the delivery of government services and programs in the Northern Territory. Under this policy, all government agencies will be required to examine their policies and practices with a view to ensuring they are responsive to the needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. This may result in changes in the way services are delivered, or simple staff training to ensure that staff are aware of how their own values and attitudes affect their interaction with people from other cultural backgrounds.
Recent Territory examples of developments with a multicultural focus include the Staff Recruitment and Retention Strategy and the Work Force Development Strategy of the Department of Employment, Education and Training, which promotes the value of diversity by departmental staff. Also, the Department of Justice, following a review of the Parole Board of the Northern Territory in 2001, reformed the selection process to ensure that people of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds were able to serve on the board.
These are the kinds of changes we can expect across the Northern Territory Public Service. Each department will be required to contribute to an annual report on achievements against the policy and areas for improvement. This information will be made publicly available.
A Senior Officers Group on Multicultural Affairs will be established with responsibility for overseeing the coordination and implementation of the policy and identification of emerging issues. While the Senior Officers Group will have the capacity to establish working groups on specific issues where necessary, it will remain the responsibility of each department to design their own response to the policy. The first meeting of this group is to be held in mid-February and will be supported by the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
I have described how the government will be held accountable on this policy, but what can it actually achieve? Policies of a similar nature have been developed in other countries, and other states and territories in Australia with important changes flowing from their implementation. Performance indicators have been used to measure this change. In the Australian Capital Territory, developments that have taken place since the introduction of a similar policy include the establishment of the ACT Government Multicultural Staff Network charged with responsibility for conducting an audit of staff language skills in order to maximise staff performance. The network also provides support for staff from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. A requirement to provide cross-cultural training for staff has been included in executive performance agreements, whether new or when reviewed.
With the introduction of a multicultural policy in Tasmania, there has been an increase in the number of refugees and migrants wishing to settle there, and increased awareness of the need to provide appropriate services to those from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Cross-cultural training encouraging cultural sensitivity has been undertaken in a range of sectors, and there has been a documented increase in the number of people accessing English language classes at TAFE. As a result of the introduction of the Australian government’s Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society, there has been greater use of interpreters by government agencies and improved community engagement strategies including the first ever round table for the Family Court.
We in the Northern Territory have the advantage of being able to draw from the experience of other jurisdictions that have evaluated existing policies and discovered their limitations. By learning from their experience, we can avoid repeating the same errors.
The South Australian policy, Declaration of Principles for a Multicultural South Australia, for instance, has demonstrated after evaluation a lack of a whole-of-government approach to multicultural issues. The Territory government has already established a mechanism to address this issue by forming the Senior Officers Group on Multicultural Affairs.
In the Territory, it is hoped that implementation of Building the Territory’s Diversity will result in improved service delivery and raise the awareness of both public sector employees and the broader community on multicultural issues. Indicators of success will include increasing the number of people from multicultural backgrounds sitting on boards and committees and holding positions of influence.
In conclusion, I thank the multicultural community of the Northern Territory for its time and commitment in assisting with the development of this policy and enabling this project to come to fruition. Without them, our policy would have little meaning. Together with all Territorians, we can work to continue to make the Territory a vibrant, rewarding and harmonious home for all the people of many ethnicities who live here. This is all part of this government’s commitment to move the Territory ahead. I would also like to thank my advisor Chandra Seneviratne and the member for Sanderson for his contribution for developing this statement. Their work is excellent and I value their contributions.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Mr DUNHAM (Drysdale): Mr Deputy Speaker, there is great pride in the fact that this is a tolerant multicultural society that is very accepting of people from different cultural and racial backgrounds, views, beliefs, and it is for that reason that some of us took such offence at Labor’s campaign at the last election.
It was a racist, illegal campaign that used push-polling as a technique, and the bogey man of One Nation to portray the CLP as opposed to those great and precious values that we hold dear in this statement, and which are evident notwithstanding 27 years of CLP management as the government of the day.
The government should appreciate that there are people who see some irony in the member for Casuarina talking about how embracing it all is when, after the election, virtually the first words he uttered were that he owed his seat to the Labor Party’s strategy of using One Nation. The push-polling, the inherit racism and the arguable legality of the campaign is something that is their heritage and something they have to live with.
The Labor Party has also to live with the heritage - they claim to have been a party for a long time - that they are the party that supported the White Australia Policy, supported the Immigration Restriction Act for the better part of a century. So the Labor Party that claims its proud heritage as coming out of shearer strikes in Queensland and all the rest of it also has a heritage of supporting the White Australia Policy for the better part of a century; the CLP never has. We, as two parties in this House, can quite rightly stand here and say: ‘The White Australia Policy that is the hallmark and foundation stone of the Labor Party is something that we are glad that they have abandoned, albeit very lately’.
The White Australia Policy is a bit of a blight on the immigration policy of Australia and it is understandable, given the very narrow views of some of the earlier settlers and the fact that they came from very narrow parts of the world. Because the words are used so frequently, I thought I would read a small definition of what it was, and I will source this book later if people are interested, but essentially I am quoting from a book called The Australian Soldier’s Pocket Book:
White Australia:
- To the principle of White Australia, all political parties in the Commonwealth subscribe for the
economic reasons that the white man’s standard of living would be endangered by the
introduction of coloured labour. Thus, the inflow of English speaking investor settlers is
especially encouraged.
It was seen as an economic thing; it was seen as the cheap coolie labour from Asia having a problem with our own work force. You can understand in those xenophobic days that this could have been a problem, but it has its heritage in the trade union movement and in the Australian Labor Party. I am sure both of them now have substantial regrets about that. However, before we run the political heritage of the various parties in this place, I can say on the Parliamentary Record that the CLP is very proud of its multicultural policies.
Ms Lawrie: Proud of preferencing One Nation, are you?
Mr DUNHAM: We are proud – well, there is an interjection there about One Nation. One Nation was used as a bogie man at the last election. It was used as a bogie man, for instance, in the seat of Millner, where no one from One Nation stood. So it was used as a push-polling technique in Millner to encourage people to vote in a particular way.
The Labor Party preferenced various groups, including communists, socialists and people who invaded this Parliament. So before you start talking about who preferences whom, remember that to have a valid ballot paper, you have to preference everyone, so do not run the story that you did in a racist and illegal way through your push polling in the last campaign.
The CLP was the first Cabinet, I believe, in Australia to have an Asian-born minister. We were the first state or territory government to set up a Department of Asian Relations and Trade. We were the smallest jurisdiction in our province in the world, and we provided the most succour, support and help to the fledgling nation of East Timor. The Parliamentary Record behind you, Mr Deputy Speaker, shows, in page after page, the enormous effort that was put in by Northern Territory people, by the government of the day, by citizens, bureaucrats, public servants and others, it was an immense effort put in to providing assistance to those people.
To hear the Chief Minister belittle that in this parliament offended me deeply. In fact, it offended me more deeply than the racist campaign they ran at the last election because, it is not just attacking the government; it is attacking all the people around the government, people who advised us, people who met people there in buses and ambulances. I was fortunate enough to go to tent city at the Kalymnian Brotherhood and see those people, the parlous state they were in. I was fortunate enough to see some of the public servants who had quite a deal of proximity with those people. It is one of those things where you could not help but be moved. To hear the Chief Minister use words like how we have been bagging this particular nation is a terrible indictment on the Chief Minister. It also trashes the immense effort that Territorians put in.
We are also proud of the funds and assistance by way of land grants to various associations here to provide club rooms, halls and houses of worship in Darwin. I am fortunate that within close proximity to my house, there is a Buddhist temple, which I have visited on a number of occasions. Hindus worship and people of the Muslim faith worship within a very short distance from each other.
Those things happened long before Labor achieved government. They happened in a way that had great community acceptance. They happened in a way there was no NIMBY attitude about, no we do not want to have a mosque next to us. It augers well for this community that it has such an attitude to people who have come from afar.
We have also had significant programs through our schools about understanding our new neighbours. In fact, there were programs where Bahasa was taught in most schools. There were sister school relationships, and the Darwin City Council has sister city relationships. We had sister hospital relationships with our near north, we have provided exchange programs, we have used federal aid money to provide assistance with disease control, reconstructive surgery and a variety of other things. The list is full of our relationship, our goodwill, our support, our tolerance of people to our north.
The minister has introduced what he calls the first multicultural policy. It is a little bit like, in the cattle industry, branding somebody else’s beast. We do not mind the fact that he shares our vision, but to make an assumption that with this statement there is a whole new era is nonsensical. In the Main Hall is a bust of a man called Harry Chan who was a Lord Mayor and who occupied the predecessor of the Chair you occupy, Mr Deputy Speaker, as a chairman in this parliament. We have had two Chinese Lords Mayor: Alec Fong Lim was well known and much loved as a Lord Mayor. We have a heritage where we have not had the same anti-Asian and anti-foreign xenophobia and hostility as they have had in other places. We have a powerful record of relationships with all sorts of people from other places. There are some things in the statement that look a little like preaching and are a bit like a finger-wagging approach to the attitude of Territorians.
The minister applauded this excellent speech and, while it is not a bad speech, it certainly is not an excellent speech. It is wrong, in fact, in many places, and that is a bit disappointing because if the minister is going to put so much into something, he should make sure that he presents it in a way that is beyond question.
When I read the statement last night, I was interested that he was pleased with Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis, who wrote a book. They say that it is clearly too late to retreat to some imaginary sheltered village of identically-shared values. I belong to many organisations with share values. The Catholic Church, to which I belong, has many shared values. Many people I know from places overseas go to club houses and share their values. In fact, that is what multiculturalism is all about; it is about providing the capacity for people to muster together, to embrace, rejoice and take comfort in their shared values. That is a great thing, and for whoever these people are - and I do not know them - to be saying unless we are all distinctly separate and do not have shared values, there is something wrong. I do not agree with that source.
I was interested in the business about the White Australia Policy about which I talked before. The minister believed that this was motivated by a growing dislike or fear in the eastern states of the Chinese. It was straight up and down a worry that cheap Asian labour would displace good white Anglo-Saxon stock out of jobs. It is a very simple read in The Bulletin to understand that policy because The Bulletin was the magazine pretty much of the average Australian and the working class, and they were pretty florid in how they described this stuff. In today’s society, it is quite offensive. If you read back issues of The Bulletin, it is a rare Australian these days who could read it without feeling some discomfort. Certainly, in one of them, if you look at the cartoons, the commentary, the banners that were used by The Bulletin, you can understand where the White Australia Policy came from and where it was promoted. Not so here.
The fact that we are a frontier town a long way from the rest of Australia was good because we developed separately here. We developed our own little enclave of people who did not have those attitudes. We have many Japanese people come here, as the minister pointed out. We had many Chinese, Sri Lankan and people from the Philippines who lived here. It is impressive to see their progeny now participating in the Territory in all walks of life. These people must have sometimes three and four and six generations.
Whatever happened on the eastern seaboard and promoted their attitudes, policies and acts of parliament was not so here, and it never was so. It should not be for people who visit to preach to us about our relationships, for instance, with Aboriginal people. It is something that has disappointed me for a long time, how people can come from other places and tell us about how our relationships with Aboriginal people, for instance, disappoints and affects them. The statement reads:
- From the early days, Europeans were reluctant to venture into the northern part of Australia.
That is not true. It is true that they took greater comfort in places that replicated Mother England from whence they came. They did go to places such as New South Wales, for instance, and places that looked like the country they had come from. However, Europeans were well numbered here and there were many of them and many of them were frontier types. Many of them left a legacy that was good and many of them left a legacy that was bad. Many of them were attracted as treasure seekers, like my forefathers who were gold diggers, and they found it, too. They found gold and they prospered and when they went to see their families in far flung places like Ireland, they realised how quickly this country rewarded people who were prepared to work compared with where they had come from.
They came for the same reasons we should attract people today. They came because this place provided an opportunity for them; it rewarded their effort. It took them into the bosom of the family that is here and that is exactly the same policy that this government should be pursuing now to attract people to this place. If you work, you can do your thing here.
Interestingly, the minister mentioned Arthur Caldwell, and I will not mention the very famous quote for which Arthur Caldwell is renowned, but it seems to be an interesting spin that he attempted to do something, along with the trade union movement, to address this problem of the infamous Immigration Restriction Act. I shall not go there because enough has been said and it is your heritage, not mine.
I was interested, too, that the statement becomes a little starry-eyed in respect of when people come here. We have to accept what ever it is that they bring with them - ‘their cultural and spiritual values’, to quote exactly. It should be said that there are cultural and spiritual values in some other countries that are abhorrent here. We have discussed them in this House. There are some things that offend our laws. Some countries have a different attitude, for instance, to drugs. As a young fellow, I was in Iran and I saw people openly smoking hashish, which is not acceptable here, although it is a custom and it is something that has been accepted for a long time in those countries. Polygamy is accepted in other countries. Female genital mutilation is accepted in other countries. The status of women in some countries is a cultural thing that in Australia, we find offensive.
We have to be careful - in much the same way as when we had the debate about the protection of children in Aboriginal culture when it is seen that Aboriginal men have some rights that they can subscribe to culturally that interfere with another human’s right and safety and livelihood. In this parliament, we have to say that there are some lines in the sand; that if you come to Australia, there are some cultural practices that have to be accepted here. I know that in rebuttal, there are going to be people calling me a dinosaur, but people who travel to other countries see that some things that are tolerated, accepted, even promoted in other countries would not be so here. This is not a fine line; this is quite a broad line. This is a line that says: people who come to Australia, we think that you should retain your links with your heritage and your motherland, we think that you should be able to muster together in communities that have those shared values and beliefs, but there are some things within your suite of cultural and spiritual values that are offensive to us.
I was interested in last week’s Weekend Australian where there was a significant interview from a refugee who made some disparaging remarks about homosexuals because in his cultural values, that was something he had difficulty with. People were writing in and saying: ‘I hope you share the same level of tolerance as people show you because you have also been harassed’ and whatever, and that is what we are talking about here. We are talking about humans across the globe who have different approaches to different things. In Australia, we often make strong rules about things that are totally acceptable in other places. I do not think that we should resile from that on the basis that what we are doing is discriminatory or offending someone’s cultural mores or whatever. We have to say: in Australia there are certain things that may well be acceptable in other places that are not acceptable here.
The Chief Minister has done a disservice to Australia’s relationship – and certainly the Territory’s relationship – with Indonesia with the comments that were made by one of her advisors. I know Dennis Schulz personally. He is a great bloke, and the larrikin comments you can make on air are not the comments that you can make and publish if you work on the 5th floor of this building.
Everyone knows that if you want to be as culturally appropriate and acceptable as the minister claims he is that those distinctions are not readily understood in Indonesia: that the Chief Minister can have someone giving her advice who says things in the public domain from which she distances herself. They believe that the people who advise the Chief Minister must possess similar attitudes and respect for their country as the Chief Minister claims she possesses. It is a problem.
I point out to members that if they go to the Parliamentary Record of 30 April 1987, they will find where Mr Hatton sought the resignation of a minister, Mr Harris, the then member for Port Darwin, over comments that he made which, ironically, turned out to be true, and they related to Fiji and other places that he saw as powder kegs in our region. Unbeknownst to ASIO and others, Mr Harris was closer to the mark than they were. Nonetheless, he made a statement in an adjournment debate and the next day, Mr Hatton sought his resignation. I can read portions of it into Hansard, which is probably a good idea in a debate like this. He said:
- It is my painful duty to inform members of the events set in train. In a speech, the honourable member
made remarks that were highly critical of neighbouring South-East Asian governments. Those remarks
are directly contrary to the policies and attitudes of the Northern Territory government and have
caused extreme embarrassment to the government and to me personally. Today, I have asked for his
resignation.
Read the debate: I do not think Tom Harris’ remarks were as offensive as those of Dennis Schulz. We have to show countries to our near north that things they value and take seriously, like their reputation as a government of standing and a sovereign government being called ‘corrupt’ by the government or government advisors closest to them is a matter for the Chief Minister to take on. This is a serious issue and should not be swept aside.
The minister’s statement has the flavour that we will all be happy if we get on with each other, but in society, there have to be pressure valves so that in the event that people do not get on, they can resort to devices that are not the rule of arms and other methods that make this planet such an unsafe place in some areas.
I had a good friend who worked for SBS in the early days, and he said that one of the biggest problems in Australia with division and friction between racial groups was soccer. I was surprised to hear it. He told me if you go to the soccer down south, they wear their national colours, they wave national flags, they all play on one team in a racial cohort, they do not trade people into other teams - and I was stunned to hear it. I am talking about the 1980s. He said it is a problem because people come here and they usurp normal, everyday things to pursue ancient vendettas and problems.
We have to be vigilant to that because we are blind to some of the problems that have occurred in other places and some of the feuding that has occurred, sometimes over centuries. I put to the minister that it is really important that we, as members of parliament, can provide some of that pressure relief, and that we can intervene sometimes in a way that is conciliatory. It is important that people who are leaders of ethnic communities feel that they can approach us for advice or assistance. The democratic principle that we represent here is very powerful and has a potency that leads this place through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, which has strong affiliations with countries around the world. The CPA has the potential to be as strong as the United Nations, I suggest, because of powerful bonds of friendship and a shared democratic origin.
When we get into these racial fights at election time, I do not think it serves us well because, essentially, what you have is the current government going out saying: ‘You cannot trust those people because they do not believe in your faith systems’, or ‘in some way, they are bigoted towards you’. That is one of the tragic legacies the Labor Party has after its foray into the last election.
The minister has produced a glossy, and for someone who claims to be knowledgeable about cultural sensitivities, it is a little strange on one of the pages. Members would be aware that Cherie Blair is doing a little round the world trip, and she put her foot into it by going to New Zealand and calling them Australians, and if there is something Australians do not like to be called – apart from Pommy, I guess – it is a New Zealander. While our flags might be similar and we might look the same and sound the same and come from a similar place on the globe and play the same sports, New Zealanders are New Zealanders and Australians are Australians. I was surprised to see on the chart on page 18 that the minister claims the country of birth for England is 21.9% Scotland is 5.4%; however, for the UK it is 3.6%. That just does not compute. You cannot have 21% of the people born overseas coming from England, and yet only 3% coming from the UK because, as we know, England is a subset of the UK.
For the minister to commit such a gaffe of the style of a Cherie Blair – I thought New Zealanders and Australians were twins – is not very good in this document. It tells you two things. First, they are the biggest group. So the biggest group that he singled out – people whose country of birth was England - and then he goes on to claim that, while 21.9% come from England, only 3% come from the UK. That is a mathematical impossibility.
By all means, put that out. I guess you have put it out already. That is the sort of thing that offends people, and it is a subliminal offence, I guess. As much as we have a proximity to England, there are people who take offence at being called a Pommy if they are not, and there are many English people who do not like to be called Scots, and vice versa, I can assure you. The minister has paraded a document about being sensitive to some of the issues relating to things that motivate and aggravate people from other nations. I suggest that is a blunder of almost Cherie Blair proportions.
The statement is, I suppose, supported in the main. It states much of the obvious. The mistakes that are in it I do not think are fatal to the statement; they are just mistakes. But you would think that if someone is that interested, they would do a bit more work in research. Basically, it shows that someone has glibly done this when they should have done it with a lot more professional effort. Mistakes of that type go more to a giggling behind the hand thing rather than really offending people from those places in the world. They do go to the minister trotting this thing out to parade bona fides that are not his; trotting out bona fides to say: ‘I care. I am a man who is overseas born and therefore I can readily associate with all these other nations’. That is good, but you rest with the terrible legacy of the last election where you ran a racist, and I would say illegal, push-polling campaign which has eroded the status of this place and which, hopefully, we will not see again at the next outing, but one never knows.
Ms LAWRIE (Karama): Mr Deputy Speaker, this evening I thank our Minister for Multicultural Affairs for the important statement that he has delivered this evening. How appropriate that we are discussing building on the Territory’s diversity on this, the Lunar New Year, with Lunar New Year celebrations going on in the Main Hall of Parliament House.
It is the Year of the Rooster, and we have just heard the old rooster of the CLP crowing about their great legacy in the Territory, crowing about how they have delivered everything in a very multicultural way, crowing about how we are so unique and crowing about how the CLP Territory Party does not have any historical link to the White Australia Policy, even though, as usual, he continues to deny the very stark and obvious links between the CLP and the Liberal Party: former CLP Chief Minister Shane Stone is now President of the Liberal Party; or the Liberals in Canberra pulling the strings of the CLP here. Political pundits believe it is simply a matter of time before the name changes to Liberty Party NT Branch. The old rooster on the other side can crow - the old rooster who runs the numbers to depose the member for Blain and reinstall the old guard, yesterday’s man, the member for Brennan.
However, the reality is that the statement today is about putting down for the future a very positive and proud policy of diversity in the Territory. We are a government that is moving ahead; we are not bogged down in the ideological rhetoric that the old roosters of the CLP crow about.
Yes, it is an absolute shame that the Territory will have to carry through its political history that the CLP chose to preference One Nation at the 2001 election. There were audible gasps of horror that around Australia when the party chose to do that, and I believe it was a significant factor in many people voting against them for the first time in their lives.
It is no secret that I was born and raised in the Territory and I have many friends with whom I grew up who had never voted against the CLP before because it was a habit of their parents to vote CLP, and they had not really questioned that habit. Well, they voted differently last time, and for many of them, it was on the basis of that horrendous preferencing of One Nation, political opportunism at the time, which started the slippery slide into defeat of the CLP.
I am pleased because it does give the Territory an opportunity for a healthy democratic change that means new initiatives. It is always healthy in a democracy to see cyclical changes in government. I hope our government is taken into many terms to bed down the changes that we are trying to introduce in the Territory for the benefit of all Territorians. We have just begun what I believe is a long journey of fundamental improvements to the living conditions, the lifestyle and the potential of the Territory.
It is my delight to be living in a diverse community. I cannot recall a time when I have not been actively involved in the issues surrounding multiculturalism. As a child growing up in Darwin, my friends came from a very broad range of backgrounds from Chinese, Greek, many of indigenous mates, and Italian. I remember when the Vietnamese and the Timorese arrived here, how the community of Darwin embraced those refugees, took them to their bosom and watched them proudly become Territorians.
The interaction I have with people from a range of homelands who have settled and called the Territory home is an enjoyable aspect of my daily working life. They are first, second or third generation Territorians now who are very proud of their multicultural diversity. In the Karama electorate, we have Chinese, Italian, Greek, new African immigrants, as well as Filipinos, Thais, Sri Lankan and Indian. The East Timorese are a wonderful community within Karama and Malak. There are many Timorese families, and I am hoping to go to Timor soon with some of my Timorese constituents, to enjoy some celebrations there. It is a real joy to see them embrace, recognise and love their own culture and the way their culture can be enjoyed here in Darwin and celebrated, including the continuation of language, rituals and ceremonies. All my life, I have enjoyed attending a range of different celebrations. It has opened my eyes to the world. It is certainly encouraged me to travel widely to see the cultures in their homelands. I have real joy taking my children to those celebrations. My children love the Cambodian and Vietnamese celebrations; they are just fantastic communities, very vibrant, strong communities here in our diverse Territory community.
I thank the minister for the effort he put into the multicultural policy. I recognise that this policy has been a long time in the making. It is a very good policy that will establish the respect that we need to show each other and enshrine rights and responsibilities to ensure a strong and vibrant multicultural Territory.
I enjoyed attending the opening of the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory’s new premises at the Malak Shopping Centre. They are sharing it with the Multilingual Broadcasting Association. They are wonderful premises. They had been in pretty poor premises in the city. It is no secret to anyone who has been to Palm Court that they were pretty cramped. They needed decent facilities and took the bold step of coming out to Malak and setting up a base. They have lovely new premises out at Malak Shopping Centre and it really has enhanced our community in Malak to have a multicultural community setting up their offices in the electorate. Already, I have had reports from the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory that there has been a significant increase in visitors to their offices as a result of the move, so it seems the move has been a success.
I am delighted that it is in close walking distance to many of our African families who are the latest refugees in our community. I sincerely hope that that becomes a very much a hub of support for our African families. I would like to see continued meetings of our African youth. They have been using my electorate office and I welcome them to continue using my electorate office, but I also encourage them to use multicultural facilities there. Certainly, I hope that various programs can operate to support the African women.
I listened with interest to the member for Drysdale say that he had a friend in SBS who said that a large problem for multicultural communities here is soccer. The history of soccer in the 1980s in Australia was one of division and there are still issues for soccer down south around racial groups gathering, but I have to say that was not the biggest problem in the 1980s.
I had the pleasure of working with SBS in the 1980s - 52 language groups at Radio 3EA where I visited once or twice a week at least. I was their union official. I am very proud to have been the union official for broadcasters and journalists there. The biggest issue was then, and continues to be, access to employment. They say that they still find an overtone of discrimination in Australia for people who come from a non-English speaking background. They find it very difficult if they have an accent or if they look different to have the same access to employment as those who are born here, who come from a more Anglo-Saxon background.
Interestingly enough, here we are in 2005, and in working closely with the African communities, as I do, what is their single largest issue? It is access to employment. Yes, it was terribly sad to see the soccer riots that occurred in the 1980s between the Croatian and Greek communities and then the Serbs verses Croatians. It was all played out in the soccer spectator areas, but I have to say that recognising as divisive as that can be, that was theatre compared to the daily struggle in people’s lives to get a decent job, to put food on their family’s table in a land that many of them came to because it held so much economic promise.
Many people, when they come to nations such as Australia, come as economic refugees. Yes, we have a significant number of refugees here who have come from horrible, war-torn circumstances, but many people come as economic refugees. Whether they come from war-torn countries or whether they come through economic imperative, they all come wanting a better life for themselves, a life of peace which they find, for a life that heralds economic improvement, that climb up the ladder of opportunity, as Mark Latham put it. The barriers to good employment were and are very real.
Member for Drysdale, if you really want to have a chat to people from diverse communities and backgrounds, ask them whether the biggest issue is soccer or access to good jobs. I would be interested hear from the member for Drysdale about the answer because in my experience, it is access to good jobs.
I congratulate the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory’s 2004-05 committee on their election. We have a new President, Jenny Medwell. Jenny is a very articulate, strong, outstanding leader for the multicultural community and is ably assisted by the wonderful and talented Emma Sullivan. The Vice-President is Yogan Sathianathan, who has an amazing history of leadership in the Top End with the MCNT and will ably assist Jenny and Emma in their leadership positions. Madhu Dasgupta is a wonderful person whom I have met on various occasions - a very able Secretary, and Luchi Santer is the Treasurer. Committee members are John Newman, Thyra Ou, Indrani Doloswala, Fatumata Dorbor, Pitia Charles Dickens and Dominique Aldjura.
Of those committee members, I want to single out Thyra Ou. With Harmony Day coming up, I want to acknowledge the role she played in Harmony Day last year. She came up with the national slogan: You + Me = Us. She was recognised nationally for that slogan. Thyra is a Cambodian woman who can be relied on at any occasion, any time, putting the hard work in. She is a tireless volunteer and worker for the broader multicultural community of the Northern Territory. I respect her enormously, and I am delighted to have her as a constituent in Karama.
I also recognise the great work of Tim Robinson in his role of Executive Officer of the MCNT. I know he is leaving to go on to an exciting career at the ABC, but Tim Robinson has worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth move out to Malak for the council and that its programs are increased. He sought and won new funding for the council. His hard work has been appreciated by many people in the multicultural community, so I thank him for his hard work and look forward to our continued friendship. He is a lovely family man.
I want to acknowledge a special occasion last weekend called Darwin Helps. It was organised by members of the multicultural community to raise funds for the victims of the Asian tsunamis. In particular, I want to thank Jay Lamech. Jay is a member of the Burmese community, and it was Jay’s idea to organise this fund raiser. Jay worked tirelessly for many weeks to pull it together. It was held at the Chan Building, and some 350 people attended and there were good funds raised on the night. I am waiting to hear of the precise figure. Jay, congratulations to you. It is people such as you who bring home the wonderful aspects of community and volunteer work. It is all selfless work and Jay is well known in Darwin’s multicultural community. He is the head of the Police Ethnic Advisory Council and he works tirelessly to ensure that we have a harmonious community. Congratulations to Jay on Darwin Helps. It was pleasant to be there with my family. My children sat up at the stage taking video pictures of all the performers who made the night extremely enjoyable. There was a fantastic crowd that was as diverse as you would see anywhere in the world.
I congratulate the minister on this statement. I know he has gone to a lot of effort to pursue multiculturalism in the Territory, to enshrine it with progressive policy. Yes, without a doubt, we have always been a multicultural society, from the German settlers in the Centre up to the Japanese, Chinese Greek and Italian early settlers in the Top End. We are very fortunate people to have such a wonderful history of which we can be proud.
The minister’s statement, whilst recognising and marking our tremendous history, is laying a wonderful blueprint for the progressive future of multiculturalism in the Territory. You do need policy to enshrine a framework to move forward. The minister has delivered the policy, and I thank him and his hard-working staff in the Office of the Multicultural Affairs for the efforts that they have gone to.
Mr AH KIT (Community Development): Mr Deputy Speaker, the title of my contribution tonight is: A funny thing happened on the way to the footy. I say ‘the title’ because yesterday, the title A fair go for all in Territory housing attracted a fair bit of criticism from members opposite. Maybe this will, too, but we will wait and see what responses we get if they choose to criticise.
I support my colleague in his production of the Territory’s first comprehensive statement on multicultural affairs. In doing so, I would like to repeat and expand on some comments I made last week at the reception in the Main Hall for the Western Bulldogs and Indigenous All Stars. I am referring to the ways in which Darwin and the Top End have cemented themselves as uniquely multicultural societies over the last century, and the ways in which sport has been pivotal in creating that situation. It is a lesson from history that shows us how sport, of all other human activities, can unite people. I draw much of this information from a wonderful book chapter entitled Separatism and Solidarity written by Julia Martinez, which I recommend to all members of the House.
Back in 1926, a funny thing happened on the way to the footy. In its wisdom, the Darwin Town Council banned Aboriginal and Chinese people using the then Darwin Oval, now the park on the Esplanade, which was used back in those days to play Aussie Rules. What had, until then, been a competition that included all Darwinites playing footy together became the European’s only sporting competition. Indeed, the Darwin Town Council abolished the then Northern Territory Football League and established a North Australian Football League that excluded players on racial grounds.
One of the great ironies in this, of course, was that this new colour bar excluded Reuben Cooper, the Aboriginal bloke who introduced Aussie Rules to Darwin in the 1910s after learning to play the game while at school down south. So the following year, Aboriginal, Chinese and European footballers turned around and established a soccer competition for a couple of years. In February 1927, the first such soccer game was played between the half-caste Waratahs side and the Chinese Recreation Club.
Imagine where we would be today if that had gone on for more than a couple of years. Would we be looking at the Longs, Riolis, McAdams and others playing for the Socceroos instead of the AFL, or Wanderers playing Hellenic, or a Bob Elix battling a Zico Ilic for the presidency of Soccer NT? Who knows? It probably does not bear thinking about it. As it turned out, a wonderful thing happened back in the 1920s: an act of real reconciliation decades before the term became widespread in the rest of the nation.
Territorians, united, did not take it lying down. Public meetings were held and it was the people of Darwin, many of them wharfies and other unionists, who united with their Chinese and Aboriginal team mates to overturn the colour bar in Darwin sport. As a Mr H Edwards, a member of the Vesteys team put it:
- It is difficult to understand what objections anyone can have to playing with the coloured lads, except,
perhaps, their superiority of play… This movement to disenfranchise the locals from participation in
football comes mainly from birds of passage who are here today and gone tomorrow.
But these links between the Chinese and Aboriginal families of early Darwin reflected social links that started at school. In 1925 Darwin, for example, there were 44 Anglo kids, 66 Chinese and 11 Aboriginal children. These Anglos were not just of Irish, Scottish or British stock, but southern Europeans as well. It was more complicated than that because Darwin was already developing as a multicultural community, with many other ethnic heritages joining the mix.
As Martinez notes, the so-called ‘coloured’ football players of the time reflected a mixed heritage:
- The Ah Mats, for example, were of Malay-Torres Strait Islander descent, the Cubillos of
Filipino-Scottish-Aboriginal descent, and the Snape and Lew Fatt brothers of Aboriginal-Chinese
decent. Thus … the ethnic backgrounds of the players … confirmed the existence of a visibly
polyethnic community, and testified to the already established personal ties between the Aboriginal
and Asian communities.
Diana Giese, in an interview with Joe Sarib, a man of Javanese-Chinese descent, wanted to play footy after watching games contested by the ‘coloured’ athletes of Darwin. Athletes such as Steve Abala, Ali Ah Matt, Benny Baban and Don Bonson were described by Giese as ‘founders of the football dynasties of Darwin’.
By 1930, the colour bar in footy in Darwin had been beaten back and, since then, footy has been open to all and reflective of the cultural diversity of Darwin and the Top End. In 1933, the journalist Ernestine Hill described the tone of what footy has been like since that time:
- There is the football match on Saturday afternoon, with barrackers in 25 languages and the ‘yacha-hoi’
of the tribes, with swarthy half-castes in bright blazers the big majority of the teams, leaping eight feet into
the air to catch the shining rain-wet ball, and running with the swift grace of a deer-hound - in Darwin it is
more an Oriental ballet than a football match.
It was a financial relationship as well as a playing one. Wanderers’ chief backer was Ernie Lee, whose pallbearers when he died in 1932 were F Chafez, F Spain, C Spain, E Conanan, A Cubillo, E Tapper and J Cubillo - a real cross-section of Darwin, with English, Filipino and Aboriginal sportsmen playing a leading role in a Chinese funeral. In turn, many of these people worked together as members of the North Australian Workers Union.
Back in the 1930s, the junior town team was captained by H Chin, son of a prominent Chinese, and included the Moo brothers as well as Aboriginal children. As Martinez comments:
- It would appear that the inter-ethnic bonds formed in the fight for mixed sport helped to establish bonds
in the workplace and beyond.
This written historical account certainly echoed through my experiences growing up in Darwin. My father, with both Chinese and Aboriginal heritage, had a long relationship with Charles See-Kee, who ran the Northern Territory Basketball Association for some 21 years. Many members in this House would remember and even today will probably run into Bennie Lew Fatt who played in the Australian Basketball Championships in the 1960s, and of whose personal story it has been said:
- … might just have easily been written in either the Aboriginal or Chinese version of Darwin’s
sporting history.
That is part of the point, I guess: when those histories are all pulled together, it will be seen as a history of sharing on the footy oval, the basketball courts and beyond. It is something in which broader politics are blurred.
When he was still in this place, I remember trading insults across this Chamber from time to time with Fred Finch. However, on Saturday afternoons I respected him as the Patron of my beloved Darwin Buffalos football side.
Likewise, the previous government, which appointed a Greek man Administrator, would have been aware that John Anictomatis played football for Buffalos. Certainly, in this government’s appointment of a man of Irish decent, His Honour the Administrator Ted Egan, we knew of his track record with the St Mary’s club, a club he founded and captained. Alec Fong Lim, the former Lord Mayor of Darwin, was as well known for his participation in tennis, cricket, footy and basketball as he was for his political leanings.
This is something of which we in this place can be genuinely proud. I still walk down the street or meet people at the pub whose shared past with me and my family has been through sport despite the many cultures and walks of life from which we have all come. There is an inbuilt respect that was born on the playing field and not, may I say, on the hallowed fields of ruling class Eton, but on the cosmopolitan and rough outfield of the old Darwin Oval.
We did a quick survey of the staff in my office this morning. In it, we share heritages across the British, Irish, Scottish, Chinese, Dutch, German, Torres Strait Island, Takalak, Waanyi, Garawa, Warumungu, Pitjantjatjara, Arrernte and Luritja peoples - 14 lines of descent amongst a mere handful of people. Other members here might like to do the same in their offices. Indeed, it would be an interesting exercise for people in their respective workplaces across the Territory. What you would find is that we are a truly multicultural community, something that this statement celebrates and seeks to strengthen.
Madam Speaker, I commend the minister’s statement to the House.
Debate adjourned.
MOTION
General Business Day
General Business Day
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move, on behalf of the Chief Minister, pursuant to Standing Order 93, to nominate Wednesday, 16 February 2005 as the next sitting day on which General Business will have precedence over Government Business.
Motion agreed to.
SPECIAL ADJOURNMENT
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker I move that:
- (a) the Assembly at is arising be adjourned until Tuesday, 15 February 2005 at 4.00pm or such other time
and/or date as may be set by Madam Speaker pursuant to Sessional Order; and
- (b) the conduct of the Routine of Business be as follows: Prayers, Messages, Petitions, Questions,
Government Business, Papers, Ministerial Statements and Matters of Public Importance.
Motion agreed.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Madam Speaker, 21 Nhulunbuy students received their Northern Territory Certificate of Education in December last year. I congratulate them all on the hard work and commitment over the past few years of schooling with their results reflecting their efforts.
Mitchell Fleming received the highest NTCE score at Nhulunbuy High of 88. His Tertiary Entrance Rank was 95.9%, putting him in the top 4% of all students in the Territory. Mitchell plans to attend the University of Queensland where he will study a Bachelor of Commerce. I wish him well. Mitchell completed all of his education in Nhulunbuy.
An artist from Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre has been honoured in the short list for the National Sculpture Prize to be held at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra in the near future. Gunybi Ganambarr from GanGan has only been producing art for the last three years, although he has been one of the region’s most sought-after ceremonial Yidaki players for some time. His heavily carved 3 m memorial pole Dhanbarr has been selected from 635 entries to be one of the few in the running for the $50 000 prize. This caps off a year of great success for the region’s artists represented by the Yirrkala Arts Centre.
Waturr and Gawirrin Gumana, Wanyunbi Marika, Nawurapu Wunungmurra all had successful solo exhibitions in prestigious Sydney galleries. Three of Wanyubi’s works were purchased for the Kerry Packer Collection. Naminapu-Maymuru White and Wukun Wanambi both had exhibitions in Darwin, which completely sold out. My congratulations to all these artists and to Will Stubbs and his team at Buku-Larrnggay who have the commitment, drive and understanding to support these artists both locally and on the world stage.
I was extremely happy to be part of the opening of newly upgraded airstrip at Gapuwiyak late last year. It will ensure access to the remote community during the Wet Season. The aerodrome is the eighth busiest remote community aerodrome in the Territory, catering for 90 aircraft, 5000 passengers and 33 tonnes of freight a year. The Territory government provided more than $1m for the upgrade, which included the sealing of the airstrip to provide all-weather access. Prior to the upgrade, the airstrip was subject to frequent closure as a result of wet weather.
The 2004 Rotary Vocational Service Awards were held late December and recognised the contribution of an individual within the workplace. Mrs Chris Price has been a dedicated employee for Nhulunbuy Newsagency for the past 30 years. Her pride and level of skill and efficiency, her personal qualities encouraged her manager to nominate her. Local Yirrkala resident, Mr Clifford Wanambi, was nominated by YBE for demonstrating dedication and a highly professional standard of work and excellence within the YBE workplace. Clifford has a strong work ethic, constantly produces a high quality of work and encourages development of cross-cultural friendships within his employment. Both Chris and Clifford are outstanding recipients of the Rotary award, and I extend my congratulations to them.
The Nhulunbuy community reached deep into their pockets and donated goods to support the tsunami appeal. Graham Johnson, from Nhulunbuy Fire Station and Constable Joedy Kitchen spent time collecting donations. Nhulunbuy Over Threes raised $5244.50 with their morning tea organised by Tanya Davey and Tanya Leahy, with a number of volunteers busy baking and collecting raffle tickets. Through the electorate office, we organised a container and a half of household goods, 329 boxes organised and packed. I acknowledge those who assisted with this huge task: Ann Barr, Simone O’Mealley, Tanya Lay, Leonie Bean, John Keogh, Leslie Moynahan, Mike and Pauline Hindle, Marie Martinez, Christina Burke, Kiwi Deb, Daniel Haig, Patrick O’Brien, and my electorate staff. I would also like to thank Perkins, Wridgeways, GIS, the Neighbourhood Centre, the Catholic Church, Gove District Hospital and Nhulunbuy Corporation for their assistance as well.
It is humbling to see unity of purpose and dedication to our neighbours. My admiration for our community is great, and I know that the generous donations and hard work of so many people will be greatly appreciated when these goods are delivered to the affected areas.
Two local MAF pilots have departed Gove for the Aceh province to assist with relief efforts. In the midst of scenes of incredible need, Adrian Smith and Russell Duncan will help rebuild and save lives in partnership with the Samaritans Purse and Operation Blessing International, as well as assisting the Indonesian government when flights required. Our thoughts are with Adrian and Russell and their families during their time of separation and demanding workload on the pilots as they assist with the relief effort.
A Gove legend and a lovable larrikin, Harry Fincham or ‘Oil Can’, passed away on 14 January. Arriving in Gove in 1969, Harry had already lived a full and memorable life. Falsifying his birth certificate to join the army in World War II, Harry served five years in Borneo and another two in New Guinea. During this time, both his parents died. Harry was released to take care of his three younger siblings. He married Joy to make the adoption a reality and she later had their two daughters, Denise and Sue. Harry worked on the construction site and later became the corporation’s backhoe operator. Oil Can and his mates established the Nhulunbuy Corporation Fishing Club. Harry was a proud Australian. He loved a beer and a bet. He was a hard worker, and so earned respect, but rejected promotion and overtime. When Harry met someone, he embraced them as a good mate. Oil Can will remain in the memories of those who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Blue, or David Douglas, was awarded Nhulunbuy Region 2005 Australian of the Year award for his contribution to the Nhulunbuy community. A long time resident, he arrived with his family in 1972 when he completed his schooling. As a teenager, Blue was involved in the Surf Club and represented Gove in a team that competed in the National Titles.
However, it is dancing with which most people associate Blue. As a young boy, he helped his father with bush dances held in their backyard and began teaching dance steps to newcomers. He held classes for residents to practice ballroom and bush dancing for pleasure. An involvement with the debutante ball since 1986 has seen Blue teach an almost endless procession of teenagers the finer art of ballroom dancing. Blue was also involved with Gove Showtime, which organised performers to come into the town for entertainment. Blue regularly provides his time voluntarily to operate the sound and light equipment for various functions around town. A person always willing to help others, Blue is certainly a worthy recipient of the citizenship award.
The Young Nhulunbuy Citizen of the Year is Lee Chandler, a young man who managed to maintain a balance between studies and sport, providing a role model to his younger peers. Lee has been a member of Nhulunbuy High School Representative Council and its Vice-President. He was also captain for Roper, leading by example competing in all events in swimming and athletics carnivals. An accomplished sportsman, Lee has represented the NT and Australian Rugby League sides, gaining a Northern Territory Institute of Sport scholarship. He also excelled at touch footy, BMX, volleyball, cricket, golf and squash, and has earned NT selection almost in every sport. Lee also contributes to working bees, fund raising activities, junior coaching and refereeing.
Lee was awarded the coveted Trevor ‘Curly’ Jenkins Award, the Snowy Oaks Awards for all-round ability, the Walkabout Lodge Outstanding Sportsman Award as well as school awards. Lee has accepted entry to James Cook University to undertake a Bachelor of Sports Science degree. He is an honest, forthright young man with a sense of priority who shows leadership and friendship to all, and is a worthy winner of the Junior Citizenship Award.
The Australia Day Community Event of the Year was awarded to the Darwin Symphony Orchestra Arnhem Land Overture Concert. Jane Stone initiated the idea, and with her volunteer committee was able to organise a great evening’s entertainment, with a mix of classical music, humour, song and local participation. The logistics for staging the concert were enormous. My congratulations to Jane and her team for an outstanding evening of entertainment. It was a great night.
I want to put on the record the achievements and commitment of Ted Bailey, who recently retired as Darwin Turf Club’s Chairman. He was the Darwin Turf Club’s longest-serving chairman, first serving in the role from 1988 to 1999, and then again from 2003 to 2005. During his time as Chairman, he oversaw major changes and improvements to the club, including development of The Laurels bar and The Grandstand, plus new stable blocks. He was instrumental in obtaining Principal Club status and recognition as a member of the Australian Racing Board. He oversaw massive growth in the Darwin Cup Carnival, and was instrumental in attracting high profile racing personalities to the carnival.
During his tenure as Darwin Turf Club Chairman, Ted played a leading role not only in development of the wonderful facilities at Fannie Bay, but also the establishment of Darwin Turf Club’s reputation on the Australian scene. Ted is warmly regarded by many high profile members of the Australian racing industry. They have enormous respect for him and he has always had their ear. He was of huge benefit to both the Turf Club and the Territory government during some difficult times. Ted certainly well and truly served his time with the Turf Club, and the Territory owes him a great debt for the enormous contribution he has made to our racing industry. I wish him the very best for his retirement, and I look forward to seeing him at cup time.
I also take the opportunity to welcome the appointment of Charles Burkitt, who takes over from Ted as the new Chairman of the Darwin Turf Club. Charles is a born and bred Territorian, with proven business acumen and, indeed, a passion for racing. At just 32 years of age, he is the youngest Chairman the club has ever had, and I am absolutely positive he will bring youthful enthusiasm coupled with real business nouse to the job. Charles has been Vice-Chairman of the Darwin Turf Club for two years. He has been well groomed for this position by Ted Bailey. I am absolutely confident that the Darwin Turf Club is in safe hands with Charles, and I take the opportunity to wish Charles, his committee and the Darwin Turf Club all the very best.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I discuss an issue about which I have spoken before in this Chamber. It is the Crimes (Victims Assistance) Act. Members will recall that, for some time now, I have been complaining loud and long about the reductions to costs made in 2002 by this government. Some members will also recall the committee stage of that debate. It was colourful, to say the least, and it emerged during the committee stage that the ramifications of the cost reductions may impact on victims of crime. That has proven to be the case, and I have so not only at the last estimates hearing, but in the Chamber on 17 June 2004.
On that occasion, I expressed the level of my concern, and that representatives of law firms had spoken to me, and the advice I was receiving was that fewer victims of crime were, in fact, accessing claims for compensation, that they were being denied access to justice because fewer lawyers were doing that sort of work. The reason they were not doing that sort of work any more was that it had become completely unaffordable for them to do so. At the time, I tabled a copy of a letter from one law firm in Alice Springs - and I will not repeat it all - that said:
- There is simply no way that a private firm can recoup the costs incurred to the firm in running the matter.
Accordingly, this firm has indeed made a policy decision not to take on Crimes (Victims Assistance)
matters unless in exceptional circumstances. It is therefore the case that our work in this area has
drastically reduced and this decision was based solely on cost-effectiveness.
I was aware that law firms throughout the Territory continued to reduce the amount of work that they do in this area, and I have received a number of representations from many solicitors.
In November 2004, as a result of yet another plea from local solicitors in Alice Springs - and what I could say was an act of desperation, having raised the matter in parliament on several occasions - I wrote directly to the Law Society. That letter is dated 15 November. I wrote to the President, Ms Merran Short. I will not repeat all of the letter, but I will quote a couple of parts of it:
- I expressed concern during the Estimates Committee hearing in June about the information I had received
from law firms in Alice Springs and Darwin, that they were increasingly unwilling and unable to
represent applicants in Crimes (Victims Assistance) matters.
Unfortunately, the Attorney-General does not share the view that this is an access to justice issue, and that
the reduction of costs lawyers could claim is the reason for lawyers no longer doing this sort of work. I have
raised my concerns in the parliament as well as the media; however, government does not propose to change
the act.]
My view is that the Law Society should make a representation to the Attorney-General asking that the costs be
increased so that the lawyers will continue to represent applicants.
In Alice Springs, for example, I understand that at present only two law firms, both sole practitioners,
represent applicants. In Darwin, a number of firms no longer do this work because it is not profitable for
them to do so. I believe that the Law Society is well placed to appeal to the Attorney-General to make the
changes to remedy this situation and I ask that you attempt to do so.
I am aware that, in addition to the Law Society, individual solicitors have made representations either to the Attorney-General or to his office, such is the seriousness with which solicitors around the Territory regard this situation - that is, the reduction of costs brought in by this government. So concerned were they that the Attorney-General himself seemed to ignore their pleas and, indeed, the information I was putting to him.
There is another aspect of this debacle, and that is the inequity in the Crimes (Victims Assistance) fee structure, and this also caused great concern among lawyers. The fees to which an applicant is entitled are set in the legislation. That applicant’s solicitors generally do more work than the respondent’s solicitors is well known in the profession. The fees of legal practitioners acting for the Northern Territory government, however, are not regulated by the legislation. Those fees are generally capped, however, I understand the amount is still about $500 to $1000 higher than the maximum able to be obtained under the legislation.
It is the case that, when acting for the Northern Territory, there is no distinction between the capping of fees in matters that are under $5000 or over $5000. That is clearly an inequity. In other words, if you act for a respondent, it seems as though you are paid more. That is not fair.
In any event, the situation is that the Attorney-General or his office has received probably what could be described as a hammering over this issue. It is not just the member for Araluen who has raised this issue, or the member for Goyder who expressed concerns during the committee stage amendments. So desperate was I, based on the information I had received from a number of individuals and law firms, that I wrote directly to the Law Society and, in essence, said: ‘I cannot do anything else. Will you please get onto the Attorney-General?’.
That is the history of this matter. I understand that the Department of Justice is now working on this area with a view to reviewing the fees. In other words, the Attorney-General may or is likely to review the costs and, therefore, remedy the mess that he created a couple of years ago. The Minister for Justice and Attorney-General has claimed in one way or another in this place and outside that he is supportive of victims of crime. My view is that actions speak louder than words. He did create a mess, he refused my pleas to fix it and now, in an election year, appears set to concede defeat and fix what can only be described as a stuff-up.
If my information is correct, I am delighted. I look forward to what I understand will be an announcement by the Attorney-General at some stage over the new few months.
In politics, I suppose you would describe this as a bit of a win. However, I am terribly concerned about the victims of crime who have been severely disadvantaged as a result of the Attorney-General’s intransigence over the last couple of years. I do not think it hurts any of us to admit that a mistake has been made and that will fix it. Unfortunately, the Attorney-General in my view has left it too long, but the indications that I have now received - not from the Attorney-General, I might add. I have not been given the courtesy of an indication from him. I am not suggesting for a moment that he is required to give me that, but I would have thought that given that I have raised this matter on a number of occasions, and given my interest in this area, perhaps I could have had an indication. However, my information is that he looks set to fix the problem and, to that extent, I am very happy.
Mr BALDWIN (Daly): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I would like to join with the member for Nhulunbuy in passing my condolences to Denise Fincham on the passing of her father whom, I must say, I did not know; but I do know Denise. My condolences go to her and her family.
It was with great sadness today that I learnt of the passing of Margaret Thompson, who was a long-term Katherine rural resident who was involved in the community in Katherine for many years, and was well-known constituent and a friend who helped me out over my time of living and working in the Katherine rural area. I extend on my condolences and that of my family to George and his family for their great loss and sadness of this time.
Turning to another issue, I put on the record the work that has been done at Port Keats on the school and the efforts of the community as a whole, the partners in the COAG Agreement, the community members and parents for getting the kids back to school under their Giving Every Kid A Chance program, which started last year.
The efforts of all those involved has seen a massive increase in the number of students who are attending school. That has created quite a lot of difficulty regarding resources and logistics - so much so that as we heard Dale Seaniger, the Deputy CEO of Thamarrurr Council, say on radio this morning that the kids have to sit on the floor and do their lessons in very cramped conditions. Whilst there has been a great win in one area, and that is to get the attendance levels right up, and I mean a long way from what they have been in the past by all of the players getting together and encouraging the kids to school, it has left them with a severe problem of some urgency to fix.
I know talks have been going on between the Department of Employment, Education and Training, the Catholic Education Office and the federal government and some action has been taken as we speak to get extra resources and equipment out to Wadeye as quickly as possible. However, those actions need to ensure that the needs of those children are met as soon as possible.
There is a bigger issue: a tender has been let to review the status of the school, it being a Catholic mission school administered through Catholic Education. This tender will look at the status of the school, but it will take some time. Regardless of the outcome of that process and its passage through various government agencies, committees and executive government, we need to make sure that while the process is under way, whatever resources are needed to provide the children of Port Keats to ensure that they are sitting in a comfortable teaching and learning environment that those resources are made available immediately. That includes human resources as well as the physical. I encourage the minister to make sure he keeps an eye on what is happening out there.
What the community has done is a great news story and it has come about after a lot of groundwork over the last few years and an attitude that started with the Thamarrurr Council and its predecessors and the middle management group who are taking control of their own lives. It has culminated in the kids who have not been going to school turning up in great numbers. In fact, there are something like 180 children at school now who have never seen the inside of a classroom. They are not just school starters; these are kids of all age groups who have never been to school. They believe there are probably another 70 that they have not got to school out of the total school age group. So it is a good news story. It needs careful watching and some immediate action to make sure the resources are available to let those kids enjoy a healthy and comfortable learning environment.
I now turn to another matter, and this is directed to the minister for DBIRD. Today I learnt that the CEO of DBIRD communicated with his staff that they need to cut their spending by some $1.1m in order to meet their budget outcome. The indication is that there has been over-spending on the Vet lab at Berrimah, which seems strange because I would have thought that is capital expenditure and nothing to do with operational. Anyway, the communication is that he has ordered the budget to be reined in by $1.1m by June and that includes general cost cutting across the board, no recruiting and various other measures.
Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I hope the minister can explain why that should happen. I hope it is not a general indication of what is going on and that the same is not happening across other departments. I am sure he would be happy to provide an explanation as to what that is all about. I hope that they do come in on budget, but that is something that we will know come Estimates and the bringing down of the next budget. It is disturbing when you hear of these measures being taken. An explanation is all I am seeking at this stage.
Mr ELFERINK (Macdonnell): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I defend the defenceless and, in this instance, the person I am defending is the Lord Mayor of the capital of the Northern Territory, Darwin.
The reason is because this morning on radio, the Chief Minister sought to attack the Lord Mayor of Darwin in a most unseemly fashion. It is no secret that the Lord Mayor of Darwin was a CLP minister in the former government. However, that did not justify the attack launched by the Chief Minister this morning. Basically, the thrust of her attack was that he was doing the bidding of the CLP and was indistinguishable from his CLP mates in the opposition. That is an outrageous assertion not because he is a former member of the CLP, but because the Lord Mayor of Darwin is not acting unilaterally; he is acting in accordance with the desires of the Darwin City Council.
There are certain things that we have to understand about the position of the Lord Mayor. The first is that he is directly elected by the people. Unlike the Chief Minister in this place, the Lord Mayor is directly elected by an electorate substantially larger than any single member’s in this House. He is representative of a legitimate tier of government, and he is much more directly representative of the people of Darwin than the Chief Minister.
The other part of the attack that concerned me is that he is part of a committee. He is an alderman with special status by virtue of his direct election and his office. Nevertheless, he is part of a committee, and that is the legitimately elected Darwin City Council which, I understand, has unanimously voted to take a certain position in relation to the waterfront. That position is one of caution. What the Lord Mayor of Darwin has been doing is counselling caution in the same way that the opposition has been counselling caution, in the same way that the Darwin City Council has been counselling caution, in the way that so many other groups and bodies have been counselling caution on how the waterfront proceeds. We have seen on both channels of the television news this evening that it is a major concern; it is not just the opposition, the Darwin City Council or the Lord Mayor signalling caution as to how we proceed, and saying: ‘Let’s not go so fast’; many people and organisations in Darwin are saying it.
By implication, the Chief Minister is now accusing any person who counsels caution of being a CLP lackey or CLP sympathetic, and that is certainly not the case. I know that one of the aldermen on the Darwin City Council is a former member of this place, John Bailey. He would be most upset, especially to hear it drop like little pearls of wisdom from the lips of the Chief Minister, that he is a CLP lackey doing the CLP’s bidding. I imagine that he would choke on that, gag on it in ways that his gorge would rise at it. No, he is a man who is saying: ‘Hang on, let us have a look at what is going on’.
The other thing is that, because of the way the Chief Minister has arranged this, she is not simply putting taxpayers’ money into a deal; she has established herself as a partner in construction. Why is this important? The decision to become a partner in the process of developing the waterfront area means that she has a vested interest in its construction not only at a political level, but at a partnership and business level. Such an interest is not reflected by the Darwin City Council or in the position of the Lord Mayor who has no business or political interest. No, I will rephrase that; it is not correct. The Lord Mayor has no business interest in this case. Why is this important? This stuff still has to go through the Development Consent Authority.
It is within the power of the minister for Planning to overturn the decision of the DCA. He and, by proxy the Chief Minister, has a potential conflict of interest because as partners in the development, they have the power to overturn the decision of the DCA. Who has the legitimacy as a disinterested third party in a business case? It is the council represented by the Lord Mayor of Darwin. That is what he is doing. He is representing his position as Lord Mayor of Darwin. They have a case before the DCA, they have an interest and they have standing.
They are on the back foot. One of the business partners of the consortium has a vested interest in the outcome at a business level. The criticism from the Chief Minister, as a business partner, of the Lord Mayor of Darwin, who has a disinterested business case, is starting to look very flimsy. For the Chief Minister to accuse the Lord Mayor and aldermen of Darwin City Council of being stooges and political lackeys to the position of the CLP is an outrageous accusation that she is making from the position of a person with a business case. What is worse, she holds the other card: her government has the ability to overturn a decision from the DCA.
To dismiss any person who raises a question about this development as a CLP lackey is political opportunism magnified a million-fold compared with anything of which she could accuse the Lord Mayor of because he …
Mr Henderson: A CLP lackey!
Mr ELFERINK: I pick up on that interjection. The Leader of Government Business and member for Wanguri said that the Lord Mayor is a CLP lackey. I invite the member by interjection to say that is the case for the rest of the council.
Mr Henderson: I am talking about the Lord Mayor.
Mr ELFERINK: Well, you see, this is the interesting thing: he does not have the courage to accuse the council, which has made this decision unanimously, of being CLP lackeys because he knows the position of the Lord Mayor is that of the leader of the council. That is the untenable position of the Leader of Government Business.
The Lord Mayor has a mandate which far exceeds the mandate of the Chief Minister in this instance. Although a former minister of a CLP government, the Lord Mayor is doing his job. For the Chief Minister to take the position she has is reprehensible and is politically opportune. If she thinks she can taint the council as being a bunch of CLP lackeys, that will justify her interference in future processes that should be followed to ensure this development proceeds sensibly.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016