2003-08-19
- Madam Speaker Braham took the Chair at 10 am.
MINISTERIAL REPORTS
Top End Arts and Cultural Festivals
Top End Arts and Cultural Festivals
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House of the initiatives to strategically market our success in the arts by packaging August as the month of Top End festivals. I am talking about the Garma Festival, the 20th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, and the Darwin Festival. For the first time, these three cultural events have been scheduled to take place in sequence throughout the month of August, allowing visitors, artists, art industry professionals and practitioners, and the community to enjoy and celebrate the best of Top End cultural life.
The concept of strategically positioning three key Top End arts events will, in addition to the cultural community benefits, provide direct employment benefit to tourism, local business, as well as arts, artists and art industry practitioners. This positive collaboration began in February of this year. With the creative input from the three partners, this idea has matured into a month of events, showcasing excellence in Top End arts. The three events already attract national and international media attention and promote the fabulous talent and ability of our arts practitioners; and our artists benefit both economically and through greater audience participation and recognition.
Two weeks ago, I opened the Garma Festival at Gulkula near Nhulunbuy. This five-day festival celebrates Yolngu culture and seeks to provide predominantly educational opportunity for visitors to meet and learn from indigenous Territorians. The theme for this festival was ‘DHUNI: Indigenous Arts and Culture’, and the program included a variety of Yolngu arts, educational forums and music and performance workshops. This successful festival, now in its fifth year, is a result of a vision of Galarrwuy and Mandawuy Yunupingu, in association with indigenous clan leaders and the Yothu Yindi Foundation. Garma was also the occasion where I launched my government’s indigenous arts strategy - a national first.
Last week also saw the launch of the 20th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award. The award judges - Brian Kennedy, who is the Director of the National Gallery of Australia, and one of Darwin’s best exports, Francisca Cubillo, who is the Manager of Tandanya - had the difficult task of selecting the winners in each category and overall. The Telstra award attracted a number of industry meetings scheduled for this time. For the first time, and very importantly, the Council of the National Gallery of Australia has met outside Canberra, last week in Darwin. The Council of Australian Art Museum Directors also met in Darwin as a result of this event.
To the benefit of our local industry, this award has also attracted to Darwin a number of collectors, both private and from the nation’s respected galleries. Last week, we welcomed to Darwin art dealers who represent the national and international market, including Deutscher Menzies, Sotherbys, Adrian Newstead, Art Trade and Rebecca Hosack from London.
The Telstra award is the oldest and richest of all indigenous art awards. The award originated in Darwin at the Museum and Art Gallery, and it is always a privilege to see the work of the best of Australia’s contemporary and traditional visual artists. At last Friday night’s event, Margie West, who is the curator of Aboriginal art, was recognised for her 20-year contribution for those awards. It was her inspiration before 1983, and she has been involved in it and seen it grow over those 20 years - a real tribute to Margie West.
Garma and the Telstra award are joined by the Darwin Festival, a vibrant art and cultural event that celebrates the city’s cultural diversity and reflects our unique cultural standing in the Top End. The Darwin Festival fosters a sense of civic pride, but is also a valuable source of employment and work. The festival, like other arts activities, creates jobs. The arts provide genuine economic benefits and a boost to tourism. There are some great events - some of them have already finished and some will continue for the next couple of weeks. There are shows like Mavis goes to Timor, Lano and Woodley, a great comedy duo, and local shows. I certainly recommend this local one which is the Bowls Club Wedding, which you can see at Darwin Bowls Club. It is getting great reviews. That collaboration is a real tribute to the Darwin Tracks Theatre Company and the Grey Panthers.
The excellence in the arts offered by the co-positioning of these three key celebrations - Garma, the Telstra award and the Darwin Festival - form a focus of pride in our civic and shared cultural heritage. They are a celebration of our community. My government is very proud to support our arts community; they celebrate the finest of our achievements in the arts. However, even more than that, the arts industry brings a strong and measurable economic benefit to our community through tourism, export, marketing, employment and revenue generation.
The arts are something we do very well in the Territory. It makes sound economic sense to build upon our strengths, whilst at the same time celebrating the diversity and creative energy of our Territory community.
Ms CARTER (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister for her report this morning. Certainly, those of us who have lived in the Territory for many years can do nothing but admire the achievements of Aboriginal art and what it has contributed to the Northern Territory, and continues to contribute. All across the Northern Territory, the different styles of the visual arts, music and dance, have all enriched our lives here in the Northern Territory. It is something that I and the CLP hope will continue and go from strength to strength as the years continue.
The Garma Festival has been a great one, and here in Darwin at the moment we have the Darwin Festival off and running. I have a booklet that is available in Darwin listing the festival activities. Each year, you can note that the diversity and the colour of the festival increases from year to year. It is great to see that happening.
However, with regard to the Telstra art award, I was particularly disappointed to see the T-shirt which was worn by Richard Bell, the winner, which said something along the lines of ‘white girls can’t hump’. The end result of that insulting T-shirt has been a diminishing of the Telstra art awards. Quite frankly, as you say Chief Minister, there was national and international coverage of the awards, and the end result is that nobody knows what he actually did; all they know is what he wore. Many people found that T-shirt offensive. Chief Minister, I wonder if it had been a white man wearing a T-shirt that said ‘black girls can’t hump’, would you have presented the award or would you have sought an apology?
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order, thank you.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I support what the Chief Minister and the member for Port Darwin have said. In my short time I would just like to make a statement about the Telstra awards. Whilst they are a great show, they have been spoilt and tainted by Richard Bell’s T-shirt statement. It is both crude, rude and racist. It is an insult to both indigenous and non-indigenous people. I do not believe that art can be used as an excuse for such an offensive statement. It diminishes the Telstra award; and I would support Telstra if they decided to rescind this award.
On a much happier note, I also support the Chief Minister’s statement on the Bowls Club Wedding by Tracks - just a terrific night. I have not danced the Barn Dance or the Pride of Erin for about 20-odd years, but I was forced into the situation where I had to rediscover it. It was packed out on the night that I attended; everybody enjoyed it. The member for Blain was there as well; it was just a great night. I congratulate Tracks and I hope they continue on with such high quality programs.
Ms Martin: And the Grey Panthers.
Mr WOOD: And the Grey Panthers, thank you, Chief Minister. The Grey Panthers especially, because they did a terrific job.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I thank members for their contribution. Briefly on the issue of the T-shirt worn by Richard Bell, I made a very clear statement about inappropriateness. If the member for Port Darwin is trying to question what I said, I cannot quite understand where she is going. T-shirts have a time and a place. I am sure that every person in this House has worn T-shirts saying various things over the years. They have a time and a place. You are not always going to agree with them but, at the art awards, an important national and international event, it was inappropriate. I said that very clearly.
I pick up on the member for Nelson’s view that perhaps Telstra should reconsider their support. I say to Telstra: ‘Do not reconsider your support’. These are the most important art awards in Australia, in their prize money and what they have done over 20 years for indigenous art. That support is immeasurable. I thank Telstra for their support and encourage them to continue that support for the next 10 to 20 years.
Members interjecting.
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Visitors
Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Excuse me! Members! It is not your turn. I advise members of the presence in the gallery - and the students are certainly listening to your comments - of Year 11 students from Darwin High School accompanied by their teacher Jan Farr. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to you.
Please do not judge all parliamentarians by some of the comments you hear today.
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Insurance Law Reform
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, in the week prior to parliamentary sittings, I travelled to Adelaide for an Insurance Ministers Council meeting. All members of the Assembly would be well aware of the difficulties that the increased costs and reduced availability of public liability and professional indemnity insurance have caused key sections of the Australian community.
The Territory government, in conjunction with our state and federal colleagues has launched a series of reforms aimed at containing insurance costs. That was the third or fourth meeting I have attended, and I commend the work of Senator Helen Coonan. She does a terrific job chairing these councils, and there have been some very productive reforms.
There were four acts passed earlier this year: amendments to the Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act, the Personal Injuries (Liabilities and Damages) Act, containing a permanent impairment model for assessing general damages, as well as other reforms aimed at reducing the cost of claims for personal injuries and containing future growth in insurance claims costs. The third and fourth act deal with reforms to the court processes, legal costs and legal advertising and are designed to improve the legal system for personal injury cases while also increasing certainty for insurers.
National price monitoring is being carried out by the ACCC. Under the Ipp Review into the law of negligence, some of the recommendations have already been implemented. Others will be introduced as draft legislation into the Territory next year. The facilitation of Territory not-for-profit community organisations into Queensland’s group insurance scheme has been another sound initiative, encouraging a consortium of insurers, the Community Care Underwriting Agency, to commence operations in the Territory. CCUA allows not-for-profit organisations having difficulty accessing affordable insurance to apply for public liability insurance for those activities including community events, community centres and home care. CCUA commenced operation in the Territory on 1 August.
A telephone hotline that we have had in place since the first ministerial council is still in place to provide public liability insurance information and advice to businesses and community organisations. The public liability insurance home page on the Territory government Internet site also assists.
In relation to government contracts, there are changes to the standard insurance clauses to reduce the complexity and cost of insurance arrangements, and reviewing the level of cover required to stand a minimum of $10m currently, relative to the risks involved mainly in relation to supply rather than construction and service contracts. I expect that the findings of this review should be in place by the end of the year.
Evidence that these reforms are providing tangible benefits is becoming apparent. The July 2003 ACCC price monitoring report indicated insurers expected public liability claims cost to be, on average, 5% lower in 2003 as a result of these reforms. That translates to 3% lower premiums in 2003 than would have been the case in the absence of law reform, though actual decreases are yet to be seen. Most importantly, there are still companies offering product that, had these reforms not taken place, they would have withdrawn their capital from the market altogether.
Further, insurance industry representatives present at the insurance ministers meeting on 6 August noted tort law reform was improving insurance conditions in the Australian market, and some capacity and price stability was returning to public liability insurance.
At the recent council, our attention has turned to furthering these reforms. Insurers agreed to develop arrangements that could help address specific problems that community groups and tourism operators continue to experience in obtaining public liability insurance, and insurers will submit proposals within the month.
It was agreed that reform of professional indemnity insurance required a package of measures, including professional standards legislation, proportionate liability, and amendments by the Commonwealth to the Trade Practices Act and section 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act. The High Court’s interpretation of section 54 of the Commonwealth Insurance Contracts Act effectively means late notification of a claim outside the period of cover was acceptable. This should change.
In other national work, a review of long-term care cost for the catastrophically injured is currently under way. At the insurance ministers’ meeting, it was agreed to proceed to the second stage of analysis for a national scheme. The Commonwealth has committed, where necessary, to amending the Trade Practices Act to remove the potential for it to be used as an alternative cause of action for circumventing the jurisdictional tort law reforms.
Much has been done by this government and others. Indications are that it is having a significant effect on containing insurance costs. We will continue to work with the states and Commonwealth to make the reforms necessary to contain insurance costs. I will finish on the note that, in the Commonwealth and the state’s willingness to work together, this is probably the most productive ministers’ forum that I have attended out of any of them.
Mr REED (Katherine): Madam Speaker, the fact that the Treasurer is presenting a very hurried report in four or five minutes on this matter demonstrates the government’s inability to seriously address this issue. It is a very important issue. It warrants a full statement to this House regarding the overall impact and full discussion of that impact and the work that the government has done.
The government has not done enough in this area. You only have to speak to members and representatives of the business community, and community groups to determine that. I use an example of the Tick Market in Katherine, which would have closed this year and not operated. It is an important social activity in Katherine, together with an important tourism activity throughout the Dry Season, which just could not afford to pay the insurance premium this year. Fortunately, a benefactor came along and paid the premium for them and they have been able to continue to operate. But for that, they would not have operated this year. Similar community-based activities right across the Northern Territory have either closed or found themselves in terrible circumstances. Tourist operators, particularly those who operated horse trailer rides and the like, have had similar experiences.
The fact is that this is the only government that still owns an insurance company. It is a government that could have done more to relieve the pressure on the community and business groups across the Northern Territory by legislating better to limit claims and responsibilities. For the minister to get up here and wax lyrical about a 5% decrease in premiums, means nothing when premiums have gone up many tens of thousands of dollars over the last year.
It is an appalling situation, and we will pass it on to the business community that this very important matter only warranted a quick four or five minute report to this House, with no ability for the opposition or the Independent members to be able to put their point of view on behalf of a very concerned community and business community about this essentially important matter.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, the positive and productive work being undertaken by the Insurance Ministers Council, in conjunction with the full agreement and cooperation of Commonwealth, stands in stark contrast to the churlishness shown this morning by the former Treasurer. The work undertaken by this government, so far, is way in advance of what our predecessors would ever have been able to manage. We will continue to work at these Insurance Ministers’ Councils to put these reforms in place. The fact is, no one is happy with the level of premiums still in place. However, the most important fact is this: if you want to talk to anyone, talk to the head bloke of Allianz, because he said, very clearly when the complaints were made at the Insurance Council Meetings, the premiums were still too high. He said: ‘At least we are in the market. Twelve months ago, if these reforms had not been undertaken, we would have taken our capital out of the market, along with the other insurers’. We would have had no product at all, let alone the choice that we are having now.
Aboriginal Interpreter Service Funding
Mr AH KIT (Community Development): Madam Speaker, in July 2000 the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory entered into an agreement to jointly fund an Aboriginal Interpreter Service in the Northern Territory. This agreement met a pressing need that had remained unfunded, despite repeated calls over many years from a very wide cross-section of the community.
The Aboriginal Interpreter Service plays a vital role in ensuring that a lack of understanding of the English language does not have to mean a lack of access to essential services for indigenous Territorians. In the Northern Territory, 70% of indigenous people, who comprise approximately 28% of the population, speak a language other than English at home. The service has proven invaluable, particularly in relation to justice and health services. The interpreter service provides 251 active registered interpreters covering 104 languages and dialects. Seventy-three of these interpreters have national accreditation authority for translators and interpreters. This, in turn, is providing meaningful training and employment for indigenous Territorians. Ongoing training programs have steadily increased the number of interpreters who are formally qualified to the para-professional level.
The service provides an on-site and telephone indigenous interpreter service which is unique in Australia. The service is available throughout the Territory and can be accessed on a 24-hour on-call basis. Interpreters are available at most bush courts, and the Royal Darwin Hospital has a roster of three interpreters each week-day morning. This service plays a vital role in ensuring that a lack of understanding of English does not have to mean a lack of access to essential services.
In November 2001, the government initiated a review of the service in light of the apparent high usage of the service in delivering health services, and a comparatively low usage in the justice system. In February 2002, a review of the effectiveness and efficiency of the service was completed by Risk Management Services. The review recommended actions to streamline the service and expand the use of the service within the justice system. The Department of Community Development, Sport and Cultural Affairs, as the agency responsible for this service, acted on these recommendations.
For efficiency reasons, interpreters are now booked on a block basis - for example, a weekly roster rather than for individual appointments - and a roster has been implemented in order to provide a 24-hour service. Each week’s rotation is considered as one booking; this provides a more efficient service than the previous ad hoc call-out of interpreters. Interpreters are given set times and hours of work, and service providers can be guaranteed access to interpreters at pre-arranged times. On this block-booking basis, the service averages approximately 40 bookings per week and a total of 2000 per year. Significantly, assessments of the Aboriginal Interpreter Service have shown a 95% client satisfaction ratio.
The formal agreement between the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory commenced on 1 September 2000 and is due to expire in August 2004. It is anticipated that an agreement to replace the existing one will be negotiated and agreed to prior to 1 March 2004. As a part of the current agreement, the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory agreed to conduct an evaluation of the agreement not less than six months prior to its expiration. The Commonwealth has now retained a consultant to conduct the evaluation, and it is expected that the evaluation will be completed by the end of March 2004.
The Aboriginal Interpreter Service has been very successful. There is an expectation from users that such a service will continue in its current, or an expanded, form. Any decrease in the level of services offered by the Aboriginal Interpreter Service would highlight an inequity between services offered to persons for whom English is a second language.
I have recently written to the Commonwealth minister seeking the Commonwealth’s continuing support for this vital service. Madam Speaker, I trust that all members will join me in supporting the Commonwealths continued participation in provision of this vital service.
Members: Hear, hear!
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, the opposition joins with government in applauding the interpreter service. I believe it is an essential service for those Territorians who do not speak English.
I would have English as my fourth language, albeit now it is my primary language. I know that, in my medical practice in my previous life, people used to turn up who could not speak English, and would have brought somebody with them who could speak the language and help interpret for them.
What I am curious about is that this government gets up and applauds the interpreter service yet, in the budget that was handed down a few months ago, the Aboriginal Interpreter Service suffered a $168 000 cut in its budget. I do not understand the rationale behind the government’s action. The minister stands up, applauds the service, tells us all about it, and yet he cuts it significantly. I know for a fact that there are fewer interpreters on the books and the number of contact hours are greatly decreased. I am sure that is reflected by the fact that the budget has been reduced.
Minister, the Aboriginal Interpreter Service is definitely very important. The services that they need when they come to the capital cities are essential, and they would need to have good English to be able to communicate and express their needs for the services. I would have thought that everybody living in Australia would need to learn to speak English. It is beholden on every citizen in this country to learn to speak English, because this, after all, is an English-speaking country. Well and good that we should all retain our cultural heritage and our own native language - mine is Chinese and the member for Casuarina’s is Greek. Aboriginal people, I am sure, would like to retain their language also. However, it is beholden to all of us to at least to be able to communicate in the common language of this country, which is English.
Mr AH KIT (Community Development): Madam Speaker, notwithstanding there is some support from the shadow minister, he had this responsibility. I do not believe he was able to do much about supporting the interpreter service. He cannot speak regarding education because there is some underlying statements there in respect of ‘everyone has to get out there and learn English’. Yes, if that is being offered properly through the education system. We know what happened here when you ran government, and how you tackled the educational problems. We see the recommendations of the Learning Lessons Report. The interpreter service is a valuable service and we will continue to maintain and improve it as much as possible.
Ridley Aquafeed Prawn and Barramundi Farmers Conference
Dr BURNS (Primary Industry and Fisheries): Madam Speaker, I would like to inform the House of the Ridley Aquafeed Prawn and Barramundi Farmers Conference, recently held in Darwin. It was a joint conference held by the National Prawn and Barramundi Farmers Association. Over 220 delegates attended and they spent quite a few days in Darwin and seeing the sights as well. The conference was an overwhelming success.
Particularly, I would like to start with barramundi aquaculture. Members would be aware that there have been a number of pioneers here in the Territory, principally at Humpty Doo with Humpty Doo Barramundi. They have been going for quite some time near Adelaide River. They have a very successful US export trade. I know my colleague, the Minister for Business, Industry and Resource Development, recently officiated at an international barra cook-off competition. Barra is doing quite good business in the United States.
Marine Harvest is an operation that most members would be aware of. The government, of course, has also been supporting barramundi aquaculture since 1988. That is something that the previous government can be proud of. It is an achievement and we aim to continue our support for the aquaculture industry in the Top End. Marine Harvest is on track to meet its goal this year, when they will be producing over 1000 tonnes per annum, which will exceed the wild catch.
Darwin Aquaculture is central for all these barramundi aquaculture projects, supplying over 1.1 million juvenile barramundi for commercial grow-out last year. There is an industry vision for barramundi aquaculture in the Territory of over 10 000 tonnes per annum. They believe it can be achieved in the not-too-distant future.
Recreational fishers have also benefited from the development of barramundi farming, with more than 110 000 juvenile barramundi released into Manton Dam.
At the conference, I informed delegates that we had concluded negotiations with the Commonwealth to enable the harvest of breeding stock for prawns. That was quite a protracted negotiation, but I am proud to announce that that has been completed and we can now go after the brood stock. That is very important for industry development.
The prawn farming industry sector is growing. It is not as large as the barramundi sector, but there are sustained efforts from our aquaculture prawn farmers. There are some Aboriginal interests in prawn aquaculture, as most members would know, and that is very important. I compliment the Commonwealth on the activities of the newly formed Indigenous Aquaculture Group, supported by the Commonwealth government. They recently visited Darwin and I was able to confer with them.
There is much strategic work going on, using a whole range of technologies including GIS, looking at whole sets of data on water, tides, and temperatures, but also seeking other opinions from social sciences, Aboriginal law and transportation links. There is further work identifying aquaculture sites on the Tiwi Islands and at Groote Eylandt.
Aquaculture offers great opportunities for the Top End and the Territory in tropical freshwater aquaculture, as well as marine aquaculture. Another important area that I believe holds a lot of potential is trepang aquaculture. That would be one that could involve a whole range of Aboriginal interests. There is a solid Aboriginal history with trepang here in the Territory.
Madam Speaker, I love the fishing portfolio. I am a keen fisherman. I am very interested in it, and I believe that aquaculture in the Territory holds great promise economically, just as it does in Tasmania and South Australia. However, we need to ensure that it is sustainable and it is environmentally friendly.
Mr MALEY (Goyder): Madam Speaker, there is no doubt that aquaculture is the future of the seafood industry. Indeed, the product produced from aquaculture is set to exceed the wild stock harvest within the next 20 or so years. We have some industry leaders in the Northern Territory, and the minister mentioned the Humpty Doo Barra Farm, which is doing great things.
However, there needs to be further and continued support for industry. Research and development needs to be seriously and vigorously addressed. There are a number of fisheries in the Territory, not just barra and prawn farming which certainly attracts most attention. There are a number of important fisheries that need to be researched; there need to be a number of baselines established. R&D really is the cornerstone to the future of aquaculture in the Northern Territory.
Regarding amateur fishermen, indeed they benefit from this R&D and the investment in aquaculture. There are juvenile barramundi that have been released into Mantom Dam. A number of other billabongs and waterholes have received fresh stock. There will be added benefits, hopefully, with the closing of Adelaide River in due course, as the seafood industry looks towards aquaculture as the real source of income and development in the next decade or so.
Madam Speaker, the industry is exciting. I, too, love my fishing and I enjoy being the shadow minister for Fisheries. This is one I am going to closely monitor over the next two years.
Reports noted pursuant to Sessional Order.
NORTHERN TERRITORY ABORIGINAL SACRED SITES AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 160)
(Serial 160)
Continued from 28 May 2003.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, the minister delivered his second reading speech several months ago. I understand from the briefing I received that, essentially, it is to establish a legal framework within which the authority can charge applicants for the work that is undertaken by it. When I read through the minister’s second reading speech, I saw he essentially dealt with the formality of the schedule of fees and what applicants have to undergo to ensure that they can get a certificate of clearance for their development from the authority.
I deliberately went through a perhaps not simplistic, but a typical example of how a developer would approach the authority to get clearance for his proposed site of development. For instance, the government has a huge parcel of land, several hundred hectares in size, of which a smaller section of, say 10 or 20 hectares, would be parcelled off for development. At that period of time, I understand the government would seek the authority’s assistance to determine what areas of sites of significance and sacred sites would be in that area of land. Once that is identified, those areas of significant sites or sacred sites will be marked out of the parcel which would be released for development.
Once that happens, a developer would come along and say: ‘Okay, I have 10 or 20 hectares of land to develop. A certain portion of that land is now excluded from development, and now I can proceed with my financials on the remaining land that I can develop’. At that time, the developer can apply to the authority for a certificate of clearance, saying that the rest of the 20 hectares that has not been marked as sacred sites will now be clear of any potential conflict between development and sacred sites. The developer can proceed with the development based on the certificate that is issued by the authority.
I also understand that, once the subdivision concept plans drawn up by the developer is completed, it can be presented to the Development Consent Authority, following which further discussion will occur. I would assume, eventually, the consent authority would give its approval for the subdivision to go ahead. By this stage, the developer would have the land, with a title issued by the government in his possession, and with a certificate from the authority in place to say that the land that is going to be developed by the developer is now clear of all sacred sites. The developer proceeds and develops the area of land, subdivides it and produces allotments - anything from a standard housing allotment to any other size that he or she chooses to have in his subdivision. I also understand that the developer is now able to embed the certificate of clearance from the authority within the land title that he will issue to each of the buyers of allotments from his development.
Once that land title to that house allotment is handed over to the owner of the allotment, my understanding again is that the small allotment owner can now proceed to build his or her own home on that allotment without fear of any future conflict with the authority because everything has been cleared and is embedded in the land title. Therefore, everything is clear. That intent, as described to me during the briefing, was never articulated by the minister in his second reading speech. I tried to read between the lines in a couple of paragraphs that he used, but it was not quite clear. If my interpretation of the intent is wrong, minister, then I need you to clarify that for me. If my intent is correct, then I suggest to the minister that he needs to explain that clearly so that the second reading speech he makes can be used in the event of any argument about what the intention is and what this government wants to do with regards to sacred sites and the authority, and clearances that it wants to issue.
On the surface, the schedule of fees that was provided for me appears satisfactory. At the moment - if I can read from the schedule that was provided:
- Standard fees for authority certificates are substantially subsidised through the authority budget. The non-standard applications are charged related costs of processing the authority certificate. There is a $50 application fee applying to all certificate applications except where this is waived. Standard applications within major urban centres – that is, Darwin, Palmerston, Darwin town boundaries, Litchfield Shire and within 25 km of the Alice Springs Post Office - the cost will be $1040. Outside major areas the cost will be $2250. On freehold land blocks anywhere else in the Northern Territory, $1040.
There are obviously exceptions to standard fees, they being:
- In the non-commercial development on residential freehold land, only the application of $50 applies, and cost may be waived in the public interest in special circumstances. However, if non-standard applications (these include substantial new developments, especially infrastructure, mining and major commercial activities) charges are intended to recover actual costs. Cost estimate is negotiated with the applicant prior to the assessment.
I can understand that. For instance, in huge commercial developments such as in mining or even the railway corridor, there will be a lot of work that will be required to be undertaken by the authority. They might require many conferences with traditional owners and custodians of the sacred sites that would take a lot of resources to put those things together. Indeed, the authority needs to at least cost recover the work that it puts in and the expenses it has to go through to bring in the custodians to discuss this issue, particularly with the developer. That I do not have any difficulties with. I am assured that if it was just the average house allotment owner with his or her application seeking clearance from the authority to build a home, the fee will be just the application fee and nothing more than that; meaning that government will absorb the cost.
I have looked at the sacred sites issue for quite a while now - especially in Alice Springs - and there are two views on how sacred sites are identified. From a cynical point of view - and I will use that phrase - many people have said to me: ‘Once we identify that we want to do a particular type of development on a block of land, claims of sacred sites suddenly pop up everywhere’. The cynical view is: ‘Are these real or are they not real? Are they putting on these claims to frustrate us or to ask us to contribute or do a financial deal, to try to get some sort of clearance on sacred sites?’.
Mr Henderson: You stir it up.
Ms Martin: We resolve issues.
Dr LIM: I wish the government would stop interjecting and listen to what I have to say before they start yelling and carrying on.
That is the cynical view and, when you look at the practices that have occurred over many years, you can see a rationale for that cynical view to have been developed. However, from the custodians point of view, I can also understand why they are concerned about wanting to identify all the sacred sites - it is nobody’s business. It really is nobody’s business. If I were a custodian, I would say: ‘This particular site is mine and my family’s. It is nobody’s business but mine, and I do not have to identify it’. However, if that particular site is under threat by anything - whether it be people riding motorbikes over it, or someone doing a development - then yes, it is time for me to then articulate; for me to indicate or demonstrate to people: ‘This is my sacred site and you need to respect it, and please do not do the things that you propose to do on it’. I can understand that.
Somehow, there needs to be a balance; that needs to be articulated well into the community so that people understand the value of a site of significance or a sacred site to a custodian. When we do not talk, articulate, explain to or teach the wider community what it is all about, you would definitely have conflict. What I am saying is that it is important - and maybe that is a job that the authority needs to take on - not to instruct but to teach, to explain to everybody how custodians feel about their sacred sites. It needs to be explained so that it removes this brick wall that occurs sometimes when there are competing interests, and where those competing interests are really not real. They are really not there if, once it is explained and the rationale is there, suddenly you find that the differences disappear. When there is ignorance, those brick walls then start to become more reinforced.
The minister in his position, I am sure, has made many statesmen-like comments before in the House, and elsewhere. He could show some leadership and explain it so that Northern Territorians understand the reasons behind custodians not articulating where their sacred sites are. People for a long time have always said to me that they wish there was a complete register of sacred sites. That is something that many would aspire to. However, then again, if you look at if from the custodian’s point of view, why should they articulate or indicate where their sacred sites are?
Obviously, the fees for any applicant have been in existence for a long while. This amendment is to ensure that the authority has a legal basis upon which to charge these fees. I am assured that, once these fees are charged to a developer, the payment or non-payment of the fees would not impact upon the issuance of a certificate. If and when the authority has done all the assessment on the land in question, has identified all the sacred sites that are there, the work is completed after consulting with the custodians and the developer, and following all due processes, the certificate should be issued. It will be issued irrespective of whether the bill is paid or not. That is important, so that you differentiate between an issuance of a certificate of clearance and the commercial cost of the service.
If the developer was in default or did not pay his bill, it should not impact upon the issuance of the certificate. I was assured at the briefing that this will occur, so that there is complete separation of paying of the bill and issuance of the certificate. It will allow the authority a legal means to chase up the outstanding debt. It is a separate issue to the issuance of the certificate; that is important. If you do that, then developments can go ahead still, and the chasing up of debt is a completely commercial matter that really has nothing to do with the certificate. That way, the authority can not be seen to be ‘blackmailing’. It is important for that to happen because again, from the cynical perspective, you say this is all about extorting money from developers. It would be a real shame if that sort of sentiment is carried through.
Minister, as I said earlier, I hope in your closing remarks that you will explain the intent of what you are bringing about, and the process that would occur once an application goes to the authority. When I specifically asked at the briefing about this and mentioned that it was not in your second reading speech, I was advised that this is operational versus what is within the ministerial bailiwick - not that those words were used; they are my words. Is the minister involved or is the minister not involved? Is the department telling the minister what to do, or does the minister have some input into the matter? I look forward to the minister telling me whether he will be involved in the management of the department or not, and whether he has any decision-making responsibilities in what is determined as operational.
I want to be sure, and I need the minister to reassure me, that I am correct in what I said earlier about my understanding of how the authority’s certificate is issued and is then embedded into the development titles, so that there is no possibility at a future date, somewhere, somehow, that a sacred site suddenly pops up in the middle of an allotment that has already received clearance. I ask the question because I am not certain how this legislation fits in with the Native Title Act and all the other federal legislation that impacts on land in the Northern Territory. That has not been explained, and it would be good if the minister could explain it.
Nothing would be worse than if, after the authority has issued a certificate of clearance to a developer, who then embeds the certificate of clearance into the land title that he issues to each purchaser of an allotment in his subdivision, than the purchaser, when he or she wants to build his home with a swimming pool, tennis court whatever, suddenly finds that he or she cannot do that because there is a problem, there is a site of significance or a sacred site on that housing allotment. Suddenly, that certificate of clearance that was issued to the developer has no meaning, no value at that point. Let us hear from the minister about what the issue of certificate that is embedded into a title really means.
It comes down to the wording of the certificate. If the certificate were to be worded in such a way that it does not exclude any future claims then, obviously, there is an issue. There is a problem because the certificate is no longer of any value. If the wording of the certificate were absolute, then that is great; people who buy those housing allotments can be assured that everything is clear.
A case in point is the Carmichael experience. I want to make it clear that there is a difference between what happened at Carmichael Estate versus what is proposed now. The Carmichael Estate did not have a certificate of clearance but a letter issued by the authority saying that, to all intents and purposes, as far as they knew, everything was clear. However, it was not a certificate of clearance. I understand from the briefing that the certificate of clearance is an absolute instrument. Therefore, anybody who owns an allotment with that certificate of clearance embedded into it should have an absolute assurance that all is fine.
Minister, I do not have many more comments. In general, I support the intent of your second reading to a limited degree. I am happy with the schedule of fees that are the same as those currently applied. I am happy to see that it is now going to be in a legal framework that the authority can actually charge without any problems. However, please explain as clearly as you can how a certificate of clearance will actually apply to a development, a subdivision, or a housing allotment. We need to know that, so that the rationale of those words that that you used in your second reading speech, can be used in a court of law, if need be, to assist with any potential conflict between developer and the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority. This is something that could potentially happen and I would not like to see that happen at all. Development and developers in the Territory need some level of security when they begin a development that, once everything is clear, they are satisfied that it is all clear and there should not be any more comeback.
I wonder if, as a result of this uncertainty at the moment, that has produced the delay that has occurred at Larapinta stage 4. As late as today, in today’s Centralian Advocate, while the Minister for Lands and Planning has assured people that it is going to happen - and I quote from the Centralian Advocate of today where it says a public servant has said:
- An NT government source conceded the project could spill over into February.
Obviously, all bets are off. January 2004 is not going to occur and this is what is going to happen.
Let me continue with the next comment from the same article in the Centralian Advocate of today. The article’s headline is: ‘Larapinta Stage Four - “just weeks away”’. Obviously, ‘just weeks away’ in inverted commas, is attributed to the Minister for Lands and Planning. I quote from this article:
- … and Real Estate Institute southern delegate, Andrew Doyle, said: ‘My understanding is there are not any fixed dates from either the NT government or traditional owners Lhere Artepe. From an industry point of view, that is not good. Where they have progressed to at this stage, I would have thought January was not a realistic completion date.
The industry does not believe the government, obviously. Up to this point in time, which is now half-way through August, we have not seen a single bit of work done. I have written to the minister seeking briefings from the department as to the progress of the development, and I have had no response, except saying: ‘You will just have to wait until we are ready’. I have had one briefing, and while it was reasonably thorough, it was not complete. It was not complete for very good reasons, the reasons being that sacred sites had not been identified fully yet.
That was months ago, and I have had no further agreement to a second briefing that I have asked for on two subsequent occasions, by letter, to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. I would suggest that things are not going so very well with Larapinta stage 4. It might be as a result of the sacred sites issue, I do not know. However, we cannot get any briefings to determine otherwise, so we have to assume things, and sometimes assumptions could be very true and correct, and other times obviously not.
The earlier the minister can give a briefing - and the government always says: ‘Come for a briefing, come up for a briefing’. It becomes like a mantra from the government, ‘Come for a briefing’. Well, when you ask for a briefing, you do not get one. To the ministers in the government: please look at this fairly urgently, because land in Alice Springs is getting absolutely tight, for reasons that you all know, and we are not getting anywhere.
Mr Vatskalis: But you did not do anything.
Dr LIM: Well, minister, I look forward to hearing your reply, and that you will express the intent of what you wish to do with regards to sacred sites and clearance certificates. I believe Territorians - developers in particular - need to have some assurance as to how this will all pan out, and that the certificate of clearance will be absolute instruments.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, after listening to now 25 minutes of rambling commentary from the member for Greatorex, I am none the wiser about his opinion about the bill, apart from about a two sentence segment, where he said that he sort of supports it and sort of does not support it, and he would like to know more about the schedules.
This bill is not about the basic operation of the sacred site authority. It will remain as it has been for many years now. It is universally accepted through the building industry, individual home builders, and other people wanting to establish facilities on Territory land, that it does provide security and certainty and, most of all, it provides a mechanism by which the risk associated with any contravention of a sacred site is taken on by the government. That provision very much will remain.
The bill before us today actually deals with a totally unrelated matter; and that is the legal certainty by which the sacred site authority can cover all or part of the costs that would accrue to an application. The bill establishes two category of application: one being a standard application such as a normal home builder who wants to get their home block cleared from the point of view of sacred sites; and a non-standard application which applies to bigger, more complex developments.
Honestly, I do not know what the other 25 minutes was all about. If we want to have a debate in here about the meaning of ‘native title’, and ‘sacred sites’ - whether sacred sites really exist or whether they are some figment of someone’s imagination or some means to rip someone off from money - bring it on! Let us have an MPI from you if you want to talk about those matters, and we will talk all about the 10 years that you locked up Alice Springs with no further release of land. We will talk about the huge legal costs that you built up by contesting all and every matter to do with Aboriginal rights over land. We will talk about your record in Alice Springs. If you want to get on to the moral high ground about the release of land under the current negotiations, we will talk about the 10 years where you had carriage of this issue. We will talk about what you did to the land values in Alice Springs, to the relationships between Aranda people and the rest of the community at Alice Springs.
Let us talk about that if you want to, but it has nothing to do with the bill in front of us today. I suggest that you misuse parliamentary time by rambling all over the place and expressing the views of other people, unnamed, who have all these sceptical views about Aboriginal culture, custodianship over land and sacred sites. If they are your views as well, I suggest to the member for Greatorex that you get up and say that it is your view. You have certainly been on record, every opportunity you have had, to throw a spanner in the works in the relationship between the Aboriginal community as a whole and the Aranda people whose land that community stands on. It is about time we stopped dog whistling, and you come right out with it and say what you really think about these matters, and we will deal with them here in a debate that is set up for that purpose.
I wanted to put that on record because we have heard nothing but carping and mischief about the Larapinta land deal. This person will stand as an even bigger fool than he normally is, when he stands in front of the bulldozers as they put the headworks into Larapinta land development.
We will be there celebrating the positives for Alice Springs; the fact that there will be land available for housing. The land prices will, no doubt, go down now that we are rid of the constraints on further development of the town. I would suggest that, as a responsible member of the community down there, the member for Greatorex might try to support what we are doing instead of constantly playing mischief.
Madam SPEAKER: The question is that the bill be now read a second time. Those of that opinion say ‘Aye’. To contrary ‘No’.
Dr Lim: Are you going to get the minister to respond?
Madam SPEAKER: I beg your pardon, I thought it was the minister. I beg your pardon, my fault; I thought it was the minister.
Mr AH KIT (assisting the Chief Minister on Indigenous Affairs): Madam Speaker, the member for Greatorex, the shadow opposition spokesperson, received a briefing yesterday from my chief of staff, John Tobin, and the acting CEO of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority, Dr John Avery. I thought at least he would have been able to come away knowing what the intent of the bill is. What it basically is about is formalising the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority in regards to the standard and non-standard certificate processes.
Dr Lim: I supported you on that.
Mr AH KIT: Yes, and I welcome the support. However, the intent is there and we are tidying up another mess that was left behind because this should have been formalised quite some time ago. Without going into too much of that, I am happy to be here to formalise this; to put in place and to give legal certainty to all those users of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority who are looking for authority certificates. That is what this bill is about. It is not about the hypotheticals or throwing in Carmichael Valley Estate. They are separate issues that we are working our way through, and we have to resolve those.
I inform the House that I am working with the authority to ensure that we put in place - and talk to people from the Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory, such as Sue Shearer and others - to see how we can be smart when land is being purchased by individual families, industries and businesses so that we have that clearance-type activity out of the way and that everyone understands from the purchase where they are at regarding site clearance etcetera. That is a lesson, I suppose, we have learnt from the Carmichael Valley Estate situation.
I also have to say to the member for Greatorex that the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority is a statutory body. You made accusations or statements here not so long ago about whether the department is involved or whether the minister is being told what to do. The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority was set up under your former government. It is just a statutory authority; it is at arm’s length. It is my responsibility; I am the minister responsible for the authority. I might add that the authority has 10 Aboriginal members - well respected indigenous leaders - and two others who have been added to the authority to provide support and advice in their areas of expertise. The authority works really well. It is the only one of its kind in the country. Over the years, the authority provided work for site clearance for the authority certificates. We had the two categories of standard applications - which the member for Greatorex touched on – and we also have the non-standard applications.
Obviously, the non-standard applications are addressing those bigger areas - those bigger ventures. When we go through that process, what we now do is we provide this certificate, the legal certainty. That is what is proposed and that is what the outcomes are going to be. At the end of the day, especially in regards to legislation of this type, everyone is looking for legal certainty. At the end of the day, your authority certificate that you have possession of, will stand up in a court of law; that is your protection.
With the bigger companies having more work, bigger areas, more travel, lots more staff involved; obviously the costs of recovery are going to be more. What is proposed in this bill is to formalise the situation to ensure that they can take these costs into account when they seek information from the authority on a non-standard application, and they can budget likewise. We know how important it is, especially for these bigger businesses, to budget and to do some forward planning.
This is an exercise that has worked well, but it has not been formalised. The intent here is to formalise that. At this point in time, people, whether they are applying for standard applications for authority certificates for normal household blocks, or applying for the bigger non-standard applications which require much more work, can, at the end of the day, receive a cost recovery bill that they do not legally have to pay. That is not a good way to operate. It is unprofessional, and that is the whole intent of this bill.
It also covers, sensibly, the protection of indigenous peoples’ rights. It covers the protection of indigenous peoples’ concerns about their sacred sites - a credit to the former government in that it was not dismantled. What we are doing now is improving and formalising it, because it is the only workable regime of this kind in Australia. In the other states, companies have to pay all of those costs up-front. The taxpayer should not be burdened with this. We need to formalise it. We need to stop subsidising and to give that legal certainty. The bill provides all of these things; to go through that formality and provide that legal certainty.
The penalties are in line with penalties we introduced, as we have brought all other legislation in line to ensure that penalties are brought up to date. There are opportunities for me as the minister, to listen to grievances and to have a final determination in what is decided in respect of the outcomes if there are concerns lodged in a formal manner by people who either are applying for standard applications or non-standard applications.
There are time limits for authority certificates and conferences that are also in the bill, and there are the principles of charging in the bill. Our advice from the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority is that most users of the authority, in respect of information obtained or work undertaken, have no problems in paying their costs for the work that has been done. People throughout small business, big business and people on small blocks, etcetera, have accepted that. It is dangerous for us to assume that the authority can continue to operate in that manner. As I said earlier, it is unprofessional, and we need to formalise it.
There is not to much more I would say other than to comment on the hypotheticals the member for Greatorex he raised. They are different issues that are not relevant to this bill. It is a part of the overall general discussion, and I am quite prepared to talk to him about some of those hypotheticals at another time. However, I do not think that they should be addressed when we are talking about the intent of this bill and moving it through the stages to legislation.
The fees have been accepted. There is no advice to me that those fees should be increased. The member for Greatorex mentions funny little things such as whether we are extorting money from developers by charging these sorts of fees. Those comments are unproductive and they need to be flick - passed to the rubbish bin - because they do not provide anything positive in terms of the debate and in regards to this bill.
As I say, the balance we wish to continue to keep is the need to protect sites, but also cater for development. That is the stated purpose of the act in my introductory remarks that I have made in the past, not only here but in the second reading speech. The balance also means finding accommodation for particular developments, and also the protection that indigenous people so rightly look for.
People have learnt to live with it throughout the Northern Territory. It has had its moments historically. We saw what happened in the past with the intention to dam the Alice Springs Todd River, Werlatye Atherre and all those sorts of things. I believe, over time, people have learned to live with it, understand it, work with it and we see more developments happening across the Territory.
With that, I will defer any further comments. It is a sensible bill that is amending the act to update it and to allow it to have that legal certainty, which is so important to provide that protection, for both developers and indigenous people who have sites throughout the Territory.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Mr AH KIT (assisting Chief Minister on Indigenous Affairs)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of students from Kormilda College. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend to you a warm welcome.
Members; Hear, hear!
TRAFFIC AMENDMENT BILL (No 2)
(Serial 145)
(Serial 145)
Continued from 19 June 2003.
Mr MALEY (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I indicate that the opposition will not be opposing the passage of this particular piece of legislation. On the face of it, the legislation looks to be okay. However, we have learnt from past experience that the implementation of some legislation can be significantly different to the literal reading of it and some of the comments which are made in this House by the respective ministers. An example of that is the swimming pool fencing legislation, with the various undertakings from ministers, and responses to questions that there would be certain discretions exercised in relation to five acre blocks and blocks that were just under that five acre benchmark. There have been numerous complaints - certainly through my office - that such discretions have not been exercised despite those undertakings by minsters in parliament.
The legislation relates to evidence by certificate in proceedings before a court and matters of a criminal nature. In relation to that, there is a great deal of literature about the path which many western democracies have travelled in recent years - that is, this path of evidence by certificate - and the fact that there are some inherent dangers which exist. If you take it the nth degree and play hypotheticals - not that it is ever going to get this far of course - if you continue down this path, invariably you will get to the position where a person will be charged and then the prosecuting authority, whether it be the police or summary prosecution would then present a certificate which would be near conclusive evidence of all the facts - possibly all the elements of the particular offence. This legislation, of course, does not go anywhere near that far. There are several safeguards contained in the Traffic Act and traffic regulations regarding a blood alcohol level and evidence by certificate.
However, parliaments need to be vigilant to ensure that the fundamental safeguards and rights which we have enjoyed for hundreds of years - those of us from a Commonwealth background - continue to exist. The criminal law is not just a gauntlet which that tiny proportion of people who are charged with criminal offences must traverse. Its fundamental role is, of course, to prevent the rights of all of us.
Unfortunately, there have been numerous Royal Commissions which have confirmed that, luckily, only a very small minority of police officers abuse their powers. Indeed, some Royal Commissions have discovered that, luckily once again, only a small number of politicians abuse the power which they have and, overwhelmingly, people tend to do the right thing. However, history has taught us that safeguards contained in legislation need to be maintained to protect us all from that very small element of people who abuse authority which has been, with trust, placed in them by their community.
The true purport of what I am saying is probably lost on honourable members, and it probably will not be driven home until - I hope this does not occur of course - someone is charged - a member of their family or themselves - with an offence. As an example, some former members of this parliament were charged. Maurice Rioli was charged with stealing the parliamentary microwave and then hocking it, and some other members historically were also charged with various offences, and had to run the gauntlet of the criminal justice system.
The amendments, on the face of it, are not an enormous erosion of all our rights. As I said, the opposition will not be opposing the legislation. The second reading speech, in a succinct way, goes through the proposed changes.
There is one other aspect which is probably worth noting. There are some amendments to the Traffic Act - not as significant - which will make it more difficult for those people in the community who take liberty with that provision that says you can drive to the nearest Motor Vehicle Registry, authorised dealer or police station to register the vehicle and, for that moment in time when you are driving to that police station or wherever, the vehicle is deemed to be registered. There are some quite sensible provisions which are introduced which should stop that minority of people who abuse that provision. These provisions state that you can only drive to a repair workshop by way of the shortest trafficable route, that the location of the particular service centre is located within a reasonable distance in the circumstances, that the particular place has an inspector appointed by the Motor Vehicles Act, and that arrangements were made in advance for the repairs so that the vehicle can be registered.
Madam Speaker, I indicate that the opposition will not be opposing the passing of this particular bill.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Madam Speaker, I contribute to the debate regarding Traffic Amendment Bill (Serial 145) (No 2) 2003. Unlike the member for Goyder, I will concentrate purely on the bill, and not get sidetracked.
As the minister has previously highlighted, the primary purpose of this amendment is to allow certificates relating to blood alcohol levels issued under the Traffic Act to be used as evidence in proceedings under section 154 of the Criminal Code Act for dangerous acts or omissions. I have been informed that the review of the current penalties under the Traffic Act was conducted in consultation with the Department of Justice, which led to the conversion of prescribed penalties under the act from dollars to penalty units. In addition, the bill proposes to address a recent decision in the Court of Summary Jurisdiction; the rule that:
- A person who refuses or fails to comply with the discretion made by a member of the police force under section 23(2) of the act may not constitute an offence because there is no express offence provision for failing to stop.
The magistrate indicated that there was only an obligation placed on the driver to comply with the direction. This may be technically correct; however, for good public policy, the minister has taken steps to address the important police issue. Therefore, section 23(2) of the Traffic Act relates to roadside random breath testing stations. It was considered prudent to amend section 23, to make it an offence for refusing to comply with the direction rather than a mere obligation to stop.
The other amendments contained in the bill concern creating a corporate penalty for driving unregistered and uninsured vehicles. It also recognises an operator, where one has been nominated, for an offence committed under the Traffic Act. It will also allow people to drive an unregistered vehicle to an authorised inspection station or garage instead of only to a Motor Vehicle Registry or police station, as is currently the case. This is a commonsense approach, as many people have been found guilty of driving unregistered vehicles because of this circumstance.
The public impact will be non-controversial. This is not a revenue raising amendment; no budget funding is required. It is merely good legislation for a proper purpose. I commend this bill to the House.
Mr VATSKALIS (Transport and Infrastructure): Madam Speaker, I thank the members for their contribution. However, I am somehow perplexed by the attitude of the member of the opposition. We are not talking about the erosion of civil liberties here. I would be the last one to introduce a bill that will attempt to remove or reduce the liberties of the citizens of the Northern Territory. Here we are talking about converting prescribed penalties from dollars to penalty units. It will also not allow people to drive unregistered or uninsured vehicle, but allow people to drive to a garage or a police station in an unregistered vehicle with the purpose of registering it.
I can certainly understand his concern about the use of certificates relating to blood alcohol levels to be used as evidence in proceedings. Once again, how many times have we seen somebody who has been found to be driving under the influence escape any further punishment because, until now, the legislation will not allow these blood alcohol certificates to be admissible to a court of law. The reality is this legislation plugs the loopholes that have existed until now in the Traffic Act and, as such, it actually will benefit and protect the public and, certainly, punish the offenders. I find it very very hypocritical for the people on the other side to criticise the government about the road toll, conditions of the road or other aspects of traffic and, at the same time, come out and say it is not supporting but not opposing the legislation. If there is a piece of legislation that needs to be supported by both sides of parliament, including the Independents, it should be this piece of legislation.
Madam Speaker, I commend this legislation to the members.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Mr VATSKALIS (Transport and Infrastructure)(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 statement – Procurement Reform
Note statement – Procurement Reform
Continued from 18 June 2003.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak in support of the government’s procurement reforms and the good work that Treasury, the Department of Corporate and Information Services, and the Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development have done in this area.
The procurement reform process that was begun last year was long overdue. Under the CLP, there was little integrity in the directions for procuring goods and services for government. There was a lack of tender probity, a lack of clear procurement policy and no clear guidelines. The CLP policy to award contracts to mates meant procurement processes were not developed, let alone implemented.
As the minister for business said in his opening statement, the Northern Territory government injects more than $750m each year into the economy by way of procurement of goods and services. This is a significant impact on the Territory economy, and that is why the process must be fair, equitable and transparent; there must be one process for all.
Within my portfolio of DCIS, procurement is a significant component and Sarah Butterworth, my CEO, and the contracts and procurement staff have been fully involved in the reform process. I commend them for their input. My commitment to improving procurement processes meant that we have allocated $300 000 in the 2003-04 financial year to ensure this important work is well resourced. The DCIS Contract and Procurement Service, or CAPS, plays a major role in government procurement. It provides a service to agencies for tenders in excess of $10 000, which covers all larger scale contracts.
CAPS carries out the whole procurement process, from a request for tender document preparation through to closing tenders, negotiating with contractors and awarding contracts. In the last financial year, CAPS arranged 1183 contracts to a total value of $333m. Under the procurement reforms, the role of DCIS and CAPS has now been expanded significantly, and the benefits to the industry are extensive. The reforms mean improved service and increased quality when dealing with government. Industry will see and understand the reasoning behind procurement decisions, and government will have a more valuable relationship with industry.
Looking at the DCIS role and responsibilities, DCIS will manage several of the components identified under the procurement reform. First, it will now be mandated that all government procurement valued at $10 000 and over goes through the Contracts and Procurement Unit in DCIS.
In respect of period contracts, CAPS will provide a central tender and contract management service for all common use contracts and panel contracts. This means one work unit will be familiar with all similar contracts, and will ensure equity and consistency. This will involve a greater workload for CAPS, but will result in high quality documentation to industry. A review will be conducted of all existing period contracts to assess their potential to be used more broadly across government, thereby reducing duplication and costs of creating new contracts, and creating a register of contracts. CAPS is also tasked with identifying other ways to achieve economies of scale and reduce the number of tenders processed.
A Customer Services Unit will be established to provide assistance to agencies on all aspects of the procurement process. Information will be provided on procurement policy and guidelines, tender assessment panels, industry briefings, procurement planning, tender debriefings and industry training and development. The Customer Services Unit will also provide advice on probity issues and the local content policy, building Northern Territory industry participation. This unit will assist agencies to establish more open and transparent communication with industry, and give it better and more timely information to plan for future projects.
DCIS will also manage accredited training of government staff on procurement matters. The upgrading and enhancing of procurement skills of public sector personnel was a priority issue identified by the procurement review. DCIS will manage the provision of accredited procurement training to agencies and to increase the level competency among staff, supporting the proposal to provide appropriate levels of procurement delegation to agencies. The final measurement of workplace competency will involve a combination of accreditation and workplace performance, including the use of nationally accredited training modules.
During the budget, the minister for business announced that the government would improve its payment turnaround time to business to 100% of invoices paid within 30 days. DCIS, as the processing agency, is working to achieve this by June 2004. DCIS, last financial year, processed approximately 420 000 invoices with 80% paid in 30 days, including the time taken by agencies to assess the invoices and send them to DCIS for processing and payment.
DCIS itself has reduced its target for processing accounts from 14 days to 7 days, and will be responsible for monitoring payment time lines, reporting agency performance to the newly established Procurement Council as outlined by the Minister for Business, Industry and Resource Development, and publishing the results of agency performance on the Northern Territory government web site.
The review identified the lack of data to enable a greater understanding and awareness of the Northern Territory government’s procurement transaction profile. A review of transactions has been carried out by DCIS, which provides a picture of what is procured, in what quantities, and by whom. This has formed the basis of a vendor analysis, so we have a good knowledge of who the suppliers are across agencies. It also identified data gaps which will be worked on. DCIS is taking this on as a project using a mix of CAPS data bases and the government accounting system, GAS. Using and analysing whole-of-government data is an area where DCIS can add significant value to decision-making.
In closing, this government’s procurement reforms are wide-ranging and long overdue. Through DCIS’s involvement in these procurement reforms, we will deliver better services to government agencies and to industry. There will be increased consistency in quality control. Investment in a central unit will be more cost-effective than spreading the activities across all agencies, and a pool of expert resources will be available to all agencies.
As you can see from these activities within my portfolio, this government has a genuine commitment to the principles we desire for procurement. We are serious about enabling open and effective competition within the industry. There must be value for money in the goods and services procured for government. We must continue to enhance the capabilities of Territory business and industry by encouraging local industry participation, developing skills based in our niche markets and allowing everyone a fair bite of the cherry.
I believe it is clear that we must maintain a high level of ethical behaviour and fair dealing. We have eliminated the possibility of ad hoc decision-making, and I am very pleased to see these outcome-focussed reforms. In my portfolio of information communication technology, we have been working hard over the past year to develop and grow this industry sector. It is important for businesses to have a relationship with government and to participate fully in the marketplace. This happens most effectively where there are clear flows of information between the two domains. The winners of the reform process will be both industry and government by increasing the standards of goods and services and the way we procure them.
Mr McADAM (Barkly): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I support the Minister for Business, Industry and Resource Development’s statement on procurement reform.
There can be no doubt that issues relevant to government procurement matters have generated a lot of heat over time. I can attest to a high degree of dissatisfaction from small businesses and communities within my electorate, as indeed, probably most electorates.
The minister has outlined a genuine commitment to a new set of guidelines, ensuring that we put in place good procurement practices and principles. The pending security of payment legislation is overdue, and I look forward to measures that are put in place to protect payments to small business operators and suppliers. Over the last two years, I have received many complaints regarding non-payment for service and supply by small contractors and, in almost all cases, owners of these small businesses do not have the time or the money to recover their loss by engaging solicitors.
By way of example, a small company in my electorate got dudded for about $30 000 after agreeing to undertake work. Another one in Borroloola lost several thousand dollars after paying for supplies which were not provided. For too long, many of the fly-by-night companies - many from interstate - have ridden roughshod over genuine hard-working small businesses trying to make a dollar. It must be remembered that many of these small businesses are committed to their communities through employment outcomes and contribute thousands of dollars to community events and organisations at a local level. It is not before time that these small companies were protected, and I look forward to the enactment of this legislation.
As the minister indicated previously, the Northern Territory government injects more than $750m into the Territory’s economy each year in respect to the procurement of goods and services. Therefore, it is only right and proper that we apply these same principals to us as a government, as we do to the small business operators.
The minister acknowledges that, on occasions, disputes and/or complaints will arise. Too often in the past, many of these complainants chose not to proceed with their grievances for fear of losing further work or contracts. I am pleased that the complaints procedure now allows businesses and small contractors a very transparent, open avenue to have their matters dealt with in an independent manner, without fear of reprisal.
The lack of planning procurement, as mentioned by the minister, has always been an issue. I am relieved that the minister has addressed this matter whereby we will no longer see a rush in work projects being implemented towards the end of the financial year. It is important to ensure a flow of work throughout the financial year and, combined with initiatives such as putting work projects to suit local construction or maintenance resource and capabilities, is welcome.
Mr Dunham: Are you happy they are closing down the Tender Board in Tennant?
Mr McADAM: Sorry, what was that, Stephen?
Mr Dunham: Are you happy they are closing down the Tender Board in Tennant?
Mr McADAM: Well, it is something that I have obviously been involved in and will benefit Tennant Creek and the region. Further to that, what you will find is that there will be a far more representative group, and inclusive group of people, on the new board. I believe that they will take up the challenges …
Mr Dunham: You reckon? Do you believe that? Do you believe the locals will be better represented?
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Drysdale, please cease interjecting.
Mr McADAM: They will take up the challenges which you people have failed to take up in the past. In respect to local businesses, I have every confidence that those people who will be appointed will carry out their duties to the best of their ability, unlike directions under that previous CLP government.
Mr Dunham: They are not happy, mate.
Mr McADAM: Well, I can assure you, that it will be a far more open and transparent process …
Mr Dunham: They are shutting down the regional tender board. Centralist!
Mr McADAM: You may say what you wish. The point that I am trying to make to you is that the processes, the new mechanisms put in place by the minister, will be far more inclusive and they will be far more fair - something which you people have never, ever recognised.
Mr Dunham: Glad you are protecting centralism.
Mr McADAM: I digressed. As I was saying, the move towards putting work projects to suit local construction or maintenance resource capabilities is welcome The challenge to change past practices, or ingrained attitudes, is always difficult. You might want to listen to this, member for Drysdale.
The practice of under-spend within agencies is one that has to be addressed for, too often in the regions and the bush communities, capital work projects are, in a lot of cases delayed, or they get carried over into the next year. In a lot of cases, all sorts of reasons are given but, in most instances, I would dare say it is due to a lack of planning. Again, by way of example, in 2002-03 a residence was scheduled to be constructed at Canteen Creek for a teacher. About four months ago, I visited that community expecting to see the dwelling half completed but, obviously, nothing had happened. I made inquires as to why this had not occurred, and was advised it would be carried over to 2003-04.
Mr Dunham: That is under your government!
Mr McADAM: Hold on a minute. What I am trying to say - I am using this as an example in terms of …
Mr Dunham: Yes, it is a good example!
Mr McADAM: Here we go again; the member for Drysdale gets carried away. The point I am trying to make ...
Mr Dunham: You awarded the contracts to people who had not done site inspections. That is your problem. They are not doing site inspections.
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Drysdale, could you please cease with the interjections.
Mr Dunham: He is inviting it, Madam Acting Deputy Speaker.
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Drysdale, I have asked you to cease with the interjections. Member for Barkly, please continue.
Mr McADAM: The point I was trying to make is that this practice has happened too much in the past, in respect to the capacity - and I do not know who to actually address this matter to. However, very clearly in the past, what I am suggesting is that there was a lesser focus in respect to capital work projects or projects that occurred by the procurement process in regards to the bush. There just seemed to be a delay. I honestly believe that, under this new process, they will be a lot more amenable in ensuring that projects happen on time.
As I said to you, on occasions, it may well be a case of planning. It may well be the case that the decision has been made to transfer this program into 2003-04. I am not absolutely certain about this. But I suspect in a lot of places like Canteen Creek, and a lot of small communities, it is part of the planning process. All I am saying is that we should give due consideration to those projects in the bush in regards to the procurement process, and I am sure that it will be addressed under these new arrangements.
Another matter alluded to by the minister is the practice of under-bidding. I know of cases where companies operating out of the back of Toyotas have won contracts, and aimed to seek variations. Sometimes these variations are very significant. The variations often exceed prices tendered by local contractors. I acknowledge that, on occasions, there will be legitimate claims for variations, but I hope not to the extend as previously practiced. Again, I believe that these changes will ensure that that does not happen to the same extent as it did in the past.
There will always be occasions when certificates of exemption can apply, and I agree with the minister that some in the past were granted due to poor planning and, sometimes, for other spurious reasons. Perhaps the member for Drysdale might be aware of what some of those reasons were.
The issue of negotiating with indigenous communities, organisations, councils, and local government in respect to contract of works is worth pursuing in respect to certificates of exemption, particularly where long-term, meaningful and gainful job prospects might apply. Too often in the past we observed work being carried out without a single indigenous person being employed. Sure, in certain circumstances, there are reasons but, in a lot of cases, it is just part of a culture that has been perpetrated over a long period of time. Again, I say that these changes will go part of the way to address the issue of employment of indigenous people in remote communities and, indeed, non-indigenous people in the regional centres as well. This practice has to change, and change quickly, if we are to address the chronic unemployment in some of these communities. I also believe there has to be a strategic plan instituted to get results.
Again, member for Drysdale, what I am about to say is not criticism at all. It is purely a suggestion which the minister might like to take up - something that your government previously failed to do so in the past. The point I am trying to make is that there must be a whole-of-government approach in regards to this whole exercise, and it must include indigenous stakeholders, communities, and industry bodies. We know in advance what some of the periodic contracts are in respect to a lot of the capital work projects in the bush. All I am suggesting is that we have to work towards a strategic response to incorporate these as part of a strategy to increase indigenous employment in the bush.
Perhaps consideration should also be given to longer period contracts subject to compliances. Perhaps there should be joint ventures between the private sector and the indigenous communities in respect of some projects. Perhaps if we know we are going to spend about $100m over the next five years on indigenous housing then it is incumbent upon us to have a look at how we maximise jobs for people at a regional level. Perhaps we need to enter into public/private partnerships to construct houses, with a percentage of houses for private sale in places like Borroloola, Tennant Creek and Katherine. We all know that there is a shortage of housing stock. We know we have to grow regional communities and we have to provide jobs in the bush. This government is committed to regional capacity building. We know that we have to be bold and creative. All that I am suggesting is that perhaps this new procurement arrangements process may allow that to be brokered in the bush, in regard to both economic and social outcomes.
I am also pleased that we, as a government, will be expanding our web site to include, over time, itemisation of procurement by volume and frequency of procurement, so that all sectors of the industry will be aware of what contracts are listed and when. Also, our plan to run a series of ‘meet the buyers’ seminars is to be applauded, particularly our intent to include Commonwealth agencies and other key economic players such as the mining and gas industries. All this adds up to better coordination and planning and, more importantly, a better service to the business community and the community in general.
The minister’s commitment to facilitate marketing assistance training programs and ‘how to tender’ training courses to the private sector is also much appreciated. I would like to see this extended to include indigenous communities at their locations throughout the Territory. Where possible, this service must, as I say, be extended to the bush, not just the regional centres. That is not a criticism; it is a suggestion I am absolutely certain that the minister and other ministers will take on board and respond to in a very positive fashion.
In conclusion, I applaud you, minister. for your reforms and commitment and genuine desire to put in place measures and practices to create jobs for people in the Northern Territory, and to grow the economy. Your initiatives may well be the beginning of a change of culture, not only in the procurement area, but right throughout the Territory in regional capacity building and, more importantly, jobs. I support the minister’s statement.
Debate adjourned.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Indigenous Education
Indigenous Education
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Madam Speaker, today I speak on indigenous education in the Northern Territory.
This government came to office with the firm priority of improving educational outcomes in the Territory. We believe that improving education and training is a critical plank in improving the social and economic development of the community. As Minister of Employment, Education and Training, I am determined to strengthen and revitalise our efforts to create the smart Territory.
A major weakness in our education effort over many years has been outcomes in indigenous education. No one can read the Learning Lessons report, written by Bob Collins, without recognising that we were in the middle of an educational disaster, one which would have implications for the Territory for many years to come. This government committed itself to implementing the Learning Lessons report from day one.
Today, two years into our term, I wish to report to the Assembly on progress being made and initiatives undertaken against the broad areas defined in the report. This is my second ministerial statement on indigenous education, the first being in February 2002, and I am confident we have begun to see a significant turnaround of the potential disaster handed us by the previous government.
It will be clear from this statement that much has been done, but I am the first to acknowledge that there is still a great deal more work to do. Some issues do not lend themselves to immediate short-term fix, and will require a longer time frame to show impact. However, I intend to demonstrate today the incredible focus and effort being made to improve educational outcomes of our indigenous students.
Learning Lessons said indigenous education must become a core responsibility of the Department of Employment, Education and Training. With indigenous students making up nearly 40% of the student population, this was a fundamental change that simply had to happen if we were to ensure ongoing improvements and outcomes. I have made it clear that indigenous education is everybody’s business and that there must be a sustained focus on improved outcomes. Indigenous education is now firmly represented at executive level. Every divisional area throughout the department has responsibility for strategies within the Indigenous Education Strategic Plan Implementation Program.
Learning Lessons said there were major system and school deficiencies in resource management, financial management, procurement and quality control. The report called for a focus on outcomes and a commitment to telling the true story. All DEET corporate plans now include an analysis of relevant indigenous issues and identify required outcomes for indigenous students and staff. Each principal is now required to commit to targets for improvement in outcomes for indigenous students’ enrolment, attendance, literacy and numeracy in their performance plans. Each high school has a plan to improve retention of indigenous students at critical points: Transition to secondary; junior secondary; Year 10; and specific mentoring of each indigenous student in Years 11 and 12. Indigenous student attendance outcome targets are now required to be included in all school action plans.
The new curriculum framework allows a much more outcomes focussed approach to planning, teaching, assessing and reporting for all teachers from Transition to Year 10. Branches and schools accessing Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Plan and other targeted Commonwealth funding are now required to commit to agreed outcomes in indigenous student attendance, English, literacy and numeracy. We have established a School’s Capability Development Unit. Where schools are having difficulty in management or teaching delivery, this unit assists in identifying the issues and coordinating the appropriate support, and we are now in a strong position to build the capacity in our schools.
Learning Lessons identified the lack of student information at the school and system level. It is critical we track the outcomes of each student in order to assess the level of educational support they need. DEET is now systematically identifying data needs for decision-making, and taking action to improve data quality. We have undertaken data collection trials in at least 50 schools to collect the data to assess the literacy and numeracy awareness of students when they enter school. All schools must now compile this data to ensure that students requiring additional learning support are identified. MAP testing is now mandatory for all students in Years 3, 5 and 7, and in indigenous communities for students aged eight, 10 and 12 years. DEET has increased indigenous student participation rates, improved test delivery in data analysis, and has developed greater capacity within schools to use the data to impact on student outcomes. Indigenous students in the Northern Territory will never again be absent from those data collections.
Schools are now required to provide parents and carers with benchmark results for individual students in a way that is meaningful, so that parents and carers know how their child is progressing . This applies in remote and urban schools, and allows the true story to be told. DEET is implementing the student administration management system (SAMS) in all Northern Territory government schools. Roll-out began in May 2002. By the end of 2003, the system will be across and in all schools. The full implementation of SAMS and the DEET corporate data warehouse will enable DEET to track students between schools, identify trends in student movement, and target resources more efficiently to student needs at the student, class, school, cluster, region and Territory level. It will also inform decision-making and planning. SAMS will be linked to the electronic curriculum management tool, which holds the assessment records of individual students. The information to be housed within the curriculum e-Tool will include MAP results and a wide variety of standardised assessments. As a result, student achievement will be described much more comprehensively and consistently than is currently the case.
Learning Lessons identified a number of areas for improving the way needs are quantified, and funds maximised and allocated for improvements in indigenous student education outcomes. As I indicated in my first ministerial statement on indigenous education, this government moved immediately to repair the relationship with the Commonwealth government, a relationship described in Learning Lessons as a ‘13-year-old dysfunctional relationship’. We secured $10m of Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Plan funds to be used to improve attendance, literacy and numeracy outcomes. The Commonwealth government, in conjunction with DEET, set the targets for this funding and this government has not backed away from those targets. In 2002, we met 57% of them. This compares to 32% in 2001, a significant improvement. However, we know we still have a long way to go. In 2003, we put in place a new funding model for the allocation of Commonwealth IESIP funds to schools, ensuring that resources are allocated to meet those areas of greatest need.
Learning Lessons identified the need for parity in infrastructure to address the inequities between urban and remote school facilities. DEET is developing a strategic approach to the planning and provision of school infrastructure in remote communities in the Northern Territory. Remote communities will have the focus placed upon them that has been missing to date in education. DEET and the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment will assess existing infrastructure in remote areas against new benchmark design parameters, with a view to preparing a five-year strategic plan to address the shortfall. Being strategic in this area has been overlooked for too long.
This government has allocated $3m of ongoing funding to upgrade remote schools. The Learning Lessons Implementation Steering Committee assisted in determining the location of upgrades. They include the provision of secondary facilities at Kalkarindji and Minyerri. What this means is that young people from these communities will be able to undertake their senior studies at home, in their own communities, for the first time. The government has also provided funding for stage 2 at Maningrida, ensuring completion of the Maningrida Community Education Centre upgrade.
DEET and the Department of Community Development, Sport and Cultural Affairs are now developing programs for new teacher housing, replacement of old housing, and the upgrading of substandard housing in remote areas. During 2003-04, 20 new dwellings will be constructed for DEET in remote areas.
The government is clear that its teachers make the single most important contribution to improving indigenous student education outcomes. Yet, for years we have seen extremely high turnover rates of teachers, especially in remote communities. Resources are now being focussed on initiatives to improve the skills and retention of teachers in these schools: 100 new teachers over the first term. To date, 40 of these positions have been created and filled; 20 in 2002 and 20 in 2003. Many of these positions have been placed in specific programs across the Territory, such as ESL and Special Education, directly targeting improved indigenous student education outcomes. We have funded 23 new teacher bursaries for Territory students, bringing the total number of bursaries offered by the government to 38. One of the priority criteria for the selection of participants is a willingness to teach in remote areas in the Territory and in subject areas such as English as a Second Language.
In 2002, we established a Remote Schools Internship Project between the Sydney University, Northern Territory University, and DEET. This initiative provides opportunities for Masters of Teaching students and Bachelor of Education students to gain experience in remote area schools. Four participants from the Sydney University program have now been recruited permanently as teachers in remote schools to the Territory. This year, we have 14 participants in the internship program and we are hopeful of similar success.
A teacher registration board is well under way with the introduction of registration scheduled for 2004, aiming to protect the professionalism and quality of our teachers. DEET has established relationships with the Northern Territory University and the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education to ensure that their teacher education courses equip teachers to work effectively with indigenous students in the Territory. English as a Second Language training is now a core component of teacher training at NTU and BIITE.
The Department of Education, Science and Training has approved the Northern Territory’s plan for the quality teacher program for semester 2, 2003. A nationally-funded program for the ongoing professional learning of teachers - both government and non-government - this plan incorporates all education service providers in the Territory.
Learning Lessons made a number of recommendations to improve opportunities for DEET indigenous staff, particularly in our schools. It is worth noting that indigenous people make up a substantial part of the work force. This information has previously not been available; no one actually knew how many indigenous people worked in the education system. We have undertaken the first comprehensive survey of school staff, and we now know that there are 600 core-funded indigenous employees throughout our schools.
The DEET work force development strategy has a major focus on indigenous staff. Government made a financial commitment of $1m to remote employee work force development to enhance service delivery and retain skilled and motivated employees. Forty-four IESIP-funded Aboriginal and Islander education workers have been made permanent in the Northern Territory Public Service. An Indigenous Capacity Development Unit was established in March 2003 to coordinate, design and implement initiatives specifically to support an increase in indigenous employment. DEET currently supports 15 indigenous students of Teacher Education through the Indigenous Education Salary Scheme, teacher bursaries and the cadetship programs. A further 12 indigenous students of Teacher Education places will be filled this financial year. Two cadets and two indigenous teacher education salary scheme participants have completed their teacher education training in the period July 2002 to June 2003. All four graduates are now employed in government schools in the Territory; three indigenous teacher education students received DEET bursaries.
We have allocated $120 000 to the emerging leaders program. This program is cluster based and provides leadership skills for rural and remote schools and indigenous staff. An additional $60 000 has been allocated to indigenous leadership training in 2003. We have sponsored eight indigenous male employees to participate in the Kigaruk Indigenous Men’s Leadership Development program, run through the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment. DEET staff and the Groups Schools West region in Central Australia will be participating in a tailored learning program in October 2003 focussing on numeracy and team teaching.
Increasing access for indigenous students to a preschool experience has also been a priority for this government, in keeping with the emphasis on early childhood, education and Learning Lessons. One of the most important trials under way is mobile preschools. With supplementary funding provided under the National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, we are placing mobile preschools throughout the Territory to provide access to early childhood programs for 3-year-old to 5-year-old children and their families who live in isolated and remote areas where there is no approved preschool program currently operating. Mobile preschools are one of the most innovative and practical solutions to a major deficit in infrastructure and the challenge of distance in remote parts of the Northern Territory. The pilots commenced in July 2002 in Arnhem, Katherine and Elliott. The results to date are very promising and, in an extremely important trial, will be extended to Central Australia this year.
We have commissioned a comprehensive report on future directions for secondary education in the Northern Territory. This report is considering all aspects of secondary education provision in urban, rural and remote government schools, and will provide recommendations on ways it can be improved.
We have funded a new $1m program to extend training opportunities to remote youth under the Training for Remote Area Youth (TRY) program. The program is an innovative, vocational training program aimed at 14-year-olds to 19-year-olds living in regional and remote areas. The program enables regional Territorians to establish pathways which may lead to apprenticeships and traineeships. TRY has an emphasis on projects developed in partnership with the school, the community and the registered training organisation. This year, approximately 500 young people will have the opportunity to commence training across the Territory, in areas such as automotive, engineering, community maintenance, business, finance, retail, information technology, aquaculture, clothing production, tourism, agriculture, textile art, horticulture, hairdressing, hospitality, sport and recreation, and music.
The major trial under way for secondary students is the Secondary Provision in Remote Schools initiative. The initiative will test a range of approaches for remote schools to develop plans, and implement provision of secondary education. Providing students with educational opportunities in their own communities was the clear recommendation of Learning Lessons. Kalkarindji CEC was selected as the first school to trial secondary provision. We are fortunate to have a principal in this school with considerable experience in delivering secondary education in the remote context in South Australia. Kalkarindji commenced providing secondary courses in Semester 2, 2002 to six Year 11 and 29 junior secondary students. Five Year 12 students enrolled at the start of 2003. All will agree it is a truly impressive achievement in its own right; the students, teachers and the principal are to be congratulated.
Maningrida CEC commenced trialling secondary provision at the start of this year. Approximately 30 students commenced the program in each of Years 8 to 11; Year 12 enrolments are expected in 2004. Experienced secondary teachers have been recruited to both schools. Maningrida has developed a sister school relationship with urban schools in Darwin to provide professional support in a number of subject areas. Secondary initiatives within the Katherine Group School now include secondary provision at Wugularr, Jilkminggan, Minyerri and Timber Creek/Bulla Camp. In 2003, Katherine Group School’s secondary enrolment is 113, representing an increase of 87 new enrolments over an 18-month period. A whole-of-school approach is being negotiated with Northern Territory Open Education Centre to further enhance the ‘one school multi-campus’ concept.
Assisting in improving current secondary provision is the Interactive Distance Learning initiative which links two interactive distance learning studios, Darwin and Alice Springs, with 87 two-way satellite sites in remote indigenous communities. This technology has the potential to provide a range of subjects in areas where previously such access would not have been possible. During the recent roll-out of interactive distance learning infrastructure, special measures were utilised to capture the maximum number of indigenous families. The result is that all indigenous families in the Alice Springs School of the Air community have been involved with the roll-out.
Under post-compulsory schooling employment and training, these initiatives and successes include but are not limited to:
the Training Remote Youth program, as previously mentioned, which provides pre-vocational
skills to remote area youth;
the Wickham Point Indigenous Employment and Training program – a pilot program in conjunction
with the Northern Land Council and Territory Construction Association for the development of a
stable Indigenous construction work force for the Northern Territory’s many major projects.
$200 000 has been committed to this program;
the support of the Indigenous Employment Challenge in Central Australia and establishment of the
Footprints Forward shop which will assist indigenous people to find and keep work. This has been
funded to the value of $100 000;
the expansion of the Futures (Career) Expo to the regional centres of Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek,
Katherine and Alice Springs;
support of the Commonwealth’s school-based new apprenticeship initiative with training dollars - over
$100 000 has been committed to delivery to date - of more than 90 new school-based apprentices, of
which 39 are indigenous;
an increase of 306 indigenous apprentices across the Territory since 2001; and
ongoing and continued commitment to adult literacy for indigenous Territorians to the tune of $4.5m.
It is pleasing to note that data collected this year shows a positive trend for indigenous enrolment. Indigenous student numbers were around 15 000 last year; they now stand at around 15 600. An increase of 600 students is significant. It is not simply a natural increase; it is attributed to the hard work being done in schools and the elevation of the importance that the government now places on indigenous education.
As stated in Learning Lessons and in relation to indigenous education, poor attendance is, without a doubt, the primary cause of poor educational outcomes. Poor attendance, high mobility and health issues all impact on students’ ability to participate in school. The attendance and retention strategies being developed ensure a systemic focus on attendance and to encourage the pursuit of local solutions. Now that we have the system ability to measure and track student attendance, we are much better placed to provide appropriate resources and to deal more effectively with students who move between communities and schools. We now collect monthly data on student attendance, and that data is telling us that there has been an increase in indigenous student enrolment and attendance across the Territory since 2001.
The government’s 2002-03 budget announced funding for the introduction of eight School Attendance Officers over three years. One of the first two School Attendance Officers is based in Palmerston, the other in Alice Springs. Appointments were made to these positions. Both officers commenced work at the start of term 2, 2003. A third position based at Sanderson High and servicing the northern suburbs of Darwin, has been advertised and will be filled soon.
Learning Lessons highlighted poor health as a key hindrance to learning outcomes, impeding attendance, participation and ability to learn. Poor hearing and nutrition and substance abuse are particular examples of health conditions that can limit a student’s ability to effectively participate in a classroom environment. Addressing complex health problems clearly requires a concerted whole-of-government effort.
DEET is taking a lead role in ensuring that student health issues are addressed through the development of a comprehensive Health Issues Affecting Education strategy. Work is well under way to establish agreements between schools and health centres. A memorandum of understanding has already been signed between Katherine Group School, including Kalkarindji and Lajamanu Community Education Centres, and the Katherine West Health Board. The purpose of the memorandum of understanding is to formalise the service delivery approach for the provision of health services, health and care facilities, dental and allied health services for students.
Learning Lessons highlighted the profound consequences for education outcomes of hearing impairment so prevalent among indigenous students in the Territory. Charles Darwin University will offer a Graduate Certificate in Special Education, and all undergraduate courses from 2004 will cover hearing impairment. The Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education now provides up to 60 hours on health and hearing issues in the Certificate III and IV in Indigenous Education Work.
Design guidelines and benchmarking for remote schools will soon be established in relation to hearing and special education. Such guidelines will ensure that classroom facilities will minimise the effects of hearing loss through limiting resonance and improved acoustic properties, in an attempt to optimise learning outcomes. I am pleased to advise my colleague, minister Aagaard, and I have agreed to collaborate in the ongoing implementation of that strategy, and build on the good work the respective departments have commenced. These existing joint initiatives include: the provision of $320 000 per year for remote school nutrition programs - DEET is working closely with health in implementing this program in developing a school-based nutrition policy; the Healthy School-Age Kids Child Health Surveillance program for remote communities; the Inter-sectoral Action Plan for Hearing Services; drug and health education initiatives in schools; school-based nurses; and development of a Disability Action Plan.
Learning Lessons found in all communities that improved English speaking and literacy development was a key aspiration for indigenous parents, students and community members. Achieving improvement in English literacy and numeracy is a major goal and expectation of this government: a minimum of two hours of explicit literacy and numeracy teaching every day for every student in every school. Schools must now have a literacy plan, committing the school to a ‘whole school’ approach to literacy and assessment and a ‘whole school’ program of staff development so that staff are skilled in appropriate literacy teaching and assessment approaches required by the school. DEET is preparing an evaluation to test and compare the effectiveness of a number of different teaching methods for teaching literacy to English as a Second Language students. Such a study is long overdue.
In collaboration with the University of Canberra, we are currently trialling a teaching methodology called Accelerated Literacy. Accelerated Literacy has been trialled for two years in six schools, urban and remote. The Accelerated Literacy approach seeks to engage all students in the classroom to be active learners in the context of age-appropriate learning. To date, the outcomes have been impressive. The trial itself has been commended by the Learning Lessons Steering Committee. Preliminary results indicate that student literacy has increased from between 0.4 to 1.7 year levels per year. This means that instead of falling further behind, students are making up nearly two years of literacy levels each year.
At Ngukurr, school secondary results are equally impressive. Prior to the project, base line data testing of secondary students revealed a devastating picture. Of the 30 students in the class, 50% could not read at Transition level. Only three students in the class could read above a Grade 2 level. After 12 months, 71% of students in the class are successfully engaging in learning appropriate to Year 7 and attendance has doubled. The class sizes increased from 30 to 60 students. That is a specific example of improved skill programs directly impacting on improvements in attendance. The word is out in Ngukurr that school is both interesting and challenging.
The department is moving to consolidate these trials and make the approach available to more schools, and will allocate 10 of the 20 additional teaching positions to ESL support programs this financial year. Once again, we have maximised the support from the Commonwealth and now have an additional eight English as a Second Language teachers allocated to community-controlled school sites. There has been an increase in the provision of and access to English as a Second Language professional development for teachers in rural and remote schools.
The Small Schools Pedagogy Pilot Project in Alice Springs Groups Schools will assist new and inexperienced teachers in the remote context by offering explicit and consistent teaching program based on the Northern Territory curriculum framework. The Alice Springs Group School East is developing alternative models of curriculum and teaching for the Alyawarra/Anmatjere school. In June this year, I had the pleasure of launching the Anmatjere Children’s Picture Dictionary at Ti Tree.
A collaborative playing model has also been developed to foster closer working relationships between schools within the region, including the sharing of additional community physical resources.
The Maningrida Homelands Learning Centre pilot project is a joint DEET and National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy funded initiative that aims to increase attendance in literacy and numeracy outcomes for homeland students. Eight students from Garmadi Homeland School, who have been tracked for the term of the trial, have shown progress across all four ESL strands - listening, speaking, reading, writing - and in maths.
I provide the detail of some of the major effort that is under way to specifically improve the education outcomes for our indigenous students. MAP data for the last two years indicate that the effort is having an impact. In 2002, there was some demonstrated improvement from 2001 in performance of indigenous students against the national benchmarks: 103 more Year 3 numeracy indigenous students reached the national benchmark than in 2001; 44 more Year 5 numeracy indigenous students reached the national benchmark than in 2001; 102 more Year 3 reading indigenous students reached the national reading benchmark than 2001, and 77 more Year 5 reading indigenous reached the national benchmark than 2001. We certainly have a way to go before we can say with confidence that our education system is working well for indigenous students, but we can reassured by these statistics that our efforts to date are starting to have a positive effect.
To ensure that government receives the best possible advice during the implementation of these recommendations, I established the Learning Lessons Implementation Steering Committee, co-chaired by Bob Collins, author of Learning Lessons and Esther Djayhgurrnga, Principal of the Gunbulunya CEC. Twelve out of 14 of the steering committee members are senior indigenous leaders and respectively have backgrounds in teaching, indigenous health organisations, ATSIC, land councils, local government and the Commonwealth Department of Education Science and Training. I have endorsed significant recommendations from the committee in relation to defining the concept and selecting the sites for community-controlled schools; improving indigenous employees’ employment status, including CDEP participants; and in health issues, particularly hearing and mental health, setting the scope and identifying the priorities for the health issues affecting education strategy.
In Learning Lessons, there is a clear message from indigenous Territorians that they want to be involved in the decision-making about the education of their children. We said we would not back away from making that a reality of indigenous involvement in the decision-making and control of school operations - quite the opposite. We have been considered but definite in research and debate in seeking indigenous input into the range of options available.
I have recently endorsed a key recommendation of the committee to broaden the implementation of the recommendations in Learning Lessons relating to self-managing schools in line with indigenous aspiration. The program is now known as the Community Controlled Schools Program, a name that better reflects the intention to explore and pursue community control of education service delivery in the four sites chosen by the committee.
As mentioned previously, the Community Controlled School sites have been selected by the committee. The four sites for community controlled schools projects are the Alyawarra Anmatjere cluster, the Warlpiri triangle, Maningrida, and the Tiwi Islands. Informed by other community development and capacity building approaches fostered by this government, a comprehensive project plan with detailed initiatives for key phases of the program has been developed.
The detail I have provided today describes some of the effort under way to ensure we fulfil our commitment to undertake a comprehensive response to the recommendations contained in Learning Lessons. The major systemic changes this government has achieved in its response to Learning Lessons are unprecedented. This effort impacts on every area throughout DEET, and in all of our schools. There is no doubt that indigenous education is no longer relegated to the ‘too hard’ basket. The expectations of this government continue to be focussed on making this everybody’s business. Continuing our focus on implementing Learning Lessons, key areas for intensive attention in the next two years are to maximise our influence on the Ministerial Council for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs in our capacity as chair of the new MCEETYA task force on indigenous education, employment training and youth. They will urgently pursue research to determine the most effective English literacy and numeracy teaching pedagogy appropriate for indigenous students for whom English is a second language.
Financial systems and infrastructure implementation of the parity in infrastructure and financial and resource management systems strategies will, of course, take time. There is a legacy of neglect in remote indigenous education that will need strategic and sustained commitment.
In increased focus on staffing related issues, again, resourcing implications will need to be worked through and greater attention will be directed to working smarter with the existing programs.
I mentioned previously the critical area highlighted throughout Learning Lessons: health issues affecting education and the forthcoming focus areas for direct action by DEET and Health that are being articulated through the joint strategies. There will be an increased level of support from DEET Student Services Branch to rural and remote communities so that indigenous students are properly supported in education. Government acknowledges the links between health and early childhood, so the raft of early childhood recommendations from Learning Lessons will be progressively addressed. We will build on the success of the mobile preschool initiative by further expansion in Central Australia and consolidation of the existing sites.
The other area where critical thinking and action will be directed is indigenous language and culture. It is a complex area and that is why I have brought the issue to the national agenda. I want other jurisdictions to contribute to the thinking and resourcing required to address the relevant Learning Lessons recommendations.
Improvements in indigenous education outcomes is our sustained goal. The situation was dire. We still have enormous amounts of work to do, but we have achieved major progress during our time in government. This achievement has been possible because of the continuing commitment and, importantly, because we have the support of many people equally committed to seeing a better future for our indigenous students. We know that future is possible.
Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, in responding to this statement, let those who are currently in government be assured that this issue of indigenous education is one that duly receives a high order of attention. I speak from a personal point of view, and I believe it is one that is echoed by many Territorians and Australians in that each nation, to my view, has its own challenges. We only need to look around and see the challenges that face many different jurisdictions: Iraq, a case in point, and Afghanistan.
A couple of years ago, I travelled to South Africa to understand the issues related to making progress with the fundamental question of race politics, because I felt many of us in Australia find a sense of malaise. We can make a grand statement such as this which contains many descriptions of strategies and initiatives, working parties, work in action and what we hope to see but, underlying that there is a sense of malaise. We are not sure whether this is just the ongoing flurry of activity or we will actually see any results. It is not a criticism of this current minister’s statement. I applaud it. I have been through many other statements and they seem to echo the same sort of superficial enthusiasm, and talk of things that are to come and how serious the problem is, but there is this sense of: is it really going to make real difference?
By going to South Africa, I realised that the South Africans who have a responsibility for their country and the problems that they face, have hope. They have hope for their education system, and that they will make progress with the dreadful injuries that have been caused through the apartheid experience and the walking forward from that. I looked and I thought: ‘How can you have hope?’; it is just such a terrible situation. I was encouraged by the hope that they had. What I gained from that was hope that we can, therefore, achieve real results here in Australia, with the problems that are our responsibility. South Africa has its responsibilities, as does Zimbabwe, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. Here, we have our own distinct problems and once we narrow it down like that, we realise that this something that we as a nation must take very seriously. When we get involved in politics and we realise that the objective is really to shore up some kind of flow-back to us personally and politically, we therefore serve an injustice to the real nature of this problem. It is simply the problem that we must address.
You can be assured, minister, come a new government being formed in the year 2005 or before, that this vision will continue. This is not the beginning of it, it was not created under the term and the oversight of this government. If you go back with a fair eye, you will see that there has been goodwill and intention to make difference all the way along. You can criticise, and well may you for political purposes. The continuum will progress; we will continue this. If the electorate chooses to hand the baton of government to the CLP at the next election, it will be taken and it will be continued with because it is an issue of primary importance.
Mr Kiely: You dropped the baton, Terry, you dropped the baton.
Mr MILLS: You keep your eye on the game, buddy.
Ms Carter: Get real!
Mr Kiely: You treated them disgustingly …
Ms Carter: That is an unsubstantiated accusation, as you well know.
Mr Kiely: Have a look at the figures.
Madam SPEAKER: Order thank you, member for Port Darwin and member for Sanderson, enough! The member for Blain has the floor.
Mr MILLS: The question comes back to acknowledging that this is indeed our problem, our nation’s issue. Principally, the weight of it falls upon Territorians to create vision, hope, and the strategies that will make a difference. We understand simply that the recitation of strategies is not the achievement. We had a statement here 12 months ago, which spoke of how we were going in this area. We have another one just short of 12 months later. We have another report. Please bear in mind that statements do not equal the achievement. Statements are simply a report. To that end, I take it to that effect that: we will go further to ensure that we have ways of assessing the achievements that are articulated through this vision, this statement, and the strategies that have been outlined.
To start with, it is about people; it is about achieving a vision. I believe we all agree on it: it is improving educational outcomes. However, if we focus on this, we will find that it is not such a simple thing. What is it that we are trying to achieve in education? Is it something we can measure? I think so. We need to be fairly basic about this: it is literacy and numeracy and attendance at the school. But how do we affect that? How do we change the culture of the schools that are well resourced but with hardly any children at the school, whose parents do not send their children to that school? How do we make that change? How do we affect the cultural change? They are the problems. No matter how many strategies we have implemented, it is how we make a strategy take effect and produce a real result in people. That is the challenge. How do we make the difference?
We need to focus on the basics of what we are trying to achieve, therefore we also have to underline this with a sense of strategy and purpose, knowing that this cannot be achieved, as the minister already, rightly, acknowledged. It is a big task. We have made some progress – significant progress, the minister would say. The job is not finished.
This issue requires us to take it more seriously and with greater resolve than we have in the past,. in the sense that we are not talking about electoral cycles; we are talking about effecting cultural and systematic change. It is something that can only occur with increased dialogue, information, open-mindedness, and assessment of what it is we are trying to achieve, to formulate something that is more in keeping with a 20-year plan, so we can incrementally move to where we are going.
Unfortunately, when the MAP results come out shortly, I predict we are going to have the minister making many statements acknowledging, through the MAP testing results, that we have made significant progress. There will be a round of applause and a lift of morale within the system, because they will be able to say: ‘The MAP test results show that we are making improvements’. That is good; anything that lifts morale is fine. However, it is time to look carefully at the mechanisms we use to measure achievement in our schools, not just indigenous schools but, in this case specifically indigenous schools. We must know that the data being collected is sound.
I put on notice that this is an issue of primary and growing importance within our community. We may have benchmark testing, but do we have confidence in that testing? There is much we can do to ensure our community has greater confidence in the measures that are used and the data collected, and the soundness of that data. For one thing, any parent will know that data collected through benchmark testing in Grades 3, 5 and 7 is practically useless to a parent. It is written in the language of teachers and educators, and mums and dads simply do not understand what is being reported. Is my child doing okay or not? Hard to tell, because the language is captured by teachers and not for parents. This mechanism is to report on how the child is actually doing against a state and national cohort. I would say that in this area there has to be significant improvement.
The other one is that, in other jurisdictions, there is a measurement system that is externally audited. It is not internally created and assessed; it is externally audited so that we as a community can have solid confidence that what is being reported is sound. That is an area requiring attention. Watch out! You are going to see this minister crowing about significant achievements and, in the lovely tone that he uses: ‘We have a long way to go, but, look, the strategies are working’. We need to make sure that the system we use to measure the educational performance of our kids is sound and stands up to external scrutiny. It must be externally audited, and it must contain information that is of eminent usefulness to mums and dads.
That takes me to the most important point: how do we effect cultural change? How do we make the difference in our indigenous communities? It is mums and dads. It is the mothers and fathers that need to be brought into the equation. In fact, we talk about health, prenatal care, and antenatal care. The whole thing as one package; it is not centred on the school, it is the whole community.
In recent times, I have taken to trying to find my place in matters related to the issues that are important to us as Territorians; those being the state of indigenous health, welfare and the future of our indigenous community. Through that, I have been looking at the works of Noel Pearson. I was very interested to see that at the last meeting the Prime Minster called, the round table on 23 July, he released a document for discussion. It is a document well worth considering. I previously made the comment that we need to be now looking at a policy framework that has a 20-year span; now that we are moving from here to some place so that we can measure out our progress in a longer time frame. We are not just talking about that which is manifested in a classroom and improvements in enrolment and educational outcomes. That will only be effected through the change of culture that we have within a whole community. It is the health of a whole community that will be evidenced in the classrooms.
The primary issue in the document put out by Noel Pearson for discussion, in preparation for the Prime Minister’s round table, was to suggest underlying principles for a new policy in the restoration of indigenous social order. I believe that it is social order that is the primary issue that will effect positive change in indigenous education, not a multitude of strategies. It is the underlying principles that we must have agreement on.
Pearson made six comments on suggested underlying principles, and I will make reference to those now: first, a suggested underlying principle is to make the connection between substance abuse and violence; second, to avoid symptom thinking and harm reduction thinking; third, to avoid overemphasis on inherited and personal trauma as causal factors; fourth, to avoid attributing violence, mainly to traditional culture; fifth, to avoid reliance on experts from the Aboriginal industry; and, sixth, to reject illegal handling of addictive substances.
The document is freely available; it is on the Internet. Anyone who is interested in formulating policy can find it. I believe what Noel Pearson has suggested really sets the underlying principles upon which any strategy which is going to make some difference should be based upon or, certainly, it should at least be seriously considered.
Going now to specific aspects raised within the statement which do need to be questioned, and not necessarily in any order. I take the reference to the provision of secondary facilities at Kalkarindji and Minyerri. It is good to see moving the curriculum up into the secondary level and making that provision in these communities. The question I have is related to the staff that would be staffing those schools: what staffing formula would be used to staff those schools? Would they be staffed under a secondary formula or a senior primary formula? I place that question for the minister’s consideration.
Also, in regards to the Teachers Registration Board, I understand the philosophical, educational and intellectual talk with regard to what can be achieved through a Teachers Registration Board. The cynic in me will have me say this: I do not know whether it will actually make the difference that we would like it to make. When one considers that there are Teachers Registration Boards in every state, and they all have the grand aim of enhancing the profession - and it is a fair call and that is what we need to do. However, the Northern Territory is such a small jurisdiction. With this talk now of trying to find a way where we, as the educators of this nation, should be unified and strengthened as a professional body, why not consider amalgamating or joining up with other states, or perhaps even finding a way where they could be registered nationally? By recreating some mechanism here in the Northern Territory, with high expectations and fine sounding sentiments, I am not sure whether we can actually achieve that.
In effect, for hard-working teachers who are busily trying to work their way through curriculum frameworks and manage difficult classes, it would simply mean to pay $75 or perhaps more to be registered. It is not really going to translate into that change of the teaching culture, I would suspect. I urge the minister to please consider looking at amalgamating with other registration boards, perhaps in other states. May I suggest Western Australia or - as I spoke about with Brendan Nelson recently, and asked whether there is a possibility of having a national register so teachers could be registered nationally. Then we would be geared up with some of the initiatives that are coming through from the federal government in investing in our teachers.
The employment of indigenous teachers is good to see, and it is critical that we have a higher uptake of indigenous eductors within our system. I must say that the number that I have met make an immeasurable contribution. Unfortunately, I am tempted to start to mention some but I will not for fear of leaving two or three or four out. However, their work is recognised.
Are those employed under exactly the same awards and conditions as non-indigenous teachers? I ask the minister to assist me in that because in the statement he says we have undertaken the first comprehensive survey of school staff and we now know that there are 600 core-funded indigenous employees in our schools. I would be very interested to know if the awards and the conditions under which those 600 teachers or employees are employed are the same as other employees.
I now turn to teachers. I have been doing some reading recently, and we concentrate on strategies and different ways that we can say and demonstrate that things are happening. We talk about testing as a way of making a difference; about making some compensations for the cultural background of students; about the curriculum that we might have, whether it is bilingual or not - whether that is going to make the difference. However, a recent paper has convinced me that it is not any of those things that makes the primary difference. It is not necessarily the resources that we give a community; the systems that we put in place to provide the education or to measure it; or compensation for the cultural background and the programs we put into place to compensate that make the difference. It is not those things; it is the quality of the teachers that you have in front of children that makes the most difference.
A recent study by Kenneth Roe, in a paper entitled The Importance of Teacher Quality as a Key Determinant of Students Experiences and Outcomes of Schooling demonstrates, to my conviction, that this is simply the fact: it is the quality of teachers that makes the difference. In saying that, the quality of teachers that I have met who work in indigenous communities, when you bear in mind - and I am not speaking of all of them, I am speaking of ones that I have met who have impressed me greatly. I understand how difficult it is working in a school environment to take on board the social and emotional problems that are involved in trying to make a difference in an urban environment in Palmerston; then I go and visit a place that is remote and dealing with a very difficult and dysfunctional community, and see how difficult it is and how much to heart these teachers take it and try their very best to make a difference. I have seen some of them make an immeasurable difference.
At the same time, I have seen them struggling - not just to teach, but with bureaucracy and conditions that are most unusual, to say the least. It may be well to sit here in parliament and talk about whole-of-government approach, and combining health and education to provide a better outcome for a little kid in a community. However, for the teacher working in the environment, they have to try to understand the politics of the health and education systems, and the little kid in front of them who has a runny nose; and try to make contact with bureaucrats who wander into the school at different times - different community groups or the health board might wander in. You might have federally administered grants for an art program that might be a great idea that is uttered in Canberra somewhere, and is plugged into the school. The poor teacher sitting in the middle who has a heart for these kids, who is connected with these kids, cannot make hide nor hair of what this is really about - ‘I just want to get on with my job,’ - becomes so overloaded with the bureaucracy, well intentioned though it may be, but often it is incredibly self-serving.
The minister has often made the statement: ‘What difference have I made to a child in a classroom today?’. What difference will this statement make to a child in classroom today? Often the initiatives that we undertake sound fantastic launched here, but to a teacher working in a community may be actually more of a curse than a blessing. It sounds good, it will look good, it will make a good press release. However, with housing that has been promised but has not arrived, refurbishments that have not occurred, support in housing that has not occurred, and fine-sounding press releases that have been applauded here in the northern suburbs, Palmerston and urbanised communities, it means nothing to those teachers struggling in a classroom in remote communities where those things have not eventuated into reality.
While I am saying that, what about the laptop computers that have already been announced, a couple of times I understand, but to my knowledge have not arrived either? Teachers working in classrooms need the primary and full support of all of us and principally, in this case, the minister.
It is the teacher who makes the difference, and the teacher must know that we are supporting them. In those two cases, with the provision of housing that has been articulated but to my knowledge not delivered, and the promise of laptop computers which has been committed but to my understanding has not been delivered, they are two little things that can make a huge difference to the morale of the teaching force which is remote, endeavouring to achieve the objectives and the primary concerns of everyone here in this fine place.
I now go to an issue that I believe strikes at the core of this statement’s intent, that being the need to - actually, I will not go down that track for starters. I would like to make acknowledgment of the budget before I go into the final part of my speech.
The statement, as I have said, has a raft of the word ‘strategy’ - I was nearly going to do word count on it. There are lots of initiatives on foot - there is movement at the station - we know there is something happening, and we have bits of evidence that things are improving. Well, that is good and I just hope the morale lifts with that. However, when you compare all of this activity and talk with what was actually contained in the budget, I have to say this really fine-sounding rhetoric - in fact, it is quite expensive rhetoric - is not really matched up with what is provided in the budget; we might be putting in a nickel and asking for a dollar song. The increase in education in this budget really did not cover just the basic economic costs of CPI. On top of that, we had the IT infrastructure and the teachers’ awards and conditions of $6.3m. We had a $13.5m increase to education but we have to take CPI into that, the infrastructure development, the teachers’ award and conditions of $6.34m, and then there are a number of other initiatives that were announced in this budget. How are we going to fund these initiatives and strategies to make sure that they really do work? Not so that the government can feel really good and give themselves a clap on the back and wander around near election time and say: ‘Look what we have done’, waving press releases.
As the minister well knows, what we have done is the difference we have made to a child in a classroom, not what we have done in describing strategies, working committees, reviews and the like. They all have a place, but we all know that we have to make the actual difference at the end of the day.
I have made reference to the writings of Noel Pearson, which really struck a chord with me because we, as indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, need to start to think very seriously about these issues. We have to get past the politics and get very serious about it because we can ill-afford not to. Even for an economic rationalist, you can ill-afford not to. It is difficult to assemble the data to comprehend the true cost of thousands of Territory youngsters missing out on an education that gives them the skills, knowledge and hope that they need for the future. Such an assessment would involve, among other things, present and future health costs, juvenile and adult correction costs, loss of lifetime income, dependence and welfare, loss to the community of productive members, pain and suffering of successive generations affected by dysfunction - that is the cost.
I would like to see in this statement, minister, an acknowledgement of the achievements of the non-government sector in this area - Kormilda, the Catholic Education Office, Yirara, and the Northern Territory Christian Schools Association - and the contributions that they have made in indigenous education as achievements of your government’s initiatives alongside those of the department, working in partnership with the same objectives. The non-government sector has considerable impact and potential for much more by implementing creative, community driven solutions. Indeed, the ideal of community management would appear to come to expression most completely as a non-government initiative. For example, as we have seen in Central Australia, Woolaning and Gawa from 2004. Community management of schooling outside of a government departmental framework is at present impossible as the resources available to a community for a non-government school are a fraction of what is needed. Through genuine consultation, cooperative planning and funding equity, the minister can better marshal all the resources - government and non-government - to meet the challenge of turning around indigenous education outcomes.
Dr TOYNE (Central Australia): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I start by welcoming a new commitment by the CLP to this huge challenge that we have in front of us; and that is how to turn around indigenous education in the Northern Territory.
I am not going to let him reconstruct history. I can substantiate, even to the member for Port Darwin’s satisfaction, that there was an attitude that was far less than helpful in the previous government to the pursuit of better outcomes in indigenous education. I can remember when we censured the second-last CLP Minister for Education, Peter Adamson, on receipt by the opposition of an Indigenous Education Review, which, among other things, said that there was an inherent culture in our education department against giving equal weight and importance to indigenous education. The department was very focussed on urban, non-indigenous issues.
That same report indicated that some $9m a year of IESIP funding had been systematically re-routed away from indigenous education programs and into other purposes. I can certainly attest to the distortions that were put within the Country Areas Program, the Disadvantaged School Programs, and the programs that were project-based. In fact, for one project, 21 under the IESIP-funded programs, 80% of funding provided by the Commonwealth supposedly to promote secondary delivery into our remote schools was used for a Darwin-based project developing educational materials for export into Indonesia.
If you want any other substantiation, I have also brought into this House the Indigenous Education Agreement, which was a contract signed between the Territory and Commonwealth governments for the delivery of educational programs to indigenous people and the deployment of Commonwealth money. The targets within that document were a total disgrace. The previous government was not prepared to commit to realistic targets in improvement of literacy and numeracy for indigenous people. I believe they were prepared to commit to 1% per year for the three to four years of the term of the agreement - 1%. It would have taken two generations of indigenous students to come up to anything like the national standards in those areas if we had followed that deploringly low expectation that was built into those documents.
I have had personal experience of teachers who, out of regard for the communities and for the priorities that parents brought to them when they were deployed out bush teaching, tried to start secondary programs out bush. What did the department do? They went out and monstered and harassed them and, basically, said they would not support them in the situation where some liability had arisen in the operation of those programs, let alone give them any money to make the programs work. So, let us not have the member for Blain coming in here saying: ‘We have had a wonderful proud history of supporting indigenous education’. It is absolute rubbish! He had better be sincere in the change of heart that he seems to be showing in the debate today. We would be very interested to test both the sincerity and substance of the CLP’s attitude to these issues as these debates continue into the future.
I will start, not looking at the big picture in itself, but let us go down on the ground and see what is going on right now. There are many remote schools in my electorate. I am going to concentrate on talking about remote indigenous education, because it is the most critical area that we have to deal with and correct.
Kalkaringi School has been mentioned in the minister’s statement, and there is no doubt that there is quite an inspiring secondary education program going at Kalkarindji. I would like to pay tribute, not to the department, but to the teachers who, through their own dedication and commitment to those families at Kalkarindji, got that program going with the skin of their bare knuckles to get the students into course work that was recognisably secondary course work, to build literally from the ground up with scrap materials, some of the early facilities that they operated in. It is excellent now that the department is providing the capital input to build decent facilities for them, and that this program is now being formally recognised by the department.
I can tell you one thing: if that program had been started two or three years earlier, with the CLP still in power, there would have been very strident attempts to shut it down. The department did not want to see secondary education in remote communities catering to indigenous students. They knew there were 3000 of them out there that were not in any sort of believable program for that age group. We have 12-year-olds to 16-year-olds that this government has absolutely the same responsibility to as they have to 12-year-olds to 16-year-olds in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine or anywhere else. We have an absolute responsibility under the implementation of the Collins Report to make sure that places like Kalkarindji not only can operate the types of programs that are being consolidated there, but that teachers are actually encountered to do so, and supported when they do, not knocked over the head because they have shown some commitment to the community.
Going to another community in my electorate, the Nyrripi School is one of the most remote schools in the Northern Territory - primary only, with one to two teachers, depending on how the staffing is going. Last time I was at Nyrripi, the teacher was making programs happen by having her partner and daughter helping. I do not see that as irregular at all, and believe it enables the provision of supervision and programs for three groups of students, where alone she could not possibly have covered those three groupings and would have had to have taught the whole lot en masse - which any teacher would know is an extremely difficult and inefficient way of doing it. Here is another sign of the dedication of teachers out there; they will involve their family in it and grab anyone off the street if they have. They will get people in front of those classes who can deliver the program with some chance of success because of the detailed work you need to do with each of those students in the group. You cannot do it with 30 students in one classroom.
Yuelamu and Laramba I will talk about together, because they are both Anmatjere communities and, in both cases, the teachers there have very believable groups of secondary students doing course work; around about 18 to 20 students in each case. Again, those programs have not been generated because the department has gone out there and said: ‘Right, we are all going to be generating secondary’. Those teachers care about those communities; they have listened to the parents. The parents have said: ‘We want high school course work for our kids’, and they damn well got in there and got it going. I am saying this not in a critical way of the department: there are some fantastic teachers out there who have started all these programs. What they need now is systematic support. If we can go to those teachers - the ones who are already doing this work or prepared to give it a go - that is how we are going to implement the Collins Report. It is not by being strategic from Darwin; it is getting down on the ground, school by school, teacher by teacher, and trying to build on the work that they are already doing.
Yuendumu School - and that will finish my tour of my electorate - dropped to 60 students. Yuendemu was always around the 160, 200, 200-plus student mark. I know the community is supposed to be fairly volatile at times, but 60 students in Yuendumu School was an absolute shocker when I went in there last year. I can happily report that the principal who has come into that school has started to rebuild the programs, and I believe that they are up into the 150-odd students mark. That is part of that improvement that the minister is talking about, in the attendance at our remote schools.
What needs to be done? The lesson from going out and seeing these schools and what is going on in them is that we are going to get there by detailed local initiatives. We are going to have to mobilise individual communities, school councils, and the teachers who are in our schools, and encourage them to show a bit of initiative and to put their expectations up high, so that it is not just simply going through the motions of a day at school. There has to be a real sense of mission about this, and it has to be localised to the point where people can own it - both the indigenous people themselves and the local teachers. The local teachers should not be the last people to be consulted about these initiatives; they should be the first people, along with the school councils of their schools. They are the ones who have to own this and have feed it day by day, so that things can move forward. We are not going to be able to run it from Darwin or Alice Springs. People have to be empowered in their own communities to take on these initiatives and to build towards the better outcomes that we are wanting.
I have had quite a lot to do with the Collins implementation the minister mentioned: at Anmatjere/Alyawarra and Kaiditj in the Utopia area, and the Warlpiri triangle schools, Yuendumu, Willowra, Nyirripi and Lajamanu. In both cases, you have a huge history of commitment by those communities to education for their kids. What they have not had has been the plan, the resources and the consistent and dependable support from government. Once the consultancy for the Warlpiri triangle report is back, and the early childhood work is developed in the other of the Collins implementation areas, we should be able to get with those groups and start building all the other areas.
The secondary review that Gregor Ramsay is currently working on is also going to feed into these developments. What they are all saying is that, from the locality, you have to take a lot of the colour of these programs. Both in the Warlpiri and Utopia areas, people have immediately said there has to be some protection of cultural values, some respect for cultural knowledge built in, integral to the school programs that are developed there if they are extending into new areas, particularly like early childhood, secondary or beyond.
That is not new. The Warlpiri schools have had bilingual programs for 25 years and they have developed a huge expertise on the part of the Warlpiri teachers who have worked in those schools, and the support staff who have developed materials for their programs. Therefore, we have to be working from that local area to draw a lot of the context into the course delivery. Equally, you have to have very clever delivery mechanisms. We already know that we are not going to get a complete set of secondary subject teachers out into every remote community that wants to run a secondary course; we cannot do it. In fact, in having a look at some of the systems on either side of us, certainly in far north Queensland, where they are attempting to run high schools in their larger remote communities with at least a core staffing arrangement of secondary teachers for maths, English and some social sciences and perhaps some art, it is almost impossible to recruit and retain a full set of staff in those schools, even with the conditions that they have in housing and the school facilities themselves, which are much better than the average in the Northern Territory.
We have to be a lot smarter on how we deliver the course work out there. There are good examples of a mixed mode delivery where you use both Open Learning elements in the delivery of secondary education and other areas of, say teacher in-servicing and so on, and also just home-based teachers. We probably have to use some of the urban facilities to provide enough of these specialised facilities and teacher knowledge that we are going to need to have a full coverage of secondary course work.
I would like to make reference to where my work in my portfolio intersects with some of this work that the minister for Education is progressing. On 22 October, I will be taking a group of principals from the ITC companies in Darwin on a bush trip. We will be leaving from Darwin, flying to Kalkarindji, Lajamanu and Yuendumu. Why are we doing that? Because the industry here has discovered, as a result of its attendance at some overseas expos - which I have reported to this House on before - that one of the most prospective ways in which they can grow the industry here is by developing content like CD-ROMs, web sites and software developments that are appropriate to help deliver education, telemedicine, and administration support into our remote communities – alongside people being out there doing other things as well as part of the delivery arrangement. Therefore, by developing that sort of product, the attendance at the expos in Hannover and Sydney and soon to be in Singapore, has indicated that they are very exportable.
It is very easy to take the specific products that, say, could be offered to Kalkaringi School to help develop new elements of course delivery for their secondary programs, as an example. Those products could easily be then made more generic, maybe put into other languages and other contexts in the illustrative material that is included in them, and exported to anywhere else where people want to use electronic components in their delivery of education. That is why they want to go out there. The only way you can actually start work there is take everyone out there, sit down and work it out with the teachers, the nurses, people like the Warlpiri Media Association, people like the art coops like Warlukurlangu, or the Yapakurlangu, I think it is the Lajamanu one. I am sure, when we get everyone together out in those communities, that people will come up with a whole lot of other ideas that can be further joint ventured with the industry development funding that we have arranged on the industry side.
I am looking forward to my first ICT bush trip. I am pretty sure that what business people I take will see, will be both shocking and challenging. However, I have a lot of confidence in the character and commitment of our local industry, both from the point of view that they want to grow the industry and find export outlets, and also that they are decent people who can see that there is a need there as well. We will be out there to explore those possibilities in October. I am sure that will feed very constructively into what the secondary review reports back and what is coming out of the Collins implementations.
I will close there, but will repeat my commitment to the challenges that the minister has brought to this House in this statement. This is a critical area of responsibility for our government. It is a critical area of need, and is in the interests of the Northern Territory as a whole. We have to make progress with these programs. We have to aim at the highest level that we can possibly put in front of us; and that is to complete the education system of the Northern Territory so every kid of any age that we have responsibility to educate, will get a decent education equivalent to any other kid. We do not have that by a long shot. We have a long way to go, but that should be our aim: we should have a complete education system in the Northern Territory.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I do not come here as an expert on education. Our three previous speakers have had a lot of experience in education, all as teachers, and they certainly have more first-hand experience. I take the last comments of the Attorney-General, that we all want an education for Aboriginal people that is equal to anyone else in this country. That is not only just, it is the right of all those people. The real problem is how you achieve that.
I suppose that is what this statement is all about today, and I welcome it. It is important that government does report often on this issue so that we can see if there is any success in some of the new approaches the government is putting in place. This allows us, as parliamentarians, to at least judge what the government is doing and to open up the debate. That is very important from both sides of parliament.
I am going to talk about education in a more generalised fashion. For me, education is about gaining life skills and improving oneself, hopefully to gain employment. For a human being, education is important in the gathering of knowledge. We would not be sending satellites to Mars, as we are at the moment, if people were not only educated but, from that education, they learn more and develop ways in which they search for more knowledge. Knowledge is not static; it is a matter of us continually learning.
Education for Aboriginal people covers all those things. However, they have – and I am talking more, I suppose, about rural Aboriginal communities although there are still problems, of course, in some of our urban areas – matters that make it much harder for those people to get the education that most other people expect. We cannot talk about education without looking at a number of the major issues in our community. Until we find solutions or we work hard to overcome these problems, education - especially education of our young people - is going to be very difficult.
Being on the substance abuse committee, I saw some of the social problems that exist: the amount of alcohol, ganja and petrol consumed at some of these places, the lack of opportunities for employment - I still say a lot of that is due to the present system of CDEP payments - and, in some cases, the overcrowding in houses, where it would be very difficult to do some study if you wanted to do some study. All these things must make it very hard for Aboriginal people to advance. However, then I look back at the years gone by, and at some people around here who are not particularly young. At least they were brought up in other ways of being educated …
Mrs Aagaard: To whom are you referring, member for Nelson?
Mr WOOD: I am referring to people of another vintage, you might say, who are well educated compared to many young people today. That is what I am making a comparison about. I am making a comparison that some Aboriginal people had a lot more opportunity, they perhaps studied interstate …
Mr Kiely: Making a pretty big generalisation there.
Mr WOOD: Let me finish. I am also talking about people of an older vintage, for example, my family, who were brought up in the old system. Since that old system passed away, there have been many theories on how to educate people. We probably spent the last 20 or 30 years with newfandangled methods of teaching, and yet have we really progressed Aboriginal numeracy and literacy in rural communities? I do not believe so. We are sometimes scared to go back to old systems because to do that would say we were a failure with our modern ideas. Yet, when we have been out on substance abuse committee, people we have spoken to in general are people who were brought up in the old mission systems. They were educated under those systems, and they are able to read and write and communicate well. Some of that has gone today and our young people seem to be wandering aimlessly around, certainly under the pressures of substance abuse.
The Attorney-General said that there were only 80 kids at school last year. Truancy is extremely high. He did say that it is up to 150, but it is not the only school that has had these difficulties. So, we have major issues. I know when we talk about truancy, the minister for Education has said that there are, I think, eight truancy officers. I do not think they call them that now; it is something a bit more politically correct: School Attendance Officers. They will be available through the Territory. However, I notice that none of those are in rural areas yet; they are mainly in urban centres. I certainly think there is a need for that.
I know there have been some comments about teachers also not staying very long on communities. I know from my time, for instance at Bathurst Island. Sometimes I am approached by a teacher, and they have said: ‘Do you remember me?’. I would say: ‘No, what was your job?’, and they would say: ‘I was a teacher’. The reason I cannot remember them is because there were so many teachers go through my 7 years on Bathurst Island that I just cannot remember them all. From what the minister has said, that is continuing on these Aboriginal communities. Whether that is because for too long we have used rural communities as a bit of a blooding for young teachers who are just out of college - because that is what they used to be in my time - or whether some of the community issues relating to, say, violence is another reason people will not stay, I do not know.
As someone said here today: the quality of teachers is extremely important. Perhaps we should be aiming for more mature teachers, perhaps married teachers who are older and who have been around a bit, instead of throwing young people straight out of college into a remote community, which can be fairly daunting if you have never been to one. It is a different lifestyle altogether.
Another issue, which I am not sure relates necessarily to indigenous education, but has been a common thing said to me, is that teachers have to teach too many things. They now have to teach about health, about politics, and about this and that, and sometimes they get drowned in all the other things except the things that we probably prefer kids to know: how to read and write; those basic tenets.
I notice the government has mentioned how it is giving extra time at some schools, the first one or two hours, to numeracy and literacy specifically. That is important. If we are teaching so many subjects, and in the end we are not coming out with kids being able to read and write, then we should be questioning whether we are putting too much work on our teachers, and whether we are diluting our teaching to the extent that we are not sticking to the core subjects that we should be teaching. I raise that as issues because that has been raised with me by other people, even in non-indigenous schools: many times teachers have too many other things that they are asked to take on, and that is why they do not always have the time to teach the basic subjects.
I know English as a Second Language has always been a hot topic. I was at Bathurst Island when English as a Second Language was introduced, and it was the first school in the Northern Territory to have English as a Second Language. There has always been a debate on whether it improves or restricts one’s ability to learn English. When we were at Bathurst Island with a substance abuse committee, I was interested when Gawain Tipiloura said that he felt that there should be far more emphasis on teaching English rather than Tiwi. He said: ‘In the end, for us to advance we have to know English’. That was surprising coming from a young bloke like that. I suppose I have always kept silent on this matter to the extent that I have always said that if you do not know how to read English then you are never going to be able to service the tractor. I used to work in the garden there. The tractor manual was always in English; it is not going to be in Tiwi.
It is important, if we are to advance, that we have a good knowledge of English. It is also important that, culturally, Aboriginal people can hang on to their languages because, if all else falls apart in this world from the changes in their society, one would hope that their language can survive. A lot of that is going to depend on themselves and their desire to hang on to that language.
It is an interesting debate about English as a Second Language. I heard the Attorney-General mention a couple of communities that have been doing it for about 25 years. I would have been interested to see if he had some figures to say if it was a success, when you are trying to compare the numeracy and literacy skills of those people.
The other issue that, again, the member for Stuart mentioned was secondary education. That is an issue I raised during the Estimates Committee, because I know there has been a lot said about schools having secondary eduction. What concerned me was that it is nice to say we have secondary education, but do we have real secondary education? If I was to say I went to a secondary school, I would be expecting to do Year 10, 11 and 12 maths, physics, chemistry, statistics, some history, English literature - maybe a range of those subjects which are the subjects that would advance you into university. In the Estimates Committee, I noticed that the range of secondary subjects at Minyerri, Stage 1, was English literacy for living, and VET maths; junior secondary subjects were the arts, visual textiles, exploring textiles, English community 1, literacy support; Year 8 maths level 3, numeracy support, physical education, and Year 8 science. Fair enough, that is junior secondary, it is not secondary as we would expect.
In Kalkarindji there was a similar batch of subjects. There is no Year 10, 11 and 12 maths, physics, chemistry, science - you name it. We are dealing with fairly general subjects at this stage. That is not to say that is not important. If we have to advance secondary education, we have to start somewhere; that is very important. However, we have to be careful that we do not cry out to people that we have secondary education on Aboriginal communities. We are certainly trying, but then again, as the member for Stuart said, they have been trying some of these examples in Queensland in remote areas, and they are having difficulty. We have a long way to go, but it is important. We have no hope of getting Aboriginal young people into mainstream education - when I say mainstream, I mean universities to become doctors and so forth - if we cannot get them into Year 12 or secondary education, and doing all those subjects that they require to advance themselves further.
Whilst I am happy to see that there is some move towards that, we should not boost it up as though people are getting full secondary education. It would be wrong of us to tell children they had a secondary education when they find they get to a school in Alice Springs or Darwin and they really have not had that Year 12 education. That would be lifting their belief of where they were beyond what, in actual fact, they were doing and studying. We have to look carefully at that.
The other issue I raise is employment. I suppose there have always been the questions: what do you if you train people on a community; where is the employment for people? We have to put a lot of work in developing work on these communities. There is work. Some of it does not require Year 12 education, but there is work. It must be very hard for young people to say: ‘Why am I going to school if, at the very end of that schooling, there is no job?’ I believe we have to look at creating full employment on these communities.
I have said before if the CDEP program is not changed, then it should be a system where CDEP is about full wages, and everybody should be able to get a job. In the communities I have visited, there is no doubt that there is work. You cannot have places where houses are falling down, rubbish needs collecting, and ovals need looking after, and say: ‘We are unemployed’. It just defies belief that there is unemployment there. We have to work hard on the unemployment side, at the same time as educating our people. Of course, there is always going to be a problem with young people on these communities. Where are they going to get employment if there is no more employment on their community? Somewhere along the line, these young people are going to have to make the break from their community, and we have to give them the skills to be able to make that break.
How many times do I see kids from Daly River go to St John’s for two years and leave? They run away. There is a lot of work to be done on helping kids or young people make the transition from a rural community to an urban setting. I do not believe, in the end, that one is going to be able to say in years to come, with the growing populations in many of these communities, that all people will be able to be employed gainfully on these communities with higher skills that Year 12 education will bring. That is going to be a challenge, because we already know the challenge of people who move from rural communities into urban communities. Substance abuse is certainly one of those challenges.
Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I would finally like to talk on a couple of things. One is the school we visited with the substance abuse committee - and I had the member for Arafura to write it down - Nyangatjatjara College, which is near Yulara. I was most impressed by that school. It is a school that the parents in that area decided they would like built. It has been helped by funds from the NT government and the Commonwealth. It is certainly one of those schools that is trying to be secondary. It has a long way to go because the subjects it teaches are still relatively minor subjects. I like the principle of what they were doing. They were actually trying to take the children away from the community, so they were not distracted by the community, where they could actually learn things. There are some issues there. Talking to a few people, they felt that there needed to be a little more strictness in the attendance of students. There is an issue of boys attending and then girls attending another time, so the school period is split. There were a number of issues I hope that community can work through. I thought that was a great example of some of the changes that are occurring. Obviously, people can see that their children probably have a better chance to learn not in their community, with all of the problems of their community - the alcohol and the fighting and the violence, which some of these communities have every night - but where their children can at least get some peace, can study, and have committed teachers to help. I believe that Nyangatjatjara College certainly is a good example.
I also know - and I have not been there yet - there have always been good reports of Woolaning School near Wangi Station. A new section was opened this year by the Commonwealth Minister for Education, and I know our minister attended. All the reports that I have heard indicate that it also is doing a good job. It is certainly taking children away from their communities, but it is making sure the family have contact with them. It is not just removing young people in isolation from their community; it is working with their families, and those families are the ones that support their children getting a good education. One of the members spoke about the importance of parents wanting their children to be educated and, from what I see about Woolaning, that is exactly what they are doing.
In summing up, I thank the minister for the statement today. I hope one day we also have a statement on the convention centre as good as this one so I can stand up here and have a bit of debate about that. It is an important document. I noticed a couple of things that the minister has said that he will focus on. He talks about literacy and numeracy teaching, pedagogy appropriate for indigenous students. I say once again: there are many Aboriginal people who have achieved good literacy and numeracy under some old-fashioned methods. We have spent 20 or 30 years of new-fashioned methods and, to me, they have not worked. We have spent millions. We are looking at new techniques and new technology. We should look at the past and say: ‘If that worked, why can’t we adopt that to today’s teaching?’. With that, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I conclude my remarks.
Mr AH KIT (Community Development): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, in speaking to this matter today, I focus on a small but critical part of what my colleague, the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, has addressed today: the issue of literacy and numeracy for indigenous Territorians.
I am not known as an angry sort of person; I try to be pretty even tempered, especially in the parliamentary arena. As you would very well know, my inclination is to turn differences aside with a bit of a laugh and a joke. However, one thing that has made me wild for a long time has been the absolute callous neglect of the education of indigenous Territorians over the last 25 years. I make no apology for this; I am deeply angry.
It is my firm view that the neglect of indigenous education over that period has been little short of a deliberate policy of starvation of the mind. It was a deliberate strategy to disempower a quarter of our population and reduce them to a state of dependency and poverty - both materially and spiritually. It was a deliberate policy of robbing generations of people of their future. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the area of literacy and numeracy.
In 1996, the Jawoyn Association carried out a literacy survey of Aboriginal adults in bush communities in the Katherine region. It was not a survey carried out through self-assessment, as was the 1994 Australian of Bureau of Statistics study. Standardised literacy tests were administered individually to 516 adults in the region, possibly one of the largest surveys of its kind carried out in the Northern Territory. The results? Adult literacy levels measured against a Year 10 school measure was only 7% - I repeat, 7%. Not the 70% that so shocked the nation a few years ago when measuring mainstream Australia, but 7%.
It meant that only one person in 14 had the capacity to read the Northern Territory News, let alone exotic documents such as Hansard. These figures are worse than for most of the Third World. The worst part of it was that the survey gave strong indications that literacy levels had dropped over the period of three generations; that is, the grandparents could read and write better than their children who, in turn, could read and write better than their grandchildren. In other words, the rate of literacy was deteriorating.
As you would know - Madam Speaker, the Treasurer, the Attorney-General and the member for Blain, as former teachers - we are not just talking about the nuts and bolts of reading and writing. During a period of decline in the use of traditional languages, the theft - and I use the word theft advisedly - of the capacity to read and write means much more. It has led to a lack of capacity for indigenous people, not just to deal with day-to-day news, but to a poverty of the imagination; a lack of capacity to creatively and productively harness the future for the benefit of generations to come.
The astonishing results of the study were given to the government of the day, the CLP government, and nothing - I repeat, nothing - was done. That study also revealed - and this was confirmed by the Collins Learning Lessons research - that the government of the day was party to deliberate concealment of the truth about Aboriginal illiteracy. MAP testing of literacy and numeracy at remote schools was entirely discretionary. If kids were absent from school, the MAP tests were not administered. Further, there was a deliberate direction given to teachers not to administer tests to kids who, in the view of the teacher, would not handle the test well. In other words, ignore the kids most at risk, the ones who would make the appalling statistics look even worse still. Therefore, for over a generation, the literacy tests told a lie about how our Aboriginal kids were doing. They were lying to the kids, their parents, and to all Territorians. The time for lies is well and truly over.
It is a well accepted principle of overseas development aid that the delivery of literacy and numeracy is a critical component in the liberation of people from poverty. Literacy and numeracy is regarded as the bedrock of social, political, cultural and economic development. In modern times, the dramatic deterioration in literacy levels has been characteristic of social collapse, such as the years of chaos in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, or the deliberate withdrawal of education of girls and women under the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Our treatment of Aboriginal school kids in the Northern Territory has been no better than either of these regimes. It is for this reason that I cannot help using the ‘ground zero’ metaphor coined by the Khmer Rouge when I refer to the baseline data that was developed at the Ngukurr Community Education Centre prior to implementing accelerated literacy there. The picture revealed in this testing was one of almost total devastation. There were no primary students at Ngukurr School who could read above Transition level. In the secondary section, only a handful of the 41 students could read above this level. Tragically, there was nothing unique about this picture in remote indigenous education in the Northern Territory. It highlighted the moribund state of education and the legacy of decades of neglect.
Since the establishment at Ngukurr of the Accelerated Literacy Program a year ago, flowing from best practice models highlighted in the Learning Lessons Report, the turnaround has been dramatic. With assistance, students at Ngukurr are now reading at their age levels. As the minister for Education pointed out, in the past the students at Ngukurr were slipping behind for every year they stayed at school. Where was the incentive for them to attend classes? Progress now is at the rate of 1.7 years of improvement for each year they attend. In the secondary school, many of the students have begun to transfer their learning to be able to individually read at, or close to, their age level. The effect on student behaviour and self-esteem is palpable. Students, for the first time, are experiencing the kind of success that is considered normal in a mainstream classroom. Children at Ngukurr have a reason to go to school. Attendance has also increased by 8%.
Parents are taking great pride in the education of their children. There is a greater degree of parent involvement, and the school now holds widely attended assemblies in the centre of the community showcasing the children’s learning. The indigenous teachers at the school have also given stalwart support in the implementation of accelerated literacy. They have received intensive professional development and fully back the trial. The principal and staff at the school have made a commitment to make a difference, and have worked hard to prioritise literacy in the school in using this more effective approach. The staff at Ngukurr deserve the warmest congratulations for this commitment and hard work.
The pay-off for the children at Ngukurr is a much more hopeful future than could have been thought possible 12 months ago. However, there has also been a dividend for teachers in professional development and greater job satisfaction. What is happening through this new approach at Ngukurr which will be extended over time to other schools, is a solid investment in the future. Without the foundations of literacy and numeracy, the kinds of community capacity building so vital to the future of the Northern Territory just will not be possible. Improved education outcomes are directly linked to improvements in health and living standards. They are directly related to the capacity to develop and sustain economic independence.
In years past, the community of Ngukurr - formerly Roper River - has produced some of the Territory’s great Aboriginal leaders. The families of the Roberts, Daniels, Rogers, Thompsons, Joshuas, Huddlestons and many others, have been prominent in education, health, art and politics. The previous government chose to rob these families of their birthright to a decent education and, therefore, robbed them of a future.
Government is about turning back these years of neglect and giving those families renewed hope that they can escape the physical and material poverty they had been condemned to. Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I commend the minister’s statement to the House.
Mrs AAGAARD (Health and Community Services): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I commend the Minister for Education, Employment and Training for his statement on indigenous education.
I, like all of my colleagues on this side, strongly supported the implementation of the Learning Lessons Report. This report has particular significance for my portfolio of Health and Community Services because of the inextricable link between education and health. This is a link which has long been recognised by Labor, both in opposition as well as in government. Today, this view is supported by international research which highlights the interconnection between education and health.
I would like to mention, in particular, the health transitions research. This research is based on studies of populations from around the world and concludes, amongst other things, that reduced infant mortality levels are strongly linked to the educational level of women in the community. Some of this research goes further to quantify this relationship, stating that we can expect child mortality to fall by between 7% and 9% for each additional year of education completed by those mothers.
Last year, the then Chairperson of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Pat Anderson, spoke about this topic in an address to the Australian Remote and Rural Workforce Agency Group conference in Adelaide. She said:
- While tracing the ‘pathways’ that lead from better education to better health is not easy, it seems that greater education is associated with greater power within families and communities (especially for women) as well as greater ability to interact with and manage health services.
She concluded:
- At this profound level, education is a health issue.
I endorse this view.
What this government is doing by addressing the education of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory is a bold and visionary step; it will lead to better numeracy and literacy. We can expect a flow-on to greater employment and less poverty, and escape from dependence on welfare and, crucially, better educated Territorians to be health. These are the broad links between health and education.
I will now outline some of the specific initiatives my department is taking to support Aboriginal children and their families in achieving better education outcomes. Ensuring that children are healthy, well fed, and live in a supportive family environment is crucial to them being able to learn effectively. In regards to the general health of children, I remind the House that this government has allocated $2.2m per annum to regional health care teams across the Northern Territory, specifically for work on child health. This initiative enables the full implementation of many existing evidence-based child health interventions across the Territory, including the Growth Assessment in Action Program and the Healthy School Aged Kids Program that have already been highlighted by the minister for Education in his statement.
To date, 6.5 of these additional child health positions have been filled, and my department is currently in the process of recruiting to another seven positions. As the multi-disciplinary child health team develops, we can expect further improvements to the health status of remote Aboriginal children. The need for additional effort in the field of child health is absolutely clear.
I have previously described my trip to Ramingining when I was surprised and saddened to learn that staff at that health centre had just completed the first systematic screening of school children in 10 years. The fact that, on this one community, 83% of the children screened required some form of medical treatment is absolutely sobering. In another survey, around half of the children younger than five have been found to be anaemic in Top End communities. I am pleased to report that the Growth Assessment and Action Program has already been making improvements across the Northern Territory. The greatest reduction in anaemia has been seen in remote communities around Darwin. In these communities, anaemia rates have fallen from 51% to 19% over the past two years, with some communities achieving rates as low as 6%. These are very positive results for children who are about to embark on their schooling.
Another area where action needs to be taken is nutrition of children. It is known that poor nutrition in children adversely affects their achievement at school. In particular, malnutrition and anaemia are known to cause poor attention, behavioural problems, and consequent reduced educational achievement. These factors have long-term implications for the social and economic future for individuals. A study by the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research for the Fred Hollows Foundation concluded that poor diet and nutritional status are strongly associated with a variety of chronic preventable and non-communicable diseases that are highly prevalent in Aboriginal communities.
For this reason, the Fred Hollows Foundation entered into partnership with the Jawoyn Association to deliver nutrition programs to children in Beswick, Manyallaluk and Bulman. This program is delivered with the support of Woolworths. The communities have regained control of their community stores leading to improvements in a range of the food stocked in these stores, allowing greater access to fresh and nutritious food. Women’s Centre activities in Beswick have been expanded and community involvement has increased. The Women’s Centre now provides nutritious meals daily for approximately 120 children, and caters for community events. I applaud the Fred Hollows Foundation, the Jawoyn Association and Woolworths for this collaborative approach combining philanthropic with business and community expertise to tackle problems.
This government has also allocated $310 000 per year for school breakfast programs. I am pleased to inform the House the schools that will be first trialled in the Northern Territory government remote school breakfast program are to be announced very shortly. I look forward to reporting on the progress of this program in the future.
I would also like to mention the action we are taking to improve parenting skills and, through this, the success of children in the education system. The Exploring Together Parenting and Intervention Program is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and my department. Based on an interstate model, Exploring Together is being trialled and adapted for use with indigenous families. The trial and evaluation involves the collaboration of the Tiwi Health Board, the Charles Darwin University, the CRC, and Mental Health as a component in the Tiwi Life Promotion Project. Programs are now being provided in Pirlangimpi and Nguiu. The Exploring Together Project has now accumulated evidence on over 50 or more families and children in three communities, and redeveloped guidelines for program delivery in an indigenous context. In addition, it has identified opportunities for a major contribution to services provided at remote area schools. The evaluation of Exploring Together will inform further development of appropriate indigenous parenting programs in future. Considerable interest has been shown in the program by the Learning Lessons Implementation Steering Committee, and consideration is being given to extending the program to other communities.
Mr Deputy Speaker, these may be individual initiatives, but they lie in the broader context of this government’s commitment to the overall wellbeing of indigenous Territorians. This is an ongoing challenge from which the government has not shied away. This government acknowledges we need to look beyond immediate measures to the big picture, while at the same time providing effective interventions at the local level. I look forward to continuing collaboration between the education and health sectors, and commend the hard work and achievements of those working in the field.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arafura): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the minister’s statement, which sets out in a clear and illuminating fashion the steps that our government is taking to implement the recommendations of the Learning Lessons review. I do not intend to recapitulate or rehash any of the material he has covered.
In my role as Parliamentary Secretary, I have, during recent months, been privileged to assist him in guiding and developing government strategy in relation to the implementation of those recommendations, which, among other things, has involved my participation in the meeting of the Learning Lessons Implementation Steering Committee.
The Learning Lessons review revealed the extent of under-achievement and/or non-achievement in indigenous education in the Northern Territory. It directed our attention towards practical, short-, medium- and long-term steps that could be taken to address the multifaceted problems which, in combination, are to blame for that lack of achievement.
The most significant of the long-term steps proposed was the sharing, with appropriately constituted entities, the government’s responsibility for providing and formulating educational programs on the ground in remote communities. The logical end stage of such a strategy, as preliminary and intermediary stages have indicated, is progressive transfers of control and associated funding to deliver improvements in educational outcomes. One of them is the replacement of a government school with an Aboriginal community school. No such Aboriginal community school exists in any Northern Territory remote community at present, apart from Nyangatjatjara in Yulara, and Yipirinya in Alice Springs, both examples of such a school established in an urban setting.
I have had considerable experience in a different but similar gradual process of transferring ownership and control of a government function and service to an Aboriginal community controlled entity. That was in the health field rather than in the educational field. The key critical ground rules are applicable in education as well as health. They include the following:
- the interim or steering governing committee of the proposed new entity must be made up of individuals
who are genuinely committed to improving educational outcomes in their community and who do not
have obligations or loyalties to other organisations or entities, local or otherwise, that will or may affect
their capacity to carry out their education reform roles in an independent and unconflicted way;
the new entity must, sooner or later, become separately incorporated in its own right and should be
provided with funding to enable it to obtain independent, expert advice and assistance from sources
outside of government;
regardless of the extent to which any of them have served in a representative capacity in other
organisations or entities, the members of the governing committee of the new entity must be
provided with intense, comprehensive and effectively focussed training in administration and
governance, including in relation to organisational, legal and financial matters, and that training
should be ongoing; and
departmental staff allocated the task of assisting or monitoring the development of the new entity
should themselves be senior and effective officers of a high calibre. They should be, at the same
time, sufficiently flexible to enable Aboriginal community education entities to formulate and
implement local solutions to Territory-wide problems, and rigorous in securing compliance with
performance indicators and financial reporting requirements. They should be prompt in taking
appropriate remedial action, including the partial or total resumption of control by the department
if the new entity proves incapable of carrying out its agreed functions at any point in time.
To start with, the self-governing school concept, or community control concept, is being trialled at a small number of communities only. They are on the Tiwi Islands and Maningrida, which is in my electorate, and several sites in Central Australia. The way in which the concept takes shape will probably vary from site to site, and we are still only in the early days of an exciting initiative which will, I hope, provide us, ultimately, with a blueprint for the reform of educational service delivery in remote Aboriginal communities throughout the Northern Territory.
This government takes seriously its task of addressing what I referred to earlier as the multifaceted problems which, in combination, are to blame for the crisis that we are facing in indigenous education. Putting in place the self-managing schools trials is just one of the measures that have been taken in that regard. However, neither I, nor anyone else, is claiming that we have all the answers, or that the crisis is going to be turned around in a short time. I am constantly coming across new aspects of these multifaceted problems that we need to deal with, some of which do not have their own dedicated strategy, but are part of an across-the-board strategy. I have in mind a particular example, and there are a number of things that I could touch on that various speakers talked about - the members for Blain, Nelson and also members over here.
There is one issue I would like to speak about briefly, which is an issue which is part of a general malaise identified by Bob Collins and his review team, but which was only touched on in a roundabout way but, nevertheless, is in the review report. It is the issue of the particular lack of educational achievement evidenced amongst our young and indigenous men. Poor levels of achievement by young males is not, of course, a phenomena unique to indigenous communities.
The Commonwealth Parliament’s House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training published a report in October 2002, entitled Boys: Getting it Right which I will refer to as the Getting it Right report. The Getting it Right report confirmed the findings of various studies and inquiries that throughout Australia and, indeed, in other OECD countries as well, boys are not achieving as well as girls across a broad spectrum of measures of educational attainment. Key indicators referred to included: performances measured against early literacy benchmarks; school comparative retention rates of young men and women throughout to Year 12; end of year results in Year 10 and 12 subjects; admissions to higher education institutions; and suspensions and expulsions from school. Paragraph 2.71 of the Getting it Right report was as follows:
- The committee has not undertaken a separate investigation into the issues surrounding the educational under-achievement of indigenous boys. However, it has received sufficient evidence to indicate that most of the issues affecting boys’ education generally also apply to indigenous boys, although they clearly suffer from additional educational disadvantages.
While most of the published data for indigenous students does not distinguish between boys and girls, it is clear that indigenous boys and girls are the most disadvantaged students in Australia. The available data suggests that within the indigenous cohort of students, boys are not achieving as well as girls.
Paragraphs 2.75 to 2.8 of the Getting it Right report then refer specifically to the Learning Lessons review, quoting extracts from both the published report and from evidence submitted during the course of the review. These references underscore the fact that, in the context of the Territory’s long-term unsatisfactory performance in the field of indigenous education, indigenous males are doing worse than indigenous girls.
The minister’s statement has mentioned the significant strides that are being made in relation to the establishment of the continuing secondary education studies program at one of the schools in my electorate, the Maningrida CEC. I am proud of the progress that has been made, and I congratulate both the employed staff, in particular the Principal, Lyn Hollows, Helen Bond-Sharp and the associated community members who have supported the initiative. However, it was a sobering and thought-provoking experience for me to be informed that the overwhelming majority of the participants in the secondary education program are young women.
Maningrida is a large community in population terms, especially when one takes into account the surrounding outstations serviced by the Maningrida-based Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation. Bawinanga has been something of a trailblazer when it comes to creativity and resourcefulness in the development of an indigenous-owned and managed economic enterprise. In addition to the usual house and road construction and other public work contracts undertaken by substantial essential service provider, Bawinanga operates a native plant nursery, a crocodile farm, and an arts and crafts centre. They also provide supplementary medical and education services and have a store for its outstation constituents.
The large scale-operations maintained by Bawinanga, together with those of other Maningrida-based community organisations, make for a local employment scene which, while still limited, in comparison with many other remote indigenous communities offers some challenging options for genuine employment. Like anywhere else, the attainment of basic secondary education benchmarks is frequently a precondition for obtaining such interesting jobs or traineeships as may be on offer.
Why isn’t there more of an interest in – indeed, more a demand for – secondary education amongst the young men in Maningrida and right throughout most of our Northern Territory remote Aboriginal communities? I believe part of the answer to the that question is tied up with issues which are currently being investigated by the parliamentary substance abuse committee.
I commend the minister’s statement. It is all about getting it right in indigenous education outcomes, which is a challenge for all members of this Assembly. The Martin Labor government will continue to rise to and meet this challenge.
Ms LAWRIE (Karama): Mr Deputy Speaker, I welcome the second ministerial statement on indigenous education, and thank the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, our Deputy Chief Minister, for bringing forward this important statement. It just shows his passion and actions to improve the educational outcomes for our indigenous students.
One may ask: why this is so important? I say because the Territory cannot advance in unity, reconciliation and opportunities for all, without bringing more than one-third of our population, our first Territorians, up to the level of access to learning that so many of us take for granted. I do not speak today of remote or regional indigenous education, because that is best addressed by my colleagues in the seats of Nhulunbuy, Stuart, Arnhem and Arafura, who have spoken before me. However, I recognise the Territory, until the Labor Martin government was elected, had a shameful record of neglect for education, infrastructure and initiatives outside of our major urban centres.
This neglect was clearly identified in Learning Lessons, not to damn, but to provide meaningful mechanisms to right this screaming failure in our education system. Sadly, Learning Lessons was never implemented by the CLP; it was lauded and then left to gather dust on the shelves. The result of government inaction has wreaked havoc on our society. We now have generations that have been denied the opportunity of a sound education. These are the people who, in their despair at being shut out of the mainstream, sank to substance abuse - largely alcohol. Their children have been raised in an environment of no education routine, and now we face the challenge of dealing with trying to encourage the next generation to school.
In the urban context, this has well and truly come home to roost. We have indigenous tutors who go to homes of children and collect them to get them to school. At urban schools in my electorate, we try to feed the children so they have the strength to learn. We acknowledge and recognise difference, while encouraging acceptance of the importance of delivering the basics: literacy and numeracy. The innovation of individuals at school level has certainly helped. Karama School is working with Sanderson High to pilot a middle years of schooling project that has an indigenous worker, Sheree Ah Sam, follow primary-aged students through into their early high school years. This is an attempt to address the unacceptable drop-out rate of indigenous students at high school.
Many challenges remain while the government lays its strong foundations. I applaud the provision of a School Attendance Officer at Sanderson High School to work with our local primary schools. My office has already suggested that regular trips to Karama Shopping Centre will find many truants. I spend time, sadly almost on a daily basis, along with my electorate officer, asking the young children: ‘Why aren’t you at school?’. Too often the answer is: ‘Because mum is sick’. A dedicated attendance officer with support from the AEIWs will have the capacity to tackle such underlying causes of truancy. They need to be there working with parents.
What of those indigenous kids at our schools? Increasingly, they are improving their attendance rates, their MAP testing results, and responding positively to the fantastic role models at their school. The results show that we get real outcomes when we provide resources to indigenous education. I praise our indigenous teachers at Malak, Karama and Manunda Terrace Primary Schools, and at Sanderson High. They have shown an exceptional commitment to their students, both during and after school hours. These terrific teachers, incredible role models, are very ably supported by indigenous tutors at our schools who are funded under either ISA, ATAS, AEIW or IESIP funding streams. While we know that the Commonwealth is reducing funding under such streams, the NT government is increasing funding to ensure resources to support our indigenous students are not diminished.
It is critical to improving indigenous education outcomes that we continue to fund indigenous tutors. These tutors are tremendous role models who can work one-on-one or in small groups to assist students to meet literacy and numeracy benchmarks. The initiative and commitment shown by our indigenous teachers and tutors flows outside of the classroom as well. For example, at Malak Primary School, these dedicated staff give up their recess and lunch breaks to run activities for students. I am working with these staff to address such initiatives at the systemic level, and I urge the department in the future to consider adequate resourcing of such initiatives.
When the department does provide adequate resources in keeping with our government’s policy direction, we see very real results. Increasingly today, there are more and more students arriving at our urban schools who have had limited access to education in remote areas of the Territory. Therefore, it is my strong belief that the issues identified within Learning Lessons also apply to our urban schools, and we need an urban indigenous education strategy specifically targeted at our indigenous students in the urban schools. These are the students who are a minority in numbers at the school and often struggle to meet the literacy and numeracy benchmarks of their classmates. I certainly urge those involved in Learning Lessons, whom I know have been working hard - and I know the minister for Education has been dedicated to ensuring that the Learning Lessons implementation team meet regularly and work to burrow down into the departmental level the implementation aspects of Learning Lessons. I have spoken in the past to the department and at ministerial level about the need to identify where these initiatives can also burrow down into urban schools.
I saw the example at the local school of Karama Primary of a specific indigenous education program. I have spoken about it previously in parliament; it is called the Karama Way. Sadly, that program no longer exists because the creator of the program has left the school. Really, what that shows me is that we need initiatives to be taken from a grassroots level. The minister for Justice spoke about initiatives in his electorate at the grassroots level; and I agree with him. He said such initiatives can only work when created and developed at the grassroots level. However, these initiatives then need to, I believe, carry up to the systemic level. Certainly, they can be translated across into other schools.
I also acknowledge the work that has been done within the Indigenous Education Unit to look at the relevant curriculum, at how it can move and improve to meet the needs for requirements of indigenous students. I remind members that it is the broader society that ultimately benefits from such advancements in indigenous education. If we are to be truly a society that provides enhanced opportunities for all Territorians, therefore minimising social dysfunction, one of the core elements we must address - as we have recognised in debate this afternoon - is the provision of the greatest possible indigenous education outcomes.
I acknowledge that hand-in-hand with indigenous education initiatives go health initiatives. I agree with what the Minister for Health and Community Services had to say in relation to that. Health issues are a major concern to many of our indigenous students. Indigenous students who have come in from communities and settled into my electorate often come here because a parent or parents have chronic health issues. Addressing the health of indigenous Territorians will assist our students to literally be at school and have the good health to learn at school.
Many studies have been done on the impact on a person’s ability to learn when they have hearing or sight problems. Everyone in the Assembly would acknowledge that the Territory as a jurisdiction has a very long way to go to turn around the horrifying statistics of early childhood health in hearing and eyesight. I commend the work that is being done by the department, and I commend the minister for driving forward his department.
I have been witnessing a sea change in the past two years. The Minister for Justice and Attorney-General spoke about the intransigence, under previous governments, of the bureaucracy in indigenous education outcomes. I believe that has changed. I believe that they are moving forward as a result of the Martin Labor government’s policies in indigenous education. It is a long road. It is very difficult to turn around generations of neglect in a couple of short years. However, I commend the Minister for Employment, Education and Training. I know he has been the driving force behind turning around some entrenched perspectives about whether or not many of the policy initiatives are achievable, and whether or not the outcomes are worthwhile.
Having seen some of the examples at schools in my electorate, I acknowledge that these things are achievable. We have seen, with specific indigenous education initiatives, improvements in attendance levels. We have seen improvements in MAP testing, though not broadly enough yet. As with everything, first it takes political will to make that leap of faith into a new direction, which, through the policies of the Martin Labor government, we are making. Second, I have always argued that it takes resources. I recognise that the minister has gone to bat through the Cabinet process, and has delivered substantial resources for indigenous education through successive budgets.
It is sad to think that it has taken so long to reach this point where we can have discourse on the importance of indigenous education in the Territory,. However, it certainly gives me hope that, in future, we will have generations who have not been excluded from education. We will have generations who will grow up, as many of us have, believing that a core education is a central part of your life. These generations will grow up teaching their children the importance of a fundamental education. That will enhance all outcomes for the Territory into the future.
I commend members for the various statements they have made in the House today on this very important subject. I commit to working tirelessly at the electorate level with my constituents, parents, the AASPA committees, the school staff to continue to find very real improvements in indigenous education outcomes at the grassroots level.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Deputy Speaker, in responding to the statement of the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, it is an observation that my own formal education commenced when I was five years of age. By that stage, I had grown up learning my mother tongue and several other dialects of Chinese, plus having to learn Bahasa Melayu, as we called it back in those days. Those were the languages we had to learn as part of growing up in a South-East Asian country.
Even at that young age, I grew to appreciate the importance that my parents placed on being educated. They pushed very hard to ensure that I received the fullest education that they could provide me, with all the means they had. It was important to them and they imbued upon me that attitude that education was important. Without a doubt, that education that I received through the colonial days of Malaysia, as I was growing up, has held me in good stead ever since.
When you read through or listened to the minister give his statement, he spoke a lot about indigenous education. I applaud the government for following through on Learning Lessons and recommendations made by Mr Bob Collins in his report that more needs to be done out bush. The minister, whilst speaking about the many initiatives that the government proposes to do, and has already done, left out, in my opinion, a significant part of parental contribution to the desire that children should be educated. Without parental encouragement, it is often the case where kids would rather skip school than go to school. The more parents can imbue in their children that going to school is important, the more likely that kids will then go to school.
For instance, my mother was brought up in a traditional way. She never learned English at all. All she knew was very basic Chinese; she did not go very far in education. Whereas my father was educated in a missionary school, and thus was taught in English. Having recognised that the rest of the family should be educated as well, my parents ensured that I went to the same missionary school and, hence, got my education there. Back in those days of colonial Malaya, English was the official language. My parents realised that if I was to get on in that country, I needed to speak the official language. I see the similarities between that circumstance and the current day’s circumstance in the Northern Territory, where the mainstream language of this country is English. To not promote widespread knowledge of English is wrong. I am not saying that the minister has done that. It is fine that the minister said that he is producing interesting programs that will allow English as a second language, or even as a third or fourth language. We need to keep on pushing that, to ensure that all our students, when they leave primary school and then high school, are very competent in the mainstream language. Without that, we are not going to get very far.
Then the minister went on to say: ‘We are going to produce 100 teachers in our term …’ - this first term of theirs - … having introduced 20 in 2002 and 20 in 2003’. What I did not hear the minister say was what the attrition rate was. How many have you retained out of those 40 that you have brought in, in the last two years? What is the nett increase? We do not know that. It would be interesting to find out exactly whether you are on target to get your 100. You might say 20 each year, and for the next four years we get close to 80. However, if your attrition rate is 50 or an even higher percentage, then you are not likely to get there.
Of the many proposals the government has considered bringing in - and some of the few that they have brought in - other than the national testing benchmarks the minister has spoken about, I have not seen very many outcomes that have been achieved so far. Maybe it is early days. If it is early days, that is fine, I am prepared to wait a little longer. Turning around education for the people who have not been significantly or strongly motivated to want to get into mainstream education will take a long while. As long as we make small inroads each year, we will gradually get there.
When we come to health, though, that is another matter. We all know that if you are unwell you are not going to learn as well as if you were healthy. If you are not hearing properly because of deafness then, obviously, your learning is going to be significantly impeded. Every child, every baby, that is growing up does not know how to blow their nose. It is easy enough to sniff or to suck in, but to blow is a muscular activity that has to be taught. It has to be taught and many of us taught our children to blow their noses and we then wiped their noses after that. I have noticed that many Aboriginal children are not taught to do that. That observation is backed up by many people who teach and deal with Aboriginal children.
I was approached probably four or five months ago in Alice Springs, to assist a young woman who was developing a nose blowing program. She came up with a jingle which she wanted to produce as a video and was looking for funding to do that. She had a jingle written, and I will read it for Hansard. She and a bunch of children are doing this on video. The children ask the question and she responds:
- What’s up?
Can’t you hear?
What’s up?
Can’t you hear?
What’s up?
I need to blow my nose.
What’s up?
Can’t you hear?
What’s up?
Can’t you hear?
What’s up?
I need to blow my nose.
Then she tells the children:
- Get a tissue, cover your nose, take a deep breath and close your mouth, and blow, blow, blow (through your nose)
Blow, blow, blow.
Then the children respond after that:
- What’s up?
I hear you.
What’s up?
I’m great, thanks.
What’s up?
Let’s go and play the day away.
All the children would then say:
- Hooray!
This little jingle has been played on Imparja Television as part of the community broadcast program. In fact, Imparja was so enthused by that particular video that they wrote to this young lady and offered her free broadcast of that video as part of a community service campaign. I will read the letter into Hansard:
- Thank you for your inquiry regarding the placement of advertising on Imparja Television with the aim of promoting a ‘community service campaign’ on this very topical situation. We are looking to target the broad community prior to and over the winter months. The plan is to have a commercial that focusses on the positive aspect of blowing your nose, and will carry a specific message for the community as a whole.
I have suggested an extended (three month) campaign because, with continued air time the messages can be shared with the whole community consistently. Maybe we need to consider a campaign as the seasons change
Please find attached
Proposed schedules.
The schedules attached have a value, as community service announcement by nature are aired at no charge. This happens at the station’s discretion and as air time availability allows and with no guarantee. Community service announcements with a value are able to be placed and campaigns managed, ensuring the message is told consistently and effectively which, in this case, I believe, is what is required.
- Schedule A reflects a solid two-week launch, thinning down for a further 10 weeks of consistent reinforcement.
Schedule B reflects continued awareness for a further six weeks at no charge.
Schedule C continues awareness for a further four weeks at no charge.
Three months air time Total $1672.
- Schedules 1, 2 and 3, Imparja Television commitment:
1 shows true costing of Schedule A
2 and 3 shows true costing of Schedule B and C, slows down the air time, and we -run three or four spots per week on a rotating schedule for a further three months.
Three months air time Total $6363.
This component is at no charge to the Nose Blowing project.
In light of the information being broadcast, Imparja Television has no hesitation in extending to your campaign at NO CHARGE and tying in for another year, as broad community impact will require a long-range commitment.
Good luck with your grant application, and if you would like any further information or help with planning your campaign, please don’t hesitate to contact me during business hours ...
It was signed by the Sales Manager of Imparja.
This young lady’s name is Yvonne Healy, and I commend her to government. Her project is very worthy. Her single action would ensure that children on the Imparja footprint would see this video, catch on the issue of nose blowing, and, in fact, prevent chronic ear infections, which is what we are talking about. Chronic ear infections cause deafness if left untreated. This little, simple program would make such a huge difference to our children in the bush. I ask the minister to contact this young woman who is in Alice Springs. I believe she works for one of the children’s groups in Alice Springs. I am sure you will find her easily enough, or even contact her through her e-mail address which I am happy to give to the minister if he wants it.
Minister, it is important for you to consider that, while education in the bush is also important, we need to recognise that mainstream education is also needed. There is not much in your statement with regards to mainstream education. Take, for example, children of migrants from Asia. They do well at school despite language barriers and cultural hurdles. That is something that you need to recognise and put it in the context of the education statement that you have just made.
There are things in there that are particularly good, that I would support the government on. However, let us ensure that that the parents are involved in indigenous education from the very start; that parents can appreciate the value of education for their children. Only through that can they achieve the status that they have every right to have.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Madam Speaker, I contribute to the minister’s statement on indigenous education. I commend the statement to the House. I have had many dealings with the member for Nhulunbuy since being elected. I have worked closely with him on a number of issues; in particular, the local schools of Millner Primary School, Ludmilla Primary and Millner Preschool. We are working together on a particular issue now which I hope to be successful in, and able to provide some preparatory work for kids in Minmarama Park community on Dick Ward Drive.
There are a couple of things that need to be said in regards to indigenous education. In the minister’s statement, he says that the government,
- We believe that improving education and training is a critical plank in improving the social and economic development of our community.
That takes me to a place in regards to the education, economy and world order issues involving the whole community including indigenous people of the Northern Territory. One of the facts that I found amazing was the increase in indigenous enrolments across the Northern Territory, which are up by 600.
We have had a focus on the Indigenous Economic Forum and we have had attack on law and order issues, in particular, illicit drugs. All three affect indigenous and non-indigenous people of the Northern Territory. Lo and behold!, with an attack on these three fronts, we then look at crime figures. Crime figures have consistently gone down in the last two years since our election. I recently spoke to people who have similar interests in law and order and restorative justice issues, and they told me about a documentary called Bowling for Columbine. It is an American documentary about law and order issues and, historically, how that argument is being run. The reality is that though law and order issues to do with assaults, murders and property crime - except for murder, sorry - have consistently gone down in America, the media play on the concept of lawlessness and disorder being rampant.
Since we came into government two years ago, we have made a particular effort to attack certain issues that have been left behind or ignored by previous governments. I do not want to go into the issue about who is to blame. I have spoken many times in this House about the history of this nation. We know that disenfranchisement of indigenous people from mainstream results in poor health, poor education, high death rates, high infant mortality, low education, and low employment. I do not particularly think that any one party has been to blame; it has been an attitude over the history of the last 200 years to do indigenous relations. I am very, very positive about this: in the last 10 years I have seen a big shift in indigenous issues to a point of reconciliation in this country. That has worked; there are things happening, as in attitudinal changes. One of the important elements of the minister’s statement was:
- A major weakness in our education effort over many years has been the outcomes in indigenous education. No one can read the Learning Lessons report, written by Bob Collins, without recognising that we were in the middle of an educational disaster, one which would have implications for the Territory for many years to come.
My parents often talk about the role of employment during their time, and I have spoken in this House about the fact that necessity required people to employ indigenous people of my parents’ age. The reality was there might be 300 jobs, but there might only be 500 people available and 400 of them happen to be indigenous; so you had to employ indigenous people. Employment is a big issue in that respect. Through education and unemployment, we are seeing a lot of problems involving law and order, health, education, etcetera. One of the big positives that we have in the Northern Territory is that indigenous people actually make up nearly one-third of the population.
I will use myself as an example. I went to school at Nightcliff High School where I saw many people of different ethnic backgrounds. For me, race issues would come up very rarely, but I did not feel uncomfortable about race issues going to school in the Northern Territory. All of a sudden my father got a job in Perth, and I travelled there with my brother and a third person who was an indigenous person from Western Australia. We were the only indigenous kids in a school of 1500, and that is when I first realised that institutionalised racism does not exist. I was a 15-year-old kid who had left Darwin in the Northern Territory, where I obtained Bs and As, and was suddenly trying to pass, but being able to mix and mingle with other students in a class of non-indigenous background and being able to communicate with them at a certain level. Something was happening - I did not know what it was and I could not explain it - that was affecting my ability to perform on tests. Even though we could converse in the same language, somehow I was not able to put down on paper what the right answers were.
I believe this is happening in the Northern Territory. The benefits of having a large population of indigenous people going to school - if we can get people going to school - is that people feel safety in numbers. This is a positive thing we are going to have to work on.
The minister commented on this with regard to Learning Lessons:
- Learning Lessons said indigenous education must become a core responsibility of the Department of Employment, Education and Training. With indigenous students making up nearly 40% of the student population, this was a fundamental change that simply had to happen if we were to ensure ongoing improvements and outcomes.
Other members of this House have mentioned this importance, this shift, as a bureaucracy in the education and employment training area, as what we have to concentrate on. Here we have, in reality, 40% of your clientele being of an indigenous background. We are not talking about a minority of 5% or 10% where we have specialised unique programs running for a very small percentage of the community, we are talking nearly 50% of the community. This 40% has a large effect on the other 60%. We can no longer look at it as indigenous education or non-indigenous education. As part of the NT government, I have repeatedly said in this House what services the NT government or the Commonwealth government have to provide. The basic service is what every Australian expects; which is education, health, infrastructure, employment, etcetera. That is all that we are talking about providing: education and employment opportunities for people who just happen to be of indigenous background.
I would also like to comment on the minister’s statement that:
- I have made it clear that indigenous education is everybody’s business and that there must be a sustained focus on improved outcomes.
He continued:
- Indigenous education is now firmly represented at executive level. Every divisional area throughout the department has responsibility for strategies within the Indigenous Education Strategic Plan Implementation Program.
The question must be asked: is this a change? If they were representing 40% of the student body, why was there no representation at this executive level? That question has to be asked.
I heard many members talk about issues, in particular, the high turnover of remote teachers. I travelled to Nhulunbuy when first elected for the Croc Festival. One of the concepts behind the Croc Festival was getting kids from remote areas – black, white, green or purple – into an environment where it stimulated them to think about what profession they wanted to follow - if they wanted to be a fireman, a police officer, whatever. One of the indigenous elders over there was speaking to me about education issues. One of the issues he brought up, which I found pretty interesting, was that he was amazed that these young teachers would come in – 21, 22, 23 – and they would come up to him and say: ‘Look, we have come here to get an educational experience about Aboriginal Australia’. They might be from Melbourne, Sydney, or Perth. Do you know what he said to me? He said: ‘You know, I am sick of hearing that for the last 20 years. They are here to provide a service to this community, which is to educate this community’. Instead of going there looking for an education, which is an offshoot of what their experience would be, it is not their main goal. Their main goal is to provide an educational experience.
Again, we heard members speak tonight about the need for providing infrastructure. This is just a pure and simple requirement of any Territory or state government in Australia, as well as the Commonwealth, to provide teachers with a safe working environment. I believe this will go a long way to dealing with the retention rates.
I also support the minister’s initiatives on getting quality teachers. I pick up on the member for Blain’s belief that quality teachers are the backbone of good education. I went to school in a primary school, now closed down, called Rapid Creek Primary – very similar to Millner Primary School. There was one particular teacher there who stood about 6’2” and weighed over a 100 kg. All the teachers respected him but, more importantly, all the students respected him. It was not only because of his size and his mere presence, but because he spent time educating; and he was an educator. Every game that he invented was all about teaching mathematics or English. He involved sport in it, schoolroom games, whatever it was. The roughest kids in that school were sent to his class and he straightened them out. This was the quality of this teacher …
Mr Mills: You were in his class, were you?
Mr BONSON: I have to say I had one year in his class, but I was not one of the roughest kids in his class. The thing about it is that now I see this person and I still call him by his surname. He always corrects me and says I can call him by his first name now. But I still have respect for this individual right now. This what we are talking about with the quality of teachers. I am sure that every member of this House has certain teachers that they remember for good reasons and the bad and, just like many professionals, they are worth their weight in gold.
I am not going to enter into the member for Goyder – sorry, not …
Mr Mills: Greatorex?
Mr BONSON: No, not Greatorex.
Mr Mills: Blain?
Dr Burns: Nelson!
Mr BONSON: The member for Nelson – thank you, members. I am not entering into debate about English as a second language, because I am not swayed either way yet. There are some very good arguments for both sides of the debate and, at the moment, I have not made up my mind about which way I am going – with either pro-bilingual or straight down the line just teaching English or a traditional language.
At the end of the day, we are looking at human beings around the world and their influences. They have many more similarities than differences. I believe a lot of the differences are connected to environmental differences, whether it is places on the planet, resources, mountains, cliffs, oceans, or deserts. They have an important part in influencing people’s social and cultural structures.
However, the main thing that all human beings want is for their kids to have the opportunity to have a better life. I do not think anyone in this House would begrudge a parent the thought or the dream of their kids having a better life. I note the member for Arnhem’s statement about the issues to do with grandparents being better educated than their kids, and the current kids being under-educated compared to their parents. Obviously, that is something as a community that we have to address; something we have to look at. I speak to many indigenous people in an urban context, and there is no doubt in my mind that urban indigenous people are crying out for help; they are crying out for assistance. They do not know what the answers are; they are desperate to find ways to have their kids go to school on a regular basis, get educated, and do the right thing. There is no doubt about that.
It has been a long time. To me it is not an issue of blaming one particular government, but it is an issue of the history of this country and the circumstances of that relationship. This has been developing over a long period of time. I went to a sorry day being held at the Water Gardens. I had a mother come up to me. She brought her two sons - one is eight and one is 10, of indigenous background. She said: ‘I hear you on radio’ I often go on radio at 94.5 Radio Larrakia, because I believe it is a good medium to get messages out. I always talk about the need for parents to send their kids to school; that is what everyone is doing in mainstream and indigenous kids have to do that too. She came up to me, and there were a 10-year-old and 8-year-old sitting there looking at me. She said: ‘I have tried everything in the world to get these kids to go to school. How do I get these kids to go to school?’ I do not pretend to have the answers for her, but I do know it has to be a persistent effort. This mother and her partner need assistance – and when I say assistance, I mean ongoing assistance - to ensure that these kids get an opportunity to go to school. This parent was sitting there in front of me saying: ‘We want our kids to go to school, but they will not go. They won’t listen to us, they won’t do this’. It does not matter whether you are black, white, green or purple, these are the same issues that every parent from any background faces: the issue of how do I get my kids to go to school, how do I get them educated, how do I teach them sex education - all of the issues that parents fear in regards to children at a young age.
As the minister points out, the relationship with the Commonwealth is vital. The Northern Territory does not have the resources to deal with such a huge problem area. Again, if we can improve the education outcomes for indigenous people we can attack law and order issues and illicit drugs. We can import people through our economy, we will see our social issues to do with antisocial behaviour, law and order issues, reduce. However, it has to be a genuine effort; it cannot be rhetoric. I will be on the minister’s case – as I am sure every member of this House will be - but he is doing a fine job at the moment. I look forward to future positives coming out of his office.
The member for Arnhem mentioned the Third World and the fact that the results here in the Northern Territory are worse than Third World conditions. So, am I thinking out of the box? I do not know. Am I thinking out of the square? I do not know. Why would we not, as a community, be shocked and amazed by this? We have become desensitised by a lot of the problems facing indigenous education. Why not have a look at some of these programs running in Third World countries by world organisations? Why not recruit them? Are we too proud as a nation to say we need assistance to deal with education if we get the UN, the large charity organisations or beneficiary organisations around the world, to come in and implement programs in remote areas? Let us not be too proud; let us not make that a weakness. If we need assistance; let us get it. For that Commonwealth government relationship, we have to lobby the Commonwealth government and, basically, both parties have to lobby the Commonwealth government, because it is the only way forward in addressing the issue of indigenous education.
As a young man who went back and studied at university to receive a law degree, through the institutionalised education system, my results were not that good, and I am not too ashamed to say this. For some reason, I knew I was just as intelligent as the next person, but I had to go back at a higher level of education and deal with adults. Through that training, I was able to get a law degree to practise in law. What I am saying, Madam Speaker, is that this is only the beginning. The beginning to a long, long war against the under-funding of education in the historical past. I look forward to the minister’s future steps and positive actions in this matter.
Ms CARTER (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to be standing here tonight responding to the minister’s statement which is certainly welcome. Nobody denies for one minute the problems that exist at the moment with regard to education for indigenous people here in Australia, and in the Northern Territory in particular. I note, of course, that we have problems across the board in our communities despite the person’s racial background. Of course, the term education, as used here, is the formal sense of education, perhaps a fairly European sense of education – and, of course, Chinese - the school sense of education. We are all educated in other ways within our family and community, and that has been an area which Aboriginal people, in particular, have been very strong: in the cultural sense of education.
However, at this time, we are talking about formal education in a school structure and, in particular, the need for young people to learn skills in the dominant language of English, and in numeracy. With those skills, and the development of those skills, young people will gain hope that in their futures they will have a choice as to what they should be able to do as adults. For a long time now, that choice has been lacking for many Aboriginal people. It is great to see this statement from the minister. It is the ongoing progress and implementation of the Collins report, which was an excellent step in the right direction. I hope that over my years in the Territory, I will be able to look on and be part of the further implementation of Bob Collins’ recommendations, and to see a growing improvement in this very difficult area of Aboriginal education.
Some of the difficulties encountered by Aboriginal people are not unique to them; they occur across society. However, perhaps in many communities, they are exacerbated. I know that as a young person, I did not like school. Had I had an opportunity not to go, I would certainly have taken it. I am very grateful for the perseverance of my family; it was not easy. I know my father used to give me his own special maths lessons in the evening when I came home from school. I hated them, but I was very poor in that area. I must have been about Grade 4 and, with that sort of family commitment, at the end of the year I received the school prize for the most improved in maths, which was certainly a reflection of the work that my father put into his own little program of trying to help his daughter in this difficult area.
The support of a family for a young person going through school is absolutely vital. I understand where many of those young people are when they do not really want to go to school and cannot relate to it, and suffer from the feeling of constantly failing within the schoolroom. Of course, families are backed up by the community. It is that community, through so many ways indicating to the family and the child the vital importance of the need to get a formal education and the importance of being able to develop skills like literacy and numeracy, which then enable a person to go on to develop further skills - computing, for example - that they can sell to future employers. That is the reality for all of us.
In our community, we have heard from many well-known people, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, about the problems with the so-called welfare state and the way that that has impinged on the development and future for many Aboriginal people. There is a growing desire and demand from Aboriginal people to cut the strings of the welfare state, to set them free from it and to reach their full potential within their community and the broader community. It is through education and the development of skills that that is going to be achieved.
The member for Millner raised the issue of teachers and the role model effect that a particular teacher had on him when he was at school. Across the board in Australia, we face a growing concern with the lack of males being attracted and encouraged to the teaching profession. We vitally need more men involved in teaching. Across the board, we are seeing the breakdown of the family unit and the loss of fathers for many children, which is very sad to see. Fathers are vital in the family for our growth. Male school teachers can help students, male and female, to have a good role model of a male succeeding as a result of his gaining a formal education.
I know nationally it is being look at, but greater steps can be taken to attract more men into the teaching profession. It is not an easy profession. As members know, I have had a brief experience as a primary school teacher myself, and I opted to return to nursing because of my insights into the teaching profession. It is a very difficult profession, with very high expectations on teachers. Anything that can be done to attract quality people into teaching, and to retain them, is to be valued. I have a particular concern, of course, about the lack of men in the teaching profession because they will be a great asset in any school. Particularly in remote Aboriginal schools, to have some men on the staff would be fantastic.
In my electorate there are a number of schools. All of them work hard to attract and retain their Aboriginal students.
St John’s College is in my electorate, and is a school which has prided itself over the years on attracting young Aboriginal people with talent into the ranks of their school in an effort to give them the skills that they are going to need in their futures, and if they choose to work within their community to help their community. I commend the work of St John’s College - at the moment, it is headed by Sr Phillipa – that they are doing with regard to their Aboriginal students.
I also have St Mary’s Primary School and Larrakeyah Primary School, which are both schools that work hard to attract and retain students. I know, for example, that I do a have a very small Aboriginal settlement within my electorate known as Railway Dam, and a real effort is made whenever the schools know that there are some young Aboriginal people living at Railway Dam - which is often a transient area - to try to attract those kiddies into their schools and to keep them there for as long as possible. For example, a little bus can be used to go and pick them up and take them into school in the morning. When I go to school assemblies, it is great to see those students taking part in the local inner city schools. All the best to those schools as they work to help these young people have a future.
With regard to the minister’s statement specifically, there are some areas which are particular to the health. It will be wonderful to see the Department of Health and Community Services and the minister’s department working together to further improve the situation. I know that the Health minister has allocated $320 000 in her budget this year for a remote school nutrition program, which is a trial project. I remember when I was working in Katherine as the nurse educator in the early 1990s, there was a great deal of concern about malnutrition in some of the communities in the area. Barunga, in particular, had a major problem with malnutrition in the young children. It was a real dilemma for people in the health area whether or not to bring in a school feeding program for these children. At the time, the feeling was that it was paternalistic to do such a thing. However, I can assure members that it was something that was discussed repeatedly, caught betwixt in between what to do. I will be very interested to see the outcome of the Health minister’s school feeding program. I hope it is implemented.
My personal belief is that we should be doing everything to help those young people. This is the only chance that they get to gain an education. We should put other thoughts behind us and, whatever it takes to help them develop physically and mentally, should be done. This is their golden opportunity and I certainly hope that program has good outcomes.
On a more disappointing note, in last year’s Health budget, millions of dollars were allocated to a program to improve child health screening. Twenty-five people were meant to be employed under that program. Unfortunately, in an effort to save money, that program was not implemented last year. I know some of the staff who were involved in the start-up of that program - or the attempt to start it up - are particularly disappointed that that program did not get legs last year with regard to school screening. Nurses out bush have reported to me that, due to work loads in the community health centres, they are having a great deal of trouble getting to schools to do what used to be done years ago with regard to school screening. This was an important program that should have started in the last financial year and was not. My understanding now is that, at this point in time, the department is about to, or might have just recently, advertised for six of the 25 positions. We all know that by the time those six positions come on board, we will be lucky if it might be October/November. By the time the program starts to kick in, it might be around February/March. Therefore, I do not think we are going to see a great deal of impact from that program this year, a program which was meant to start last year. However, I certainly hope that it does happen and that it bears a great result.
Aboriginal health workers and their housing has already been mentioned; it was a recommendation from the Collins Report. My understanding is that, to date, there has been no money allocated by the government to provide Aboriginal health workers living on communities with specific housing. It would certainly be a good thing to do; I hope the government is able to find the funds for that. We are all well aware of the stresses that Aboriginal health workers sustain working on communities, and the huge attrition rate as they leave that work because of those stresses. The provision of a government-funded house to that health worker - just as registered nurses receive - would be a good step towards being about to retain staff, and to be able to demonstrate to Aboriginal health workers that they are valued in their community and by the government. However, I doubt where the money will be found for that this year. The Health budget, as members would be aware, this year only received a 2.5% increase, which is only enough to cover CPI. Many of the programs will be struggling to be conducted anyway, so it will be hard to find that money this year.
In closing, Madam Speaker, I reiterate my support to the minister for this statement, and wish him and his department all the very best as we, as Territorians, work towards addressing the problems of indigenous education.
Debate adjourned.
ADJOURNMENT
Dr BURNS (Tourism): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
I am proud to be the patron for the Jingili BMX Club which is in the midst of another successful season, with many new riders and volunteers at the track. I have often gone to the BMX track to watch the kids. It is a great sport, and it is great to see the parental support for the Jingili BMX Club.
Riders recently took part in both the Aussie titles in Adelaide and the world titles in Perth. Riders from the Jingili BMX were Jake Fidler, Jack Dalton, Carl Wogandt, Chris Johns, Katie Richards and Brooke Ellison. Whilst all the competitors performed fantastically, Chris Johns earned third place world ranking, which is an incredible effort. Congratulations to Chris and Jingili BMX. Of course, these kids could not have achieved these great results without the help of parents, supporters and the committee which keeps everyone on their toes. Well done to Jingili BMX.
Moil Primary School is an important school in the electorate, and they do a great job. Tonight I would like to talk a little about events at Moil Primary School. They had 52 students who sat this year’s Australasian Schools Science Competition run by the New South Wales University Testing Centre. Four students - Mallory McGuiness, Ashlie Boots, Phoebe Martin and Iona Watson - received high distinction certificates, whilst Mallory and Iona received medals for scoring the highest mark in their year level in the Territory. Congratulations to all those students, particularly Mallory and Iona. Distinction certificates were awarded to Mitchell Aldridge, Jedda Bennett-Kellam, Jack Bliss, Clancy Bowman, Nick Deveril, Jethro Dickens, Harry Kerr, Deni Taulelei, Vidhya Vinu, Rachel Abbott, David Grimes, Briana Harding, Christopher Frew, Darcy Stanford, Marion Caraher, Kyan Standish and Isaac Taulelei. Certificates were received by William Carol, Louis Nathan, David Carroll, Rachel Quong, Charlotte Nathan, Kathryn Rehrman, Mitchell Williams, Mark Deveril, Gareth Dickens, Joshua Rudd, Ashley Abbott, Eric Miskovits, Bryony Crowe and Zacharlija Standish. These were fantastic results for the Moil Primary School.
I would like to talk about Jingili Primary School tonight and two students from that school, Tarrant Haami-Jones and Mitchell Lockley, have been chosen to represent the NT at the National Primary Schools Hockey Exchange. I wish them all the best and know this experience will be phenomenal for them, for their hockey skills but also as a great trip away.
Wagaman Primary School student, Tiara Ladju, recently competed in the NT gymnastics competition. Tiara won gold in Bar, Floor and Vault, silver in Beam, and overall first place for her age group. Congratulations to Tiara. To show how great Wagaman Primary School is, they recently won, on handicap, the 2003 NT School Athletics Competition, in which seven schools in their region competed. The school is proudly displaying the perpetual trophy. Wagaman Primary School will be turning 30 on 13 September and I look forward to joining everyone in their celebrations. They are expecting some past students to come along, and all the present students and parents, and that will be a great celebration for Wagaman Primary School.
I would also like to talk about Casuarina Senior College. Two students from the college, David Hevey and Wendy Chew, attended the United Nations Youth Conference in Perth last month. Students attending the conference displayed their communication, leadership and public speaking skills. I often speak about Casuarina Senior College. It is a great school, it has a great academic record, but even more than that, it is a school that turns out rounded adults. They have a great philosophy, great staff, and I can not speak highly enough about Casuarina Senior College. Also speaking about students at the college, Claire Shanahan won the NT Plain English Speaking Award and is off to Melbourne next week to contest the National Plain English Speaking Award. Maybe that is an award that we, as parliamentarians, should be entering into. I am sure everyone in the House wishes Claire all the best for her efforts.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Mr Deputy Speaker, tonight I speak about a wonderful event that I attended last month. It was the 105th Filipino Independence Day celebration. The Filipino Community Council of the NT celebrated their 105th Filipino Independence Day on Saturday, 14 June 2003, at the MGM Grand Ballroom. The celebration was jointly organised by the Filipino Senior Citizens’ Association Inc, Filipino Club Inc, the Filipino Maharlika Association of Palmerston Inc, Northern Territory Filipino-Australian Sports Club Inc, and the Pinoy Aussie Society Inc.
The Filipino community, as many members of this House would know, have fantastic functions. The members for Johnston, Sanderson, Wanguri and I have often attended these wonderful functions and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly; and on different occasions, been judges, special guests and co-hosts. They provided a fantastic array of special entertainment.
I also attended with my beautiful wife - well, she was not my wife then – Mona-Lisa, who is of Filipino origin. Her mother is of Filipino descent and her father is of German descent. Their hospitality was fantastic on the night and special thanks go to the Filipino Community Council of the NT’s President, Elena Ralph, who also happens to be the vice-president of the Millner Primary School. The executive committee should be congratulated as the night was fantastic for all who attended and the audience had a humorous and exciting time.
Among the people who provided entertainment was the De Guzman Group, which danced ‘Tinikling’, the bamboo dance; the De Guzman Girls performing ‘Jenny From the Block’, a modern dance; Nikki Maxwell, singer and Fele Mann’s grand-daughter; Alan Beazley, singer and guitarist; Patricia Galang performed The Stars Without a Shine; and Lolila Galang, who is off to pursue a career in Canberra. She received a special certificate from the community for her efforts in that organisation. Everyone joined in wishing her the best for her career. The Filipiniana Senior Citizens performed the Chicken Dance. Also dancing in the contemporary style was Ifugao, Vilma Stim and Edgar Negosa. It was a fantastic dance and had the crowd in hilarious laughter. Ati-Atihan, performed the spears and shields dance, with Zeny Ballesteros, Evelyn Browning, Angie Caple, Ana Lofthouse and Malou Tabora. There was the Carinosa dance by Susana Dizon and Edgar Negosa. There was the Pandanggo SA Ilaw, the Candle Dance, performed by Belinda Thiel and Tanita Thiel, daughters of Nanette Thiel, Treasurer of the FILCCONT and President of the Maharlika Association of Palmerston.
The closing address was given by Fele Mann, who does a fantastic job in her community work around the place and puts in a huge effort for those nights. It was finished with a fantastic dance by an internationally acclaimed dancer, Zaldi, by the executive committee members. Zaldi is a type of dancer that every man wishes he could dance like and every woman wishes they could dance with.
I also had the honour to represent the Minister for Ethnic Affairs at the African-Australian Friendship Association cultural dance and dinner on 9 August. Where else could you have an African Friendship Association function but the Portuguese Timorese Social Club on Batten Road? It was a fantastic night enjoyed by one and all. The event highlighted the cultural diversity in the Territory. We Territorians have the opportunity to participate in many great events such as this, that other Australians can only dream of.
The Territory is truly a multicultural society. The 2001 Census statistics showed that Territorians were born in over 150 different countries and represent some 16% of our population. However, this proportion undervalues our diversity as many of our residents were born in Australia but have ethnic ancestors. Indeed, many have been here for generations. In addition to our ethnic diversity, our diverse indigenous population accounts for more than 25% of our community.
Another measure of our diversity is the fact that there are 80 migrant and ethnic community organisations and groups such as the African-Australian Friendship Association, which work to maintain and share the cultural diversity with other Territorians and visitors to our community. There were people from Senegal, Rwanda, Sudan, South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. Anyone who has not had the opportunity to go to one of these functions really should attend. We are talking about a whole continent being represented, with many different people reflecting different religious and cultural backgrounds, languages and so on. The food was fantastic; the entertainment was amazing. I am not much of a dancer, but they had me up there dancing. The dance floor was packed. You always know when you are at a good party; everyone is dancing. I congratulate the African-Australian Friendship Association for their ongoing efforts to celebrate the diverse African culture.
The Martin government recognises the Territory’s diversity as a strength to be harnessed and nurtured. Accordingly, we have a range of highly regarded initiatives, such as Aboriginal and Migrant Interpreter Services, regional visits, MOUs and we are working to develop a multicultural policy, developing business skills and skilled migration strategy, social and economic development strategies, to name but a few. I would like to mention to all ethnic groups in the community that round 2 of the applications as part of the 2003-04 Ethnic Affairs Sponsorship Program will shortly be advertised. The Ethnic Affairs Sponsorship Program is by far the most generous state or territory government program of its type, and is, at $697 000, the fourth largest in dollar terms and I presume per head, per population - by the far the greatest in Australia. I would encourage the African-Australia Friendship Association to apply.
My special thanks go to Aloysius, who was the MC for the night. He made my wife and I feel very welcome, and all the special guests who attended. I had the pleasure and honour of unveiling their banner. I recommend to this House for anyone to attend the culture diversity that happens on the 9th.
Mr BURKE (Brennan): Mr Deputy Speaker, this evening I raise a couple of issues. One follows on, in fact, from comments you made in parliament today and also last week - which prompted me on the subject - and that was with regards to Lake Bennett and the long-running dispute with regards to that development. I raise my comments in the hope that the minister concerned will take note. In that context, it lays within the purview of the Attorney-General, Chief Minister, and the Minister for Lands and Planning.
It is in regard to the whole development of Lake Bennett, the individual, Mr George Milatos, and the company concerned, City Developments. The context is simply this; that, presently, a long-term Territory family that has done an enormous amount, I believe, in developing the Northern Territory, has found itself in a position of total bankruptcy, and that is a sad thing in itself. I do not for a moment suggest that one person, individual, department or whatever is at fault here. I simply say that, in the Northern Territory, where there is an opportunity to ensure that real justice is carried out and actual justice occurs, that it can and does occur. I certainly cannot get access to the documents that concern this particular development …
Dr Burns: Well, you saw them as Attorney-General. Do you want to talk about that?
Mr BURKE: If the minister would not be so rude as to interrupt, I am quite happy to explain my role in it; and that is that, in my position as Chief Minister and Attorney-General dealing with the Lake Bennett development from time to time, I was aware of many of the issues involved. Essentially, from my recollection, when the proposal was first put forward to government, it was a privately owned recreation facility. I believe at the time it was leased, or the Army had some involvement with it in using part of that recreational facility for the use of soldiers.
The Milatos family bought the Lake Bennett property, with a view to putting in a major development, and it was a very attractive development. However, it came at some large expense to the developers themselves. The government made a contribution by ensuring that the road to Lake Bennett was sealed, and government paid part of the contribution of sealing of the road. I understand there was also a contribution acquired from City Developments and also from the local government council that had jurisdiction of that area.
At the time of the approval of the project, it did not come under the Building Code and no consent was required by government on the recreational easements that were registered on title, as the proposed project was not deemed at the time to be affecting them.
Dr Burns: Well, that is not what the court found.
Mr BURKE: It was three months into the construction of the project that the government then introduced an interim control order, forcing City Developments to apply for town planning approvals including building permits. The company complied with this direction and received approvals to build 80 residential units and a hotel resort project, which they subsequently went ahead and built. Again, the government did not require City Developments to obtain the consent of the recreational easement on title.
I find it interesting that the minister is so quick to interject. You obviously have a very clear view on this, minister. You obviously have formed an opinion that the Milatos family should be forced into bankruptcy. Fine, that is your opinion …
Dr Burns: No, I am just pointing to your role in this thing, as Attorney-General.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Through the Chair, please.
Mr BURKE: That is your opinion. I am sure the Milatos family will be pleased to hear that. I assume, being a minister in the government, that is the view of this government. That will not stop me from making a plea, on behalf of the family.
At the time, there was no requirement to seek the consent of the recreational easements on that particular title. In April 1997, seven months into the project, City Developments was offered a loan from the ANZ Bank, based on town planning approvals, and this arrangement with the ANZ Bank continued for many years until the project was finally stopped.
As I recall - and the Hansard record will verify it - in February 1998, after 18 titles had been issued, the Registrar stopped granting titles. City Developments was then directed to obtain the consent of the recreational easement holders, and this came about as a result of pressure from the Ombudsman, who pointed out to the Registrar-General that since May 1997, the Registrar-General had acted against the law by not asking City Developments to obtain consent from the recreational easement holders.
In order to get some end to this impasse, in 1998 the Chief Minister introduced legislation. I remember the government, at the time then in opposition, scoffed at it and called the Milatos amendment. It was aimed at trying to break the impasse and get this development to progress. That legislation required that City Developments was not required to obtain consent from the recreational easement holders in lieu of fixing the problem properly. It did not end there, but there was some confidence from City Developments that they could act on the advice that they were given and would be successful in court. They tested the validity of the recreational easements in the Supreme Court and they lost.
In September 2001, one easement holder took out an injunction against the Registrar-General not to extend the disclosure period on the project, even though the Registrar-General advised City Developments in writing that they could legally extend the time of the project without the consent of the recreational easements. However, the Supreme Court ruled that consent was required for any further development. The point I would make - and on the information that I had, and in meetings with City Developments and the Attorney-General’s Office at the time - there was no doubt in my mind that government had some liability in the detriment to that development that City Developments incurred. The extent of that detriment and the extent of compensation required to City Developments is a moot point.
However, the situation seems to now be such that the whole power and resources of government can be employed against City Developments – against a Territory family which has, essentially, been forced into bankruptcy for a range of factors, not the least being the introduction of GST, the downturn in the economic environment that affected that particular development, changes to the titles and the development, but also, uncertainty created by the court actions that arose out of conflicting advice that was given by the Registrar-General at the outset and the lack of certainty that City Developments then incurred because of that conflicting advice.
I raise it in this House and find it sad that the government cannot find a way to find some sort of win/win situation in this, whereby the government does accept that some liability does arise to government, and that City Developments should be at least put in the situation where they can mediate properly without the large expense of legal advice, so that natural justice can occur.
It is only right and proper that, for this particular development, whilst there may have been some changes to the development as it went through, and there may have been rights of the easement holders that had been transgressed in the way that the whole project was approved and commenced, the reality is that City Developments spent a large amount of money. The family itself is now broken up, largely as a result of the financial crisis that it finds itself in. Mr Milatos himself, who has been able to rebound in the past, has essentially been flattened by the whole thing, and his only recourse now is to try to test in the courts his chances of getting some compensation from government. I would hope that government would try to meet him half-way and try to negotiate and mediate a situation whereby reasonable compensation can be afforded this particular gentleman so that he is not absolutely bankrupt by the power of government.
The other issue I wanted to quickly raise was the fact that I received a letter recently – and I do not know whether every member of the Assembly received it – which was with regard to the V8 Supercars. It is worth reading it in full because it raises an interesting point. It says:
Dear Mr Burke
Recently, I was pleased, after much anticipation, to purchase my ticket for the V8 Supercar event to be held this weekend at Hidden Valley Raceway. I am delighted that our government displays eagerness about such a sporting event, considering the limited ability Territorians have to attend events of this nature.
To ascertain if I knew anyone else attending, I asked a work colleague and he replied in the negative, saying it was too expensive. I thought he was referring to the ticket price, which I considered typical for a V8 Supercar race, compared with other rounds I attended while on the eastern coast. My colleague quickly pointed out that the ticket price was not the issue, but that food is not permitted to be taken to the event. Following this statement, I again perused the three-page brochure provided with my ticket and discovered in the small print it does say ‘No food’.
I understand that some restrictions, such as the exemption of glass, alcohol and pets are necessary to ensure equitable access and enjoyment by all attendees at a motor sport event. However, I fail to see a logical reason for the restriction on bringing your own food. This restriction also means that the cost of attending the event becomes financially restrictive to many people, particularly families. I regularly attended these events while in the ACT and I know how many families attend. However, for this weekend I know of families that, although very enthusiastic, will not be attending due to this additional cost.
He goes on and essentially, asks the question of why food is banned from Hidden Valley. It is an appropriate time to raise that issue with government. He does have a valid point. There is no doubt that there has be restrictions on eskies coming into the grounds. There is no doubt that we want to have some controls on alcohol that comes into that particular ground. Pleasingly, the government has maintained a family ticket price which is very competitive and attractive.
The point he makes is also extremely valid; that is, that there are a lot of struggling families, and the price of the V8 Supercar event whilst well priced in a general sense, does become prohibitive when they stay one day with a whole family or, in fact, might stay two or three days - trying to attend each day as the government tries to attract them to do. If you are trying to take a young family with you, and you have no option but to get all of your food and drink from the stalls that are there, the fact is many Territory families are now finding themselves unable to attend that event, much as they would like, because of the prohibitive nature of the overall cost.
Surely, we can find a way whereby stallholders who are given a licence to sell over that event can make a reasonable amount of money. It might be that the number of stallholders needs to be restricted so that there is a good revenue for those who are there. Surely, we can find a way that alcohol can be restricted in the way people’s bags and eskies are inspected when they come into the ground. However, to have a blanket embargo on any food coming in to Hidden Valley seems to me to be wrong.
Whilst I would be the first to admit that it probably was the case under my government, all I ask is that it is probably time for a review, so that those struggling Territory families who want to attend the V8 Supercar event and take their children to enjoy it - all in accord with the government trying to attract more and more Territorians to attend - should be able to do so. They should be able to bring food to the event so that they can ensure their family is fed in the way they would normally see as their responsibility.
Mrs AAGAARD (Nightcliff): Mr Deputy Speaker, tonight I pay tribute to Ms Carol Ward AO, who has recently retired after more than 24 years of outstanding service in the Department of Health and Community Services. I appreciate that the member for Nhulunbuy has already paid tribute to Carol, but I believe it is important, as Minister for Health and Community Services, to highlight the career of this distinguished, long-term staff member.
Carol commenced with my department in March 1979 at Nhulunbuy as the first Aboriginal Health Worker Tutor for the East Arnhem region. This was a significant beginning, given the future importance of the Aboriginal Health Worker classification in the department. Over her many years of service to the department, Carol has held the positions of Regional Matron, Regional Nursing Officer, Director of Nursing (Community Care), Community Health Manager and, more recently, Executive Director of Nursing for East Arnhem district. Carol has been integral in the coordination and provision of remote health services in the East Arnhem region, particularly in relation to remote area nurses. Carol’s significant role was recognised in June 2000 when she was awarded the Order of Australia for her outstanding contribution to nursing in East Arnhem.
Throughout her career, Carol has been an active member of a number of nursing organisations. She has been a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing Australia for more than 30 years. Similarly, she has made a valuable contribution to the Australian Nursing Federation on remote and nursing leadership issues. She is also a member of the Public Health Association of Australia and the Australian College of Health Service Executives.
I understand that Carol and her partner, Les, have moved to the Atherton Tablelands, where they have just built a new home. Apparently, Carol intends to return to the nursing profession in some capacity once she and Les have settled into their new home. This is hardly surprising, given her enormous contribution to health and nursing services here in the Northern Territory. I sincerely thank Carol for her commitment and contribution over the past 24 years, and wish her all the best for her retirement in Queensland.
I also praise the dedicated work of two long-term Tiwi Aboriginal Health Workers who have recently passed away. The families of these two men have provided me approval to speak about and use the names of these two very special people. Edward - or Eddie, as he was known to everyone - Brooks, passed away recently at the age of 40. Eddie was a strong man with great commitment to his family and community of Milikapiti on Melville Island. Eddie attended Aboriginal Health Worker training at the Katherine Institute for Aboriginal Health and Batchelor Institute for Indigenous Training and Education. He commenced his work in the health field in 1990 and held many important positions at Milikapiti over the years, including Aboriginal Health Worker, Mental Health Worker providing counselling and support, Dental Assistant, Environmental Health Worker, Health Promotion, a member of the Tiwi Land Council, a member of the Milikapiti Community Housing Association, and was involved in coastal surveillance.
Eddie was also active in the radio community, working with the Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Association in Darwin and the BRACS service at Milikapiti as a radio announcer. Eddie loved his Tiwi Aussie Rules football, and often attended games as the first aid person. Eddie also loved his hunting and fishing. He was an excellent spear maker and was often asked by community members to make hunting spears for them. He was highly skilled in using his spear when out hunting. Eddie would organise bush tucker days for the elderly and take them out for bush tucker. He would also collect bush tucker for old people who were too old to go out hunting. Eddie loved his mother and family very much. He liked walking with his wife, three daughters and two grandchildren, and would often walk long distances with the family to go hunting. He will be very sadly missed.
I also note tonight the sad passing of Jerome Kerinaiua, who passed away recently at the age of 54. Jerome was an only child and went to school at the Xavier Brothers school at Nguiu on Bathurst Island. Jerome commenced work in the health field as a 16-year-old in 1965. He started his career at the St Gerard Majella Health Centre in Nguiu on Bathurst Island, which was then run by Catholic nuns.
Both of Jerome’s parents were long-term in-patients at the East Arm Leprosarium, and this attracted Jerome to commence work there as an orderly. Jerome’s qualities and skills were quickly identified by Dr John Hargreaves. Dr Hargreaves taught Jerome many medical skills, including how to care for people with leprosy and also micro-surgery skills, which were used to improve the quality of life of people suffering from the long-term debilitating effects of leprosy.
During Jerome’s time working in the health field, he held many important jobs, including East Arm orderly; then health provider under the guidance and support of Dr Hargreaves; Aboriginal Health Worker, where he became known in the Nguiu community as ‘the doctor’; dental technician providing fillings and extractions - he also became known in the Nguiu community as ‘the dentist’; and research assistant with the Menzies School of Health Science, working with Dr Wendy Hoy on the subject of renal disease in the Tiwi islands. As a research assistant, he played an important role of not just gathering information for researchers, but also teaching researchers important Tiwi cultural protocols and medical beliefs.
Jerome loved his Aussie Rules football, playing for Tapalinga when he was younger. Jerome also attended the local games on the weekends, and could be seen sitting next to the community ambulance, providing voluntary services as the first aid officer. Jerome loved his fishing and hunting, and much of his spare time was spent hunting for and with his family.
Jerome was a very gentle man with an excellent sense of humour and a very strong character. He is survived by his wife, Antonia, and children. I extend my condolences to his family and friends. I know he will be sadly missed.
I also inform members about a serious matter that was raised by the member for Macdonnell on 18 February 2003 in the House, in conjunction with a letter written by the member on 5 February 2003. The matter related to the death of a 50-year-old indigenous man from Central Australia in the Intensive Care Unit at the Alice Springs Hospital. When it was first raised in the House in February, I was unable to comment directly on the matter as the patient concerned had, unfortunately, passed away, and the death had been referred to the Coroner. The member for Macdonnell was concerned about the care and treatment of the 50-year-old indigenous male patient. The member was concerned that there may have been inappropriate treatment decisions made by some members of staff in the Intensive Care Unit in Alice Springs. It is not usually appropriate to report on individual cases that are placed before me in this House. However, given the seriousness of the concerns raised by the member, I am willing to provide the following information.
On 5 February 2003, the member for Macdonnell wrote to me expressing his concerns about the care provided to a 50-year-old indigenous male patient in ICU at Alice Springs Hospital. The patient passed away on 7 February 2003 at Alice Springs Hospital. Upon receipt of the letter from the member, I initiated an investigation by the department. The Director of Medical and Clinical Services at Alice Springs Hospital then referred the matter to the Coroner. The report from the Coroner indicated that the cause of death was from natural causes. The Coroner agreed with the investigating police officer’s conclusion that there was no evidence to indicate any wrongdoing by any of the staff of the Intensive Care Unit of the Alice Springs Hospital, and I quote from the Coroner’s report:
- The patient was well cared for and it appears that his death was a result of the illness he had been suffering.
It is unfortunate that this matter was raised on the floor of the House, as I understand that the disclosure brought much distress to the man’s family.
As the Minister for Health and Community Services, it is important to state on the Parliamentary Record that I am satisfied with the standard of care that is provided at Alice Springs Hospital.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise tonight to inform members of the Alice Springs Festival, which is commencing on 5 September. I urge Alice Springs members, in particular, to be involved with this wonderful festival. There is a smorgasbord of things happening there. I know the Darwin Festival started at the weekend. We are very fortunate that we have a great team of workers in Alice preparing this wonderful event. I get this first-hand, because Di Mills, who is the director, and her team are working directly out of my office.
On Friday 5th, which is the launch, there will be a Todd Mall street carnival. It starts at 5.30 pm because we want to get families and everyone there to celebrate. We welcome people to come along. There are free community workshops on samba percussion drums, bells and shakers so that, if you want to be part of the parade, you can go along and shake your bells or whatever you want to do. It really is going to be a great carnival, and I hope as many people as possible attend.
On the Saturday, there will be the Masquerade Ball. That was a huge success last year. It is a chance for people who like to dress up and wear their wonderful masks to go along and enjoy the evening. Monday is the start of the busking competition in the Mall. There are great prizes. I can see just the member for Macdonnell down there quoting Shakespeare, singing songs, or doing something in the busking competition. I urge him to think about it; I am sure he would be great. There is street theatre, music and pavement art involved with that.
As well as that, we have some very special people arriving. We have the 20-piece St Cecilia’s Chamber Orchestra from Tasmania. We also have Jeannie Little – many of you will know Jeannie. She is going to be at the Wearable Art Awards at the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct. As well as that, we are going to have a number of indigenous choirs singing in the Todd River – all those lovely harmonies. I am hoping to be able to get the Hermannsburg Ladies Choir to sing at the opening of the CPA Regional Seminar that is held in Alice Springs in that week. It is really exciting. There are far more events than I have named here; these are just some of the major ones. There is a lot of activity going into it, a lot of passion, and huge support from the business community. We have many of the local businesses contributing: the Yeperenye Centre, the Alice Springs Resort, Telstra, Gallery Gondwana, Polkadot, and Rock City Music. The Commonwealth is putting in some money, as well as the NT government – even PowerWater. There is a huge amount of support for this festival. It is going to be a wonderful smorgasbord of events happening.
It was unfortunate when Di Mills, who is the director, went to the Alice Springs Town Council to ask them for assistance and to get behind this festival. Part of their mission statement is to promote arts and cultural events in the town. Here we had this opportunity to get behind this wonderful festival. There is a group of people who travel from festival to festival; it attracts tourists and people involved in it, as well as, obviously, ensuring that the local community gets a great deal out of it. What did she find? She came away from that meeting so distressed at the attitude of some of the aldermen on that council. It probably reflects the fact that our council at the moment, in my mind, does not really do a great deal for the town. Next May we are going to say at election time: ‘What did this council actually achieve?’ I am not quite sure they can stand up and say what they have done.
Alderman Koch said: ‘What festival? Have we got a festival?’ That is how up-to-date and in tune he is. There seemed to be a great need to compare it with the Masters Games, but I am not quite sure how you can compare an arts and cultural festival with the Masters Games. However, Alderman Mostran said that aldermen were gobsmacked when they heard that there was to be a festival. It looks as though these aldermen are very much out of touch with what is going on. Alderman Jones said that it simply came down to the fact that they had no money to put into it without a rate increase - a rate increase to put $20 000 or $40 000 into an arts festival does not show a great understanding of what budget is all about.
This was the attitude that Di Mills was confronted with when she went seeking council support. Does the council not understand that these types of events and festivals bring a lot of pleasure to the people of Alice Springs, but they also attract a huge amount of additional tourists and visitors into the town who also then put a lot into the economy? I really do not know why they were being so churlish about this festival, which is not in the same year as the Masters Games – obviously the Masters Games is not on this year. This could really promote Alice Springs and have us known Australia-wide for what we are doing.
The talent that is coming to town for this particular festival is talent we will not see very often. It should be the sort of thing that we are getting behind and really promoting. All I can say to the Alice Springs Town Council is that I am disappointed that there seems to be this split in the council whereby anything the Mayor wants to promote, a group of aldermen say to her: ‘No, it is not on’. Instead of being divisive and having their egos smoothed, why do they not just get together and start working to get behind this festival and show that they support it, and put a lot of money into it? They have offered $20 000 in kind and they said they would do things like clean up the mall after it. That, to me, is the normal job of a council anyway. I am really not sure how this council sees that they should operate. The things they should supporting that are promoting the town, they seem to be saying ‘no’. It is that little group, unfortunately, of CLP aldermen who are part of this gang who will not support the Mayor in these things; who seem to be so negative in anything that they do not like. It is a very disappointing attitude on their part. However, ‘Forget them’, I say to members, ‘Go along to the Festival and have a good time, enjoy all the great things that are on’. It really will be a huge event.
Tonight I also want to make mention of the fact that we had our senior’s dinner dance on Saturday night, and it was a great success. I have to compliment the Convention Centre on the way they look after the seniors. Their staff are so friendly, so attentive; it was just one of those occasions where we had a lot of fun. The Double Up band showed us that we had forgotten how to do the Barn Dance, we were not quite sure about the Pride of Erin any more, and the Gypsy Two Step was a little beyond us, I am afraid, even though some people demonstrated the dances. However, the music was great and we had a couple of special entertainers. We had the Liddle Girls; there were six girls from the Liddle family who came along as the Desert Rose and did what I call Alice Springs’ answer to the Supremes. They were really quite good, beautifully dressed and a lot of rhythm there with it, so that was great. As well as that we had the Boot Scooters who put on their demonstration and then encouraged everyone to get up because, if you did not have a partner, you can still get up and line dance. That was the fun about it, and it was really great.
Thanks also to Top End Sounds for their support, as well as the many sponsors who gave door prizes; just a little thing like that is great to receive. We had 160 senior citizens having a ball. I was pleased to see that the members for Greatorex and Sanderson both came to our event and walked around and a good time was had by all. I guess, Sr Bertha - many Alice Springs people will know Sr Bertha - sums it up. She came to me last year, running late for tickets because she did not get enough tickets. I was about to say to her: ‘No, we have run out’. She said to me: ‘Do you know who I am? I am Sr Bertha, I talk to God’. So, how could I resist? I had to give her some tickets! This year she came in earlier, but her cue this year was: ‘It is not a mortal sin to have fun’. I can assure you that Sr Bertha and the rest of us had fun.
Mr ELFERINK (Macdonnell): Mr Deputy Speaker, I comment on a couple of things tonight. The first is the Minister for Community Development’s ministerial reports about what a terrific job he is doing looking after the Aboriginal Interpreter Service. Although it is a very important service, it is one that I have leapt into the fray over on repeated occasions, and tonight is going to be no different. My response to what the minister had to say in his ministerial reports today is: ‘Bull!’ I am going to whip out a few numbers from a few budget papers to point out that he is producing bull in relation to the Aboriginal Interpreter Service. It is one that he has attacked during the mini-budget process in late 2001, and that he continues to attack. Therefore, to stand in here and suddenly claim that he is the protector of the Aboriginal Interpreter Service; frankly I got the sense that he is a child in charge of the sweet shop.
I turn to page 182 of Budget Paper No 3, from 2002-03 and go to the estimate for that period 2002-03. It was estimated that there were 300 interpreters registered for that service in that particular budget paper. They anticipated 2400 bookings, 104 languages covered, average cost per booking, $700. I then turn to Budget Paper No 3 from this year’s budget, 2003-04. It is interesting to contrast the estimates for the same period. All of a sudden, the estimate of interpreters available to the service dropped by 30. Over the same period, this government has managed to oversee the loss of 30 interpreters. The bookings received are anticipated to be 2400, again 104 languages covered. However, the cost of providing the service for the same period, from the same minister, changes to $795 - $95 more per booking.
The fact of the matter is that the minister was unable, in 2002-03, to accurately figure out how much it was going to cost to provide the service. Because of his inability to accurately figure that out, he was already planning to shed staff for the estimate period out of the two budget papers, and to cover the blow-out in his original estimate.
Let us compare the period with the last two estimates figures - the estimate for 2002-03 and 2003-04 next to each other - from Budget Paper No 3 at page 170. Now we see a drop of more interpreters; there are going to be fewer interpreters available than even his downgraded estimate from the year before. What he has said is: ‘We are planning to have 300 – oops! No, we are going to have 270. Oops! Next year, we are going to have 257’. On current projections, I would say that the interpreter service is good for about another six years, and then it will have zero under this minister’s tutelage.
How is he going to deal with the dropping number of interpreters available? That is easy. If you go to the next line item, it says that they are going to do 400 fewer jobs than they planned to do. The estimate for 2003-03 period in the two budget papers is 2400. Why does he suddenly magically anticipate that this service will have 400 fewer jobs over that period? I will tell you why: because he is cutting into the service. It is as simple as that. It is easy to discover how much he is cutting, because all you have to do is go back a couple of pages where it says the estimate for 2002-03 is $1.907m. This year, we are going to provide $1.739m - we are cutting $168 000 out of the Aboriginal Interpreter Service.
Why would this be occurring? Because the minister still has not figured out the cost of providing the service. If you go to the line item on page 170 for the estimate of the average cost per booking, there is the nub of the problem: $870 to provide the service for each booking. The minister has consistently been underestimating the amount of money that he needs. He has to go in to Budget Cabinet and fight for the funding that he receives. He has to convince the Treasurer to part with a bit of money to protect the services under his tutelage. He has not done that. He has not succeeded in convincing his colleagues that this is a fundamentally important service for the people of the Northern Territory. It was created by the CLP, always bleated about whilst the Labor Party was in opposition. This was a service that needed to be delivered. It finally was delivered, albeit late - it was finally delivered to the people of the Northern Territory. Now we have a minister who is cutting into the service and underestimating the cost and importance of it.
That is the reality of providing a service: it costs. I am sure that the Treasurer is fully aware, when the minister comes to see him asking for money and he says: ‘Bye, bye. Can’t do it’, that he is going to deliver a weaker service. The Realpolitik was what we saw played out in here this morning, and that is this: you butcher and hack and cut into a service like this and then claim that you are doing cosmetic surgery to make it look better. The fact is that this is not cosmetic surgery, improvement in service standards, or an improvement in service delivery; it is simply a plain old hack job. All the minister has done - I am not actually quite sure why he wanted to engage in this ministerial report - is draw attention back to the poverty-stricken way in which he has approached this service consistently since becoming minister. It is in the current budget, it dates back to last year’s budget, and it dates back to the mini-budget. The minister bragging about the level of the service that is provided to the people of the Northern Territory, is cute in the extreme. Frankly, this service continues to be provided, not because of the minister, but in spite of the minister.
The other issue I wish to raise tonight in this House is the headline on Monday’s paper, and I will discuss that shortly. I took the time out not that long ago - much to the humour, mirth and hilarity of the members opposite - to travel to the Casuarina Coastal Reserve after the minister tried to slip a tabling report through ministerial reports. I took a couple of photographs while I was down there. Much to the hilarity and mirth of the police minister, I actually had the audacity to walk into a public toilet and take some photographs of some of the unspeakable rot that adorns the walls in those areas. It was all joke and levity and: ‘Oh, it is the member for Macdonnell doing his eccentric thing’, and those sorts of things. However, the fact is that when you send out signals, like the signals that I was trying to point out when I discussed the Casuarina Coastal Reserve in the past, they are the signals that these sorts of villainous-type people pick up on and take it as a permission or a licence for them to engage in behaviour which, ultimately, brings harm to the community. The minister insisted, if I remember the quote correctly, that the situation at the nudist beach was under control.
If this is the minister’s idea of control then, gee whiz, I would like to know from the minister in here tonight, what his idea of ‘over the top’ is because, on Monday, I read the newspaper, and the headline was that there are perverts hanging around the nudist beach in the Casuarina Coastal Reserve. This is a coastal reserve which is visited by more Territorians and visitors than any other park under the jurisdiction of the minister. What did we see? An article that ultimately says that even the journalist, while there - I do not know how long the journalist was there for, but I cannot imagine it was a great deal of time - identified 12 individuals which, in the opinion of the journalist, were acting in such a fashion as to be noteworthy in the article. That is, there were 12 people hanging around, lurking in such a fashion that the journalist thought: ‘Hey, that is worth noting’, in the article that the journalist wrote.
The problem is that, if that is the minister’s idea of control, and he is not going to do anything about it, then that is going to be the next signal. The next signal is that something worse is going to happen out there unless the minister takes some serious and hard look as to how the Casuarina Coastal Reserve is being managed, and starts to find ways in which to deal with these sorts of situations. The minister was warned then, and laughed. The government was warned then, and they thought it was highly mirthful. Well, I am not laughing. It is something I take seriously, because I am desperately afeared that, as a consequence of this government’s failure to respond to what is happening on that coastal reserve, people are going to end up getting hurt, and it would be a great tragedy indeed. All it takes is a person who sees that still nothing is happening, to take that extra step and take that as licence to escalate their behaviour to another level.
Before I sit down tonight, I would like to pass on my thanks to the minister for Health for reporting back tonight in relation to the issue that I raised with her some time ago. I would ask, if it were possible, that a copy of the Coroner’s report be forwarded to me by the minister for Health. I take it that it is a public document …
Members interjecting.
Dr Burns: You know the rules about Coroner’s reports.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr ELFERINK: This is fascinating, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am actually thanking the minister for taking the time out to come into this Chamber and report to the House on a matter which was very serious. It is almost like the government cannot take ‘yes’ for an answer.
I was trying to say I would like a copy of the Coroner’s report because it was a matter I had raised. I am aware that the whole situation caused distress to the family; I pick up on the minister’s comment in relation to that. The situation came about because, although the minister has assured the House tonight - I am glad that the minister has - that she had responded to my letter at the earliest convenience from receiving it. In fact, I remember I had sent a letter and a fax on that particular day. The reason that it was raised finally in this place was because I had not received a reply. A simple phone call would have saved it from coming into this House.
However, as the case may be, I thank the minister for reporting to the House. I am glad that the hospital was not criticised for the service that it delivered, and that it was found that the hospital delivered an effective service. I still, of course, pass on my condolences to the family of the gentleman concerned. However, at the end of the day, it is one of the roles of opposition to make sure that government is doing its job.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Deputy Speaker, tonight I speak about the East Side of Alice Springs, and the problems that the Eastside Residents Association and the residents of the East Side have encountered with regards to PowerWater’s program to trim several trees - something in the order of 1400 trees planned over the next five years - to address the issue of conflict between trees and power lines.
I will quote quite extensively from a position paper produced by the Eastside Residents Association that they completed in June of this year in response to the proposed street tree replacement program. I will read some large sections of it, because it is important to put clearly before the House - and the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, and the minister responsible for PowerWater - the issues that are being looked at by the residents of the old East Side.
From the executive summary, I read:
- Eastside Residents Association (ERA) is in principle opposed to the removal of street trees in old East Side, and to the proposed tree replacement program. ERA recognises, however, that there are some trees of unsuitable species of growth that may have to be removed from old East Side verges. ERA insists on community involvement in the proposed tree replacement program, including identification of all trees under consideration for removal, identification of proposed replacement, and community consultation and agreement.
ERA in this position paper, outlines a carefully considered long-term solution to this ongoing problem, which is underground cabling throughout old East Side. ERA believes the time has come to seek long-term cost effective-solutions, as this problem will not go away. ERA recognises the need for some compromise in the management of power lines and trees, and proposes shorter term replacement with aerial bundled conductor (ABC) where appropriate. ERA is committed to working closely and cooperatively with the Alice Springs Town Council and the Power and Water Corporation on these issues.
Actually, it is interesting to note that where trees are concerned, it appears that just about every tree that is planted in the vicinity of power lines tend to, sooner or later, come into conflict with those power lines. Even trees that were once thought to have only fairly limited growth, for some reason when they are planted under power lines, tend to find some attraction for the electromagnetic waves or whatever, and they grow towards those power lines. That might not be true, but it would be interesting for some horticulturalists to come along and tell me that that is definitely not the case. Maybe there is some more research that is required. I read further from the report:
- In 2002, Alice Springs Town Council and Power and Water Corporation agreed to a joint street tree replacement program that will see the removal of 1430 trees from the streets of Alice Springs over a five-year period. This includes 134 trees in the old East Side.
As stated in the report … presented to the Alice Springs Town Council 20 May 2002, by … the Director Planning and Infrastructure, the reason for removing trees is based on one or more of the following criteria:
the tree is unsafe and represents a danger to the public or poses a serious public health risk;
and outweighs the value of the tree;
when remedial work required to protect infrastructure would cause the tree to become unsafe;
roads etcetera will make it an horticulturally unacceptable specimen; and
been exhausted.
People living in the old East Side choose the old East Side for many reasons, but particularly, for the amenity of the area. In the report, ERA states:
- Many people desire to live in and purchase property in the old East Side because of the mature trees that dominate the streetscape. ERA supports the continuation of old East Side as a shady suburb with tree-lined streets. The existing street trees are critical to the charm and the ambience of the oldest residential area outside the Alice Springs CBD.
ERA has given the issue of street trees the highest priority in 2003. Trees within the old East Side are seen as investment for the future.
- Careful planning is critical to the success of any such street tree replacement program to ensure that the issue does not need to be constantly revisited every five to 10 years as replacement trees once again become a problem.
That is true. You have to find the right sort of tree to use, make sure that the tree that you pick does not grow too high. In talking to some people who are involved in the power game, they have told me that some trees, for some reason, seem to grow taller if planted under power lines. Anyway, the ERA report continued and it spoke about its involvement to date:
- On learning of the proposed street tree replacement program and, armed with a list of streets and numbers of trees to be removed provided by the Alice Springs Town Council, ERA organised a bus tour with residents of the old East Side, including Her Worship The Mayor … and the Alice Springs Town Council representative, Shaun Leyland.
It subsequently emerged that while representatives of the Alice Springs Town Council and PowerWater had undertaken an assessment of trees in the suburb, no documentation was available that was able to detail exactly which trees had actually been earmarked for removal …
The date when I received the report was 5 August. To that date, they were not able to find any documentation to detail which trees had been earmarked by PowerWater for removal.
- The ERA has formed a subcommittee which has met several times and done considerable research on this problem. The subcommittee is in the process of bringing together complementary documentation and supporting information for future comment and implementation.
The ERA really wants to be very cooperative with the council and PowerWater and is prepared to negotiate and discuss its views with any relevant organisation that chooses to give ERA time. Let me encourage the government to consider this, because ERA is a very well organised, very professional group: they will provide all the help they can possibly generate to ensure that whatever is done in the old East Side is done properly. I do not need to read ERA’s position and its commitment but, let me assure you, it is truly committed to the whole program.
- ERA makes the following request to the town council and to PowerWater in relation to the proposed street tree replacement program:
where appropriate, priority be given in the shorter term to replacing overhead power lines with
aerial bundled conductor.
be positively identified and presented to the community for discussion. That community response
be taken into consideration before any action commences.
a new tree or trees are planted immediately. This will demonstrate commitment to maintaining the
old East Side street amenity that relies very much on the presence of shady street trees.
Central Australian, Australian and exotic species as deemed appropriate. Reference should be
made to the fact that a range of ‘appropriate’ street trees on the old East Side are in fact
Australian and exotic species …
ERA has the expertise to advise the council on that matter, too.
a planned design approach to tree replacement should be developed that makes reference to:
heritage issues, existing character of particular areas and/or streets. The plantings undertaken
must relate to existing natural elements within the suburb (eg the Coolibah Swamp, Spencer Valley
and the Todd River), identified sacred sites and outer boundaries that connect with open space areas
and natural hinterland that surrounds sections of the suburb.
And, obviously:
a budgeted commitment and timetable, for bringing to an end the issue of power lines and street trees
being in conflict, be formulated and consented to with all parties being consulted and invited to sign off
on the program that is developed.
What about for the longer term?
- The issue of management of street trees in Alice Springs has been ongoing for many years. The need exists for a long-term solution that will satisfy resident concerns and provide a solution that ensures that the issue is given resolution and removes it from the agenda.
The preferred solution has the following requirements:
a long-term commitment to ensuring power lines are placed underground, and gaining the
necessary government commitment to such a policy, noting that such a program would incur
significant costs.
Such a commitment to underground cabling recognises that street trees have a significant role to play within Alice Springs and within the Central Australian/inland context, and are seen as an investment in the future quality of life in our community.
back lane network throughout old East Side. This is an ultimate cost-effective alternative.
It will ultimately cause the least disruption and removes forever the issue of trees and power
lines being in competition.
This concept could be extended to incorporate the introduction of natural gas to all old East Side residents, telephone lines, cable television, etcetera;
pipeline be conducted as a dual joint program.
It goes on to say that the government is committed to $80m over the next 10 years to underground power cables in a number of suburbs in Darwin and should consider that expenditure across the Territory, not just to the northern suburbs.
Rather than paraphrase, so that I am not misquoting ERA, let me read this:
- The previous CLP government in recognising and giving priority to the issue of street trees and power lines, undertook to commit financially to a trial program where power lines were placed underground. This trial was undertaken.
The current ALP Territory government has committed to allocating upwards of $80m over the next 10 years to the undergrounding of power cables in a number of suburbs of Darwin.
The commitment of both Territory governments over the past three years would appear to indicate a commitment to bring long-term resolution to this issue. This fact should be recognised in any discussions that eventuate between ERA, ASTC and PowerWater.
In conclusion:
- ERA believes the ongoing development of the verges of old East Side rests largely with individual residents, thus the need for a long-term education campaign that is supported by incentives. ERA intends to continue this education process.
ERA believes priority should be given to promoting to residents and development in the suburb low maintenance, sustainable landscape designs that promote appropriate arid zone gardening principles and practices. ERA is involved in this process.
However, it would be disastrous if a heavy-handed tree replacement program were implemented without community consultation.
The only real solution in the long-term relies on underground cabling to remove the potential for conflict between trees and power lines. Where underground cabling is not possible, priority should be given to aerial bundled conductors being introduced.
ERA is committed to working closely and cooperatively with the Alice Springs Town Council and PowerWater on these issues.
Having said all that, about a month ago, residents along Giles Street were informed by PowerWater that that street would have a tree trimming program. They were told on a Thursday or thereabouts, and within three days, a crew of some 10 or 12 people descended on that street on a Sunday morning and trees were lopped. I have photographs to show that it is a disastrous effect. Everything was absolutely flattened in a horizontal line. When you look at a tree it looks unnatural. That, typically, is the way that we do not want to see trees dealt with in the old East Side of Alice Springs. It is a very good area, very shady, very cool, and we must continue to preserve the amenity of this suburb. That is what it is about and that is what ERA is asking for in the most cooperative way possible. I suggest that government look at it in the most cost-effective way that it possibly can.
Mr ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Daly.
Mr Kiely: Righto!
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: He stood first, excuse me.
Mr Kiely: Yes, well I thought there was a convention in this House, Mr Deputy Speaker.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Are you happy?
Mr Baldwin: Yes. He is going to whinge about it, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am happy.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will make an explanation. Member, I was going to call you, and you did not stand, and I called the member for Daly. That was the only reason.
Ms Carney: Paranoid little man!
Mr KIELY (Sanderson): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and thanks for the comments from the member for whatever the place is you come from.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order! Withdraw that, please. Members should be called by their right name.
Mr KIELY: I withdraw, Mr Deputy Speaker.
I am going to talk about a fantastic event I went to about a month ago, on 5 July at St Mary’s Cathedral; the marriage of a colleague of mine, Mr Matthew Bonson and Ms Mona Vogt.
Before I do, there are a couple of points I would like to pick up from the member for Macdonnell’s adjournment debate on interpreter services, as well as the other inaccuracies that were stated by the member for Greatorex in his contribution to the indigenous education strategy in regard to interpreter services.
Just for the record …
Dr LIM: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! It is well known in this House that you cannot refer to a previous debate within the same session of parliament; it is in the standing orders. If you want me to refer you to the exact number, I will do that too.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will just check, member for Sanderson.
Mr KIELY: I am happy to wait.
Dr LIM: Mr Deputy Speaker, furthermore, it is a debate that has been adjourned by one of the ministers and is still before the House.
Mr Baldwin: So, let us talk about the wedding.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Sanderson, you can talk about education, but you cannot refer to the debate that is presently being spoken about, because it is adjourned at the moment. You can talk about education in general, but you cannot refer to the debate we are having at the moment.
Mr KIELY: All right, I will address the points that the member for Macdonnell raised. I will leave the other. I am sure the minister will pick it up in his summations anyway.
For the member for Macdonnell’s edification, there has been no cut to the Aboriginal Interpreter Service. Funding for the AIS is a mix of Commonwealth and Northern Territory government funding. Funding shown in the budget includes rollovers of some funds from one year to the next. About $200 000 of unexpended funds was carried forward from 2001-02 to 2002-03 and, at the time of compiling the 2003-04 budget, it was not anticipated that there would be as large a carry forward of unexpended funds. In short, there is no cut to the budget. I hope that addresses some of the member for Macdonnell’s concerns.
As I said, on 5 July, I attended a colleague’s wedding – the member for Millner. He married his long-time love, Mona. It was in a great church, St Mary’s Cathedral and was well attended. Of particular importance to me was that the guests at the member for Millner’s wedding just about summed up the spirit of Darwin in the old Darwin families that were present. It was a fantastic wedding. I looked around at a great cross-section of old Darwin families: Stokes, Cubillo, Bonson, Ah Mat, Crawshaw, Edwards, Ah Sam, Motlop, Billias, McLeod, Athanasiou, Damaso, and Rose. They got together and had a ball.
The reception was at the Kalymnian Club, which is a great venue for receptions, might I add. When we were all gathered there, the bride and groom came in to the sounds of the music of Eye of the Tiger. Everyone cheered and clapped and were quite happy for the couple. We were all cheering and greeting them. There were a number of his parliamentary colleagues there as well.
The hall contained many family members, friends, and guests. As I said, there were many long-term residents and old folk present; about 300. Everyone was getting into the spirit of the moment. The member for Millner had his cousin, Rodney Bonson, do the formal proceedings and he knows how to manage a crowd, and how to be a great MC. He was a credit to the wedding party. Matthew’s mother, Rosanne, was welcoming everyone. She was proud as punch; you could see that. The crowd was also getting well wishes from Matthew’s father, Robert, who travelled all the way from Perth.
One particular pleasing moment was when the bride’s Uncle Karl, who came all the way from Germany for the wedding, gave a speech. It was quite an interesting speech. I will not go into it in detail, but everyone was listening as Uncle Karl outlined the family history and, in particular, how Mona’s father, Ziggy, ended up in Australia via the Philippines, and how he met Mona’s mum, Betty. What I found particularly poignant about this story - and it was a story and a half that had everyone listening – was that it actually filled in the gaps of family history. You could actually see a blending and a coming together of all the old Darwin families …
Dr Burns interjecting.
Mr KIELY: It was indeed. Then Mona’s story was told and that fitted in. This was a real blending, and you could see the Vogt’s becoming part of that club of old Darwin families to which the Cubillos, Bonsons, and Ah Mats belong. It was quite an interesting view to behold.
Rodney kept it going. Matty has some great mates, in particular, his groomsmen, Stewie O’Connell and Tim Edwards. Those two are cards. I had my doubts whether the marriage was going to last after some of the stories they told. Everyone took it in good spirit and, as everyone knows, groomsmen and best men all tend to say some things that shock everyone and gets them laughing and giggling. Paul Seden, his best man - an old bus boy - certainly got the crowd going. It was all taken in good fun and great merriment and in the spirit that these stories were told.
There was also another particularly poignant moment. Matty’s new wife, Mona, had written a love ballad for him. Everyone sat on the edge of their chair. She sat solo and sang a ballad that she had composed for Matty. It did have its moments, but it was beautiful. You could see Matty was …
Dr Burns: Melt.
Mr KIELY: He was melting – it was a melting moment. He was proud and pleased, and we are all proud and pleased for them also. It was a glorious, loving moment that we shared. I will just say that if this is the stuff that the new families are being made of, then this is great stuff. It bodes well for the Territory that these people - new families, old families - come together. Their children are going to be one of the best products that this town will ever turn out – a great export industry. I wish them all the best in their future endeavours. I wish them a family of six or seven because they are prodigious contributors to the community, the Bonsons. They have done their bit for keeping the population going. I am sure with a few more families like that, we will have no problems populating the Territory into the 21st century. So, congratulations Matty. Best wishes on your future together.
Mr Bonson: Thank you.
Mr BALDWIN (Daly): My congratulations too, member for Millner, and I hope you are prodigious, because that is what marriage is all about, mate.
Mr Deputy Speaker, tonight I follow up on my question the other day to the Minister for Lands and Planning regarding the Mataranka Better Half Club and their application for land to build a community hall which they would like to use as a non-denominational church. These ladies have been hard working for 11 years or so in Mataranka raising money. They have in the bank over $110 000 that they have put together and are wanting to get on with the project.
They came to government quite some time ago. As the minister pointed out in his reply during sittings last week in the adjournment, following up on my question, he rightly said that they did apply for land when the CLP were in government. As minister for Lands in those days, I gave the Better Half Club an offer of a block in Mataranka subject, of course, to acquisition of all interest in the land including native title rights and any other interest that might exist. The club knew what that meant; it was explained to them.
That process looked like taking somewhere between 14 and 18 months, unlike the 18 to 24 months that the minister said. They were being resolved in 18 months during that period, roughly speaking. What it meant was that, once that had been dealt with under the Native Title Act - which was a federal act which we will follow for the acquisition of native title - any native title holders who were found to be valid in a claim of native title rights, were dealt with through the act with proper consultation. If an agreement could not be negotiated as the act says, then it goes off to a tribunal for determination of compensation of which, we might note, the Commonwealth then pays 75% of any set compensation, by agreement nationally, and the state pays the remaining 25%. That is how acquisition works. It does not take rights away; it actually compensates all for any rights found determined by an independent tribunal.
However, on going through the process prior to it going to the tribunal, the minister for Lands and the Department of Lands can then deal in the title, which then allows, of course, transfer of title and so forth. That then would have allowed the Mataranka Better Half Club to get on with building their structure for community benefit.
All that changed, as the minister said in the adjournment, because on August 2001 government changed. In doing so, the policy on native title and dealing with native title matters changed. Instead, this Labor government wish to negotiate with native title interests in determining the native title rights. In this case, any acquisition that was being undertaken was ceased and then negotiations taken up through the NLC on native title.
It is interesting to note from the minister’s answer, that the matter was set down for negotiation and it was not until December 2002 that the matter was discussed with the Northern Land Council. Therefore, it was from August 2001 to December 2002 before any discussions took place regarding native title. There is over a year lost to this community-based organisation to achieve their goal.
The next thing the minister said was that the Northern Land Council advised that they would not object to the acquisitions of the block on the condition that the resulting title is not extinguished, and compensation is paid. What we have now, it seems to me, is the NLC determining for government the conditions under which the government can deal in publicly owned land - the landlord being the government. They have said that they will not object to the acquisitions of the blocks, which is the wrong terminology: ‘We will not object, minister, to the granting a block of Crown land to the people of Mataranka to provide a community benefit, as long as (1) native title is not extinguished, and (2) the NLC is compensated’.
Where is the value back to the people here? It is interesting that it took place at that time. The question I asked of the minister was: how come the Mataranka Better Half Club was offered, under the CLP, a Crown term lease, which would then convert to Crown term perpetual once development covenants had been filled, native title would be taken care of by an independent tribunal regarding compensation if that proved to be found, and then the land would be offered to them in perpetuity. Very safe tenure. Native title then extinguished and compensated. Right? That was the offer they had in the first place.
They receive a letter in March 2003:
- Recent discussions with the Northern Land Council have revealed that should the club agree to a long-term Crown lease for 50 years, instead of a Crown lease term convertible to a Crown lease in perpetuity, then agreement could be reached with the native title claimants to allow the title to issue and the development to proceed. Any new offer at the end of the 50-year term may be subject to further negotiations and conditions.
They wrote back and they said they had a general meeting in conjunction with the AGM, and it was resolved that the Mataranka Better Half Club accept the new offer. That is what they did; they wrote back to the government and said they would accept that. They had some misgivings about it, but they said they would accept it.
Then they receive a letter dated 25 July 2003:
- Thank you for your letter dated 31 March indicating your acceptance of a new offer of Crown lease term for 50 years over Lot 141 Town of Mataranka. The Northern Land Council has requested an amendment to the original offer, being an agreement to effect the issue of a Crown lease term of 25 years …
Now 25 years:
- … over Lot 141 in lieu of the previously mentioned 50 years. Before a formal offer is made, would you please indicate in writing whether the Mataranka Better Half Club is prepared to accept an offer under these conditions.
They were very upset, of course, when they received that letter, knowing the delay now is two years hence and that it seems the NLC is determining the terms and conditions, which they then wish to change at their whim, and the government accepts them and then asked the community-based organisation, which is providing a community benefit for all, to accept it. So they replied, and this is what the minister did not mention in his reply in adjournment the other night. He has not said anything about what the Mataranka Better Half Club have now faxed back, over a week ago, so he should have known. They have said:
After much discussion and with some misgiving, we agree to the proposal of a 50-year lease. We mistakenly, it seems, thought that now we will soon be able to get on with our project. We replied to your letter of 5/3/03 on 31/03/03 that we would acquiesce to the proposal. Now we receive another setback: still no confirmation of our lease, and yet another suggestion in your letter of 25 July 2003 that we take a 25-year lease. Why is it that there are so many stumbling blocks in the way of granting a simple lease on a block of land for a facility that will benefit the whole community? It seems that we are being played with. The club says a very firm ‘No’ to a 25-year lease. We want to go with a 50-year lease and have certain security of tenure which a 25-year lease will not give us.
Minister, I say to you, come down into this House and explain to Territorians, and particularly to the Better Half Club …
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! The member is reflecting on the presence or absence of a member here. That is against the standing orders.
Mr BALDWIN: I withdraw that, Mr Deputy Speaker. I would like the minister, in his reply to this question that I am proposing tonight, to explain to Territorians and, particularly, the Better Half Club, why it is that his government can make a formal offer to an organisation, and then renege on the offer, at the request of the Northern Land Council - as these letters from the department have shown - and leave community organisations struggling along with no certainty – not of tenure - but of when this process is going to finish. However, more importantly, he should tell Territorians who is running the show. Who is running the show on native title negotiations? If this is an example of all the negotiations that are going on - and we have seen an example and we have heard the minister in estimates. We have seen the example of Larapinta, where the government, in the minister’s words, believes that a native title claim, once found, means the native title holders own that land - which is a vast leap from anybody else in the country. He knows - and he has referred to them - that there are courts in Australia that are struggling with determining the value of native title rights; and the extent of those rights is still a matter for debate. Yet this government, in determining Larapinta, in the minister’s own words, have said: ‘A native title claim, once found, means that they own the land. Of course, they own the land’, he said about Larapinta, ‘and therefore, you have half the land for free’. This is public asset.
Now we have a situation where a little, old community group, which has done an extremely great job of raising money over more than a decade, put together $120 000, want to get on with building a facility for community benefit – including, I might add, the known traditional owners of this area. I might point out, that very few of these traditional owners - in fact, one of the most senior traditional owners in that area - know anything of these negotiation with NLC. Yet the NLC is dictating to government the terms and conditions of their native title rights. It is an extraordinary leap that no other government has taken. It is just outrageous that this government can let negotiations on native title be dictated by one side of a party. I ask the question: what is happening with our national parks, our Territory parks that are under negotiations? I would like to hear from the minister, if he has time.
Ms CARTER (Port Darwin): Mr Deputy Speaker, this evening I will comment on a few things affecting my electorate. The first one is with regard to a housing complex run by Territory Housing called Tomaris Court. This complex consists of approximately 50 to 60 units located in the CBD on the corner of Daly and Smith Streets. It consists of four or five blocks, three storeys high, and many of my constituents live in it. I have been doorknocking this complex now for four years. When I first started visiting this complex and meeting the residents, I have to say that for what I perceived to be public housing - and remembering this was my first experience as a member of parliament and as a candidate at that time - I had certain preconceived ideas. Tomaris Court blew them out of the water for me. The complex was well kept, the people living there were proud of their units and it was, generally speaking, a very good complex. That continued for a couple of years of my experience.
However, over the last 18 months or so, the situation at Tomaris has deteriorated. Two things in particular have occurred. One is that a certain group of tenants have moved in and, when they moved in they brought with them their relatives and friends in large numbers, who now camp on the grass at the front of their units; drink in public; abuse the other residents of Tomaris; create problems with litter, noise and, dare I say, defecating and urinating in the stairwells. It is causing merry hell in this complex. I am particularly saddened by the experiences of one of my constituents whom I will not name, but he will know who he is. He is a man who has had many difficulties over the years and many of them continue. Up until recently, he was a student at the Northern Territory University and, for him, that was a great step - to move from unemployment. He is middle-aged so he has that aged situation about going back to studies. He is a middle-aged fellow, unemployed, struggling for a number of reasons, but went back to NTU to study computing. It was only a few weeks ago that he sent me an e-mail to say that he has pulled out of his university course because he cannot get enough sleep because of the noise from the people who are disturbing the peace in this complex.
It has been very disappointing over the last - as I say, fair bit of time now - 18 months, to see a deterioration of the amenity of this area. It is becoming so bad now that people living outside the complex are complaining about the noise coming from within the complex. The other problem that this complex suffers is that drinkers are going into the complex to sit on the grass behind the fence to drink. Of course, this creates antisocial conduct with abuse, fights, police being called constantly; and that adds to all the noise in the area.
I have written to the Minister for Housing. I have also had a meeting with him and his staff several weeks ago, and I was very pleased with the outcome. I am hopeful that, together, we are going to be able to address these issues. A couple of things that came from the meeting was that the minister is going to write to the Police Commissioner to find out how the drinkers who congregate in that corner of the grounds of Tomaris can be dealt with. My understanding is that the police have been reluctant to go in there and tip out alcohol because of the confusion over where their jurisdiction lies for doing tip-outs. Apparently, arguably, it is not public land, ergo they are drinking on private land and the police do not have the jurisdiction in that area. The minister is going to write to the Police Commissioner to clarify that situation.
Also, once we have that information, the department is going to work out a sheet to give to the tenants of the complex to advise them who they contact at the various times of the day to ring for help when these problems with antisocial conduct occur in and near the complex. Therefore, even though it is very disappointing that we have people who abuse their rights as tenants, and abuse social activities by coming onto land to drink within areas covered by the 2 km law, hopefully together we will be able to come up with some solutions that will assist the people living in Tomaris. Of course, we all hope that one day the problems will literally go away and it can return to the peaceful complex that it once was.
As you would be aware, the people who live in Territory Housing complexes are often the people less able to defend themselves, to deal with bureaucracy and to cope with the added stress of being unable to sleep at night due to the screaming and yelling and fighting that others inflict upon them. So, here is hoping we will come up with a good and a lasting solution.
On another matter, as members would be aware a recent announcement has been the building of a convention centre in my electorate. I would like to congratulate the government on making this decision; it has been a long time coming. I have certainly been a proponent of the convention centre for the CBD for quite a few years now. It is great to hear that that decision has been made. However, for the record, I would like advise that I did make a submission with regards to the building of this convention centre. I will read a paragraph from my submission just so people know what my views were with regard to the placement of the centre. I quote:
I believe the site for the centre must be right in the central city area. I know there are several sites which may be promoted - for example, the wharf, the old hospital site - but, to my mind, these are a little too far away from the CBD. When I attend conventions interstate and overseas, it is always a real bonus when the venue is conveniently located close to all the resources such as accommodation, shops, restaurants, etcetera. It is a real pain and expense when you have to get transport from the venue to these facilities.
That was my view on 4 February this year, and I still hold that view. However - and I know there has been considerable debate on the issue of the siting - that said, the government has made the decision to build the convention centre at the wharf. It has the potential to be something really magnificent, given the setting where it will be, and I do hope that it is something that we can all be proud of in the years to come. It will be a real asset to the Northern Territory and I hope that it is built, and the sooner the better.
Finally, on another good issue – a happy issue – I would like to report to the House with regard to Tracy Aged Care. Members will be aware that, over the last few years, Tracy Aged Care has been suffering some problems, not least of which was the imminent threat of closure approximately three months ago. Once that threat became very real, it was wonderful to see a group of solid community citizens rally to Tracy Aged Care and take over the mantle, in many ways, of the governing group of Tracy Aged Care, which is the Darwin Pensioner and Senior Citizens Association, of which I am the patron. Heading up that group was Alderman Carole Miller. I believe Carole, and her team at the time, have done a fantastic job in resurrecting Tracy and getting it on the right track, hopefully, with a bright future. The end result now is that the Darwin Pensioner and Senior Citizens organisation had their AGM a week or so ago, which I attended, and a number of reports were presented at the meeting with regard to Tracy Aged Care.
What has happened now is that Tracy Aged Care, which is very capably managed by Frontier Services, have made the decision to move to other aged care complexes residents who have to receive high-care nursing. High-care nursing is the sort of nursing care that is required for people who are particularly ill; they may be people who are literally dying. These people need a particular level of care, which can be expensive to provide, particularly if you do not have enough of them so that it is not efficient for you with regard to your staffing levels. This was arguably one of the problems that Tracy Aged Care was confronted with. Now the high-care residents have been moved on, and it has been very fortuitous for Darwin and for senior citizens that we had, at the same time, the opening of the aged care facility in Tiwi being run by the Masons.
A number of the clients from Tracy Aged Care have gone to the Masons, along with some of the staff, which has been a real benefit because it means that those clients and residents actually know some of the staff in this new place and it has helped them settle in. I know that some of the residents went out to the aged care facility at Palmerston. People have moved on. The end result now is that Tracy consists of Arafura House, which is the purpose-built dementia unit - a fantastic unit. It still has 15 clients, and there is no intention at this point to close Arafura. The hope is that it will continue providing the great service it has for a number of years now. The other group being housed at Tracy Aged Care are low-care residents, who are essentially people who are ambulant and able to look after themselves. There are 23 clients living in the low-care section now.
One of the really wonderful things that we were advised was that, at the time when Tracy was threatened with closure, it was also the time when nursing and other staff there were expected to get involved in the re-accreditation of Tracy Aged Care. This can be quite an onerous activity, as anyone involved in health care services would attest, so it was decided that because it was expected that Tracy would shut, all the requirements for accreditation would be put to one side and not dealt with. All of a sudden, the decision was made by the Darwin Pensioner and Senior Citizens Association to kick-start Tracy again and get it going.
Under the stewardship of Caroline Phillips, the Director of Nursing, the staff rallied and were able to complete accreditation and have just been awarded three year accreditation, which is a credit to them, given the struggles that they have had over the last three years. I congratulate Frontier Services and the staff of Tracy Aged Care for that achievement.
Finally, I advise the House that at the AGM, a new group of office bearers was elected for the Darwin Pensioner and Senior Citizens Association. The President is Phyllis Barrand. Phyllis is a wonderful woman. She has a background in nursing and was a Director of Nursing at an aged-care facility in South Australia prior to her recent retirement and her move to Darwin, for which we are very grateful. Phyllis, I know, will steer Darwin Pensioner and Senior Citizens Association and Tracy Aged Care very well with the assistance of the rest of her team for the next year. Other notables within the group are Ken Mildred, Carole Miller, Jan Hardwick, Judy Joyce, Val Asche, Kerry Cook, Peter Spillett and Jan Hill. I wish them the very best for the next year. I know they will do a great job.
Mr Mills: Ladies first.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Mr Deputy Speaker, my thanks to my colleague, the member for Blain, whom I did not know was sitting on my left.
I wish to raise a couple of matters this evening, one of which arose in Question Time today. Members will remember that I tabled a letter from a business that is situated in my electorate which raised a number of issues in relation to antisocial behaviour. Although that letter has been tabled, I thought for the benefit of interested members that I would quote parts of it. In this letter to me, dated 29 July, those who work in this business wrote:
- Every day we are faced with faeces and graffiti on our office windows, people urinating on our building and garden bed areas, damage to our vehicles, abusive behaviour to each other and ourselves, rubbish disposed around the outside of our office and damage to the building. Across the road from our office, tour buses park to allow tourists to get off to have access to the town area, only to be constantly hassled by some indigenous people.
It has reached the point where, on numerous occasions, we have called the police because we fear for our safety. Locking our office door is not a viable option, as we have continuous through traffic and do not want to deter people coming into our business, any more than is apparent with these individuals on display.
The letter goes on:
- This behaviour does not portray a good image of …
Their particular business:
- … to the local community, and most importantly to our paying clientele. We unfortunately have a lease for a further two years, so moving to an improved location is not an option at this point. We are taking steps towards another business taking over our lease, giving us the opportunity to move, but so far no one has shown any interest.
Why on earth would someone show interest in the site from which this business operates? This is the antisocial behaviour which is causing untold grief, not only to the people who live and work in my electorate, but to most of the people in Alice Springs. They thought – many of them at least – that when Labor came to office, they may have been able to take some decisive action with these people. Certainly, Labor indicated that they had all of the answers. Of course, I can refer to Labor’s position paper called Crime Protection Punishment and Prevention. I would suggest that document now is not worth the paper it is written on. I quote a couple of parts from it:
- Labor is opposed to any soft sentencing approach. The community expects those who deserve to go to gaol to be imprisoned as a punishment and as a deterrent to others.
It goes on, assuring the people who will read this document that Labor takes crime - including antisocial behaviour - seriously. What we have seen in two years from this government is that it is simply not prepared to deal with the issue of antisocial behaviour. I do not suggest for a moment that it is a straightforward task – not at all – but what I do suggest is that this government is in complete denial about the extent to which this problem impacts on the daily lives of people in Alice Springs. Although I do not know Darwin as well, I would suggest that it impacts similarly on people who live and work in Darwin.
What was most interesting, when I asked a question of the Chief Minister in Question Time this afternoon, she essentially berated me for even daring to ask the question, and then she said: ‘We put $5.2m worth of funds in this budget. There is a lot of activity taking place’. Well, there may well be a lot of activity taking place; however, nothing is actually happening. When I go doorknocking, the most common gripe and concern that I receive from constituents is that antisocial behaviour is getting worse. The Labor Party would have us believe that the people in my electorate and others, do not have eyes and ears. The Attorney-General and his friends can peddle any sort of statistical rubbish that they like; however, people do have eyes and ears, and they assess that things are getting worse in Alice Springs. I am certainly not about to collar my constituents and accuse them of lying and making it up, in a way, I might say, that the Chief Minister tends to suggest on a fairly regular basis. Regardless of the figures that the government peddles, the bottom line is: nobody believes those figures. No one takes them seriously because, as I say, they experience this antisocial behaviour on a daily basis.
My challenge to the government is this. After two years in office, it has another two years to go, and I welcome what the Chief Minister was quoted as having said in the NT News this morning; that is, that she pledges to tackle antisocial behaviour. I will be very interested indeed to see how the government will tackle this problem. One way regularly suggested to me is that a level of toughness is required for these people who seriously interfere with the enjoyment of life of others. I might say also that, another issue that comes up often – and, indeed, I have referred to it in this month’s electorate newsletter – is that drunks go into the parks - and I am very fortunate, I have a number of parks in my electorate - and the people are sick and tired of it. When mums and dads want to take their kids to the parks so that their kids can have a nice time in those parks and families can enjoy some quality time, they are increasingly - and I stress increasingly - being met by drunks who make it almost impossible for my constituents to enjoy the time that they might ordinarily expect in their parks.
I might say that if this happened anywhere else in Australia, people would be screaming from the rooftops. However, there seems to be an acceptance in the Northern Territory and, in particular by this government, that: ‘That is okay, you get that, that is just the Territory way’. Well, in fact, it is not just the Territory way and I am increasingly disturbed by a trend that once again comes up when I go doorknocking, that people are leaving town. I have said it before and I will say it again: people are sick of the drunks, the violence, and this government, and they are moving. People who have been in town for many, many years, who hitherto had never thought about leaving Alice Springs, are now thinking about it seriously or they have already made arrangements. That is a disgraceful situation. The Chief Minister can refer to the need to increase our population size all she wants, but action is what is required. It is the same sort of action required to increase our population that must be directly aimed at dealing with these people who make life very difficult for the rest of us.
On that note, and having extended the challenge to the government, it is appropriate that I refer to a couple of other matters. I note that yesterday was the second anniversary of the Labor government and, indeed, the second anniversary of more than a few new members to parliament. Of course, I extend congratulations to my colleagues on all sides of the political fence. However, with the two-year anniversary, it is a time to assess and look back and, of course, look forward.
I am compelled to say that Alice Springs has not done well out of this government at all. I have looked back at all of the promises, all of the election paraphernalia, and it is really astonishing how little the Australian Labor Party, NT Branch, has adhered to what they said they were going to do. Members will recall they said in the election campaign that they would create 70 new police and emergency services positions - they have failed. Labor said that it would create 100 new nurses’ positions - it has failed. Labor said that it would create 100 new teaching positions - it has failed. Labor also said that it would not introduce new taxes or charges - it has failed. It also said that it would stimulate the Territory economy - it has failed; business confidence is at extraordinarily low levels and, I gather, unprecedented low levels. This does not bode well for the Northern Territory generally, and for Alice Springs.
Alice Springs is a place that is unique. We rely, essentially, on tourism – or certainly many people who live and work in my electorate do. It is a case that, unless we can sell Alice Springs and Central Australia as an attractive, inviting place to come, then people will not go there. Again, it gets back to law and order issues and issues of antisocial behaviour. However, this government, despite saying that it would make the Northern Territory a much better place, and that Alice Springs would be taken seriously, and there were great opportunities in Central Australia – well, they have not. There are barely any capital works programs in Alice Springs at present. I know builders who have had to lay off staff. The old saying that if you go to Alice Springs you could make a quid no longer applies. Of course, that adds to the population decline. People used to come here; now they are not. Therefore, this is a very serious issue that the government simply cannot ignore any longer, and it really must deal with it.
This government is increasingly being referred to as an over-regulating government. The Northern Territory is increasingly being referred to as a nanny state. I am not sure how much more regulation and legislation the Australian Labor Party proposes to impose on the people of the Northern Territory …
Dr Burns: How about gay and lesbian law reform? Try that.
Ms CARNEY: … but there has been so much regulation and so much legislation, most of it nonsense - I might add, member for Johnston - utter nonsense, that one does wonder: in two years time, where will we be? Will there be legislation for things that we may never have imagined?
When I came to the Northern Territory, I liked the idea that there was not as much legislation here. I must say also that I liked it not just from the point of view of becoming a citizen of the town, but as a lawyer coming from Victoria, for reasons that escape me, 1958 was a revolutionary year in Victoria because it was the year when so much legislation - truck loads of legislation - was enacted by the then government. It seems that this period of the Territory’s history is the same - legislation for just about everything. In that regard, although I do not propose to embark on a pool fencing debate per se, I will seek leave to table a letter I have received from a conveyancer in Alice Springs, whose name is Mr Pearce.
Leave granted.
Ms CARNEY: Mr Pearce wrote to me very recently about some problems he is having as a conveyancer caused by this over-legislating, over-regulating government. It is noteworthy that only last week as advised by my colleague, the member for Drysdale, that he and the member for Greatorex attended a briefing about the swimming pool legislation and they specifically asked: were any conveyances being held up as a result of this legislation? I am reliably informed by my colleagues that the answer from those attending the briefing was: ‘No, no conveyancer is being held up’.
Well, this conveyancer in Alice Springs has quite a different story. He says, in a letter dated 12 August this year, which I have just tabled, that:
The relevant people are doing their inspections in Alice Springs. After all inspections the certificate issues in Darwin only, and this has held up settlement. The certificate is not allowed to issue in Alice Springs. Why are the inspectors given the responsibility to inspect but not issue the certificate?
He also says:
If settlement is delayed because we are waiting for the certificate, then this is costing the owner money on mortgage interest which would not have occurred if the certificate could issue locally.
He then goes on to describe other irritating problems he has dealing with the authority and refers to a case where, after making a complaint he was finally able to settle the particular conveyance.
Therefore, it is absolute fabrication that conveyancers are not being held up - they are. I know I am running out of time but it is an important issue that we may pursue in other forums. I commend Mr Pearce’s letter to members and trust that the government will think of a way around the problem. I note that they are introducing some amendments to their buggered-up act later this week.
In conclusion, two years have passed, two years are yet to go; roll on the next election because my constituents and the people of Alice Springs are far from happy.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Mr Deputy Speaker, I put on the record the recognition of some activities that have been conducted in and around my electorate. First, Palmerston Seniors’ Week. Once again, the seniors of Palmerston have gathered together to showcase the energy that we have within our seniors’ community, and the life and vitality of this group which, in this instance, comprises the rural seniors and the Palmerston seniors into a week of activities. The health and vitality of this group really speaks volumes of a healthy community and they also make very positive contribution to our community.
None of these activities would be possible without the leadership and generous giving of time by committee members under the leadership of Ann McNeill and supported by Elva Whitbread, Betty Chapman, Lucy Aylett, Iris McGregor, Joe Postl and Gail Maddox. Irene Roli resigned last year and she had been replaced by Gail. Irene also has made a tremendous contribution to the very successful Seniors’ Week activities in Palmerston. They had many activities including an opening and a closing ceremony, both at Woodroffe Primary School. I acknowledge the generous contribution of Woodroffe Primary School in supporting the seniors at Palmerston. It is good to see seniors and the youngest in our community, in the school, working together in this way.
They fundraised throughout the course of the year, and so they have a week of plain fun that does not cost them anything. They had a morning tea Cazaleys, a quiz night at Cazaleys, lunch at the casino, a hoi morning at Rural Old Timers, afternoon tea with Bruce Campbell - a Senior Australian of the Year - at the Palmerston City Council Chambers, a harbour cruise, mini golf in town here, races at Darwin Turf Club, and once again I mention that they closed at the Woodroffe Primary School. It was a great week of activities. They all had a good time, and they are resting now. Some of them will, no doubt, venture out for the next lot of seniors activities.
Another group is the Satellite City BMX Club. This is a very important club in Palmerston and has been operating for many years. It currently has a membership of 60, comprising 40 families. They will be hosting the 2003 NT BMX Association Age Titles on 3 and 4 October this year. Each Territory club takes a turn at hosting the titles in rotation. Three years ago, this club was struggling financially to survive, with huge debts left by previous committees and membership numbers dwindling. They have a new and energetic committee; they work tirelessly to build up the reputation of the club and now it is at its heyday. Debts were paid off by lots of fundraising. Fundraising efforts were matched dollar for dollar by the previous government and the Palmerston City Council.
The Palmerston City Council graciously assisted the club in overcoming major water problems, and the club has gone from strength to strength. Record attendance numbers at the first open meet for the year saw 80 riders compete at the track and a successful Come ‘n Try day introduced 20 new riders. Word of mouth in the community has escalated the membership, with new members choosing the sport of BMX each week at the track.
None of this, once again, would be possible without the generous volunteer work of committee members. The President is Brett Thurlow; Vice-President, Steve Voigt; Treasurer, Cathy Johnson; Secretary, Shennan Adcock; Registrar, Sue Butler and Tasma McCall; Track Maintenance, Tony McCall, John Butler and Barry Webber; Chief Commissaire, Leigh Belbin; Coaches, Natasha Dickens and Ken Johns; Parts Shop Manager, John Johnson; Fundraising, Karen Fairbank; Gate Starter, Jeff Fairbank; and Commentator, Ollie Kasch.
A young rider’s coach, Natasha Dickens, was recently awarded 2003 Young Territorian of the Year for the Palmerston region for her efforts at the club with the young riders of the future. Natasha teaches the skills of BMX racing to three-year-olds to seven-year-olds each Tuesday afternoon, in between her Year 12 studies and training herself for the Northern Territory titles.
Another champion at the club is Chris Johns, who was already mentioned tonight. A local Moulden lad, who at 16 years of age has earned himself World No 3 in his age division at the recent BMX championships held in Perth. Chris has been riding since he was four years old, realising his dream of winning a world plate after years of hard work and determination. Chris’ dad, his coach throughout his racing life, is now teaching his coaching skills to all the riders of Satellite City. My congratulations to the Satellite City BMX Club, which is really going from strength to strength. They have gone through their difficult times and are building something very special for the young people of the Palmerston region.
I turn to a very special group called the Brown Eyed Girls. This is a group that excelled at the last Masters Games. They won a gold medal. They were the very first indigenous women’s hockey team, and they won their category at the Alice Springs Masters Games. The Manager of this team is Dottie Daby; Sports Trainer, Peggy Sue Stubbiesfield; Coordinator, Don Bayliss; Umpire, Damien ‘Junior’ Clarke; and Team Assistant, Bill Feeney. They have 15 team players: Bernie Shields, Bernie Kay Shields, Ady Major, Jeanette Carroll, Fran Thomas, Kerry Daby, Linda Walters, Viki Miller, Annabelle Clark, Lyn Feeney, Gina Bell, Colleen Burns, Sue Campbell, Trish Kurnoth, and Phynea Clark from Alice Springs.
The average age for the younger players is 41 to 51, with the seniors ranging from 52 to 63, but their umpire is just 17 years of age, young Damien ‘Junior’ Clarke. It is a great outfit, a great family show, and they have a tremendous time together. I had the great honour of going to a barbecue at their place recently, and it is just great to see so much family engagement in the activity of sport. I commend them on their great success.
They tell a wonderful story. For the 2003 Masters, they made their own uniforms. They had little brown eyes sewn onto their pants, so that if they ever scored a goal they would bend over and show that they had brown eyes sewn on the back of their shorts. They were supported by Territory Clothing, which helped them with their walk-out shirts. They had stubby coolers made, as well as plain visors and scarves with their own logos. They had no funding whatsoever from any government body - and not to say that they did not try, but they got knocked back. However, they are not going away, they are going to come back here next year and see if they can get some support for their efforts. They started fundraising very early, selling $50 club tickets. Their major fundraiser is getting together and doing the ticketing at the drags, the car racing, from April to October, every fortnight Saturday.
The players travel to Alice Springs for the Masters by either plane, bus or own vehicles, and they stay together at the backpackers. For the 2004 Masters, they have a goal. They would like to raise enough money to be able to get a drive-your-own coach so that they can go down together, and perhaps work with another club or another team and use that vehicle to save on taxi costs when they are in Alice Springs. Once again, I wish them all the best. They are getting themselves all very well organised for the next round in 2004. They are already training, and I am sure that they are going to do well next year. I wish them all the best. The families that are involved in this team are a credit to that which makes the Northern Territory so special, so I wish them all the best.
Mr McADAM (Barkly): Mr Deputy Speaker, Tony Boulter was born in Mt Isa on 14 July 1935. He spent a good part of his early years travelling with his parents throughout the goldfields in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. In 1946, the family moved to Papua New Guinea. The following year, Tony attended Townsville Grammar in order to obtain his schooling, which later enabled him to become an apprentice carpenter in Lae, New Guinea. During this period, Tony’s work projects involved building bridges, wharves, office blocks and other constructions in that area.
It was about this time that Tony joined the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, where he did three months service under the United Nations mandate scheme in Korea and Malaya. Tony then worked in the Philippines before returning to Australia. Throughout part of the 1960s, Tony was employed in the mining industry, working in the copper, tin and sapphire mines throughout New South Wales and Queensland, followed by several years working in Arnhem Land with an indigenous housing association. Tony then returned to Papua New Guinea and worked for the Harbours Board. In 1979, Tony moved to Tennant Creek to work as a contract area supervisor with Transport and Works. He later left Transport and Works to run his own earthmoving company. Since that time, Tony has been employed with the Chamber of Commerce and has also established his own drafting business, incorporating building inspections and also that of a consulting engineer.
Soon after Tony’s arrival in Tennant Creek, he joined the Tennant Creek Golf Club and served on the committee as secretary and president for several years. Politics has always held a special interest for Tony, so it was no surprise when Tony became elected to the town council. His special interests were in finance and town planning, and he also was elected as Deputy Mayor under the leadership of Alf Chittock for a period of four years. He unsuccessfully stood for the seat of Barkly in the early 1990s but, as most people would be aware, this did not in any way impact upon Tony’s capacity to continue to work for the local community. During Tony’s period on the town council, he attended numerous local government conferences in other centres and, over the years, had lots of dealings with a great number of people from many sectors of the community. Whether travelling or at home, Tony has always been a great supporter of Tennant Creek and its community. It is fairly well known that Tony is a very vocal and forthright person in ensuring that the community works towards developing some very progressive outcomes.
The Tennant Creek Show Society was only a very small community event when Tony became involved in the 1980s. He has served as the president for the last 16 years and has played an important role in developing all aspects of the showgrounds and, indeed, the show itself. Tony is now retiring from the Tennant Creek Show Society after 16 years as president, but still remains involved in community organisations such as the RSL, where he is currently the treasurer.
Tony’s wife, Joie, is also a very wonderful and creative person. Joie won the NT Fashions Award for years, and is a great contributor to the Desert Harmony Festival in Tennant Creek. Joie is presently involved in designing fashions which she sells in Hobart in Tasmania. She is also a very keen gardener and probably has the best garden in Tennant Creek.
Earlier this year, Win Major, the mother of Joie and, of course, the mother-in-law of Tony, passed away. Win had been attending the Tennant Creek Show for the last 18 years, and the fact that she was not there this year was a sad occasion for all. Win was an inspiration to everyone involved.
On behalf of the community of Tennant Creek and the Tennant Creek Show Society, we extend our very sincere thanks to Tony Boulter for his outstanding effort in his contribution to our community. He will be sorely missed. This is his last year. Chuck Bourchier will be taking over and I know that Chuck will do an excellent job. Tony, on behalf of everyone in Tennant Creek, and also to your good wife, we thank you for your contribution and we look forward to your continuing commitment to our community.
Mr DUNHAM (Drysdale): Mr Deputy Speaker, I have some bouquets and brickbats. The first bouquet is for local government. As a parliamentarian in this parliament, I see myself unashamedly a supporter of local government. I have been fortunate enough to see the great advances that have been made in many small communities, and include the larger municipalities across the Territory with true local self-rule. I know that, in earlier times before we had self-government as a Northern Territory and before local communities had government, there was great paternalism from afar. There was great interference in the affairs of local people from bureaucrats and unelected people, and there was a great yearning for local priorities to be at the forefront of activities in the town.
I can recall when I worked for a local government minister, Dr Charles Gurd, who was then the President of the NT Local Government Association, came to see minister McCarthy and said that while he was pleased that he was speaking to the Minister for Local Government, he wanted to ensure he was speaking to a minister who was truly for local government and not against it, as it had been his view that people elected to this House with responsibility for local government often have an antipathy towards that sphere of government. Unfortunately, that is true. Sometimes, we jostle up against each other and there are issues where we disagree vehemently with local government and vice versa. However, that is the nature of a very small village with a couple of people posturing as the sheriff, I guess. Therefore, the bouquet is essentially to Local Government as an instrumentality, an industry and a tier of government across the Territory, and I wish it well in the future.
The brickbat is for currently what is happening with the Office of Local Government and its inspectorial responsibilities, particularly in so far as it goes to the Darwin City Council. There have been a number of newsworthy items in the media about a variety of issues, particularly relating to the CEO of the Darwin City Council and his contract. I say from the outset that I see Allan McGill, the CEO of the Darwin City Council, as a friend. Why would this be so? This would be so because I knew Allan McGill when he was serving at Snake Bay as the town clerk there. I moved to Tennant Creek in 1982 and he was the deputy there. I lived in Katherine when he was the town clerk and I lived in Alice Springs also when he was a senior officer with the council in Alice Springs. So, our careers have crossed. In that time, I was delegated under various sections of the Local Government Act, so we had a professional and family relationship. I was very impressed, when he was in Katherine, with the amount of activity that he did outside of his council duties, including as a participant in the local rodeo. He was one of those people who was pretty much universally liked in those places.
It was, therefore, a shock for me to see that matters relating to his contract were being investigated. We are now able to obtain some of the documents because the investigation of 29 July by letter of transmission by Bill Stutchbury to the Right Worshipful, the Lord Mayor of Darwin, Peter Adamson, outlines the report of inspectors of local government to certain concerns with their affairs of Darwin City Council. I shall not go into all of them, only those relating to the renewal of the CEO’s employment contract. I have to say from the outset that this has been grossly handled by the officers involved, given that there are a variety of capacities for investigation. One is at the minister’s behest and another is for an investigation by the judgment of those appointed under the Local Government Act, and this was one such case. I am not making any allegation against the Minister for Local Government here, but I would suggest that he get himself involved very quickly.
First, these issues started floating around late last year, but it is really only been in recent times that the people who are respondents, or named in these issues, have seen the actual detail of the matters under investigation. In any event, the investigations have found that there is no wrongdoing. I cannot believe that it would take an inspector of local government accounts from last year to the eighth month of this year - sorry, it dropped late last month - it would take the several months to make the findings that are made in this report. I can only assume that such delays, newsworthy as they were, were calculated to disadvantage the current CEO. This a matter that the minister must involve himself in.
I have heard comments from one of the alderman - and I will name him, it is Alderman Fraser - where he voiced strong dissatisfaction with the CEO, made various comments about the processes leading to this contract extension, and was very inflammatory on the radio given that an investigation was on foot. I spoke to this gentleman at the Darwin Cup, and I must confess to the House I was about a millimetre away from choking him, such was his attitude to this particular issue. He divulged to me at that time that his stance would be totally vindicated by the report. I have only just received the report and I found that not to be the case. I also have a copy of a letter from Cridlands Lawyers that goes to some 13 pages, and that legal advice also steps through various of the report of the inspectors of local government. As I say, it deals with issues relating to the funding for Darwin City Promotions. It deals with meetings in the three categories open to the public, confidential and restricted, and it deals with the CEO’s contract.
I will really only talk about the contract because time is limited, and it is probably the most noteworthy thing. Reading extracts of the report of the inspectors, which is signed by Ted Clark and Simon Pugh on 29 July 2003, at page 3:
- Inspectors concluded that there is nothing to indicate the process used by council in the renewal of the CEO’s contract fell outside the power of the council pursuant to the Local Government Act.
It found that the CEO had a reasonable expectation for a new five-year contract. It had a view:
- In view of the two preceding paragraphs, a further formal investigation is not considered warranted and the matter is now closed.
This is very cold comfort, after eight months, to decide that the council was within power and the CEO had a reasonable expectation for a new five-year contract and, notwithstanding some of the very public musings of one of the aldermen, this was a vexatious and frivolous issue that should have been put to bed late last year.
I cannot understand why an investigation of this type was on foot for so long. It has caused immense concern to people who want confidence in the Darwin City Council as an instrumentality that collects vast amounts of ratepayers’ money, and for people like myself who are keen to see whether it would vindicate the ready confidence that we have in a person called Allan McGill. That is, in fact, what has happened.
The process, however, leaves much to be desired - not just the fact that it took so long, but the fact that it would appear, from reading the legal advice, that matters of bias have intruded on this issue. This is a most concerning matter that the current Local Government Minister has to take in hand very quickly. There has been a flurry of correspondence between the agencies, but, to my advice, they have not provided much by way of information.
The act is very clear, and I do not think it would be a very difficult thing for a desktop exercise to have taken place and the various biased complaints put to bed at a very early stage. I believe Alderman Fraser has a lot to answer for. I believe his public vilification of the CEO, his musings about what might have taken place in matters that are obviously confidential, have served only to cause some grief to Mr McGill, and, I assume, his family, and are totally unwarranted.
If you go to the Cridlands’ legal advice, it would say that the rules of natural justice should have prevailed in the processes adopted by the inspector of the department. One was the ‘hearing rule’, which requires that the decision-maker give a person whose interests may be adversely affected by a decision an opportunity to present his or her case. Another was the ‘bias rule’, which requires that decision-maker not be interested in the matters to be decided, nor that there be an appearance that the decision-maker brings to the matter a prejudicial mind. There is also the ‘no evidence rule’, which requires an administrator’s decision to be based on logically probative evidence.
It is of concern to me and, I would assume, this parliament and also the minister, that the advice given to the Darwin City Council, which I am loosely summarising here but which I assume would be available to the minister upon request, if not by his inspectors, is that the hearing rule certainly has not been met. It should be noted that one of the matters had been to the Supreme Court, which not only held the validity of the promotional levy, but also the process of levying it. It found on the bias rule:
- We believe that there were some questions about the perceptions of bias …
It also said that the no evidence rule, they believed, had been breached because there were certain findings and allegations of issues in the report that were not based on evidence that was available to them.
If we are to stand in this parliament and talk about matters relating to statehood and our embarking on that path, the constitutional recognition of local governments, and talk loosely about concepts which are vaguely understood like self-determination and self-management, it is important that we decide what it is this organ called local government is. We have to really decide whether there is a role for unilateral bully-boy action from a government instrumentality, which seems to be configured as a personal and vindictive attack on an officer of an appointed independent council.
The matters relating to local government I can recall from my time in there, there are many circumstances where there are nefarious, illegal and other activities that take place, particularly on remote Aboriginal communities, that warrant the investigation of local government, pursuit of the miscreants, and their punishment under the law. I would not put the Darwin City Council at the top of that list. I would say that, of the 60 or so funded organisations that the minister sees as local governing bodies, albeit some are not incorporated under the Local Government Act, there would be many of them that would fail various tests of the type that have been put here. I think that if the minister is about to sign off, endorse or in any way see this report on his desk, it raises a lot of questions. Those questions are in the province for the minister to answer. I would hope he would do so in a very transparent and public way that is available to this parliament. I hope he would look to those issues where he believes that officers of his instrumentalities have been out of line, and put appropriate steps in place to make sure that this ethic is something that is stamped out forthwith.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I would also like to put on record my support for local government, and in this particular issue, something smells.
I will talk about something a bit more light-hearted tonight. I will talk about my trip to central Northern Territory, an area mostly covered by your electorate. I have been up and down the track many times but, as usual, once I know my destination I rarely stop except to stretch the legs, have a bite and refuel. There were those places I had promised I would stop and look around but never did, always in a hurry. So in July, I took a trip away from the telephone, from the hustle and bustle of the political life. My destination was Elliott.
My first stop was Fran’s Place at Larrimah. Fran lives in the old Larrimah police station and prepares home-made meals or slow foods, as she calls it. The food is delicious and can be enjoyed with a cuppa and a cold drink. Top that with Fran’s view of the world and you could be there longer than you think. A very pleasant place for a lunch and a chat.
Onwards to Elliott. Elliott, for many years for me, was just a refuelling spot; a place that had a reputation as being a bit wild after dark and very little reason to stay and look. I had always known of Lake Woods nearby but never investigated further. Through my contacts in local government, I found out there was a nine-hole golf course at Elliott, which is claimed to be one of the best in the outback. Inquiring at the local store, I was given instructions on how to get to Lake Woods - well, not exactly Lake Woods, but Longreach, which is a series of lakes which feed into the main lake from Newcastle Waters. If you want the directions, as you enter Elliott, you turn right just before the cattle grid, and travel down the road about nine kilometres, and you reach a spectacular site, where bird life abounds: pelicans, cormorants, darters, ibis, black and brown ducks, hawks and many other varieties in their thousands congregate there. You can sit and watch as the sun goes down, and even camp there if you wish. There is good accommodation also in Elliott. I stayed at the cabins at the Ampol service station, which I believe is owned by the Gurungu Association.
Next morning, up bright and early, I tackled the Elliott golf course; a golf course made up of par three, par four and par five holes. This was not exactly the Humpty Doo golf course I was used to, where if you hit a ball, there was a fair chance of finding it. This course required straight hitting; something I am not exactly good at. So, four lost balls later, and a golf score that Southern Districts Cricket Club would have been very proud of, I left a beaten man. The native grasses and trees of the interior, accurately called ‘the rough’, had taken their toll. I sat down after that in the pleasant shade and did a little reading, and enjoyed the peace and quiet.
I found out that on that day in Elliott there was a sports carnival as part of NAIDOC Week. I asked if they needed a football umpire to give a hand and, of course, mentioned that I just happened to have a whistle in the car. I shared the umpiring duties with a young bloke called Jonathon, and had a great afternoon watching some skilled footballers from Elliott take on the Beswick blokes. In the end, the Elliott Cats scraped home against the Beswick Hawks. It looked like they were going to win until, with less than two minutes to go, it was discovered the Hawks had an extra player on the ground. At least, that is what Jonathon told me, and who was I to query the judgment of the other umpire, especially as he came from Elliott?
I should make a comment here: my thanks to the people of the Gurungu community, which is involved in NAIDOC Week. They were very friendly. A stranger walks in and he is asked: ‘Do you want to umpire a game of football?’. Fine. It was just great to meet these people and I enjoyed their company. I hope Elliot might pass that message on to people when he is passing through.
A little more about Elliott, because Elliott for a long time certainly had some problems. Elliott is a community visit that has improved out of sight over the years. Alcohol has been a problem but, with a sensible agreement with the local pub, things have changed. The community continues to grow with new houses and their own radio station. Opportunities for employment are developing with the town situated on the highway, and the potential for eco-tourism at Lake Woods. I will be back to have another look one day and to get my golf score reduced to a total I can speak about without any embarrassment.
Leaving Elliott, I was given the good oil to visit Powell Creek. To get there, you naturally turn off at the Powell Creek sign and travel on a gravel road. It can be negotiated in a car, but care needs to be taken as it is narrow and rocky in places. It is only about 8 km from the highway. Here you will find a number of abandoned substantial buildings that were once part of the overland telegraph station. The buildings are situated on a high ground over the beautiful Powell Creek, which still had water in it when I was there.
I then went on to Renner Springs, famous for its corned beef and homemade bread. This time, I decided to visit a small mesa known as Lubra’s Lookout. It was another one of those places that I had always wanted to stop at and climb but, as usual, was always in a hurry. It is about a 4 km walk south along the highway from the springs to the hill, and I thought the walk would be a little more beneficial than driving. I headed off in the morning straight into a southerly wind coming off the Barkly, which made walking a little tougher, although it certainly helped on the way back. The odd whiff of rotting carcasses by the side of the road added to the ambience. From the ground, the mesa does not look too difficult to climb, but I could only find one safe way to the top - through a narrow gap in the rocks where a white gum had found a home. The climb was worth it. I shared the view with a wedge-tailed eagle which hovered overhead keeping an eye on things. Below me, a constant procession of caravans and trucks moved up and down the highway. It was a beautiful morning and a beautiful place with a grand view of the country.
I headed back to the springs with an appetite that was only satisfied with, naturally, toasted corned beef sandwiches and time for a little more reading. I actually stayed there two nights. I am not sure how many people stay at Renner Springs for two nights, but it was very peaceful.
The next day, not far down the track is Banka Banka Station, now part of the Stradbroke pastoral empire. Years ago, there was a school there and, during the war it was a major depot for troops moving north. Today it is becoming a popular spot for the overnight tourists, as well as a destination for Adventure Tours. There is a beautiful waterhole a few kilometres walk from the station, and you can either take the more adventurous rocky route or drive along the sandy flat. From the hills, you can see for miles and there is the odd tree growing in the rocks where you can sit for a while and enjoy the landscape. If you want to sit and enjoy the tranquillity of the bush, this is a good place. I spent some time just sitting by the waterhole reading a book and imagining the people who must have used that waterhole - the Aboriginal people, the station owners who lived there with their families, and members of the armed forces during the war. It is just a magnificent little place with a rock wall on one side and a sandy beach amongst the trees on the other side.
At night at Banka Banka, there is a slide show. Even though I was trying my best not to look like a southern tourist, I went along and found the show quite interesting. In fact, the manager of Banka Banka is a young bloke whose name just escapes me at the present time. He has a great slide show about how Stradbroke Pastoral Company operates and what it does. It shows all about its live cattle exports, how big the property is, how many people are employed, etcetera. However, this gentlemen does it in such a way that tourists just love. He has that Queensland-type sense of humour, and mentions things like: ‘Here is a slide of the cattle being loaded onto the truck, and those two people standing there are taking the names of the cattle as they go on’. Later you see them building a turkey bush and he mentions how large the eggs are of the turkeys out here. So, that sort of dry sense of humour goes over very well with a lot of the tourists.
You can also hear a character called Splinter, who does a bit of a Waldo – Waldo is our local poet in the rural area. This bloke recites a bit of bush poetry and cracks quite a few jokes. It was not slick; people sat outside around a fire in a 44 gallon drum. They have a little bar there that is open in the mud brick homestead that they have renovated. For $5 a night per person there were beautifully clean showers and toilets and plenty of hot water. It was just a great place to go to. If you just want a bit of peace and quiet, it is the ideal place.
I actually was not going to go any further. I thought Banka Banka would be the spot that I would stop and then turn around. However, I was reminded that the Tennant Creek Show was on and that was a bit hard to resist as I had never been to a Tennant Creek Show before. It certainly was different from Freds Pass – it was dustier, that was for sure – and it probably had more Ferris wheels and those sorts of entertainment than you would have at Freds Pass. Just like Freds Pass, people could spot a politician a mile off and I was soon discussing various issues with locals. Obviously, it must be the attractiveness of independence.
Before I headed off from the show because I did not have much time, I visited the arts centre, the Nyinkka Nyunyu Arts Centre. It is just a super place; it has one of the best museums you would ever see. It is developing its arts – they certainly have a long way to go before more local art is sold there. It is well worth looking at. There has been a lot of money invested there from the Commonwealth and the Territory and, as a beginning of developing the art industry in Tennant Creek and the region, that has to be the way to go. It is professionally done. There is a restaurant there. There are Aboriginal people employed in the arts centre. In fact, some of my sort of relations, the McCarthy girls, were there and it was great to see them. It is just a top place and all the people involved in getting that off the ground should be congratulated. I hope it just goes from success to success because this is the sort of thing we need in those parts of the Territory.
With the need to move on, I headed back along the track hoping to get somewhere near the Douglas Daly region. I once again stopped at one of those places I always pass through, Hayes Creek - I had not always stopped, but it is a long time since I have stopped there - where I had a good meal, a soft bed. If you have not wandered around Hayes Creek, it is worth doing. There is a beautiful waterhole and waterfall nearby with some very large trees at the base of the hills. On to Douglas Daly where I wanted to look at land clearing which has been a topic of much debate, I first stopped at the new township of Fleming. There is not much there yet, but the government has its priorities right. The first work is the footy oval and the toilets and change rooms, so we will soon be able to cheer on the Fleming farmers’ football club. That is the first indication that there is a township being established there.
I had morning tea with Rob Bright who has lived in the area for quite a few years, and that gave me an opportunity to talk about some of the issues. I discussed some of the issues that the farmers had with the government and some of the issues that are being debated in the newspaper. It certainly was worth going there. I had a look at the new clearing and, from my quick look at that clearing, it certainly seems to be careful clearing. The hill tops, some of the rocky mounds and the creeks have been left out of the clearing, so people are obviously aware that they have to do right thing. The government’s clearing controls are obviously working in that area.
I pottered off home after that. I had a wonderful break. I would recommend it to anybody. You do not have to worry about flying Qantas or Virgin Blue and getting into any arguments about that …
Mr McAdam: Air North.
Mr WOOD: Or Air North. You can just drive down, enjoy the hospitality of all the people. I thank the people at Renner Springs, Banka Banka and Elliott for their hospitality. I recommend to anyone to certainly go to look at Lake Woods. It is a place that could be considered a hidden secret of the Northern Territory, except if you belong to the Tennant Creek Speed Boat Club – they know where it is. Otherwise, it is a great place. Hopefully, it will be one of those place the Gurungu people can use for the benefit of their economic situation in the future.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016