2003-05-01
- Madam Speaker Braham took the Chair at 10 am.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I am very pleased we have in our gallery this morning pupils from Tennant Creek High School and Watiyawanu Primary School. On behalf of all members, I extend to you a warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
PETITIONS
Law and Order in Alice Springs
Law and Order in Alice Springs
Dr LIM (Greatorex): We forget that there is no microphone at our desks. Madam Speaker, I present a petition from 935 petitioners praying that steps be taken to rectify the breakdown in law and order in our community and for the return to us of our peaceful town. The petition bears the Clerk’s certificate that it conforms to the requirements of standing orders. Madam Speaker, I move that the petition be read.
Motion agreed to; petition read:
To the Honourable Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory, we the
undersigned respectfully showeth our great dissatisfaction with the increasing level of antisocial behaviour
and the level of property crime in Alice Springs. Your petitioners do humbly observe that, with the
present government, there is a lack of adequate deterrents to continuing offence and disruption of our safe
and civil enjoyment of our community.
Your petitioners do humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory urgently take the
necessary steps to rectify the breakdown in law and order in our community and return to us our
peaceful town. Your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
Mr Henderson: Written and authorised by Richard Lim …
Madam SPEAKER: Order, thank you! We do have another petition. I am waiting for the Deputy Clerk to take the chair - I am sorry, the Deputy Speaker. I can see it is going to be a good day.
Establishment of Safe Accommodation for Youth
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Deputy Speaker, I present a petition from 34 petitioners praying for the establishment of safe accommodation for the indigenous youth of Alice Springs at Aranda House, with supporting services. The petition bears the Clerk’s certificate that it conforms with the requirements of standing orders. Mr Deputy Speaker, I move that the petition be read.
Motion agreed to; petition read:
To the Honourable Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory, we
the undersigned youth of Alice Springs respectively request that members of the Legislative Assembly
of the Northern Territory acknowledge that Aranda House has in the past offered a safe haven for those
youth of Alice Springs who find themselves late at night without a home to go to. We would like to see
the reopening of Aranda House as a safe location for us when we have no other accommodation available.
We need a place of refuge that offers support services to meet our needs, and believe Aranda House is a
good place for us.
Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory supports
this plea by the youth of the town for the establishment of safe accommodation at Aranda House with
supporting services as proposed for the Indigenous Youth Crisis Accommodation Services.
- Your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
Madam SPEAKER: That was a bit messy, I know, but for those in the gallery, as the member for Braitling I wanted to present that petition. The signatures were apparently collected last night and it was given to me early this morning. That is why I asked the Deputy Speaker to take the Chair so I could do it as the member for Braitling.
MINISTERIAL REPORTS
Central Australian Economic Growth
Central Australian Economic Growth
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, today I put on the record some facts about how the Northern Territory economy is currently performing, including that of Central Australia where statistics are available.
All too often in the heat of debate, whether it is in this Chamber or outside or a need to get a story up in the media, there seems to be a lot of focus on rhetoric rather than on the truth. I am particularly concerned that members opposite are more inclined to paint a picture of doom and gloom and seek to create a perception that the Martin government has failed to manage the Territory economy properly.
I am not denying - none of us on the government bench has denied - that many businesses in the Territory have had a tough time recently and have faced difficult times in the period of consolidation. However, the rhetoric of the opposition does not match the reality. It demeans the energy and the skills of many Territory businesses that have adapted to the challenges, are adapting the challenges and are going on to expand their operations. The facts follow.
Gross state product increased by 4.8% in 2001-02 after rising 4.1% in 2000-01, and a rise of just 0.3% the year before that. State final demand, the broadest measure of the economy available on a quarterly basis, grew by 13.3% in 2002 compared with 2001 - by far the highest growth rate of any Australian jurisdiction, more than twice the Australian average of 6.3% and in contrast with growth of just 1.8% in the year before the Martin government came to office. If we break that down, both household consumption and private investment have shown the strongest growth of any Australian jurisdiction.
This government’s top priority is jobs, and I am pleased to report that employment, passing 98 800, is higher than when we came to office despite the set backs that have occurred. The unemployment rate, at 6%, is lower than the Australian average and well down from the 7.8% that we inherited back in August 2001. Various business surveys and reports, including Access Economics, BIS Shrapnel and Drake, all point to strong employment growth for the Territory in coming months and years, and we are expected to outpace the rest of Australia.
Under the CLP, new motor vehicle sales declined in each of the three years to 2001. In 2002, the first full year of the Martin government, they rose. In March 2003, trend sales were 10.1% higher than a year earlier and at their highest level since April 1999.
In 2000-01, the number of private sector dwelling commencements fell by 42%, their corresponding value by a third. In 2001-02, the number rose by 4%, the value by over 15%. A similar picture is reflected in housing finance approvals; their value, in trend terms, now higher than at any time since May 2000. This is in direct response to higher levels of economic activity and the changes in stamp duty introduced by this government in our last budget. As a consequence, the average price of established houses across the Territory is rising again, after falling in 2000-01 under the last days of the CLP.
New company registrations have been higher for this government than for the final 16 months under the previous one. Conversely, there have been 68 bankruptcies since August 2001 compared with 83 under the last 16 months of the CLP.
There is a similar picture for Central Australia. The residential vacancy rate in Alice Springs was 5% in March, below the long-term average of 5.6%. Over the past year, the average price for a residential lot has reached a record $105 000 and the average price for an established house in Alice Springs increased by 11.5% in 2002 - the highest price rise for any Territory centre, and compares favourably with an average 7.2% increase across the Territory’s urban centres.
Data from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, which provides regional breakdowns within the Territory, shows: employment rising and unemployment falling for both Alice Springs and the regional area during 2002; over $300m in mining activity in the Centralian region; and horticultural production growing at rates in excess of 25% a year, now exceeding $20m per annum.
Madam Speaker, we do not want to detract from those businesses that are still doing it tough out there. The truth is that, on a wide range of measures, the Territory economy is performing better now than it did under the final years of the Country Liberal Party, and respected forecasters, such as Access Economics and BIS Shrapnel, share this optimism with their five-year forecast, with both predicting strong economic growth for the Territory, well above the Australian average.
Mr REED (Katherine): Madam Speaker, the Treasurer can talk in glowing terms about prospects for the future and what is going to happen in five years’ time; business today is worried about how they are going to survive for the next month and pay the salaries of their staff - that is what they are concerned about.
The facts are quite the opposite of what the Treasurer has just portrayed. He only has to refer to the Auditor-General’s report, released this week, to do that. His income from Territory taxation has decreased, as pointed out by the Auditor-General. That can only be because there are fewer activities across the private sector paying tax.
In addition to that …
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: Do we have to, Madam Speaker? I know it is embarrassing for them.
In addition to that, the government’s own business operations have changed from, in 2000-01, a $37m profit, turned around with a reversal of $48m to an $11m loss in 2001-02. Even the government’s business enterprises are now operating at a huge loss. They are very, very worrying economic indicators.
I also point to the tourism industry. The Minister for Tourism told us earlier this week that June was the time to start promoting to attract visitors to the Northern Territory. Not so, if you ask the tourism industry. They are very concerned about tourism numbers this year. Promotion is not taking place, as the other states are doing, to attract people to the Northern Territory and, in addition to that, the promotion is not going to start until June. The Tourism Minister reckons that is the time to do it. It is not; it is too late, and we are behind the eight ball. Tourism employs one in 10 people in the Northern Territory. The future for the economy for this coming year is very bleak, and it ill behoves the Treasurer to get up and tell the business community otherwise.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Hold the front page, Madam Speaker! Friend of small business for many years, the CLP member for Katherine, the shadow Treasurer, calls on the Labor government to up taxes on business. Well, we are not going to do that because that was your opening argument: tax receipts falling. We are proud of that, because we reduced taxes. We reduced the tax impost on business at the last budget, and we will have similar measures in the forthcoming budget for 2003-04. It is remarkable for the opposition to call on the government to increase the tax load on businesses that are doing it tough out there.
If you want to know - and he well knows, Madam Speaker - why all state jurisdictions’ own source revenue is declining, it is because of the deal that he and his mates signed up with the federal Treasurer years ago, when they introduced the GST. We now have a GST pool, and we had to give up a whole range of taxes. That is why own source revenue is decreasing, along with our measures to decrease taxes. I tell you, we will not be upping the taxes on businesses, as you would want.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order, thank you, member for Drysdale.
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Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Minister for Lands and Planning, before you start, I believe there are some students from ANZAC Hill High and Sadadeen Primary in the gallery. Is that so? Yes, there are. On behalf of all members, I extend to you a warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Native Title Land Release in Alice Springs
Native Title Land Release in Alice Springs
Mr VATSKALIS (Lands and Planning): Madam Speaker, today I report to parliament on the achievements of Australia’s first negotiated settlement of native title matters on residential land. That is to take nothing away from the Rosebery Bellamack deal. That was a sound deal with good negotiating principles, but it was over land where the issue was whether or not native title existed.
In Alice Springs, native title rights have been found by the courts over 133 parcels of land. The courts subsequently vested native title on the Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation. There is no doubt that since 1992, land released in Alice Springs has not only been restricted, it effectively fell to zero while the courts sorted out native title issues. Governments of the day chose not to negotiate but to take a court-based legalistic approach. That decision meant that land released in Alice Springs fell to zero; the development and growth of the town was restricted; land sale prices became inflated; and house prices became very high. The new government decided early on that we would not continue this process, but work towards negotiated settlement of land matters.
We began to actively engage Aboriginal native title owners in serious negotiations about the future growth of this town. In March this year, the government reached in-principle agreement with Lhere Artepe to enable the development to proceed. Lhere Artepe has agreed to the relinquish native title over land at Larapinta to allow for the development of a minimum of 60 residential allotments. The last part of the agreement - precise identification of the land to be developed - has been determined by an engineering report which is nearing completion, and by consultation with native title holders. The engineering report will also provide detail and cost for headworks based on current and future lot yields.
The subdivision will proceed over 20 hectares of land which has been assessed to exclude sacred sites and areas prone to soil erosion, or otherwise not suitable for development. Exclusion of sacred sites and areas of cultural significance prior to the development is of utmost importance to the native title holders, and is a key point to the agreement. This government is determined to avoid the situation that developed in earlier Larapinta developments where sacred sites were included in the land sold onto the market, causing great distress to both the traditional owners and those people who bought the block of land. Release of the first residential blocks is targeted for early 2004.
In exchange for the surrender of native title rights and interests, the government will issue a development lease for half the development area, to yield a minimum of 30 blocks, at nil cost to the corporation owned or nominated by Lhere Artepe. The government has agreed that Lhere Artepe may nominate which half of the area it wishes to develop. The development lease will be issued immediately after the engineering issues are finalised and cultural consultations are completed. Lhere Artepe will develop the land as a commercial venture.
The land for the second half of the development, also to yield a minimum of 30 blocks, will be sold as a development lease by public competitive process, once the first development is complete, or unforseen circumstances prevent its completion. Under the agreement, native title would be extinguished only where it is necessary to issue a title or to protect public works. Negotiation with the native title holders, who throughout the process have expressed a desire to contribute to the economic development of Alice Springs, have been amicable and productive. The Larapinta agreement will not only achieve the release of residential land in the short term, but it has established a framework for the future development of Alice Springs in partnership with the Arrernte native title holders.
By taking a negotiating approach to land issues, this government has not only released residential land but has also been successful in resolving a long-running bitter dispute between government and a private industry landowner, Mr George Whittaker, of the old Alice Springs abattoir. The combined effect will be to release residential and industrial land for the purpose of growing the town. I am very proud of the fact that in 20 months of government, this government has effected more land release in this town than occurred throughout the entire decade up to this point.
Mr ELFERINK (Macdonnell): Madam Speaker, I respond to this - and this should be a ministerial statement because of the importance this issue has to the people of Alice Springs. I pick up on the comments by the minister in relation to Bellamack and, indeed, the railway corridor which were also settled by negotiation. It is an appropriate way to deal with these issues from time to time.
However, the government has to remember that they promised to be turning blocks off in this town by Christmas 2002. It now looks like it is not going to be happening until early 2004, and the consequential land squeeze on this town has meant that the average price of a block of land is $103 000. That makes it very difficult for employers to find staff who have land in this town, and it has a direct effect on the economic development of this town.
I noticed that the minister has commented, saying that they have gone through a process by which the native title holders have the choice of the first 30 of 60 blocks to be turned off, and they can either sell those blocks in commercial arrangements and have the money then poured into the bank and Lhere Artepe has a nice amount in a trust account, and I congratulate them. It strikes me, though, as a long winded way to go around it when, at the end of the day, Lhere Artepe effectively ends up with no land in its possession. I suggest that the government could have been turning off blocks 12 months ago if they had simply acquired the land and then placed the same value - half of the freehold value - into a bank account for Lhere Artepe. That means they would have had money in the bank account earlier; the land would have been turned off earlier; and land would have been much more affordable for the people of Alice Springs.
Madam SPEAKER: Member, your time has expired.
Mr VATSKALIS (Lands and Planning): Madam Speaker, I find it very cute for a member of the opposition to complain that we took 20 months to release land in Alice Springs when, the for the past 10 years, there was not one block of land released in Alice Springs.
In addition, would you like us to acquire the land and put money in the bank? They know very well that native title has not been valued by any court in Australia. Currently, there is a court case seeking to establish a real value on native title which has equal power to freehold.
I am very proud to say that we have been successful in negotiations and, by the middle of next month, the report will be on my desk. The first indication is that we have significantly more than 60 blocks in the new land release. Not only that, but this government guaranteed that there will be a number of blocks for first home owners in Alice Springs.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Distinguished Visitors
Distinguished Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: While the Minister for Environment and Heritage comes to the podium, I acknowledge the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of the Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the Honourable Fred Riebeling MLA; the Clerk of the West Australian Parliament, Peter McHugh; Liz Choat the Procedure Office Manager in the Legislative Assembly of Victoria; and, of course, the former member for Macdonnell, Neil Bell. On behalf of all members, I extend to you a warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Heritage Declarations in Central Australia
Dr BURNS (Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, I inform the House of progress in reviewing the Heritage Conservation Act, and protecting the heritage of Central Australia.
This government believes that conserving our heritage assets is central to maintaining our Territory identity, sustaining a cohesive society, and supporting our tourism industry. Nowhere in the Territory is this truer than in Central Australia where both indigenous people and pioneers have etched their mark; not only in Territory history but that of our nation. The Alice Springs community has always been interested in conserving and promoting its heritage. Since the 1970s, when people in Alice Springs established the first National Trust branch in the Northern Territory, they have been strong advocates for heritage. Indeed, approximately one-third of all heritage declarations are in places in Central Australia.
On the advice of the Heritage Advisory Council, I recently made two new declarations under the Heritage Conservation Act that will add significantly to heritage conservation values in Central Australia. First, the Catholic Church precinct will be afforded protection. The precinct comprises the former Catholic church, the Marist Brother residence and other structures. Its protection is important because, not only is it associated with the establishment and growth of the Catholic Church in Central Australia, but also Alice Springs itself. The precinct contains relatively intact examples of early 1930s and 1940s architecture of a style not seen elsewhere in Central Australia.
Second, I have declared Araluen Homestead precinct a heritage place. The early buildings of Araluen are important as historical and social connections with E J Connellan, pioneer aviator and pastoralist. Constructed between 1948 and 1955, the Araluen Homestead, folk cottage and former staff flats and old office stand as a testimony to the grand visions of Connellan.
Conserving our heritage requires good laws and we will implement them. Unfortunately, the CLP often did not understand this. The people of Alice Springs will remember the overnight vigils that they had to hold to stop the previous government knocking down the former Alice Springs Gaol. Unfortunately, the Hotel Darwin was not so lucky, and Territorians will long remember the shameful and expedient manner in which the CLP allowed this beautiful building to be demolished.
The government is determined to see the implementation of effective heritage laws. The Heritage Conservation Act is currently undergoing review and I anticipate some significant improvements emerging from the process. The public will certainly be invited to inform the government in this whole process and the best way to take conservation of our heritage forward.
However, good laws only do half the job. Laws need to be implemented and this also requires resources. Under the former government, the sole heritage officer position for Central Australia was withdrawn. Today, I am happy to announce that this government will restore heritage services to Alice Springs. As of 1 July, a full-time Senior Heritage Conservation Officer will be located in Alice Springs. This is another important step in securing heritage conservation in Central Australia and dismantling the Berrimah Line.
The government provided $70 000 in heritage grants for the conservation of heritage places in Central Australia in the last year. The money went to places within Alice Springs itself, such as the Lutheran Church and the youth centre, as well as to communities like Aputula and Titjakala. This funding supports the growing awareness that small communities outside Alice Springs have about their heritage. For example, the government has worked closely with the Ntaria community to aid its conservation efforts at historic Hermannsburg precinct, and recently provided emergency funding to undertake conservation works on the historic cellar. This work will continue to develop a conservation plan for the precinct and will result in the community being awarded a grant from the Commonwealth Cultural Heritage Projects program of more than $200 000.
Madam Speaker, I commend the efforts of the Central Australian community in conserving its heritage.
Mr BALDWIN (Daly): Madam Speaker, the CLP certainly welcomes the review of the Heritage Conservation Act, and we will be taking part in the outcomes of that when you bring it back to this House, minister. We certainly look forward to a full debate on that at a later date.
I congratulate you on declaring the Catholic Church precinct and the Araluen Homestead. They deserve declaration under the act. It adds to a very, very long list of declarations for heritage conservation by the CLP over many years; in fact, a list that I was very proud of. I have raised this before with you, minister, and you have probably had a look at the list by now. I am very proud of the fact that I have probably the longest list of declarations of any minister in the history of the Northern Territory for declaring preservation of objects and places under the Heritage Conservation Act. I look forward to your catch-up on all of that.
As far as the heritage grants go, it is good to see the government is finally loosening their purse strings in this area. There has been no action in the area of heritage grants since they came to government. I will take this opportunity to put in a plug for the Adelaide River Railway Precinct that you visited recently, to ensure that they get full consideration for their grant application that has been fully supported by their local member, as it should be.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, there is too much calling out at the moment!
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I also welcome what the minister had to say about the review of the Heritage Conservation Act and that new heritage sites have been declared in Alice Springs. It is very important to preserve our heritage. I believe it is an essential part of the fabric of our community that we do so.
I would also like to welcome the minister’s support for preserving the Larrimah to Birdum railway which still exists and has been under some threat. I have travelled on that small piece of railway line - I think it is 14 km of rail - and I believe it is one area of our early railway heritage that should be protected.
As well, minister, there are heritage sites elsewhere. We recently played cricket on one of them, a 1942 cricket pitch - the Strauss Cricket Ground, the SCG. It is named after the Strauss Airstrip, which is one of four airstrips in the Litchfield Shire. Two of those airstrips are now being threatened by duplication of the Stuart Highway, which I believe can be avoided. I have asked the minister to come and visit those sites. I know he has possibly not had a chance to reply to that letter. It is important to have a look at those areas.
I ask the minister to rethink the idea of heritage parks. Alice Springs is one of those areas which, in the days of Parks and Wildlife, declared places like the Telegraph Station as a heritage park. Minister, as Minister for Tourism, I tell you I can see great value in preserving our World War II heritage as heritage parks with a ranger or heritage officer, because there is great scope for the history of especially World War II sites in the Northern Territory to expand to tourism industry.
Dr BURNS (Tourism): Madam Speaker, I welcome the contributions by both members. In relation to the member for Daly, it will be a healthy competition as to who has the longest list. I will certainly be trying hard to add to the list in an appropriate fashion.
The Northern Territory does have a fantastic heritage in buildings and a whole range of things, including, as the member for Nelson points out, our wartime heritage. The past really informs us to some degree and forms the future, which is the present. I agree with the member for Nelson that tourism and heritage are very important and that is what people like to see.
I am a new minister in this area and I have been endeavouring to learn. I have been trying to get out and about. I have taken a tour here of the …
Ms Carney interjecting.
Dr BURNS: Thank you, member for Araluen. I have taken a tour of the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct. It is a wonderful area and I would like to see it promoted more.
Trade in Central Australia
Mr HENDERSON (Business, Industry and Resource Development): Madam Speaker, today I report on the current state of trade in Central Australia.
In October 2002, I launched the Martin government’s international trade strategy Building Stronger Territory Trade. This strategy aims to broaden and strengthen the Territory’s international trade performance, and Central Australia plays an important role in our current trade activity.
An early outcome of the international trade strategy has been the identification of our current Northern Territory exporters. I have personally written to each exporter with details of the strategy, and confirmed this government’s support of their export efforts. I am looking forward to good announcements in the budget to this effect. In addition, all exporters in Central Australia will be personally contacted by an officer of my department to discuss their current export activities and future international business plans, to see if we can assist.
The Central Australian economy has a strong business sector, with a growing diversity of production and service sectors. Being geographically located in the centre of Australia has necessitated the development of a strong outward business perspective. I am pleased to say that this is a business trade common to many businesses in the Northern Territory. Currently, the majority of Central Australia’s trade income is generated in the areas of tourism, minerals, rural industries, indigenous arts and crafts, manufacturing and knowledge-based services.
Tourism is the major earner of export dollars. In the year 2001-02, over 148 000 international tourists visited the Central Australian region, spending approximately $114m. Tourism is also a major employer in Central Australia and one that faces the challenge of maintaining its success, despite the negative impact of a series of adverse global events. The ongoing marketing activities being undertaken by the Tourist Commission are critical to this sector. The recent announcement of direct flights from Sydney into Alice Springs by Virgin Blue will also boost international tourist numbers and inject more export dollars into the economy.
Mineral production consists mainly of gold from the Tanami area. Exciting new discoveries of vermiculite, garnet sand, manganese, zinc, copper and gypsum fields will boost total mineral production. Encouraging exploration results for diamonds may also release new export opportunities. Central Australia is resource rich and the government has dedicated staff in Alice Springs to assist in the fast-tracking of any mineral development that has the potential to generate increased export earnings. The government is also committed to maximising local purchasing by the mining and exploration sector, to directly contribute to the economic growth in Central Australia.
Rural industry exports remain dominated by live cattle. Exports were valued in excess of $7m last financial year, which equated to approximately 30% of total Australian cattle sales. Export markets for live cattle provide a good opportunity for increasing returns when demand or prices from the domestic market weaken. Live camel exports is another success story from Central Australia. The trade in camels has been growing rapidly over the last few years. In 2002-03, 1600 camels worth more than $1m were exported to the markets of Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei. With ongoing support from the government, the future trade in camels is expected to continue its impressive growth.
Central Australia has an impressive table grape industry at Ti Tree, estimated to be worth $20m per annum. Whilst only a small proportion of the current production is being exported, the potential to increase exports in the future is significant. This potential is evidenced by initial export orders to our near Asian neighbours of prices up to $25 per kilo.
Another industry sector that continues its international success in exporting is indigenous arts and crafts. Paintings, carvings, didgeridoos and pottery are currently being exported to many countries around the world. Europe and America are the primary markets for these unique products. The sector comprises Aboriginal community art galleries, centres, and wholesalers and is a significant employer and generator of income.
I am pleased to report that my department, within the terms of the International Trade Strategy, will be targeting the development of the sustainable export plan for this sector. My department is currently working directly with individual businesses and is cooperating with the Department of Community Development, Sport and Cultural Affairs to ensure that the export drive is embedded within a broader indigenous policy framework.
The recent announcement that Desert Knowledge Australia has been awarded funding of $20m for a Cooperative Research Centre is an exciting development for Central Australia. From necessity, we have developed a wealth of desert knowledge and being able to capture this knowledge will provide us with a valuable asset. It is of interest to many countries in the world that have similar desert environments to that of Central Australia.
Madam Speaker, the future for Central Australia is, indeed, bright. There is a lot of work still to do, but this government will continue to get on with the job and develop trade opportunities for the Northern Territory.
Mr DUNHAM (Drysdale): That was a beautifully read speech, Madam Speaker. What we want this minister to do is walk the walk, not just talk the talk. He said that everything would be done. I have been to two export awards in Darwin. On the first occasion of the newly elected Martin government, there was an undertaking made on the stage that all of our trading partners would be visited that year. In that year, this minister went to Timor once and, I think, Singapore once. These are major trading partners with a major impact on what we do. I understand the Chief Minister has now been to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Nonetheless, they are replacing a CLP government that had ministers in Asia, virtually monthly. We had four or five minister who went to Asia monthly. This level of neglect must be addressed. You have to get over to where our markets are and you have to promote them.
I was disappointed that the Minister for Business, Industry and Resource Development spoke about table grapes yesterday and completely neglected the various other industries in this area. Therefore, I am glad that has been addressed to some extent here. I hope that he gets out to the date farm and the camel farm. I hope he realises that, in his portfolio area, there is more than grapes. There is an incredible potential here for this to be debated in this House. Yet again, we have an opportunity where these things could be catalogued, debated for the people of Alice Springs, and we could all make our contribution. Unfortunately, with two minutes, the people in the gallery will hear a short speech read by the minister and my short two minute rejoinder.
This should have been brought on as a significant issue for parliament to hear, and I am disappointed that the minister has neglected to support the area. I hope he takes his responsibility seriously and starts to make some moves on visiting our near northern neighbours.
Mr HENDERSON (Business, Industry and Resource Development): Madam Speaker, it is good to see that the shadow minister has finally taken an interest in this area.
This government developed and delivered the first International Trade Strategy that has ever been produced in the Northern Territory; they never did it when they were in government. We have committed to targets in that strategy. We have committed to increasing the volume and value of non-mineral exports in the Northern Territory by 40% over the next few years, and it is a significant outcome that we will achieve. It is not achieved by ministers junketing around the region at a whim, having jollies, which is essentially what the previous government used to do. It is about being targeted; it is about being strategic.
I am pleased to announce - and it is interesting that shadow minister takes his responsibilities so seriously that he has not realised that I have only just come back from a significant trip to the Philippines where we gained very good outcomes for the people of the Northern Territory for significant business export sectors, particularly live cattle trade. I will be reporting on those in the adjournment speech tonight.
Reports noted pursuant to Sessional Order.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, while you are preparing there, I notice the lovely T-shirts from Larapinta Primary School in the gallery. On behalf of all members, I extend a warm welcome, Larapinta Primary School.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: For the information of the students, we are now going into second-reading speeches. The Chief Minister will introduce a bill.
DESERT KNOWLEDGE AUSTRALIA BILL
(Serial 140)
(Serial 140)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
As has been said a number of times before - and I am very pleased to restate it - this is, indeed, an historic occasion. It is an honour for me to recognise these historic sittings with the introduction of a bill into this Assembly for the establishment of a statutory corporation entitled Desert Knowledge Australia. Desert Knowledge will seize upon the increasing importance of knowledge-based industries to the global economy, and will build a major new sector to the economy of Central Australia.
Madam Speaker, as you know first-hand, we are sitting in the heartland of desert Australia. There is, around this vast arid region of our island continent, an enormous amount of formal scientifically-based knowledge, and an equally important and large amount of know-how or tacit knowledge. The know-how or tacit knowledge comes of living and working in a desert environment and, of course, a good deal of this knowledge has been accumulated over thousands of years by indigenous Australians of the region.
This is just one of the exciting aspects of Desert Knowledge. It will provide a major opportunity for indigenous people to use their knowledge in a way that is empathetic to their cultural, social and economic interests. It will contribute to lifting the living standards and opportunities for indigenous people, and provide the basis for a partnership with other Australians in investing and distributing these benefits. It will be important for Australians living in remote and regional Australia, in working to enhance access to equivalent opportunities and services that their counterparts enjoy in the cities. This must go some way to supporting people in the areas who choose to continue living in the region. Stabilising the population of arid Australia is an important benefit arising from this development, from which all Australians will gain.
It is equally important to include the people of the inland desert network; those people living in places like Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Broken Hill, Mt Isa, the upper Spencer Gulf, Kalgoorlie and Laverton, and the people of more remote locations living in indigenous communities, pastoral leases and mining sites widely scattered throughout the interior. They will also be beneficiaries of this major new knowledge-based initiative for Australia’s arid region. It will also be international in its outlook, seeking to create wealth through the export of its intellectual capital and drawing intellectual capital to itself from around the globe.
While being broadly focussed in its outlook, there nevertheless remains the provision in the bill, as would be expected by honourable members, that the corporation must conduct its affairs in a manner that directs benefits to the Territory. It will reflect the important themes of social harmony, sustainability and wealth creation, ensuring that no individual thing gets out of balance with the others.
The statutory corporation is designed to be the umbrella body that will facilitate the development of numerous initiatives for social and economic growth in desert Australia. So far, these initiatives have included:
the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, a $94m program over seven years,
headquartered here in Alice Springs, to commence operations on 1 July this year;
Australia in a major program of capital developments in the Arid Zone Research Institute area;
Centre, a major initiative of indigenous people involving the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary
Education and the Centre for Appropriate Technology. Plans for this institution are being prepared for
its development in the Desert Knowledge Precinct;
an investment of $2.2m in headworks for the Desert Knowledge Precinct, which will commence in the
forthcoming financial year as stage 1 of the overall development; and
centre, and a cultural centre.
It is not intended that Desert Knowledge Australia will have a tight regulatory role over these initiatives, because each will have its own management and reporting responsibilities to its own governing body. Rather, the Desert Knowledge Australia statutory corporation will be a facilitator that identifies opportunities for social and economic growth, brings the necessary interest groups together, and assists in establishing viable business developments. To be a part of the Desert Knowledge Australia umbrella, these business developments will need to be involved in innovation and the creation and dissemination of knowledge.
The corporation will promote Desert Knowledge through facilitating partnerships, networks and the like, drawing new resources and initiatives into the economy of arid Australia. It will enter into agreements with like-minded institutes and agencies worldwide as part of this promotion. It will encourage and facilitate the development of a body of knowledge and expertise relevant to deserts and arid lands; encourage improvements to the economies and livelihoods of communities in deserts and arid lands; establish, develop and manage the Desert Knowledge Australia precinct as a nationally and internationally renowned centre of knowledge; facilitate communication and collaboration between persons in communities; and support and promote research and training relevant to the deserts and arid lands of the Territory and Australia to enhance economically, socially and environmentally sustainable practices that are culturally sound.
I would like to take this opportunity of acknowledging the central role played by the Desert Knowledge Australia Steering Committee in putting this legislation before the Assembly for its consideration today. It has been an outstanding example of community cooperation over the last four years, and this bill is an appropriate mark of the fruits of their labours. The steering committee includes members from six local indigenous agencies: Lhere Artepe, Batchelor Institute, Centre for Appropriate Technology, Tangentyere Council, ATSIC and the Central Land Council, together with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the NTU, CSIRO, the Alice Springs Town Council and three NT government agencies. I would like to welcome members of that committee to the Chamber today.
The overall activities of Desert Knowledge Australia have been a remarkable exercise in community engagement. This is a hallmark of my government. For the first time, a community representative group - in this case the Desert Knowledge Australia Steering Committee - has had a close hand in preparing the drafting instructions to Parliamentary Counsel as part of preparing the bill. It therefore not only reflects the aspirations of my government for Desert Knowledge, but also those of the broader community of Central Australia. I am pleased and proud to say that this is a practical example of community engagement by my government.
I would also like to acknowledge the support of the opposition, when in government, in backing some of these initiatives. For all of these reasons, I am confident that the bill will receive the strong support of the Assembly.
I now turn to the details of the bill. The functions of the corporation I have already dealt with. The powers of the corporation will include: the right to enter into contracts and the ability to hold real or personal property that may be leased or otherwise disposed of; the power to seek and hold grants, sponsorships and other assignments for the purposes of Desert Knowledge Australia; the ability to create and hold intellectual property that may then be developed commercially; the right to borrow, invest and grant funds and enter into commercial agreements with the approval of the Treasurer; the power to manage property and to charge for information, goods, services and work undertaken by Desert Knowledge Australia; and establish membership groups and to collect membership fees.
There are standard provisions in the legislation for the minister to give directions to the board, but this is expected to be a rare occurrence. This is, of course, a requirement to exercise transparency in these matters by tabling the direction in the Legislative Assembly and reporting on the direction in the corporation’s annual report.
The bill makes provision for the nomination of members to the corporation who will be appointed by the minister. The board itself will comprise between five and 11 members, including a chairperson and a deputy chairperson, with half of the members nominated by participants. There is a provision to ensure that at least a minimum number of indigenous people are appointed to the board. A board of five members will have at least two indigenous persons; a six, seven or eight member board will have at least three indigenous people; and a board of nine, 10 or 11 members will have at least four indigenous people. There is also allowance for the minister to seek nominations to the board from other jurisdictions in Australia, including nominations from the Prime Minister, a Premier of a state or any other person considered appropriate.
It is the express intention that the Northern Territory government will do all in its power to facilitate a board that has a broad range of skills and represents the interests of all those in desert Australia. In this regard, the bill makes provision for the appointment of persons who, in the view of the minister, provide for an appropriate balance that represents communities in desert and arid lands, indigenous peoples of desert and arid lands, people with special expertise and interest in desert and arid lands, and people from different levels of government. The chairperson and deputy chairperson will be appointed by the minister from the board members, and at least one must be an indigenous person.
The board must meet at least four times per year and may appoint committees to perform its functions and exercise its powers. The board may also appoint staff, including a person to be the chief executive, to assist in meeting its obligations. The board may delegate some of its powers to committees or to individuals, where this will assist the board to carry out its responsibilities.
There are flexible provisions for the board to generate a cash flow from grant, sponsorship and other business activities. Rigorous accounting practices must be observed, including the submission of an annual report containing a financial report that will be laid before the Legislative Assembly. This report will be subject to a review by the Auditor-General, whose findings will also be submitted to the Assembly. I am confident that this process will ensure proper and reliable accountability of Desert Knowledge Australia to this House.
Subject to the passage of the legislation by the Assembly, the government will review the legislation in three years time. Desert Knowledge is a new and innovative project, appropriate for an economy moving into the developing field of knowledge and innovation. It is also a project that has been conceived, nurtured and developed with close community consultation. Accordingly, three years would seem to be an appropriate time after which the government intends to once again consult with the community on the legislation. I am confident that we will be reviewing a successful project by that time.
Once again, let me say what a pleasure and privilege it is for me to stand before this Assembly in Alice Springs and introduce legislation that will provide for a flagship agency to lead Desert Knowledge initiatives for Australia for a long time to come. It will be truly national and not parochial in its vision. I find it particularly rewarding that such an innovative and watershed initiative has arisen from a spirit of cooperation among the communities of the Northern Territory. It will bring growth and employment and other significant benefits for the people of inland Australia, with obvious direct benefits to those of Central Australia.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to the Assembly.
Debate adjourned.
ENERGY PIPELINES AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 143)
(Serial 143)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr HENDERSON (Business, Industry and Resource Development): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The main purpose of this bill is to mirror the provisions of the corresponding Northern Territory Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 in relation to the term of the pipeline licence. It is proposed to amend the term of an onshore pipeline licence issued under the Energy Pipelines Act so that, in the future, a licence will be granted for an indefinite term.
This change will achieve consistency between the Energy Pipelines Act, Northern Territory Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act and the Commonwealth Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 so that a common indefinite term of the licence will apply to all onshore and offshore licences. The immediate effect of the change will be that a common term of licence will apply to the full length of the proposed Bayu-Undan to Darwin pipeline. The amendments will provide a more efficient licence administration.
As a consequence of this amendment that will provide an indefinite term of an onshore pipeline licence, it is necessary to repeal the present renewal provisions relating to onshore pipeline licences. Existing onshore pipeline licences will be unaffected by the change, as there are other granted pipeline licences under the Energy Pipelines Act. A corresponding savings clause for existing pipeline licences has been included so that the renewal of these licences is not affected by the amended act.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
MAJOR CRICKET EVENTS BILL
(Serial 144)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr AH KIT (Sport and Recreation): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
I take this opportunity to introduce the Major Crickets Events Bill to the House. An agreement has been entered into between the Northern Territory government and the Australian Cricket Board to host international cricket matches in Darwin in July and August 2003. It is exciting that the Territory has the opportunity to host such prestigious international events, and a key issue will be the safety of players and officials whilst matches are organised and/or are in progress. It is a requirement of the Australian Cricket Board that the security of players and officials is addressed by prohibiting public access to the playing area, or any other area of the venue where the person is unauthorised to be present at any time during the conduct of the match.
In international cricket matches, pitch invasion is considered a serious breach of security, as in the past it has resulted in player injury. Some major sporting events have been disrupted for economic reasons, an example being a recent incident during a rugby match in Sydney in which a person painted with the Vodafone logo streaked across the field.
This legislation will allow a particular major cricket match to be declared by the minister by notice in the Gazette, and will provide for specific offences that apply at venues so declared. The offences are aimed at preventing entering the playing field of the venue or any other area where the person is not authorised to be present; throwing or projecting objects onto the playing field during the conduct of the match; or conduct that interferes with or endangers a player or official engaged in a major cricket match; or behaviour that disrupts the conduct of the match.
Under this legislation, the maximum penalty is 45 penalty units, which is $4950 for a natural person, and 450 penalty units, which is $49 500 for a corporation. The Major Crickets Events Bill aims to ensure that disruptive behaviour at international cricket matches does not occur.
The commencement of regular international cricket matches presents a milestone for the Northern Territory. Regular international cricket will provide a great boost for our tourism and retail sectors, and it will be a great addition to our Territory lifestyle. In addition, the Territory will benefit from enhanced exposure through national and international media.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
DANGEROUS GOODS (ROAD AND RAIL TRANSPORT) BILL
(Serial 122)
DANGEROUS GOODS ACT 1998 AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 123)
(Serial 122)
DANGEROUS GOODS ACT 1998 AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 123)
Continued from 20 February 2003.
Madam SPEAKER: Before the member for Blain starts, I advise children and other people in the gallery that we have finished the second reading speeches following introduction of the bills. We are now going into legislation and will have a series of second reading debates before we pass the legislation on which the member for Blain will speak.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, at the outset, I thank the minister for the briefing, giving us adequate preparation for this bill.
The bill, as I understand it, serves two purposes: one to create an act, the Dangerous Goods (Road and Rail Transport) Act 2002, and the other to amend the Dangerous Goods Act 1998. The intent of this is to bring our legislation dealing with passage and transport of dangerous goods into line with other jurisdictions. At a time when the railway is being developed and there is an increase in transport between Western Australia, the Northern Territory and other states, it is particularly important that we do come into line with legislation nationally.
We are satisfied that these bills achieve that and, as a result, we support the bills.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I did not have a briefing on these bills, but I was briefed on others. My contribution is really in the form of a question.
In the Litchfield Shire and the Palmerston area, there are large Defence areas. Explosives are moved by the Defence Forces - I presume up and down the highway or they move out through the City of Darwin and by ship if they are going to places like Timor. My question is: does this bill cover our Defence Forces, or is the movement of explosives and munitions by the Defence Forces covered under separate legislation?
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I thank the opposition spokesman, the member for Blain, for the support of these bills. It actually goes back as far as 1991, when all ministers in the jurisdictions and the Commonwealth agreed to seek national consistency in this area. It has taken, certainly in the Northern Territory, a considerable time to achieve that consistency with all jurisdictions, but the passage of these bills today will achieve that and, importantly, they will be in place in the Northern Territory before the rail commences operations.
In relation to the member for Nelson’s question, if the carriage of dangerous goods is being conducted by the Defence Forces, they are subject to Commonwealth law but, of course, that law is consistent with the legislation we are passing today. If it is contracted out to private operators then, of course, they would be subject to these laws we are passing today. However, it matters nought, except in the case of a prosecution of an offence, because the laws are consistent, both in the Commonwealth, Northern Territory and, indeed, every other jurisdiction. So it is just a question of, if there were a case to be prosecuted, who prosecutes it. I thank members for their support.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training) (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: I am pleased to say we have some more students in our gallery. Is this Ross Park? Yes, it is. On behalf of all members I extend a warm welcome to Ross Park Primary School. For the students’ benefit, the Chief Minister gave a ministerial statement on Tuesday. We have finished our legislation for today, now members are responding to the statement.
MOTION
Note statement - Development and Vision for Central Australia and its People
Note statement - Development and Vision for Central Australia and its People
Continued from 30 April 2003.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I have lived a fair bit of my life in the north of the Territory, and some people may say I do not have much connection with the Centre. As the member for Nelson, the first thing I discovered from the Chief Minister’s speech is that HG Nelson was our first federal member, and his son was the longest serving member as well as the mayor. Over on my right, I have a lady called Mrs Peg Nelson who I would like to acknowledge, the wife of Jock Nelson. I feel very privileged to be the member for Nelson and I appreciated meeting Mrs Nelson the other day. So, I do have a connection.
The other connection I have is I first came to Central Australia in 1964 as what was called a Form 4 geography student in those days. That was the beginning of what you might call a move by many schools to come to the north as part of excursions to discover the centre of Australia. I came here literally on a city bus which tried to negotiate dirt and corrugated roads and fell apart in the process. We travelled up the track from Melbourne, but as soon as you got to Coober Pedy, the old Stuart Highway certainly let you know you were travelling on it. We went out to Ayers Rock and the Olgas, as it was called in those days, and enjoyed a trip around those parts on Connellan Airways which took off from the old airstrip which used to be very close to Ayers Rock, and now, of course, is outside the park.
We moved on to Alice Springs to have a rest - and to get the bus repaired because all the seats had broken up; in fact, the bus had nearly collapsed. We stayed at the Oasis Motel which was owned by the Kilgariff family. It was also a great pleasure to meet Bernie Kilgariff who, to me, is one of the icons of the Northern Territory and a person for whom I have great respect. I believe he is a person of great wisdom, great humour, and someone who has been a very important person in the development of the Territory, politically and economically.
We stayed at the Oasis Motel - I had forgotten where it was, but Bernie tells me it was more or less opposite where Traeger Park is today. It was interesting; perhaps I have another connection I did not realise I had. Bernie said he ran a chook farm. He had 7500 chickens, and he had a problem that many of us in the poultry industry have had: to have eggs laid regularly, you have to keep the daylight hours the same, and so you have to have lights set at sometimes 4.30 am or 5.30 am. Of course, when they come on and everyone else is asleep in the Alice Springs area - it was a small town then – the chooks start making a lot of noise. He used to get complaints, so he decided that was a bit too much and he went into the motel business. That, I presume, is how the Oasis Motel came to be.
There is one thing I always remembered - and I was only 14 when I came to Alice Springs – and that was the beauty of Central Australia, especially if you came from Melbourne: you would enjoy the night sky which you could see more often than in Melbourne, the sunsets and the sunrises, the crystal clear days, the landscapes and their different colours. I will always remember watching the sunset at Ayers Rock, as well as looking at some of the paintings that Albert Namatjira did, the bush, the sand, the plants and the animals, the dry river beds and the majestic gums. The silence, when you come from a big city and you are camped out in the middle of the desert, is very strange.
Of course, there have been changes. Many of the roads have now been sealed, and the Ayers Rock airstrip is the Uluru Airport, part of the Yulara Resort, which is now a modern sealed airport. Alice Springs is, naturally, much bigger and now has all the amenities you would find anywhere else in Australia. Some of the changes are for the good, some for the bad. I look at those fast food outlets in Alice Springs and wonder at the lack of respect the company owners show for the Central Australia landscape and architecture by building replicas of outlets that suited the suburbs of Melbourne, Sydney or Los Angeles, but not Central Australia. I always find that very disappointing.
On the good side, Alice Springs has kept its landscape by respecting its geographical features and sacred sites. This planning approach certainly should be used as an example for other towns or cities in the Territory and Australia. In fact, I still do not think it is too late for the city of Palmerston to look at the same concepts in retaining some of its geographical features. It makes Alice Springs a unique town; an interesting and very beautiful town.
Alice Springs has a proud heritage, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, and that heritage is part of the fabric of this community. It has sometimes been difficult to preserve that heritage but, in general, it has succeeded, and the minister mentioned some of that today. There is still the beautiful weather and beautiful landscapes, and the people of Central Australia are no different from other Territorians, except for jumpers and beanies; and they make this such a friendly town - even the flies are friendly.
What am I leading to with all this nice talk about Central Australia? Well, the Chief Minister in her statement talked about development and vision. I thought I would talk about tourism. Within the Territory, we need to do more to attract Darwinites, Litchfield-ites, if you want to call people where I come from, and Top Enders …
A member: Outer Darwinites.
Mr WOOD: No, not Outer Darwinites; this is outer Darwin. … to this part of the world. There is no doubt that for many of us in the north, we can find the continuing high humidity and temperatures especially tiring, particularly at the beginning and the end of the Wet. With weather as Alice has now, what better time to get people from the north to come south? After all, we do speak the same language.
I heard how difficult it is going to be in the short-term for the tourism industry down here because of the SARS epidemic, the war in Iraq and the downturn in Asian tourism. What better way to offset some of that than attract locals to their own backyard? I know there has been some effort in the past to attract visitors from up north to come to Central Australia. It was done under the previous government. I remember seeing the brochures, although I am not sure how successful that was.
There is one difference: we are now going to have a railway. I know the new Ghan is pretty expensive - you can see the air fares - because it is regarded as a tourist train and caters for that market. However, there needs to be an alternative to that: a passenger train. If there is a freight train travelling from Adelaide to Darwin every day, why couldn’t a passenger service be attached? It has been done before in other places. Anyone who has lived in country parts of Australia has seen it. Maybe we will call it the backpackers special, but it could stop at Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. The fares could either be set as family fares, discount fares or a packaged fare which could include a car and several nights accommodation in and around Alice Springs. I do not believe the Ghan is meant to cater for the ordinary traveller, and I feel a good passenger train linking Territory centres could be the way to go.
A member interjecting.
Mr WOOD: Yes, that is right. For anyone, it could be just another form of transport. There may be some teething problems, but it may maximise the use of the railway and, at the same time, promote local tourism.
Perhaps the Minister for Tourism could look at the possibilities. I hope he does not think of it as a harebrained scheme; you need to think laterally. As I said before, the beauty of Central Australia will always attract people. There are so many attractions: the landscape, the Aboriginal arts and culture, the town and its people, and the climate. I am glad parliament has come to the Centre. I have learnt a lot in the few days I have been here. No matter what issues we argue, I feel it is important as a member of the Territory parliament - not just as the member for Nelson - to come and hear what people are saying. Whether I agree or disagree is irrelevant. I have enjoyed the process that we have had, and I thank people for letting me know their viewpoints.
I am going out today to see a certain person who wants to develop some land. I am not making any promises that I agree with him or not, but he is going …
A member interjecting.
Mr WOOD: Yes, I have. In fact, I invited some people to the opening who are not quite related to me. They are related to my wife and, actually, to Terry McCarthy. So, yes, I have talked to some of the local indigenous people. But, by coming here today, it shows that we as parliamentarians are supportive of the whole Territory.
I hope we will be back in the not-too-distant future. I hope this is not just a one-off. You never know, we might be able to travel by train and see a side of the Territory we have not seen before.
Mr ELFERINK (Macdonnell): Madam Speaker, today I comment on the Chief Minister’s statement in relation to what is happening in Alice Springs.
It is now 11 am on the third day of sittings. This statement was made on the morning of the first day of sittings. It is the only statement the government has offered the people of Alice Springs. It has been annoying in this sense: there is much to be discussed about issues in Alice Springs which has been dealt with in the glibbest way - ministerial reports where ministerial statements would have been far more appropriate.
Nevertheless, I finally have a chance to get to my feet. There are certainly things that I wish to comment upon. Naturally, the Chief Minister touches on the most important issue in this town after she mentions arts; which is crime. That is not belittling the arts, but it is the purpose and fundamental role of government, no matter what form of government, to provide, ultimately or first-off, a safe environment for the community. Before you can enjoy arts, health or education, if the community’s environment is not particularly safe, then the rest of it does not mean much. Yet we find it buried on page 10 of the statement.
The issue of crime in this community, as much as the government wants to play it down, is a very real issue. The government has been careful to produce any number of statistics in relation to crime. I will visit those statistics briefly. The Attorney-General placed on the Table two graphs - and one more was introduced by the Chief Minister - in relation to crime in this community, and they are saying: ‘Oh, crime went down between the last year of the CLP and the first year of the ALP’. What I clearly demonstrated yesterday during ministerial reports is the old Disraeili ‘lies, damn lies and statistics’, because I can lay on the Table graphs of my own.
These graphs demonstrate rises. Recorded assaults in Alice Springs, September quarter, December quarter, show a very sharp increase which is clearly demonstrated by this graph which was tabled yesterday. Sexual assaults in the last two quarters have gone up from four to 19 over those two quarters and if that is not ringing alarm bells in government, I do not know what is. I also lay on the Table recorded offences against the person for the September quarter to the December quarter, the last two quarters, which have gone up substantially as well.
We have to remember that this is the yardstick the Attorney-General himself said we should use - have a quarter to quarter comparison of crime statistics and we will have them audited to make sure they are all tickety-boo. As a consequence …
Mr Henderson: You said you do not believe them.
Mr ELFERINK: We will have them audited and we will proceed on the basis of comparing them. When the numbers do not go in the government’s favour, they change the way they interpret them. They have been interpreting them now by comparing year to year.
I continue on with unlawful entry dwelling with intent, September and December quarters - an increase; unlawful entry with intent, other, September and December quarters - an increase; stolen motor vehicles in Alice Springs - a 19% increase using the government’s current yardstick of the prior 12 months to the current 12 months.
I produced six graphs and I am becoming a little concerned that statistics are what are driving this government rather than the truth. Mr Wicking from the Northern Territory News made the point particularly well when, in his last cartoon, he showed a villain breaking into a house and the police officer levelling his gun at him, and he says: ‘Stop - or you’ll have a negative impact on quarterly compilation of crime statistics’. That is the problem with this government: that they are focussed on statistics.
Yesterday, I saw the fellow who has a scar from his ear to the top of his head, the result of a rock attack.. This fellow had to go to Adelaide for treatment. The fellow, who wants to be an Alice Springs resident, is thinking about leaving. Why is he thinking about leaving? Because of crime in the community. This fellow turned up because he was concerned about crime in this community, and I know that many people are. When I hear stories about young children who are being sexually assaulted in supermarkets, I am concerned.
Members interjecting.
Mr ELFERINK: I listen to you people chortle and laugh. Let us look at the statistics this government produced on crime issues. I would like to draw members’ attention to the fact that on page 43 of the December quarter of the Quarterly Crime Statistics and page 9, I think it is, on the September quarter crime statistics, the numbers change.
Dr Toyne interjecting.
Mr ELFERINK: I pick up on the interjection from the Attorney-General. The quarter I refer to, which changes as offences are logged, is the December quarter of the year 2000. Are you telling me that people have waited two years to come into the police station and lodge a complaint? This is astonishing, and these numbers are varying.
It is interesting to note that in the September issue of this document there were 340 recorded offences against the person yet, in the December quarter, there are 330. Are you telling me 10 people, after two years, came into the police station to withdraw a complaint, minister? This does not make sense. In the December quarter, we see the government represent two sets of figures and they are different. This goes to the very heart of the integrity of the government’s figures.
We hear that you have to look at the statistics. When I look at the statistics, they change. In this example, the statistics go backwards after two years. This goes to the integrity of the government’s position.
Members interjecting.
Mr ELFERINK: There are all sorts of interjections I hear about how to read the statistics and how to measure them and how long is a piece of string but, at the end of the day, if these filters are necessary, why are they not carefully explained by the government as to why they cause these changes? That is something that the government is not doing.
A classic example of what the government tries to do with these statistics can be noted on page 69 of the September 2002 Quarterly Crime Statistics and the December report, which are three months apart. If you go to page 92 of the December quarter 2002 statistics, it says:
In its current Crime and Safety Survey publication the Australia Bureau of Statistics reports that
nationally 23% of house break-ins and 72% of assault offences are not reported to the police.
This one came out after this one, a quarter earlier. The Crime and Safety publication by the ABS says that the Northern Territory has some 33% of house break-ins not reported - a 10% difference between unreported, and what is the yardstick that changes? It is the national yardstick which is the one this government prefers to use in its ethical audited document rather than the Northern Territory statistics which look worse. This is meant to be an independent body, but I am starting to have some concerns about the flavour that these numbers starts to take: (1) when the numbers change; and (2) when the yardsticks used to compare those numbers also alter and do so to favour the government. This is of concern and it goes to the very integrity of the government’s position.
We have tried to raise the crime issue in this House – twice on Tuesday a censure motion was moved. The first censure motion allowed for two speakers and then the government gagged it. Then, in the second censure motion, the government did not allow any speakers. The government was not prepared to allow more than four minutes of debate from their side on crime issues.
Mr Henderson: The censure went for two hours!
Mr ELFERINK: Twice the Attorney-General had raised issues of crime in this House in ministerial reports and, as the government is fully aware - fully aware - the ministerial report allows a two minute, unprepared reply from members opposite. Two issues raised were by the government in relation to crime, with four minutes to reply. We have to start to rely on censure motions - which you gagged, which you prevented members from talking in - because you did not like what had to be said. Two hours and then you shut it down because you did not want to deal with the issue any further.
Mr Henderson interjecting.
Mr ELFERINK: The second censure motion, if you had stuck to convention, minister, would have allowed further debate. But, no, by the numbers of this House and by the fear that this government has of criticism, they shut down debate.
Yesterday, I waited and hoped that this statement would come on but, instead, we found ourselves having to argue because the officer in charge of sausage rolls over here wanted to organise dinner for members when we, on this side of the House, wanted to get on with the business of the day.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Members of government, settle down. Too many interjections.
Mr ELFERINK: This government’s approach to how seriously it takes this parliament in Alice Springs - and frankly, how seriously it takes the people of Alice Springs as a whole - has been demonstrated by its ability to (a) gag debates, (b) make sure that there are enough breaks for sausage rolls, and (c) try their hardest to not bring on statements which they know will attract criticism.
I am prepared to wait three days if necessary to bring issues of concern to the people of Alice Springs into this House. I am fully prepared to pursue those issues, no matter how much the government does not want to hear it.
Mr Kiely: Well, do it now. You have the floor. What about something positive?
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Member for Sanderson, you are being disorderly.
Mr ELFERINK: The other issue I have to raise - and it is unfortunate I only have 20 minutes because there are so many issues that concern the people of Alice Springs - is the cost of land in this community. The average price for an unimproved block of land in this community is $103 000.
I have to speak to employers on a regular basis. These are the people who try to create jobs through their own efforts for other people in this town. One of the problems they have is they cannot get staff. Why can’t they get staff in so many instances? The reason that they cannot get staff is because it is a very expensive place to live. I wonder if the government has tried, in any fashion, to discover how much an average rental is in this town for a person on, let us say, $40 000 a year. I can tell you that the average rental in this town is pushing towards $300 a week for a young family with kids to support in an environment which is not as crime free as it could be. Employers have to find people to come here so that they can work and generate wealth. I get so frustrated when I talk to these employers and they say: ‘We cannot get anybody to do work in this town’.
Part of the problem is because house blocks are too expensive. It costs more to build a house. If you have the $180 000, I think the first home owners grant ceiling is currently, you can spend $103 000 of that buying you new block. You can then erect a four-man tent, and you will come in under that threshold. That way, you can have a first home owner’s loan. Otherwise, you are in the marketplace with everybody else, so it becomes more expensive in that fashion to own a house in this community.
I want to see this community grow, but at the moment there is a log jam. There are freehold blocks available for subdivision in this community. I urge the government, noting its preparedness to try and push things through and get things done, to allow proper development of areas which are available for development now.
I appreciate that there are difficulties with things like native title and that the government has chosen to go down a particular path, but the government promised the people of the Northern Territory that they would be turning off blocks for people to purchase by Christmas 2002. It is May 2003, and we are not going to see a block turned off for the people of Alice Springs until January 2004. There were other means by which that pressure could have been relieved by government, but it was not prepared to go down those paths and deal with a compensation issue because it has an agenda to push.
There is another agenda and that is the growth which affects not only Alice Springs but also the areas around Alice Springs. I would very much like to see environments like land trusts and Owen Springs generating wealth and jobs in a community which is affordable to live in. Owen Springs was something that the former Northern Territory government purchased with a view to developing Alice Springs further. That is touched on by the Chief Minister in her statement, and she congratulates herself on some of the noble and good things that the government is doing in relation to Owen Springs. Well, good! I am happy. But the point is that ball was started rolling by the CLP several years ago, and the jobs that should be generated right now from various projects that should be occurring on Owen Springs are not there.
There is work with the tourism industry in protecting the Larapinta Trail and developing the Western MacDonnell National Park. Good.
Mr Henderson: Another ALP initiative.
Mr ELFERINK: I will pick up on the interjection. That is an absolute piece of tripe. It is out of the ballpark. The purchase of Owen Springs was there to complete the Western MacDonnell National Park; it was the intent of the purchase.
A member interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Araluen, withdraw that remark. That was unparliamentary.
Ms CARNEY: I withdraw that remark …
A member: They do this all the time …
Madam SPEAKER: It is disgusting.
A member: It is.
Mr ELFERINK: Madam Speaker, I …
Mr Kiely interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, member for Sanderson! You have been spoken to already today.
Mr ELFERINK: Madam Speaker, I heard the minister talk about economic development in the Centre and there are good projects going ahead. I take great interest in future horticultural projects. We are about to build a railway from Alice Springs to Darwin - or it is almost complete, I should say - and there is no reason why this community should not be the centre of a hub which becomes the bread basket of South-East Asia. There is a wonderful port in Darwin, a railway which is about to be completed, and there is not much standing in the way of developing horticultural projects through the other great CLP initiative, the Desert Knowledge project, which will create jobs and wealth.
I urge this government to look at that aspect - the economic drivers which will make this community a great community - with much more vigour than the are, and to start pushing through projects which are going to create jobs and wealth for everybody who lives in Central Australia, whether they live in Hermannsburg, Titjakala, Finke or in Alice Springs because, as far as I am concerned, if we have wealth in Alice Springs, that will generate wealth in other places. If we have wealth in other places, it will generate wealth in Alice Springs. I do not mind seeing the rich get richer so long as the poor get richer in the process.
Ms Scrymgour interjecting.
Mr Elferink: Have you seen how they live?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Macdonnell, do not talk while you are walking across the floor. You know the rules. Member for Arafura, stop baiting him.
Mr HENDERSON (Business, Industry and Resource Development): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak in response to the Chief Minister’s statement on Central Australia, and to speak positively about the great work that is happening here, our vision for Central Australia as well as picking up on the some of the diatribe that we hear from people on the other side.
The Central Australian region plays an important role in the Northern Territory’s trade activity, as I said earlier. Tourism remains the Centre’s main trade commodity; almost 150 000 tourists visited the region in 2001-02 spending $114m. The government has lobbied long and hard to bring Virgin Blue to the Northern Territory. In fact, it was a key election commitment we made in the last week running up to the 2001 election. What was the attitude of the CLP at the time when we made that election announcement?
Ms Carney: To make you do your job and deliver!
Mr HENDERSON: Let us go back and have a bit of a history lesson because the member for Araluen is not very good on history or the truth. Let us go back and have a history lesson.
The then Treasurer, the member for Katherine, criticised the government’s efforts to bring Virgin Blue to the Northern Territory. It would never have happened if the CLP had, unfortunately, been returned to government. We had the vision and we delivered, despite the member for Araluen very dishonestly trying to claim the credit for that. Let us go back to some quotes …
Ms Carney: Oh, please do! Please do! Let us have a look.
Mr HENDERSON: Come in, spinner! Member for Araluen, come in spinner. This is the CLP’s attitude towards Virgin Blue; it is on the record. The member for Katherine said that we should not be throwing money at Virgin Blue to bring them to the Northern Territory prior to the election. We then had the member for Araluen - the same member for Araluen who is trying to claim credit for bringing Virgin Blue to Alice Springs - saying in the parliament on 23 October 2001: ‘This government,’ meaning the ALP government, ‘elects to support Sir Richard Branson over a local operator, which is a disgrace’.
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister should do me and people listening the courtesy of quoting the entire extract and not just one sentence from it, because he knows that statement was made in the context of a proposal for government to assist the Flight West proposal.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Araluen, resume your seat. There is no point of order.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, there is absolutely no point of order. You cannot go back on your own words, member for Araluen.
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, member for Araluen!
Mr HENDERSON: ‘… elects to support Sir Richard Branson over a local operator which is a disgrace’. That is hardly a welcoming statement for Virgin Blue to Alice Springs. The Flight West operation was never going to fly …
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, would you just cease for a moment? Member for Araluen, your interjections are becoming quite disorderly.
Ms Carney: They are necessary, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Just cease. I give you fair warning.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, the member for Araluen certainly does not like to revisit history because she has a very poor record.
We then go on to the member for Drysdale who made an infamous quote in this parliament on 27 February 2002 when he accused Virgin Blue, and I quote: ‘They have a shoddy fleet’. Again, what sort of welcoming statement is that for Virgin Blue to Alice Springs? We then have Darwin’s Lord Mayor, Peter Adamson - who used to grace the CLP benches, now Lord Mayor for Darwin, but certainly very much a CLP Lord Mayor; he has not taken his colours down from the mast. He ridiculed our support for Virgin Blue Airlines, saying: ‘It is a ridiculous proposition’. The CLP have never supported Virgin Blue Airlines, certainly at the inception stages. To try and claim credit now for all of the hard work of Tourism ministers - minister Stirling, myself and minister Burns, who finally delivered - she is being totally dishonest. But she has a track record of being dishonest.
We continue to try to build tourism. Times are very tough, and we have put an extra $1m into the marketing budget post-Iraq and SARS. It is important that all of us, as members of the Northern Territory parliament, promote the Northern Territory as being a wonderful, exciting and safe place to visit. It is our responsibility; every single member. However, it is more important, as a shadow minister who is supposed to be supporting tourism in the Northern Territory, particularly in Central Australia where she holds a seat - and what sort of language do we have from the member for Araluen, in trying to paint an exciting, wonderful place to visit that Alice Springs truly is? It certainly is a fantastic place this time of year. We only have to go to debates in this House just this week when she stated - and this is the shadow minister for tourism, the member for Araluen, promoting Alice Springs to the world: ‘He expects that they will come here in the stinking heat of Alice Springs’.
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister is misleading the House by referring to that quotation. It is not the case that my comments were made in relation to promoting Alice Springs to the rest of the world. They were made in relation to the minister’s mismanagement.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, I am quoting the member for Araluen. I am not paraphrasing, I am quoting. This is what the member for Araluen thinks of Alice Springs in the height of the summer here: ‘The stinking heat of Alice Springs’. She then goes on to say:
- Well, member for Wanguri, when and if you decide to come to Alice Springs a bit more often, you will
experience the extreme heat that we have in Alice Springs, unlike the humidity there in Darwin.
I love the heat of Alice Springs; I love the humidity of Darwin. For the shadow minister to talk about Alice Springs in such totally derogatory terms is extraordinary. We will certainly make sure that every tourism operator in Central Australia hears her attitude. She then goes on - and, again, members on that side have to be very careful about how they portray Alice Springs. In another debate in this town, again, what sort of statement is this in trying to encourage tourists to Alice Springs:
The only thing that is happening with the alcohol restrictions is that the drunks - and that is what they are;
they are stinking drunks who obstruct, spit, swear and make life unpleasant for all of us. Those people are
lining up for two hours to buy their grog.
What sort of portrayal of her own community is the member for Araluen and shadow tourism minister portraying to potential tourists to Central Australia? She is an absolute disgrace and, if anybody should be dismissed from a portfolio, it should be the member for Araluen for talking this wonderful town down.
Moving on, in our international trade strategy, we are moving to increase exports by 40%. Niche markets are being carved out in Central Australia, including computer software developments, information mapping, and alternative energy developments. Just a couple of weeks ago, I met Brendan Meaney who is putting together a really exciting initiative in Cool Communities. My department is working hard on the Northern Territory’s first energy policy, and Brendan and his Cool Community groups are formulating a proposal for solar power and energy efficient residential and commercial buildings. That is the type of innovation that is going on in Central Australia, not mentioned by anyone on the other side.
We talked about pastoral and horticultural industries in the Centre and my colleague the Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries will talk about that more later.
Central Australia, as we know, is resource rich. We have mineral production in the region generating more than $330m and employing over 900 people; and it is going to get better. As a result of this government working cooperatively with the land councils and the mining industries, we have opened up over 350 000 km2 of land for the mining industry for exploration, in just 21 months in office; five times more in 21 months than the previous government achieved in its last four years - a wonderful outcome for the Northern Territory in mineral exploration.
The Leader of the Opposition’s ignorant comments regarding the processing of exploration licences indicates he obviously does not know what he is talking about. In his slander of the Northern Land Council - saying that they were deliberately obstructing the processing of exploration licenses - he obviously is not aware that quite some months ago, after negotiations and discussions with this government, the NLC no longer automatically objects to every application under the expedited provisions of the Native Title Act. Licenses are being granted. They are living in the past in not recognising that great work going on in the mining industry is certainly behind what the government is doing.
We are also negotiating with the Minerals Council and the land councils for amendments to Part 4 of the Aboriginal (Northern Territory) Land Rights Act to improve the administrative processes in order to achieve greater access. The opportunity for the government to go to the Commonwealth with the support of the industry, land councils and the government to achieve amendments to the Land Rights Act is very exciting. We are close to that outcome, something that the previous government never achieved.
If we look at one of the most effective ways to judge a region’s economic growth, we need to look at what is happening in our major towns. The ABS figures are pretty hard to break down because they only portray the Territory figures. However, we can see that the economy, although it is tough, and particularly tough in tourism at the moment, is still holding up and the figures show it. My colleague the Treasurer put some figures on the record earlier.
We have the government opening up new land for residential development. I cannot believe that the member for Macdonnell is so critical of that, given the appalling record of the previous government in opening up land. That is going to create significant jobs here in Alice Springs and be a major boost for the economy. Certainly, at the end of our four-year term, we will be very proudly stating how many new housing blocks have been opened up in Alice Springs in the four years of a Labor government, compared to the last four years of a CLP government, and the people of Alice Springs will see the comparison.
If we move to the hot topic of members trying to vilify Alice Springs as being an unsafe town, a place that you would not want to visit in a pink fit, according to the member for Araluen, let us go to some facts. I am not going to trawl through the statistics again, because the statistical debate has been done to death. The member for Macdonnell shoots down his own argument that crime is out of control in Central Australia and it is so bad that we have people leaving Alice Springs in droves. He turns around in the same debate - and it just goes to show that the member for Macdonnell does not have a grasp of fundamental economics, in that we live in a market economy and there is a supply/demand equation there. He can hardly argue that people are leaving Alice Springs in droves and then, in the same statement, say that rent and the price of land is going through the roof. If people were leaving the town in droves, you would see rents and the price of land falling through the floor in a market economy. He just does not understand that …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Well, I pick up what the member for …
Madam SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
Mr ELFERINK: My point of order, quite simply, is that I did not make any allegation that people were leaving town in droves. I would like the minister to point out to me exactly where I said it.
Madam SPEAKER: You know the usual procedure. If you feel as though you have been misquoted, then you can make a personal explanation at the end of the debate.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, it has been the accusation from CLP members opposite all through this week, and reading Hansard will certainly show that. The people of Alice Springs are not leaving the town in droves. The usual amount of interstate and intrastate migration is occurring, and the economic figures show that, in fact, there is a supply shortage in this town that is driving prices up. That is why we are releasing more land, because more people want to move - more people want to make their home here and have access to cheap land. Now, that would not be happening if people were leaving the town in droves because they were in mass fear of the crime epidemic that is supposed to be taking place. I am surprised the member for Macdonnell, given his previous profession, does not know that. We can debate statistics and whether they are relevant or not, and when you play with statistics, I suppose you can get them to suit your side of the argument.
Let us look at an interview between Commander Gary Manison in Alice Springs, who is responsible for the central region, in a transcript of Wednesday 30 April, just yesterday, from ABC Radio, with Mandy Taylor. Here is the Chief Police Officer in Central Australia. If anybody knows what is happening with crime in Alice Springs, it is Gary Manison. I challenge anybody opposite to say that Gary Manison is not portraying an accurate picture of crime in Alice Springs, and that he is misleading the people of Alice Springs. Let us see what Gary Manison has to say:
- Mandy Taylor: And so, basically, this is targeting young people who are hanging around at night?
Manison: Yes, fundamentally, it is. We have identified, certainly, and there is certainly a problem
in Alice Springs with young people. We agree with that.
Mandy Taylor: What sort of problems are the police seeing?
Manison: Well, just the normal everyday problems, if I could call it that, of people hanging around,
disturbances and the like.
Mandy Taylor: And so are they committing crimes?
Manison: No, there is not a lot of crime. There is the odd, if I could call it, criminal damage and the
like that occurs - people, young people who might smash windows and the like, and certainly these
are serious matters. But you cannot say that it is a particularly common thing that happens all the
time and it does not really happen all the time.
Here is the Chief Police Officer of the Central region. If the member for Macdonnell wants to get up and accuse his former colleague of misrepresenting the crime situation here in Alice Springs, I challenge you to do that in adjournment tonight. That came from Gary Manison yesterday, and I would certainly believe Commander Gary Manison over the local members here in Alice Springs any day of the week.
There is crime in Alice Springs; there is too much crime in Alice Springs. However, if the community and the police get together and work hard, with the support of their local members, we will start to drive those crime rates down. They are already going down despite the claims of members opposite. Just think what we could do in this community with a bit of positive support from those members opposite.
An interesting quote was sourced by people in my office. In 1999, the CLP police minister, the member for Katherine, addressed a conference of Police Commissioners of Australia in Darwin on 24 May. They are trying to portray that crime is out of control in the Northern Territory since the Labor government came to office. In 1999, the member for Katherine said:
We have the worst rate of alcohol abuse in the country with a consequent impact on road fatalities,
street crime, assaults and domestic violence.
To try and portray that this has all happened since August 2001 is an absolute fallacy. What are we doing? We are trying to address the cause of alcohol-related crime in the Northern Territory. Talk to police in Alice Springs and they will tell you that over 80% of all the call-outs that they attend are grog driven and grog fuelled. So this government is trying to address the grog issue. This is why we imposed the alcohol restrictions and the complementary measures to try and reduce the supply of grog into the community, and we are seeing some positive trend results. We have done that, and I will give the member for Macdonnell some credit here; he has supported that initiative and got behind it. I give him credit for that. But we have done it in total opposition to the members for Greatorex and Araluen who would much rather support the alcohol industry than come to grips with the fact that the majority of crime in the Northern Territory is alcohol related. If we want to do something about crime in the Northern Territory, we have to address that issue.
A member interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: We have to address the causes of crime in the community, and I pick up the interjection ‘drug-related’ because, again, we have done the work. We have done the hard policy yards and have implemented the public policies, and we are attacking drug-related crime in the Territory because we acknowledged that it was important. Members opposite said that it was minuscule. They fought us tooth and nail. They would rather support the drug runners in our community by denying that it is a problem. Members opposite would rather represent people who supply drugs to our community in the courts, but we, as a government, will drive these people out of the Northern Territory.
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! When the speaker makes broad statements about ‘members opposite supporting programs’, he has to remember that we are not all of the same ilk on this side of the Chamber.
Madam SPEAKER: Similar things apply to you. If you have some problem, you can always make a personal explanation at the end. Minister, you only have a few seconds left.
Mr HENDERSON: I will qualify that with CLP members, not Independents.
Crime in any community is a very complex situation. We have to address the causes of crime; we have to give our police the numbers and the resources to control the crime. We have commissioned an independent assessment of police numbers and have committed to putting more police into our police force if we need it. However, what we need is the community to get behind the police, not be talking down the police and the efforts that they put in. Gary Manison’s words were on the public record only yesterday. He has portrayed the true situation of crime in Alice Springs, and those people who try and portray it otherwise are accusing the police of misrepresenting the truth.
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Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: We will hear one more member before lunch. I want to acknowledge that we have in the gallery students from St Philip’s and – would they be Sadadeen Primary? Yes. On behalf of all members, a warm welcome to you.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, how happy I am that the member for Wanguri has participated in this debate. It is appropriate that I remind people in the gallery, and those listening, that the member for Wanguri was the second out of three Tourism ministers, and he was sacked. He was deprived of that portfolio because he was so bad at it. Now we have the new Minister for Tourism who is probably worse, but at least he has not been sacked yet, although the rumours have started to go around.
The member for Wanguri promised every week that Virgin Blue would come to Alice Springs. Every time he was interviewed he said: ‘We are working on it and the people of Central Australia would get it’. I note that the minister did not have the courage to refer to the people at Yulara, who still are without another airline. However, this politician, the member for Wanguri, asserts that government was working hard. What rubbish! What absolute nonsense; you could not work in an iron lung. The fact of the matter is it was the people of Alice Springs, Madam Speaker - and I am sure you have friends and associates who signed the petition - who were very vocal, and it got to such a point that government members were clearly uncomfortable when they came to Alice Springs because they knew that the people of Alice Springs would say: ‘When are we going to be equal to our Top End counterparts? When are we going to have a second airline?’
Darwin has had Virgin Blue for a period of 18 months, and the poor cousins of the deep south were deprived of it by this government until the people of Alice Springs made it so uncomfortable for them, they were compelled to act. The government was caught out so obviously, it was really quite enjoyable to watch them squirm. Despite headlines on all of the television news services, the radio services and the Centralian Advocate - and, of course, we can all remember that marvellous front page of the Centralian Advocate: ‘Virgin Blue, 1000 seats a week’ - this government spent our money putting in a newspaper ad in the two local papers for the following week: ‘Government welcomes Virgin to Alice’.
Well, what a disgrace that you spent taxpayers’ money on an ad like this after everybody in Alice Springs knows that Virgin Blue came to Alice Springs with no help from this government. Eventually, the people of Alice Springs learnt a very valuable lesson. They learnt that if they are to be taken seriously by this government, they need to scream from the rooftops - they need to take to the streets; they need to petition. Because whilst we have received platitude after platitude about the MacDonnell Ranges and the lovely weather this week, this government does not care about Alice Springs. The Labor Party does not care about Alice Springs; it never has and it never will.
The Chief Minister’s statement is an unspectacular, unremarkable document, and is really very much like the Chief Minister; that is, scratch below the surface and there is very little there. While we welcome the announcement on the Mereenie Loop Road, this document builds on CLP initiatives such as the Desert Knowledge Project, the railway, and half a dozen other things that the Leader of the Opposition referred to in his contribution to this debate. Government members know about it and I do not propose to repeat what the Leader of the Opposition said in that regard.
Apart from Virgin Blue - or in addition to Virgin Blue, I should say - the government has generally failed the people of Alice Springs in tourism. They are happy to say how well they are doing, how much they care about Territorians and, indeed, the tourism industry which they know is a significant industry in the Northern Territory. However, when it comes to actually doing the hard yards, this government refuses. We have seen three ministers now who have not done enough to stimulate the industry - the second biggest revenue raiser for the Northern Territory and the biggest employer.
Last month, the third and probably the worst Tourism minister, came to Alice Springs to make an announcement of a $3.8m advertising campaign. We were all terribly excited. We thought this was going to be terrific. However, this minister stood at his press conference, and members of the public and the tourism industry were there and they said: ‘Minister, you are too late; you should have done this six months ago’. Then the minister said: ‘We will not do television and cinema advertising; you will get that in June in the middle of our tourist season’. In fact, by the reckoning of some, towards the end of the peak of our tourist season.
He was also told that $3.8m was not enough. Then I see somewhere tucked away in the statement, the Chief Minister said there has been an additional $1m put into that campaign - still not enough. The minister has been caught out because he was told - and I think now he probably does know - that the $3.8m was nowhere near enough to stimulate the industry. I repeat the comments I made in the adjournment debate on Tuesday night in relation to that $1m: how much of it will be spent in Alice Springs? The $1m announcement is for the Territory in general. How much of it is going to go to the promotion of Alice Springs? That question remains unanswered by the Minister for Tourism.
Another part of his you-beaut $3.8m campaign was the first part and, by far it would seem, the worst part and the part that is really turning into a farce - the distribution of 500 000 brochures to people around the country encouraging them to come to the Northern Territory: 800 accidentally- by the minister’s incompetence - ended up in Darwin telling them to come to the Northern Territory. You dill! With taxpayers’ money, I might add. I encourage the minister to claim reimbursement.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Araluen, withdraw that remark.
Ms CARNEY: I withdraw it, Madam Speaker.
In addition, another issue I raised in the adjournment debate on Tuesday night was of the 500 000 brochures, I am told that only 89 000 referred to Central Australia. If the minister bothered to look at the figures published in various annual reports, he would know that in the last couple of years, more tourists come to Central Australia than the Top End. You would have thought that more than 89 000 brochures from a total of 500 000 would refer to Alice Springs, Yulara and elsewhere in Central Australia.
In any view, the parts of this statement that refer to tourism really are quite embarrassing. The Chief Minister, clearly, has something of a dilemma. She already has had three tourism ministers and she needs to, in the view of many people, try to find another one. There is a rumour doing the rounds that there will be another one found. So, minister, do not get too comfortable, because you might not be in that job for too long.
In addition, in relation to tourism, this incompetent minister has overseen the insecurity experienced by the regional tourism associations. They are funded until 30 June. Traditionally, they have been run on the basis that their funding will continue.
Dr Burns: I can guarantee them.
Ms CARNEY: Only a nod and a wink, minister; a nod and a wink by you. They have reason to believe that their funding may be maintained. It will not be increased. Good God, you would not want to do that in the middle of a tourism crisis, would you? You should advise them in writing. You should have done it months and months ago. You indicated that someone had received a letter but you did not say who or where. Yet here we have an industry in crisis and the Tourism minister - the third and the worst one yet - refuses to really tackle the challenges head on.
We saw, earlier this week, the Chief Minister try to plug the hole left by the cancellation of the Arafura Games in Darwin. Instead of being creative and innovative and dynamic - words not known to this government; they could not even spell them! - instead of coming up with something interesting to stimulate the industry, what did the Chief Minister announce? It was the Chief Minister; I do not think it was the Tourism Minister. When it is an apparent good news story, the Chief Minister goes to the front and when it is bad news she is nowhere to be seen. However, I digress.
The announcement this week was that there would be some vouchers available to some of the athletes in May and, of course, today is 1 May. What we called on the government to do was to extend that deal to all Australians and try it for at least another six months and then review it.
Dr Burns: Have you any idea how much that will cost? You are talking about $60m! You ask the Shadow Treasurer about that.
Ms CARNEY: Oh, well, if you do not want to spend money! Don’t you worry, minister, about the livelihoods of people in the Northern Territory. Don’t you worry that they will be leaving town to go and make their business somewhere else because they will leave, minister, unless you assist them. You are charged with that responsibility. We know you are charged with that responsibility but, of course, we know that you are totally incompetent and incapable of discharging that responsibility.
A member interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms CARNEY: There is much to lament in the Chief Minister’s statement on tourism. They are, again, full of platitudes. I really do not envy her. She has a tough job because, if I look across at the benches on the other side, I do not see a depth of talent. I do not see that she has too many choices, and I am sure there are a lot of people who would agree with that. Then, of course, we have the Draco Malfoy of Territory politics, the Attorney-General. I know that there are some school students here, and for the adults with blank looks on their faces, anyone who bothers to read the Harry Potter books will know full well who Draco Malfoy is: slippery and not to be trusted, I believe is the common view. The Attorney-General has the hide - he dares to stand in this parliament, in his home town, and say: ‘Everything is okay. There is no problem; no one is leaving’. What nonsense! What arrant nonsense.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, members of the government! Member for Araluen, just pause for a moment. Members of the government, you are being very disorderly. Your interjections are disrupting the member’s speech.
Ms CARNEY: Again, the references to what the government calls crime prevention in the Chief Minister’s statement are lamentable. As I said in the censure motion on Tuesday - we censured the government for its failure to get on to the issue of law and order and increasing crime - we are concerned that the government is just trying to bombard people with absurd statistics that fly in the face of what people in this town are experiencing daily.
Members of my parliamentary team went doorknocking in your very electorate, Madam Speaker. I noted with interest yesterday that Madam Speaker was holding a sign that said she is safe and happy in Alice Springs. When we next doorknock parts of Madam Speaker’s electorate, we must remember to tell them that their local member has a slightly different view. Let me tell members present what my constituents tell me about law and order. Unlike Draco Malfoy, they do not twist figures, they call it as they see it. They know the truth; they know that things are at a crisis level. They also know, by coincidence maybe, but it just so happens that things have become much worse …
Mr AH KIT: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The member knows fully that she needs to address her remarks through the Chair. She is being very provocative, and members on our side of the House are normally well behaved unless we are provoked.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Ms CARNEY: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mr Kiely interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Sanderson, we will hear the rest of the member for Araluen’s speech in silence.
Ms CARNEY: Throughout the week, not surprisingly - because members on this side of the House at least are very good at representing the concerns of their constituents - we raised matters on behalf of our constituents: law and order and crimes increasing. In addition, we have eyes and ears. We live here; we do know what it is like. So some politicians from Darwin coming to our town and telling us that we are just making it up really borders on the absurd and the obscene. I can assure members opposite that I have much better things to do with my time than lie in bed at night and make things up.
Having said that, in this Chamber we talk about what we think and what we are told are very serious issues.
A member interjecting.
Ms CARNEY: Well, I saw the human face of it last night, Madam Speaker, when I met Brendan McGrath, the young fellow who had a rock thrown at him. He has a scar across his head. He is a young man with two kids - six month old baby twins - and his wife. It was very distressing. I cried when I met him. That is the human face of crime in this town. So it is not just words, we are not just making it up, it does affect all of us. When we drive around at night in this town, we have an expectation as Territorians that our government, regardless of what side of the political fence they are, will ensure that we live in a safe and happy protected community. My constituents are telling me that they do not get that sense from this government, and that is why they are leaving. The people who are being assaulted and tripped up by the drunks in this town, they have friends and they all talk to each other, and they say: ‘Aren’t things terrible? We have lived here for 30-odd years and we have never thought about going; but now we are thinking about leaving’. Or young families with young kids are saying: ‘We do not want our kids to grow up here’, because they are sick of this government, sick of the drunks and sick of the violence. Yet you pack of Draco Malfoys sit here in denial. You are a slippery and not to be trusted bunch. I defy you …
Mr KIELY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 63, Speaker to Intervene: When any offensive or disorderly words are used, whether by the member who is addressing the Chair or by the member who is present … I would suggest that those words you used are very offensive.
Madam SPEAKER: Withdraw them, member for Araluen.
Ms CARNEY: Madam Speaker, what words?
Madam SPEAKER: The ones where you were referring to members of the government as a group.
Ms CARNEY: Slippery?
Madam SPEAKER: Pack.
Ms CARNEY: I will withdraw slippery and not to be trusted, Madam Speaker, but thankfully …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Araluen, could you turn this way? Yes, continue with debate.
Ms CARNEY: Madam Speaker, thankfully, there are schoolchildren in the audience, and many adults, including myself, who are Harry Potter fans, so I can use with confidence the words ‘Draco Malfoy’.
We do not want much in this community other than to live safely. It distresses all of us to see what goes on, and I defy members opposite to walk the streets of Alice Springs during the day and night and to tell the people who are sitting in the Chamber listening to this broadcast, or on this side of the House, that all is well and nothing is wrong because for as long as the Australian Labor Party is in government, things will be wrong, and it appears as though they will become much worse.
_________________
Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Before we adjourn for lunch, I do want to acknowledge the students from the Irrkerlantye Learning Centre in the gallery. On behalf of all members, I extend them a warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Madam SPEAKER: For the people in the gallery, we had a ministerial statement earlier in the week by the Chief Minister and members are responding to that statement. We are about to hear the member for Greatorex’s response.
MOTION
Note statement - Development and Vision
for Central Australia and Its People
Note statement - Development and Vision
for Central Australia and Its People
Continued from earlier this day.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I rise to respond to the Chief Minister’s statement at this historic sittings of parliament in Alice Springs. Indeed, I am very pleased that, at long last, the sittings are here for the citizens of our Central Australian community. I am doubly pleased, as the shadow minister for Central Australia and a local member of the Assembly, that these historic sittings are in my electorate of Greatorex. On behalf of all constituents of the electorate of Greatorex, I extend a warm welcome to everyone in the Chamber.
These sittings in Alice Springs have been a dream of mine since we were both elected, Madam Speaker, back in 1994. The late Roger Vale, the former member for Braitling and former Speaker, also dreamt of a time when we could hold a sittings of parliament in Central Australia. At long last, with the advent of this facility, the convention centre, it is all possible. Alice Springs people have come in large numbers to witness this event. Many of my own constituents have been here and will be here to experience for themselves what many of us and the people of Darwin take for granted. I hand delivered a letter of invitation to constituents in every home and caravan park in Greatorex and, as a result, several have already attended.
I want to concentrate my remarks about the Chief Minister’s statement in a Central Australian perspective. I recall that when I first arrived in Alice Springs in early 1981, this was already a bustling metropolis in the centre of the desert, growing at an enviable rate of 6% per year. I have followed the fortunes of Central Australia ever since. In the years under the CLP government, many things were accomplished. Treated as a backwater of Australia, the respective federal governments of the day neglected the Territory. It was only through the concerted efforts of successive CLP governments since self-government that much has been achieved here in Alice Springs, as has been achieved throughout the Territory.
We saw the development of Yulara and the resorts in it; the development of the casino, now Lasseters Casino, and its continuing growth to what it is today, with this convention centre. We saw the development of many four- and five-star hotels in Central Australia so that we could accommodate the extended range of tourists who would come to Central Australia. We saw the development of the Araluen Arts Centre, which houses, as part of its collection, the Namatjira Collection and is now part of a cultural precinct which includes the Strehlow Centre and the Aviation Museum. We witnessed the completion of the sealing of the Stuart Highway. I recall the days of driving on a corrugated gravel road to Adelaide, and on a one-lane bitumen road to Darwin. Now we enjoy the double-lane bitumen ribbon which extends between Darwin and Alice Springs and to destinations south. The CLP can hold its head high on its achievements in Central Australia. It was responsible for the initiation of the Central Australian Masters Games, held biannually and due again next year.
Before I embark on the Chief Minister’s statement, I feel the need to set the record straight about Virgin Blue Airlines. It was not the Northern Territory government which brought Virgin Blue to Darwin …
Mr Henderson: Yes, it was.
Dr LIM: It was the federal government which brought Virgin Blue to Darwin …
Mr Henderson: Wrong. It was not!
Dr LIM: … through the Deputy Prime Minister, who provided almost $7m to Virgin Blue to come to Darwin, following 11 September and the Ansett collapse. The federal government also offered to get Flight West to Alice Springs provided the Northern Territory government …
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This goes to truthful recollections before this House. I seem to recall a press conference where the Chief Minister was sat right next to Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Blue Airlines, and he congratulated the Chief Minister on bringing Virgin Blue Airlines to the Northern Territory. Therefore, I would ask the member for Greatorex to withdraw the fabrication that he has put on the record in this House.
Dr LIM: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker, the minister accuses me of lying. I suggest he brings on a substantive motion, otherwise, he should withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: No, he did not accuse of lying; he asked you to clarify what you were saying.
Dr LIM: Speaking to a point of order, by way of explanation, Madam Speaker, the Northern Territory government received funding from the federal government to encourage Virgin Blue to come here …
Members: No! No!
Madam SPEAKER: All right. If any member in this House feels that they have been misquoted, they have the opportunity at a later stage to make a personal explanation. That has always been the rule. Member for Greatorex, make sure that your remarks are accurate.
Dr LIM: The federal government also offered to get Flight West to Alice Springs provided the Northern Territory government was prepared to contribute towards it. However, you said no to the people of Alice Springs. Then, over the next 12 months, you kept telling us Virgin Blue was coming, just like tomorrow and Christmas is coming.
Let me now come to the Chief Minister’s statement and make some comments about what she said. She claims that Central Australia is important to her government, yet in her last two years of budgets she gave nothing to the region in the way of capital works. At the last budget we received, in the greater scheme of things, a few measly dollars for the Alice Springs High School airconditioning, and let me not forget the building of a new Kintore police station for which I understand the budget has now been severely trimmed. As for the Traeger Park hockey oval, the money was already committed by the previous CLP government, so it was not something that the Labor government initiated. I say to the Chief Minister that if …
Mr VATSKALIS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The member for Greatorex is grossly misleading the House. Not a few dollars; $32m we spent by the end of March and about $59m is going to be spent in Central Australia. Not just a few dollars - $59m few dollars!
Mr BURKE: Madam Speaker, speaking to the point of order, it seems to be a common habit of the government to attack the member for Greatorex whenever he rises to speak. I would even go as far as to suggest that the unwarranted attacks on this member whenever stands to speak in this House is not only unfair, but bordering on racist.
Everyone in this House speaks strongly and firmly in debate, including members of the government - the member for Wanguri is particularly strong and forceful in his criticism in debates. Every time the member for Greatorex stands up to say something, he cannot be heard in silence. I ask you to afford him that courtesy because he is only trying to make a point on behalf of his constituents.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, speaking to the point of order …
Madam SPEAKER: You may speak to the point of order, but let me say that the member for Greatorex has been interrupted on a number of occasions today. If you have a point of order, make it quickly, but let us get on with the debate.
Mr HENDERSON: Speaking on the point of order regarding the allegations made by the Leader of the Opposition about personal and racist attacks on the member for Greatorex, I am offended. The points of order in relation to the member for Greatorex’s speech today go to accuracy. He cannot come in here and accuse this government of only spending a few dollars on capital works in Alice Springs in the last budget - only spending money on airconditioning at the Alice Springs High School – when, in fact we, will spend by the end of the financial year $59m on capital works. It goes to accuracy and the member for Greatorex continually misleading the House.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, you realise that you must be accurate in what you say. Members of government may call points of order on disputed facts, but can also do it by way of personal explanation. Let us let the member for Greatorex get on with his speech.
Dr LIM: Madam Speaker, I stand by what I said. Much of this money that has been spent in Central Australia by the government is, indeed, from recurrent funding.
Mr VATSKALIS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! He is misleading the parliament again. It is not recurrent funding and I am prepared to table a document outlining how much money was spent one-off.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, if you want to censure the member for Greatorex for misleading the House, you may do so. Otherwise, you will have your opportunity to speak.
Dr LIM: If I can come back the Traeger Park hockey oval, the money was already committed by the previous CLP government, so it is not something that the Labor government initiated. I say to the Chief Minister again that if, as she claims, Central Australia is important to her, then she had best fund it accordingly. I look forward to her coming budget and the appropriate allocation of much needed funds for the Centre.
Alice Springs workers and businesses have survived these past two years despite the Labor government. Just like the Arrernte people of this land, who were here before us all, we in Alice Springs have learnt to survive the difficult conditions of the region, labouring without the assistance of government that the people of Darwin so much enjoy. In the Chief Ministers own words: ‘We have grown up in a culture of self-reliance, moreso in the last two years’.
I draw your attention to the Chief Minister’s brief comment about the Finke Desert Race, but also the fact that she neglected to tell us about her government’s intention for the motor sports fraternity in Alice Springs. For almost two years now, members of the Central Australian Drag Racing Association have lobbied the government for a home for their sport. For two years, it had no response. CADRA members had a rally outside the Office of Central Australia looking for a response from government, yet nothing came of it. CADRA is now without a home; they are no longer able to use the unused runway at the airport for their drag strip. I ask the Chief Minister: what does a group in Alice Springs have to do to get some response from you or your Alice Springs office or, indeed, from your Alice Springs minister? Members of CADRA are in the Chamber waiting for a response.
The Chief Minister, in her statement, said that her government was refocussing health on the delivery of quality services. What a laugh! It would be hilarious were it no so disastrous. The excellent services of the Alice Springs Hospital have been eroded by the mismanagement of this government’s inept Health minister. I am astounded that the Chief Minister had the temerity to say that her Health minister is delivering quality health. The Alice Springs Hospital had a full complement of three physiotherapists; it now has one who took ill last week - probably from overwork. I hope she has the energy and health to carry on her good work when she returns. We were promised that the two unfilled positions would be advertised immediately, but we now find that the advertisements are on hold. The workload for lone physiotherapist is excessive, so much so that she can only devote one hour a day of her time to intensive care patients. For the rest of the 24 hours, nurses have to perform the best they can. Checking the wards, orthopaedic and general surgical patients are now not getting much help to be rehabilitated. One physiotherapist cannot cope with a 160-bed hospital.
Meanwhile, the Royal Darwin Hospital recently lost two physiotherapists and we have seen advertisements for them. We have also seen advertisements for more nursing staff at Royal Darwin Hospital. I note the minister for Health furrows her brow; she does not even know that she has lost two physiotherapists. Royal Darwin Hospital was recently advertising for nurses whereas there has been no advertising for nurses in Alice Springs.
Mrs AAGAARD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This is supposed to be a statement in relation to Alice Springs and the member is talking about Royal Darwin Hospital and staffing matters there. I know there is a fair bit of leeway in these speeches, but that is just ridiculous.
Madam SPEAKER: No, there is no point of order. We have been far-reaching in all our responses to this minister’s statement. I suggest to members of government that you allow the member for Greatorex to finish his speech. If you have any concern, you could always raise it when one of your members reply.
Dr LIM: I mentioned the two physiotherapist positions and the nurse positions that have been advertised in Darwin. I mention those for a specific Alice Springs reason, and that is: there are no advertisements for any of these necessary professionals in Alice Springs. Therefore, I ask the Chief Minister and the government: are we second rate Territorians in Alice Springs? I hope not.
We heard the Health minister’s pathetic response to the opposition’s censure yesterday, where she could not tell us how she intends to improve health services in Alice Springs. This government has reduced services at the Alice Springs Hospital to such an extent that people are now waiting long hours to see a doctor at emergency. The Health minister blames everyone and everything around her for the decrease in services at the hospital, but she takes no responsibility herself.
A member interjecting.
Dr LIM: Well, the member continues to interject, and he can keep going. The minister damages the health system more and more. I at least contribute my share to help the hospital when they need doctors in emergency, and when they ask for it. I ask the Chief Minister: when will she deliver the private hospital facility that she promised at the run-up to the last election?
I mention the private hospital - or rather the lack of it. The Chief Minister and her Health minister both know full well that many patients have to wait long hours, stretching into days, for beds in wards. These patients could be in beds in the private wing if it were turned into a general ward temporarily. But then, the Health minister says she does not have enough nurses to go around. I wonder then how her promise of 75 new nurses is going to be fulfilled.
The Health minister cancelled elective surgery at Alice Springs Hospital - on April Fool’s Day, mind you - citing the lack of anaesthetists. She knew as early as September last year that one of the senior anaesthetists would be going on long service leave and not likely to return. From a full complement of six anaesthetists, the Alice Springs Hospital went down to three. It is no wonder elective surgery had to be cancelled. What galls me is that the hospital knew well in advance that the anaesthetist was going to be on holidays, yet did nothing about it. It was not until we highlighted the issue that government embarked on recruitment. It was just a cynical exercise to save money to meet the budget line for salary savings.
The Health minister denied yesterday that elective surgery is cancelled because she has created a new category called ‘urgent elective’. ‘Urgent elective’ is an oxymoron. We all know what ‘urgent’ means. ‘Elective’ means optional, or not urgently necessary. So how do we have an urgent, optional case? There are doctors in the gallery; I will ask them to think about it. Or a case that is urgent, not urgently necessary? Let me say this: I have confirmed today that the Alice Springs Hospital cannot have elective surgery as medically defined until at least the end of this financial year.
You are cheating the people of Alice Springs, Chief Minister, and I assure you that the people of Alice Springs will not forget that. Were it not for the dedication of all of the rest of the staff at the Alice Springs Hospital - from the hospital board down to the lowest employed person in the hospital - health services provision in the hospital would have come to a standstill a long time ago. Central Australians have much to thank them for - for all their unstinting efforts. They have to work to prop up a system that you have damaged.
Let me now go to another subject that the Chief Minister talked about so rosily: the Charles Darwin University. Thank goodness that Labor members have finally come to realise the value and importance of the university to our community. The amalgamation of the Northern Territory University with the Centralian College to form Charles Darwin University is yet another evolutionary step for the Alice Springs educational institution which had its humble beginnings as the Alice Springs annexe of the Darwin Community College. Over the last three decades, it became the Community College of Central Australia then, in 1984, the Alice Springs College of TAFE. In 1994, through amalgamation with Sadadeen Secondary College, it became Centralian College, the only institution of its kind in Australia, having senior high school and TAFE under one governance, allowing students to graduate with dual qualifications from school and TAFE. Added to that, Centralian College was able to deliver some higher education teaching on behalf of the Northern Territory University.
The Chief Minister must caution her Education minister that he has to approach this amalgamation cautiously. We will have an institution that crosses three levels of education. We will have 16 to 18-year-olds in this institution, so we must ensure good pastoral care for our high school students who will now be receiving their education in a tertiary environment. We must also ensure that the efficiency of our TAFE institution is not compromised by what may be potentially a top-heavy tertiary system. So I say to the Chief Minister: I will be watching.
The Chief Minister, in her statement, neglected to mention the Centre for Remote Health, a most important facility - a remote university jointly supported by the federal government and the Northern Territory. It was, indeed, the CLP government that gave land at the old Alice Springs Gaol as a site for the centre. It is in this facility that training for our much-needed nurses is being carried out. Other remote health issues are also being researched by staff within the institution, and I note the presence of Professor John Wakerman in the Chamber.
Alice in 10 was a project initiated by the CLP government. Over the last five years of its life, it has gained strong support from the community. Through the unselfish contribution of its many community members and the public servants who sat on its many committees, it has developed several projects, the most noticeable of which is the Desert Knowledge project. We all acknowledge the importance of the project to Central Australia and I wish it all the greatest success in the coming years. However, I wish to note that other than the Desert Knowledge project, much of Alice in 10 has been languishing.
Yesterday, we heard about the Alice Springs indigenous employment challenge at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry breakfast. This new project gives me deja vu. I recall a similar project launched by the Senator John Herron, at the then Vista Hotel, now called the Novotel Outback Hotel. It was a genuine attempt by government and the Alice Springs businesses to engage Aboriginal youth in employment. Over the years, the program died a gradual death. I am pleased to see it resurrected. It is essential that a strong mentorship program is attached to this project so as to provide good support for employees. This is to be a committed long-term project, not just for a few months for each employee but for years - and the whole program for decades - to achieve tangible, long-term outcomes for indigenous youth.
I am glad that Alice in 10 has been refocussed, and I look forward to other significant outcomes from the project groups. Many of the projects that the Chief Minister laid claim to are those whose lives started under a previous government. You cannot have developed tourism in the West MacDonnells within one term. You cannot have developed a convention centre such as this within one term. You cannot deliver oil and gas within one term. You cannot deliver Desert Knowledge centres within one term. You cannot deliver a railway line within one term. But you can sure let slip the control of law and order in a mere few months, and this government has done just that since they have come to power.
What takes the cake as far as the Chief Minister’s statement is concerned are her comments on building safer communities. I spoke to many people over the last few days, during the luncheon adjournments, asking them about the morning sessions, the censure motion and the community rally for law and order. Each of the people I spoke to - to a person - all asked what planet the Chief Minister came from. Obviously, they were not taken by the Chief Minister’s and her Justice minister’s claim that matters law and order are not bad in Alice Springs. The people of Alice Springs are not taken in by the way the government has tried to weasel its way out of the mess they have allowed to develop in Alice Springs.
For months, we have been telling the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General and the Chief Minister that law and order is breaking down. It was not until these last two weeks before the sittings that the government started to act on increasing lawlessness in the streets. The Chief Minister can quote all the statistics in the world, but she cannot convince the people in Alice Springs that her government has law and order under control. What is the saying? Lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Let us take a look at how the government has skewed the statistics on crime. The government’s definition of a serious crime is the one that is valued at greater than $5000. In my circles, $5000 buys a lot of property. It is more than enough to buy a basic second-hand vehicle. It buys a TV set, a video recorder, a fridge, a washing machine and more. Go tell the average Alice Springs person that losing all that, or your car, is not a serious crime, and see how they respond. Do you wonder why people are not reporting crimes to police? How skewed can your results be? With these skewed results, the Chief Minister stands there and sprouts forth her mantra that she and her Justice minister have law and order under control. What nonsense! Based on the government’s own figures, I ask the Chief Minister: does she know that assaults are up 20% over the last three months? Does she know that sexual assaults are up 53% over the last three months? Does the Chief Minister know that house break-ins are up 23% over the last three months? Does the Chief Minister know that break-ins in commercial premises are up 25% in the last months? And does the Chief Minister know that robbery is up 38% over the last three months? These are the figures that the Justice minister has hidden from Territorians.
These are the figures that show that the government’s law and order measures are failing. In the last three months, each of these five categories has risen significantly. As one of the local members from Alice Springs, it was important that I had the opportunity to express, on behalf of Greatorex, the law and order problems that we face here. The level of crime is intolerable and it is why many are leaving. May I have another 30 seconds?
Mr BURKE: Madam Speaker, I seek leave for an extension of time such that the member for Greatorex may conclude his remarks.
Dr LIM: The level of crime is intolerable and this is why many of the …
- Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: I am sorry, did someone say ‘No’?
A member: No.
Madam SPEAKER: Leave is denied.
Mr BURKE: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order if leave is denied.
Mr BURKE: May I speak?
Madam SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
Mr BURKE: Madam Speaker, you have ruled. You cannot rule and then, when someone stands up and says: ‘Oh, no, we want a different ruling’, give a different ruling. You have ruled that leave is granted and the member’s time be extended. I made the call, you made the ruling, and the member’s time should be extended.
Madam SPEAKER: I did not hear the ‘no’ that came from the government’s side.
Dr LIM: I have one paragraph, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: All right, member for Greatorex, we will give you that.
Dr LIM: As one of the local members from Alice Springs, it was important I had the opportunity to express, on behalf of Greatorex, that the law and order problems we face are getting worse. It was a disgraceful act of the Chief Minister and the government to gag a debate - any debate - but gag you did, and prevent me from saying what I wanted to say two days ago: good government, good democracy comes from good debate. Her style of government in these last almost two years …
Mr KIELY: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: No, there is no point of order. Sit down. Resume your seat.
Dr LIM: … has been nothing short of disgraceful. They profess support for Alice Springs; I have seen very little of it.
Madam SPEAKER: Just for members’ interest, when points of order are raised, the Deputy Clerk here has been holding time, so that is not going into your time, as the member for Port Darwin suggested. People in the gallery are probably becoming a little tired of these frequent frivolous points of order. I suggest you refrain.
Mrs AAGAARD (Health and Community Services): First, Madam Speaker, might I say that it is an absolute pleasure to be here in Alice Springs. I congratulate you, Madam Speaker, and members of the Department of the Legislative Assembly for putting together an excellent sittings here in Alice Springs. It has shown that the parliament can be in places other than in Darwin, and can do a proper job. So congratulations to you personally, Madam Speaker.
I feel very much at home in Alice Springs. When I became a minister on 27 August 2001, I made sure that I was in Alice Springs in the following week. Since that time, I have made a real effort to be down here at least once a month. So this is about my 20th visit to Alice Springs since I have been a minister. I have come to know so many people in Alice Springs; it is a very friendly place and one I enjoy coming to visit.
Although I was not born in the Northern Territory, my great-grandmother was the first cousin of the Reverend John Flynn. This would not normally be considered to be a very close relationship with me but, as you probably know, Madam Speaker, the Reverend Flynn did not have any children. He did not have any siblings and, as a first cousin, my great-grandmother - whose name was Susan Savage, and later became Susan Newman - was a major benefactor to the Australian Inland Mission. Therefore, I felt for a long time a very close contact with the Centre. In fact, I travelled here with my family, my grandmother and great-grandmother when I was quite a young girl, so I do feel quite a connection with the Centre. When I am here in Alice Springs on a Sunday, I go to the Flynn Church where I feel very much at home as a member of the Uniting Church, and have continuation with that very interesting past of the Centre with the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Reverend John Flynn. So, thank you very much for the warm welcome that I always receive here in Alice Springs. I look forward to getting to know more people while I am here.
Before I start on the formal part of my speech, I would like to make a few comments on the speech of the member for Greatorex. It is a bit sad that, having had a failed censure motion last night, the member for Greatorex wanted to bring up the same furphies today. Let me, once again, say elective surgery has not been cancelled at the Alice Springs Hospital. And, yes, there is a category ‘urgent elective surgery’; that is a category which has been given to me by the clinical people in the hospital. I am sorry if he does not recognise that, but I am afraid they do recognise it.
Once again, he has brought up this issue of the private hospital. I do not know why the CLP keep bringing this up. It is such an embarrassment to have put $1.2m into what is a white elephant. They knew perfectly well that it was going to be impossible to get an operator for this private hospital because it was only for 15 people. I have been told that they even knew that it was going to be impossible beforehand, and they still went ahead and built it. If there had been an operator, of course we would have continued with that operator and assisted them in whatever terms that the previous government had put in place. But there was no operator and, when we looked into it, we were going to have to put in at least $1.5m of public money were it to go ahead.
The Alice Springs Hospital is where we put public money. The Alice Springs Hospital is where we would like to put public money. We do not put money into things that should be for commercial operators; that is what commercial operators do. Governments put money into public hospitals, and commercial operators put money into commercial operations. We were left with this white elephant. We are hopeful, as I said last night, that it will be able to be used for clinical consulting rooms, so there will be some possibility of private patients being able to use this facility.
Elective surgery lists have gone down at the Alice Springs Hospital. In March this year, there were far fewer than there were in March 2001. I suggest to the opposition that they might like to start dropping that line because it could very embarrassing to them.
I would now like to talk about things which I know are of interest to the whole of the Territory and, particularly, to all Centralians.
The health of indigenous people is one of the most serious and long-standing social issues we face in the Territory. Indeed, the very dimension of the problem has led to some adopting the attitude that nothing can be done to improve Aboriginal health. I do not accept this position. This government is committed to making a difference to the health of indigenous communities, and we are committed to taking the next step. Today, I would like to briefly outline a number of initiatives that the government is taking to make those improvements.
The Primary Health Care Access Program is fundamental to our commitment to improving the health of indigenous Territorians. This program is also called PHCAP. The Northern Territory government and the Commonwealth government, together with the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliances of the Northern Territory, AMSANT, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, ATSIC, are working together with Aboriginal communities to develop better primary health services and provide more choice for communities on how those services can be delivered. Primary health care services will be improved with additional funding which allows for the provision of a higher level of services to all residents. A major focus of current PHCAP activities is in Central Australia, where it has been agreed that five Central Australian sites will be accorded priority. Consultants have been working with the five zone steering committees in Central Australia since before Christmas, and the consultants are currently finalising draft strategic health plans, together with options for the governance for each zone. It is expected that recommendations will be presented to the zone steering committees and to government for consideration in early May.
In the meantime, in the northern half of the Territory, two further zones have been identified as a priority for further funding under the Primary Health Care Access Program. It is not possible to comment further on these proposals until such time as the Commonwealth Minister for Health considers them. However, I undertake to speak further on this matter in due course.
It needs to be emphasised that under these arrangements, additional funds will be available for health services to each of the zones. The result will be greater resources for primary health care and, ultimately, better health for the whole community. I am keen to reassure non-indigenous residents living within the zones that the level of health service they currently receive will not be eroded under these new arrangements. The health services provided by zone health boards will be available to all residents of that zone. These arrangements mean that the merging health zones will be better resourced than their predecessors, and that is very good news for everybody.
Renal disease is one of the most serious chronic conditions affecting the Northern Territory. Indigenous Territorians’ prevalence rates are 10 times the national average. In addition, the Barkly region has the highest incidence of end-stage renal failure in the Northern Territory. Despite this, until recently there were no haemodialysis services available in the Barkly region. Patients were required to relocate to Alice Springs to access haemodialysis. This had considerable social, emotional and cultural effects on the Barkly community, and increased pressure on already limited social service resources such as housing, home care and many other essential services in Alice Springs.
I am proud to say that we have made considerable progress on this issue over the last year. The ongoing treatment of three dialysis patients continues at the Tennant Creek Hospital. This will increase to six patients in May-June, and the construction of the stand-alone Tennant Creek renal facility is included on the 2002-03 Capital Works Program. The Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment has commenced design work on the project and recently engaged a local architectural firm to proceed with design and documentation. Layout designs have been produced and presented to Tennant Creek Hospital staff and the community representative management board for comment. These are real steps forward in the battle against chronic disease in the indigenous community.
Madam Speaker, I fear that I may not be able to continue this speech. I seek leave to have the balance of it incorporated in the Hansard.
Leave granted.
- Along with remote area nurses and Aboriginal health workers, District Medical Officers have
provided the backbone of remote medical services in Central Australia for well over 30 years.
District Medical Officers also carry a significant public health role and, if that was not enough,
prior to 13 January 2003, they were responsible for coordinating the evacuation of emergency
cases to hospital. On 13 January 2003, responsibility for managing medical emergency retrieval
services for the Central Australian region was transferred to the Alice Springs Hospital.
This means that District Medical Officers can now focus their full professional attention on general
practice and public health servi8ces in remote areas. District Medical Officers have welcomed these
changes as a way to reduce high levels of overtime brought about by difficulties in recruiting to vacant
positions. This transfer has occurred seamlessly and at all times services to the public were
maintained. Together with the initiatives possible under the Primary Health Care Access Program, it
is expected that the District Medical Officers in Central Australia will ensure enhanced access to quality
medical services in remote Central Australia.
I would like to demonstrate that elsewhere, efforts continue to improve indigenous health outcomes. The
issue of child health is a key matter for the Northern Territory. The Growth Assessment and Action
Program (also known as the GAA program) continues to show remarkable results. This program
identifies children in the under-five age group whose growth in these crucial years fails to reach
standard measurements. In cases where such problems are identified, the program triggers a
systematic response from both health professionals and family members.
To illustrate the impact of GAA, let me describe the achievements in one particular remote Central
Australian community where GAA continues to demonstrate its value. At this community in the period
between 1999 and October last year, there has been better than a fourfold reduction in the proportion
of children considered ‘stunted’ – 32% in 1999 versus 7% in October 2002). Stunted children are
considered short for their age.
In the same period, the number of underweight children has been more than halved – 18% in 1999 versus
7% in October 2002). Underweight children are considered too lightweight for their age.
The proportion of children with iron deficiency anaemia has halved. Along with these improvements,
Aboriginal Health Workers at this community have been trained in the growth assessment and action
approach so that local people gain the skills necessary to tackle child health and growth issues.
This government understands the links between child health and the prevention of the development
of chronic disease in later life. For this reason, we have committed to fund 25 additional child health
staff who will further support GAA program and child health initiatives.
I would now like to address male health and, particularly, the health of indigenous males within the
Northern Territory. I am aware that in Aboriginal society, it is not considered appropriate for a woman
to speak in detail of such matters. I respect that cultural view. I would, however, like to speak in general
terms about the initiatives being taken by the government in partnership with the Aboriginal community
in this area.
This month will see the men’s health collective of the department and Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi
working together to promote male health issues in remote Central Australian communities. This group
proposes to conduct male health forums in three remote communities in Central Australia starting in
Harts Range this month.
The forums will take place over three days with each of those days focussing on a different age group and
the health issues specific to that group. All workshops will be open to males of all age groups and
the involvement of male community workers such as Aboriginal Health Workers, teaching staff,
Aboriginal community police officers and environmental health workers, will be encouraged. Men will
hear speakers from my department, as well as from the Departments of Sport and Recreation and
Employment, Education and Training.
In addition, Aboriginal community organisations such as Tangentyere Council and Central Australian
Aboriginal Congress will be involved in the forums. Other organisations such as the Central Land
Council, Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association and Warlpiri Media, will also be approached
to contribute expertise and resources.
This approach exemplifies our commitment to a collaborative approach to indigenous health; an approach
that seeks to get government and the Aboriginal community working together to improve the lives of
Aboriginal people. These initiatives exemplify this government’s commitment to improving indigenous
health. They also exemplify our approach of building collaborative and practical relationships with
the community. They demonstrate our belief that something can be done; we can take a step forward in
this area.
The initiatives I have outlined here – the Primary Health Care Access Program, the new emergency
retrieval arrangements for Alice Springs Hospital, and those in child and male health – are the kind
of steps forward we need to be taking.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order because these responses are to the Chief Minister’s statement; they are not statements in their own right. The member for Drysdale is well aware of that. I do not think anyone here could possibly criticise the Minister for Health and Community Services for at this stage incorporating her speech.
Mr DUNHAM: Could we at least have the speech circulated, otherwise …
Madam SPEAKER: I ask the attendant if he would give a copy of the minister’s speech to the member for Drysdale, please.
Ms CARTER (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I am grateful for the comments from the Minister for Health and Community Services. I hope she has a speedy recovery; I know it has been a difficult week for her.
Madam SPEAKER: I hope your voice does not give up.
Ms CARTER: Madam Speaker, I would like to say a few words in response to the Chief Minister’s statement. I certainly enjoy coming to Alice Springs when time permits, and I try to get here as much as I can. I must say, however, when I came in on the weekend, I was disappointed to read in the most recent copy of the Centralian Advocate the story on the front page about the woman who had problems on the footbridge.
I am staying here at the casino and I do like to walk into town whenever I have an opportunity. It really gives me the feeling, at the moment, that it is not safe to do that - to walk into town as a single female. I really object to that feeling because there is no other real sporting activity that you can take part in here in town when you are only here for a couple of days, with the restrictions we have on our time. It is disappointing not to be able to walk into town and back again along the beautiful river bed here in Alice Springs. I hope the day comes when we are able to walk along that area in the feeling of safety.
On Sunday, I had the pleasure of going doorknocking in Alice Springs, and it was great to meet with people at their homes and to learn more about the issues that they have. I would like to advise the government that, in every single house that I went to, I said to the people there: ‘Hi, I am Sue Carter; I am down from Darwin. What sort of things do you think a northern girl should know before she goes into parliament here?’ Without exception, every single house that I went to, without any prompting from me, commented on issues relating to law and order. So it is very much an issue here, and I do counsel the government to be very careful when they try to pooh-pooh us in the opposition by saying that the things that we have been raising during this week are not real. They are very real to the people I met in the electorate of Braitling.
For example, I met one woman on one side of the street who is planning to have children in the next few years. She said that she and her husband were going to leave Alice Springs because they did not feel that it was a safe place to raise children. Then, when I turned around up the end of the street and came back, immediately opposite her, I met an elderly couple, who were quite perturbed. They have grown children and grandchildren here in Alice Springs and they do not feel safe. They cannot walk to the shops and feel safe. They are quite elderly and a little physically disabled, and they do not feel safe. As a consequence, they fortunately have a grown adult child living in Melbourne, and they are contemplating moving to Melbourne because of the problems they are facing in Alice Springs at the moment with issues of law and order.
Another woman I met was very, very angry. Apparently, her daughter who is eight, is only allowed to go to the shops on Sunday because that is the day that the bottle shop area is closed. This means Sunday is the day that she perceives is the safest day that her eight-year-old daughter and her friend can go to the shop to get an icecream. The previous week, the daughter and her friend had gone to the shops, and there was a drunk inside the shop who physically bailed the two girls up demanding that they give him money. The girls ran home crying. The woman who spoke to me was absolutely furious about it. It is a real indictment on our society and our community that that sort of behaviour is going on. The way those young girls would have felt as a result of that will probably stick with them for a very long time. So, I do hope the government is able to initiate strategies that are going to be able to curtail this problem. It is across the board in the Northern Territory; it is certainly happening in Darwin. Things are getting worse and this government needs to do something about it.
Since I have been the shadow health spokesperson for the opposition, it has been a real pleasure to be able to visit health agencies in the Northern Territory. I must compliment the minister and her staff for the assistance that they have given me over the last four or five months in being able to visit health areas in the Northern Territory. I have toured, for example, Royal Darwin Hospital, Katherine Hospital, Tennant Creek Hospital and Alice Springs Hospital, and various other small agencies. I will continue to do that. I thank the minister and the staff, who often have to travel, for example, to Tennant Creek to be with me while I do my tour and meet with the management of the hospitals.
One of the things that comes out of being the shadow spokesperson for health is that people come to me with their problems - staff, patients. Often they will say who they are and I will meet them personally. I also get letters, e-mails, faxes and even phone calls which are anonymous, particularly from staff. From that information, I gather what is going on within the department. That is my job. When you are the shadow person your job is to be a watchdog of that department and to make public, where appropriate, issues which arise. So, that is what I am going to spend the rest of the time I have available here this afternoon: put them on the record for the people of Alice Springs.
I guess one of the first things that became apparent at the end of last year - and has not been resolved - is the frustrations which managers within the Department of Health and Community Services have at the moment with regard to the budget. As you know, around the period when I was appointed to this position in December, the budget to be given to departmental areas had not been handed down. Managers did not know what their finite budget for this financial year was going to be. We are almost at the end of the financial year and still units have not been given their budgets which means that managers are very frustrated. Because of the financial problems that the department finds itself in now, the cracking down on spending has meant that managers are having to jump through significant hoops in order to be able to purchase goods, and to be able to recruit staff.
When employment contracts come up for renewal, it has not been uncommon for those contracts to literally finish and the staff to be shown the door. For example, here in Alice Springs Hospital, the pharmacy, I am told, is grossly understaffed. There are huge frustrations there as the staff who are left try to cope with the rather incredible workload that they have. Another example is in Katherine. The speech pathology position came up, and the speech pathologist wished to stay - no, there is no money in the budget, contract lapses and the person has to leave town. In places like Darwin, where you have perhaps four or five - I do not know the exact number - speech pathologists, the loss of one or two perhaps will not be the end of the world. However, when you are in a very small town like Katherine, and even worse, for example, if you were in Nhulunbuy - and in Nhulunbuy you would have only one of each of the speciality areas: physio perhaps, speech pathology, those sorts of things. What has happened is that those contracts come up and the person is told: ‘Well, look, there is no money until the end of the financial year. Stick around, though’. In a place like Nhulunbuy, it means that the person would have to leave town. I know that has caused some stress there with at least one position. The reason they have to leave town, of course, is the fact that in order to secure accommodation in Nhulunbuy, if you are a public servant, you must have a job. The provision of accommodation is very limited in Nhulunbuy. Arguably, in places like Tennant Creek, if you do not have a job and you are hanging out for the end of the financial year in the hope that positions will be re-funded, it would be a very difficult decision whether or not to stay. There have been some real frustrations over the budget situation.
Another problem has been the provision of stores. I learnt that here in Alice Springs in one area, for example, they need to purchase pregnancy testing kits. You would think that that was an absolute given: if you need pregnancy testing kits, you need them. There are no ifs or buts. The managers have had to go to extraordinary measures in order to purchase the kits, and they find it very frustrating.
The other problem is recruitment to positions. I remember when this issue became a real problem around February. You could notice that recruitment had ground to a halt. If you purchased the paper from early February, particularly Saturday’s Northern Territory News, you would find quite a lot of ads for the Department of Health and Community Services. Then all of a sudden, the ads ceased to appear in that paper. Last weekend, I do not think there were any ads there for that department. Very few ads are appearing for recruitment. It causes a problem here in Alice Springs in that there is a lack of staff for example in the operating theatres. It is very difficult to gather more staff if you are not advertising for them.
Last week, in the Weekend Australian, there was an ad for nurses for the A and E Department, the new emergency department, in Darwin. However, I am sure it is very disappointing for the Alice Springs people that ads are not appearing to recruit to this area. Recruitment has basically dried up in most areas of the Department of Health and Community Services. The staff who are left cope as best they can, and that is causing real problems and stresses.
Here in Alice Springs, which is where we are talking about, I have had contact with patients from time to time who complain about various things. The major complaints that they have replicate the problems which are also occurring at Royal Darwin Hospital. The problems have been the wait for beds; the hospitals have often been full of patients, and people coming into the A and E Department are placed on trolleys for admission and have to wait many hours. In cases where complaints have come through to me, they have had to wait over 24 hours. One person had to wait three days. Here in Alice Springs, I have had complaints of over 24 hour waits in A and E before going up to the hospital into the wards for a proper bed.
The other complaint is the fact that surgery has been curtailed. It does not matter what fancy words you put on it: there is definitely a lack of surgical resources in Alice Springs. The end result has been lengthy waits for people needing surgery. It has been very frustrating for patients who have been told: ‘You are on; you are off’. Last week I had a phone call from a man who is a patient at the moment - or was; I think he was discharged yesterday - on the surgical ward at Alice Springs Hospital. People are being fasted and then are not fasted - ‘You are on, you are off’ - day after day, as they try to get patients into, I suspect, only one theatre that is operating at the moment. When this man complained about the situation, he was very supportive of the nursing staff. He had been told that the problem was a lack of staff in the operating theatres. That problem has been caused by a lack of funding. I would argue that what the minister and the department are doing is not recruiting to positions and tightening up on the services being provided in an effort to bring the budget in on time and on track when we know that they are currently grossly overspent.
The other problem, as I mentioned, is having to wait in the Accident and Emergency Department for a bed on the ward. In Alice Springs Hospital, we have the situation where there was a ward built as a private ward. It is very unfortunate that the new government has not pursued that - has not put the real effort in to get it up and running - because there are many people who carry private health insurance and would dearly like the opportunity to be a private patient in a private area and they have been denied that opportunity. Instead, that ward has been turned into consulting rooms.
I would argue that, given the lack of beds at Alice Springs Hospital, it would be much better to place the consultants in a less expensive area - for example, you could build something far less expensive out the back of the hospital - than to use an area that has been set up with all the infrastructure required for a hospital ward. I believe that is a waste of an area which could be set up as a ward for public patients, if the government is not committed to private, so that you do not have the situation of patients having to wait arguably days for a hospital bed down in the accident and emergency area. It is a waste of infrastructure.
Another complaint that I received is about mammography screening. It was not that long ago - in fact, it was about 18 months ago - that Alice Springs had a mammography screening service which was open full-time. Now that service is closed and instead, a locum comes to Alice Springs to conduct screening, usually over a three week period. Last year, that service was provided three times during the year. The last time it was provided was in November. It is going to be on again this May for three weeks. The end result is that women do not have access to a proven, useful, lifesaving screening process, which was definitely something that the CLP championed. It is very disappointing that this government has not made the commitment to maintain the mammography screening service in Alice Springs at the level which Alice Springs people deserve. I encourage the minister to do all she can to reinstate that service to its former very good standard.
The minister, before she had to finish today, made a comment about her concern for Aboriginal health. I too have a long-term and long-standing concern for Aboriginal health. One of the things that concerns me is that, in my position, I hear complaints from patients and users of services. However, it is unusual for Aboriginal people to make complaints. I know that because I used to work at the Health Complaints Commission, and only about 4% or 5% of the complaints we received - given the fact that we were an established complaints commission - came from Aboriginal people. The vast majority of people who complained were non-Aboriginal people.
The reality is that, in the health service, the majority of users are Aboriginal people - in excess of 50% of the people who use the health service are Aboriginal people. Complaints are always, at the moment, from non-Aboriginal people. I am concerned as to how the service is going for Aboriginal people; I am quite sure it is no better. That is a concern of mine. Sure, I hear about the problems for non-Aboriginal people, but nobody is hearing, I suspect, about the complaints from Aboriginal people. They use this service, which is currently underfunded, there are major budget management problems and, certainly, problems with the services being provided. That will go across the board, including Aboriginal people who are in desperate need of a very good service.
I urge the minister to do all she can with regards to the health services, and I urge the Chief Minister and the members of Cabinet to support the Minister for Health and Community Services in being able to deliver an adequate and, I would hope, very good health service here in the Northern Territory, and to the people of Alice Springs in particular.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arafura): Madam Speaker, I rise in relation to the Chief Minister’s statement. It is a great statement which paints a positive future and a vision for us as a government in Central Australia. I have listened to the debate over the last couple of days and there has been no positivity, no constructive debate. We have been accused of denying that there is a problem in Central Australia. We have never done that as a government; we do recognise that there is a problem, both here in Central Australia and also in the Top End.
Madam Speaker, as you know, I have the privilege to serve as the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Select Committee into Substance Abuse. Both in my capacity as the Chairperson of that committee and, as an elected member of a predominantly Aboriginal electorate, I have listened with concern to some of the debate in these sittings regarding the incidence of crime in the Territory. Most of the debate in relation to the Chief Minister’s statement has been in relation to crime and law and order. I thought I would focus on that area for a minute.
My particular concerns arise from some of the comments made by members of the opposition about their perception of crime and sentencing statistics in respect of Alice Springs. I hope they take notice of that because it is their perception of crime and sentencing statistics. What I have noticed is that there is a tendency to merge, or conflate completely different social groups and to lump them all together as a single sinister criminal force threatening the lifestyle and wellbeing of the good citizens of Alice Springs.
The member for Araluen scoffs at the alcohol restriction measures in this town, and I would like to have the debate with her at some other time as to the value and effectiveness of those measures. However, I imagine that she would agree with me that the existence of those measures reflects a serious ongoing alcohol abuse problem that has not just surfaced in the recent past, but which has plagued Alice Springs for decades.
What I want to focus on today, however, is the way in which the member for Araluen and other members of the opposition have, as if by rhetorical sleight of hand, linked the existence of alcohol restriction measures to a tirade about lawlessness. I would be the first to admit that there is an undeniable association between alcohol abuse and the sort of moral amnesia and loss of self-control that sees people hurt themselves and others and end up in police custody. We only have to look at the statistics that we have of the police incidents which have been tabled in the select committee’s interim report to the House last sittings. However, most of the victims of the antisocial behaviour attributable to long grass people in Darwin or river bed drinkers in Alice Springs are often long grass people or river bed drinkers themselves. That is not to say that such behaviour is okay; far from it. However, it is not these ‘stinking drunks’, as the member for Araluen calls them, who are responsible for the sort of crimes that are really worrying her constituents.
As I understand it, in the great majority of cases it is not the ‘stinking drunks’ who are responsible for the rock throwing incidents, and it is not the ‘stinking drunks’ …
Ms Carney interjecting.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: I have listened to you, so why don’t you just sit there and stop being the bitter, nasty little person that you have been over the last couple days, and give me the courtesy of allowing me to respond? You stood up before lunch to grandstand, now listen to other people! You do not like it when it is thrown back at you.
Ms Carney: Well, get it right.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms SCRYMGOUR: It is not the ‘stinking drunks’ who are responsible for the serious property crime that is being complained of. The ‘stinking drunks’, or most of them - and the member for Greatorex as a medical doctor should give an in-service briefing to the members of his party - are actually sick. They have an illness which is called alcoholism. It may be that we need to look at more drastic measures than have been applied to date. One of them, which the select committee and I have put on the table, is in relation to mandatory rehabilitation.
It might be dealing with the cold weather outside. We are all coming down with …
Members interjecting.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: I do not deny the fact that at least I, as an elected member, recognise that in relation to the antisocial behaviour that we do have, we seem to constantly blur the whole issue of the antisocial behaviour of a lot of our people who are coming in from communities and causing a whole lot of problems in the town areas. As a member, I have certainly proposed to our government that it look at some positive measures, and the Minister for Community Development has come up with a number of initiatives. However, back to what I was talking about.
Please do not try to gain traction for your ‘look who is tough’ approach to rock throwing and property crime by dumping the drunks - and we all know what is really meant is Aboriginal drunks - into the same barrel as the offenders responsible for the rock throwing and serious break-ins into businesses and homes. Who are the people responsible for rock throwing and property crime? As far as I can gather, we are looking at a much younger offender. Some of them are organised into gangs, and most of them are affected by abuse of substances other than alcohol. Even if some of them drink alcohol as well, few of them are alcoholics. They are not like the Top End long grassers or the Alice Springs river bed drinkers. As far as Alice Springs is concerned, the history and demographics of this town predetermines that the majority of these offenders will be Aboriginal. There are serious and long-standing problems that have contributed to this offending. They have to do with cultural displacement, lack of place and security in the mainstream society, economy, educational failure and family dysfunction.
As politicians - and I am someone who actually represents an Aboriginal electorate as well - you ought to hang your heads in shame! As politicians, we cannot pretend to talk about tackling crime in this town without acknowledging the racial and historical foundations upon which the town had been established. This does not mean the offender should be excused because of their Aboriginality, but it does not mean that you can impose a ‘one size fits all’ mandatory sentencing regime imported from America, the UK or wherever else, and expect to make any impact on the causes of the kind of criminal offending we need to address. Of course, prison sentences - and severe prison sentences at that - will feature as part of any realistic and effective crime prevention policy for the Territory.
As the Attorney-General has already pointed out, the crime prevention policy put in place - and it can only be put in place under our government - is no exception. Per capita incarceration rates in the Territory are now the highest in the country. Should I repeat that? It is nothing to be proud of, but incarceration rates in the Northern Territory are the highest in the country; significantly higher than under the CLP regime. But in the longer term, the success or failure of the government’s crime prevention policy will stand or fall on the extent to which reclaimable offenders - especially reclaimable young offenders - are coaxed out of their lifestyle, destructive to themselves and to those around them, and reintegrated, not just into society, but also into our economies. Unless we can deliver a meaningful future role for them in the Territory economy, the grim likelihood is that participation in crime of some sort is going to become an increasingly central aspect of the lifestyle of indigenous youth.
When I talk about ‘reclaimable young offenders’, I mean young people who are still capable of learning, loving, working, and assuming a constructive place in the Territory’s future. Where the allocation of financial and human resources may result - for example in the breaking up of that strangle hold of the petrol sniffing addiction or other substance and the associated criminal activity that goes with it - we need to do whatever it takes to secure that result.
Madam Speaker, I have focussed on one aspect. I do not think that I could have gone without having added my bit to the debate in terms of some of the diatribe that has been uttered in this parliament over the last couple of days. It will be interesting, because I would like to hear what plans and strategies opposition members have to offer Territorians when it comes to this sort of crime prevention. I note that precious little was achieved during their previous incumbency.
Mr AH KIT (Community Development): Madam Speaker, in this debate I take advantage of the opportunity afforded to me to support the Chief Minister’s statement on the Northern Territory government’s vision for Central Australia.
I begin by saying that this government has emphatically moved away from the ‘do nothing’ attitude towards Territorians who live past the Berrimah Line. That marks the opposition, not just when it was in government but, sadly, to this day. Their attacks on the holding of parliament here in Alice Springs demonstrate their contempt for anyone outside their comfort zones of Darwin and Palmerston.
My focus is on seeing significant benefits and greater efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of services, particularly in rural and remote regions of the Territory. Today I would like to highlight examples of projects in Central Australia through my Department of Community Development, Sport and Cultural Affairs, that I believe will, in time, improve the quality of life for people living in this region.
An improved delivery method for indigenous housing into remote communities is being trialled in Central Australia. It is referred to as the Central Remote Model and came about some years back when Central Australian Aboriginal people raised concerns about the housing outcomes they were achieving with their available funds. Central Australian representatives on IHANT, which is the Indigenous Housing Authority Northern Territory, made up of Territory Housing, Commonwealth Housing and ATSIC, were particularly concerned to find ways of addressing issues of economies of scale for construction projects - appropriate housing designs that suited their conditions - and, most of all, that consultation with the end users of the finished product happened from the very beginning of the construction process.
The key feature of the IHANT Central Remote Model is that a single project manager is contracted to deliver the entire IHANT housing allocations to communities within the central remote region. In addition, there are just five standard housing designs. Two of the five standard housing designs can be built as either three- or four-bedroom houses. There is also a requirement for consultation on design with both the recipient of the funds and, where possible, consultation with the people who will occupy the house. A second, and probably more significant initiative, has been the development of a sustainable training and employment program as an integral part of the Central Remote Region Model.
Important training and employment outcomes are being achieved through this method of delivering housing programs to remote communities. The training and employment component of this service model currently consists of six training teams, comprising one builder and four apprentices per building team. Currently, 17 apprentices have completed 75% of their competencies required for the Certificate II in Building and Construction through Centralian College. All 17 of these apprentices are now progressing to a three-year program in Certificate III in Building and Construction, starting in June this year. An indicator of the success of this program is that a further 16 apprentices will commence on 1 July; that is another four by four apprentice teams which will be added.
There is strong community support for the continuation and expansion of this program. An expanded range of communities are requesting involvement in this training and employment program, with local people wanting to undertake more apprenticeships. The advantages are designed to continue into the future. Not only are there economies of scale in purchasing construction materials, but the standardisation of materials and fittings will have longer term benefits through ongoing efficiencies in repairs and maintenance. The communities participating in the training and employment program are: Ltyentye Apurte which is commonly known as Santa Teresa, Ntaria, Papunya, Laramba and Aherrenge and Kaltukatjara.
Good news spreads quickly. I have been advised that the Alice Springs regional council - that is, the ATSIC Regional Council - has now expressed interest in the delivery method of the Central Remote Model and the building, training and employment program. The Alice Springs regional council is progressing towards including their IHANT housing allocations into the new delivery model and incorporating two Alice Springs regions-based training teams into the next training program.
The IHANT Central Remote Model is about delivering better housing, greater efficiencies and better training and employment outcomes - the very things that are critical if we are to slow down population moves from remote communities to the towns.
Earlier this year, I had the honour of opening the Gillen Seniors Village in Alice Springs. This is a wonderful development for Alice, very well received by the new tenants, and provides further housing opportunities for our senior citizens. A related project was the redevelopment of Cawood Court. This project has a history of being talked down and bagged by the local CLP members - not the member for Braitling, but the local CLP members. I was pleased to note that all units have been sold and this redevelopment has also been very well received by the buyers and the general public.
Another very exciting project in Central Australia is the Anmatjere regional development plan. The regional development plan centres on the community of Ti Tree, 200 km north of Alice Springs, and will be undertaken in partnership with the private sector and communities of the region. The stakeholders include the Central Land Council, business and community groups, ATSIC, and representatives of the local horticulture, pastoral and tourism industries. The Anmatjere regional development plan seeks to provide a focus for the future development of a 4000 km2 area, and deals with social, cultural, infrastructure, economic, and environmental challenges. This plan provides a vision that by 2012, people living in the region will be enjoying the fruits of a stronger economy and a vibrant and harmonious community. The Anmatjere regional development plan for this part of Central Australia lists the projects that will be addressed by governments, the private sector and the community to achieve more jobs. This will be achieved over time by improving community governance, increasing tourism numbers, expanding the pastoral and horticultural industries, improving road and housing infrastructure, fostering social harmony, expanding employment and training opportunities, developing the Ti Tree township as a regional centre, and fostering Aboriginal enterprise development.
This government is not a ‘sit on your hands’ government. It is all about development in all regions of the Northern Territory. Our vision for Central Australia will increase local decision-making, develop community capacity, and result in greater employment for all. It is this approach that will have the capacity to bring about long-term structural changes to our communities that will reduce the levels of antisocial behaviour born of unemployment, poverty, alienation, and despair.
One of my key objectives as the Minister for Local Government is to build the capacity for governance and service delivery in our rural and remote communities. It is pleasing to see that a number of communities around the Territory are voluntarily moving to adopt enhanced local government structures that will facilitate the capacity of those communities to deliver services and generate local jobs. In the Centre, significant progress has been made towards the establishment of the Wangka Wilurrara regional authority. A number of steering committee meetings have been held and the relevant communities of Ikuntji, Papunya, Watiyawanu - Mt Liebig - and Kintore. A further two meetings of the steering committee have been held in Alice Springs. I understand that these meetings have been very well attended with strong discussion, and keen response has been forthcoming from the participants. The development of the new governance arrangements are still very much in the consultation phase. Negotiations and discussions with other government agencies, for example the Department of Health and Community Services, have commenced.
Local government is a crucial element in delivering quality of life for Central Australians. The government is providing support to LGANT to deliver elected member training for council members. This year, the government has committed significant new funds of $160 000 in total to LGANT, which is the Local Government Association NT, for this training program. The government considers this an important function of LGANT. In addition, the government has also provided a further $100 000 for human resource support which is support that is vitally important, once again, with LGANT delivering those services.
The government provides significant funding directly to local governments for the delivery of library services, and we are committed to expanding access to information and knowledge in remote communities. We support councils in communities through the network of Community Development officers operating from my department.
Members will recall the actions of the Country Liberal Party in removing the Yulara Town Council which deprived the people of Yulara of the right to have a say in their future.
A member interjecting.
Mr AH KIT: I will pick up the interjection – no, I shouldn’t. I should not, Madam Speaker. I will be a good boy. He cannot help himself.
This government is working towards establishing a process for community representation at Yulara, something about which I have not received any correspondence from the member for Macdonnell. However, an advisory committee has been established and the committee met for the first time earlier this month. The Yulara Community Advisory Committee is comprised of six Ayres Rock Resort employees and six residents employed by other organisations. The role of the Yulara Community Advisory Committee will be to be provide advice on infrastructure and planning matters in Yulara. It is also there to have input into the management of community events and social, cultural and environmental issues.
I take this opportunity to advise the House of the many sport and recreation commitments and initiatives in Central Australia. The government has committed a total of $5m to upgrade facilities at the Traeger Park sporting complex in Alice Springs. In September and October 2002, the Alice Springs Hockey Centre was upgraded at a cost of $800 000 as stage 1 of this commitment. In consultation with user groups, the Alice Springs Town Council has prepared a master plan for the park which forms the basis of planning for future development.
Also the Imparja Cup, an indigenous national cricket carnival, was held in Alice Springs from 27 February to 2 March 2003. The carnival has two tiers of competition: a state level competition with all states represented; and the Imparja Shield which is a community-based competition. Northern Territory teams that competed in the 2003 Imparja Shield competition included the Tiwi Islands, Darwin, Katherine, Borroloola, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and an invitation team. In all, over 200 indigenous cricketers attended the Imparja Cup 2003. Northern Territory Indigenous Sports Program Officers from various regions were also involved in the coordination and organisation of the competition.
The Imparja Cup is fully endorsed by the Australian Cricket Board and forms part of the Australian Cricket Board’s Strategic Plan 2002-04 encompassed in the new vision of Two Strong Cultures, Australia’s new cricket tradition. Hats off to the local cricket association, along with the Northern Territory Cricket Association for the support that they provide for the Imparja Cup. The goal of this vision is to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation and excellence in cricket.
Indigenous Sports Program Officers Ken Vowles and Peter Lake were selected in the National Indigenous Squad at this years Imparja Cup. I am pleased to advise members that we now have 14 indigenous Sport and Recreation officers throughout Central Australia.
In November last year, my department arranged for an engineer’s report to ascertain the extent of structural damage to the swimming pool at Ltyentye Apurte. The government contributed to funding the required repairs in partnership with ATSIC and the community store. I was pleased to be able to attend the reopening of the swimming pool earlier this year. I told participants at the swimming carnival that I genuinely looked forward to the community entering a team or two in the Alice Springs championships whenever they may be held.
The installation of swimming pools provides many benefits in remote communities that are additional to the obvious sporting and recreational opportunities. Some communities have adopted a ‘no school, no pool’ policy that has greatly assisted school retention rates. There is also a range of direct health benefits attributed to regular swimming exercise. I am keen to develop funding partnerships with communities, Commonwealth agencies and other bodies such as ATSIC to increase the number of pools, in a regional sense at least, so that they can be installed and provide further benefits to those people in the particularly remote areas of the Northern Territory.
The list of initiatives in Central Australia generated by my department is, I believe, impressive. Another recent example is the Alice Springs Outback Adventure Cycling Race. Our government supported this highly successful inaugural event with special assistance funding of $20 000, in conjunction with the Northern Territory government’s Major Events company. The event was organised as an initiative of Mr Jack Oldfield, a local Alice Springs adventure cyclist. Sixty-five competitors took part in the seven-day event, which covered a course of 340 km along rugged paths in the MacDonnell Ranges. The competitors included five overseas and 46 interstate cyclists. Because of the success of the race, the organisers are planning for it to be an annual feature on the Alice Springs sporting calendar.
This government, with myself as the Minister for Sport and Recreation, Local Government and especially Regional Development, is working hard to improve the quality of life for people in Central Australia. It is not a situation where we will allow the people of Central Australia to be forgotten. I have a close affinity to the township of Alice Springs. Not quite 50 years ago I was born here, and I always enjoy coming back and spending time catching up with family and friends.
We will continue to soldier on and provide, to the best of our ability, good governance for Central Australians, and we will continue to ensure that we do not fall into the trap that the members opposite did when they governed for some 26 years.
I would like to conclude with some brief comments on how the last three days went. I know we are not finished yet, but I felt the high point was the feedback from many people in the town I was able to meet and have a chat with about the success of bringing parliament to Alice Springs. It is certainly something that our government would need to talk about in planning for the future, but I will always remember it as an historic event. On the downside, debates can be robust, but the description of ‘stinking’ is something that will remain with me for some time, because I find it highly offensive. The Territory is a much better place and we can do without that sort of garbage.
Mr McADAM (Barkly): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement. I feel privileged to be in this House today, and I trust it will not be the last time in Alice Springs. It is important that this parliament sits again in Central Australia. There could well be opportunities for parliament to sit in other parts of the Territory, perhaps Tennant Creek and Katherine.
At this point, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this country and thank them for the opportunity to be part of this historic occasion. I can recall moving from Elliott to Alice Springs in the early 1960s. In those days, Alice Springs had a population of around about 4000 to 5000 people. People may recall that the main suburbs were the old East Side, The Gap and, of course, the old Race course. We lived in McMinn Street on the old East Side. Not far away from Auntie Nora and Uncle Herbie’s place lived Auntie Polly and Uncle Milton Liddle. Their daughter, Pat Liddle, now Pat Miller, as most people would be aware, is now the Deputy of the Administrator of the Northern Territory.
When this announcement was delivered by the Chief Minister I felt extremely proud, as did many other people of Alice Springs and the surrounding areas and, indeed the whole of the Northern Territory. Indigenous people have played a very important role in the development of the Centre and will continue to play an ever-increasing role in partnership with the Martin government - unlike in the past, under successive CLP regimes. I have previously mentioned in this House the lost opportunities in economic and social outcomes for indigenous people under the CLP regime. It was a period of confrontation, of marginalisation, and exclusive responses at the expense of indigenous people but, most sadly …
Mr Elferink interjecting.
Mr McADAM: … it was a period of political expediency. I would not be saying too much if I were you, member for Macdonnell, because you, more than anyone in this House, had an opportunity, as a part of a government over 26 years, to do something about it …
Mr Elferink interjecting.
Mr McADAM: … and you chose not to do a thing. You are a hypocrite!
A member interjecting.
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Macdonnell, desist from interjections.
Mr Elferink interjecting.
Mr McADAM: You have marginalised people. You are very good at it; you are an expert …
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Barkly.
Mr McADAM: … you have played the political race card.
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, through the Chair, please.
Mr McADAM: I beg your pardon, Madam Acting Deputy Speaker.
There has been much debate in this House on law and order issues. I also attended the rally yesterday, and I respect the rights of people to put their positions. No one in this House, on either side of politics or, indeed, in the gallery, would disagree with that. I felt a degree of compassion for young McGrath, who had his head split open by the senseless act of a lunatic.
There can be no doubt that there are unacceptable levels of crime throughout regional Australia, not only in the Territory and, most certainly, not only in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. But there is a difference between these communities of Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, because there are many dedicated, committed and hard-working members of the communities who are doing something about it, in partnership with the police and other stakeholders. I acknowledge that it will not be easy and it will not be for the want of trying.
I heard some pretty nasty comments outside last night; comments which are not conducive to meaningful relationships between black and white people and, most certainly, not in the best interests of us all as we develop a very equitable and mature response to our problems. I was hoping that Madam Speaker would be present in the House, as I would like to applaud Madam Speaker, the member for Braitling, for her gutsy contribution in diffusing a potentially nasty situation and for sticking up for her community.
I am also relieved that people like Commander Manison here in Alice Springs and Superintendent Steve Edgington in Tennant Creek performed such an important task in fostering partnerships and working towards a safer community for us all. Even out in the bush, there are small communities - member for Macdonnell, you had better listen to this and go down the track. Even out in the bush there are small communities like Ali Curung in my electorate that worked so very hard over a long period of time in developing appropriate cultural responses to excessive grog abuse, domestic violence and other associated offences. The member for Macdonnell says ‘Yes’, but does nothing about it. I want to pay tribute …
Mr Elferink: Effective management of a CLP program.
Mr McADAM: So what whose it is? It should be supported. You should not be …
Mr Elferink: … all sorts of things, but you are neglecting to point out who started …
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Members, order!
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order!
Mr McADAM: I want to pay tribute to Gwen Brown, Marjorie Limbiari and many other members of our community who continue to work tirelessly on behalf of Ali Curung. This little community has done something about these issues because they do care, and because they believe it is their responsibility to ensure that a quality of life is enjoyed by their children and future generations.
The Tennant Creek Youth Initiative and Safe Communities Strategy is another example of people working together to make their lives better and the community a better place to live in. As I have mentioned, it has not been easy but they keep working at it. The CLP and their Centralian-based members can learn from these approaches, rather than being negative. I say to the CLP opposition: stop pushing; stop practising the politics of fear.
Excessive grog abuse has always been a problem, and it must be remembered that is was in Tennant Creek that the community did something about it by lobbying for the first restrictions in terms of accessibility and availability. Contrary to what the opposition says, it has made a difference. It is a more cohesive community. Sure, it does not solve all the problems, but the community continues to work at it - and that is the secret; you have to continue to work at these sort of issues.
I applaud the community in Alice Springs for going down the same path regarding accessibility and availability options. I say to the community of Alice Springs: do not be dissuaded by the negative opposition, because really they do not care. They are not interested in the welfare and the wellbeing of people who live in Central Australia or the outlying bush communities.
Much has been said and written in respect of the children of Tennant Creek leaving to attend Shalom Christian College in Townsville and other interstate education institutions. I fully understand why some parents choose to take this option. They are no different from non-indigenous people who send their children outside the Territory for the same purpose: to undertake secondary education. We have also have to be honest and say that it must be of concern to us, as a government, to address any deficiencies that exist within our education system. To this extent, I applaud the Minister for Employment, Education and Training for acknowledging these concerns and accepting the responsibility to provide eduction and training opportunities in Tennant Creek and other regional communities throughout the Northern Territory.
This government wants to ensure that all young Territorians have access to appropriate and innovative programs, addressing their needs and dreams in their own communities. I congratulate the teachers of Tennant Creek High School and Anyinginyi Congress for the development of a specialised program for identified students to suit their individual needs. This is another great example of community partnerships assisting and developing young people in my community. The success of this program will, hopefully, serve other remote and regional centres throughout the Territory.
The Martin government’s $3.6m investment of the interactive distance e-learning project throughout the Territory is also to be applauded, and will be a huge boost to the people in Tennant Creek. This initiative will support students and training providers, and upgrade the Centre’s information communications technology - I am referring to the Tennant Creek Training Centre there - and it will bring the region up to standard.
I have always believed that one of our key priorities is jobs, because it is the dignity of work that enables people to break the cycle of substance abuse that condemns so many people in Central Australia. When I was first elected, I made a commitment to the people of the Barkly that, where possible, I would pursue sustainable economic outcomes to benefit everyone, both indigenous and non-indigenous. I believe that it is the delivery of sustainable economic development that this government will be judged on.
Of course, we need to look at building opportunities in the traditional mining, pastoral and tourism industries, but we also look to the clever solutions in the smaller niche areas that use the knowledge based in the Barkly. This could improve projects like ecotourism ventures in the Nicholson and the Davenport Ranges, four-wheel drive tourism, as well as development of the Longreach Waterhole, which is just west of Elliott, and of course, the proposed Tennant Creek to Lajamanu Road. This road is still very much subject to further discussions with the traditional owners, but should it come to fruition then, obviously, it will provide some real opportunities for both the indigenous and the non-indigenous people and, of course, the private sector.
The difference between the government and the opposition is that, rather than just whingeing about the problems as members opposite tend to do, we in government look for solutions. In conclusion, I wish the people of Central Australia well.
Dr BURNS (Tourism): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, today I outline issues of importance within my portfolios that have a significance for the Central Australian region. I will highlight this afternoon the contribution to the tourism sector, heritage values, the pastoral and horticultural sectors, and the economic and social wellbeing of the region. As has been pointed out a number of times tonight, the tourism sector is probably the most significant contributor to the Central Australian economy. However, as we are all too well aware, these sittings are occurring at a time when international events are casting a cloud over the tourism sector. Major world events such as the threat of war, outbreaks of disease - particularly SARS - or civil unrest and major acts of terrorism, have an instantaneous effect on consumers’ travel patterns. They tend to defer immediate travel plans and cancel them, which is particularly true of international travel.
As we are all aware, the Northern Territory, and Central Australia in particular, is very reliant on international tourists. About 50% of our tourist numbers come from overseas whereas, in the rest of Australia, it is more like 25%. So the impact of these international events is greater in the Territory than elsewhere in Australia. Consequently, the Northern Territory has experienced about an 18% reduction in international holiday travel since 2001, comparing the two years, September to September. That is a big blow. It highlights the Territory’s vulnerability and also the need for the Northern Territory to be in a position to benefit when the market begins to recover.
After all the things that have happened, since 11 September and the crash of Ansett, people in the tourism industry are asking, quite understandably, what possibly could happen next. But we do have the hope that the market will begin to recover, and we are not going along with the hype about collapsing market. Therefore, the international marketing budget has been increased by this government by $1m over the next two years to counter the effects of the downturn. We have also added flexibility into that spend, given international events and the fact that we need to be flexible in responding. The total budget for international marketing is currently $5.2m.
What we need to do, strategically, is position ourselves to be able to take advantage once the position changes. There has been a lot of talk about withdrawing from the market, and reallocating, holus-bolus, all the funds for international marketing back into domestic marketing. That is not something we will be doing, particularly given our reliance on the international tourism market. We need to be poised to act, and we are. We intend targeting the North American, New Zealand and Japanese markets with greater vigour as soon as possible after the current conflict and other issues are resolved. These places have been identified by the Australian Tourist Commission as the most likely countries to resume normal travel patterns.
Mr Reed: What about Europe?
Dr BURNS: Well, this is the advice here. I guess these are the shorter haul ends of the market - or comparatively shorter hauls. Member for Katherine, these are the markets that have been identified by the Australian Tourist Commission.
We have increased marketing budgets; I have already outlined the international marketing budget. However, we have also added $1m to the domestic tourism campaign, and that stands at $3.8m. There has been quite a lot of criticism from the opposition about that campaign, but it is the largest spend since 1994-95. And yes, some elements of the campaign have started late, but the campaign actually started in March. What I will outline here this afternoon is some of the results of the campaign to date. I hope members will listen to it.
It was interesting to hear the member for Araluen. She stood in the House the other day and said: ‘Well, why don’t you extend the Arafura May offer over a 12-month period to all domestic tourists who come into the Territory? That would be a great thing’. Well, it would be a great thing if we had an extra $60m. I really wonder about the member for Araluen. She comes in here and drops these proposals on the floor of parliament. I wonder whether she talked with her shadow Treasurer, the member for Katherine, because this is an unrealistic proposal. It points to inexperience, first of all, that she has not done the homework on it. It also points to a lack of communication on the other side because they are proposing that money be spent all over the place. Yes, we are spending money over the Arafura May period but it is a very targeted campaign. As I have said, we have a domestic campaign that is the largest spend since - the $3.8m does not include the extra $600 000 that we have committed for the Arafura business, but I guess that brings it to $4.4m, which is a very large spend.
So, the domestic campaign has specific elements designed to boost tourism in Central Australia. Let me assure the member for Araluen - she was asking how much of the extra $1m or the $3.8m is going to be spent in Central Australia – that there will be an equitable spend. Central Australia is a very important part of the campaign. In the print campaign that has started, there is an even mix of Central Australian icons, if you like, together with the Top End icons. Central Australia does figure very heavily in the campaign.
The member for Araluen called the campaign a farce - that was the word that she used. In a press release, and on the floor of parliament she said: ‘There have only been 12 calls to the Holiday Centre in the first week of the campaign’. Wrong, member for Araluen. There were actually 1337 calls in week one, and there have been a total of 8673 calls since the campaign began in March.
This an innovative campaign …
Ms Carney interjecting.
Dr BURNS: Just let me continue, member for Araluen. It really has elements that have not been picked up before in campaigns. The member for Araluen mentioned that there have been 500 000 leaflets sent out and only approximately 90 000 refer to Central Australia. What she is really talking about with that 90 000 - yes there was a 500 000 leaflet campaign, which is a letterbox campaign - is actually a direct mail campaign for those who have some experience in marketing. It is just not touching on Central Australia, it is specifically highlighting and encouraging people to come to Central Australia.
I know that direct mail is very effective marketing tool. When I was with the Heart Foundation, every cent of the $25m that they raised every year was through marketing, and you could not exist the next year in that organisation if you had not raised that money. So every cent of that $25m is raised. I learned a hell of a lot about marketing through being in that organisation. I know the power of direct mail. I know the power of targeting your audience through your database, and that is exactly what has been done with this direct mail that not only refers to Central Australia; it is all about Central Australia.
Also there has been an e-mail campaign. These e-mails went out on 12 March and the NT Tourist Commission had about 3500 hits in the one day around 12 March - 3500 hits resulting from that e-mail campaign. So, far from 12 calls - I have not totalled all this up - there are many thousands of calls there. There are many elements to this campaign. And, yes, member for Araluen, the television ads side of the campaign will not kick in until June. However, I have had feedback from industry members who say that is probably not a bad idea, given that Virgin Blue is coming to Alice Springs around that time, and that people have deferred their travel plans to come to the Territory for all the reasons I have mentioned before.
There are some people in the industry who have put very directly to me that they feel that it is too late. However, they have also been quite a significant number of others who have said: ‘We believe in the current circumstance that it is probably a good thing that it is timed the way it is’. It is not going to help things by talking the campaign down. I am quite prepared, at the end of the campaign, to present to parliament the results of the campaign. It may very well be that the campaign goes over into the shoulder season, trying to get more visitation during the shoulder season which is something the tourism industry - if the member for Araluen had bothered to talk to the member for Katherine - both in the Top End and moreso in Central Australia has been very successful at. The shoulder season is exactly the season that the member for Araluen - what did she say here? She was talking about the shoulder season:
- He expects that they will come up in the stinking heat of Alice Springs.
From the member for Araluen we have had the ‘stinking’ people, the ‘stinking’ heat. I ask the member for Araluen to start talking up tourism in Central Australia up a bit more instead of being so negative.
On a happier note, the Ghan is a bright light on the horizon, with the completion of the Alice to Darwin railway. I believe that many Ghan travellers will take the opportunity to break their journey and visit the many attractions of the region. It is proving a very important and desirable product for many international tourists. That development, together with the recent announcement from Virgin Blue that they will commence flights in to Alice Springs, is very important as a feeder service for travellers on the eastern seaboard.
The member for Araluen had a cute little gimmick in here the other day; she had a toy plane that she waved around. You have your toy; we have the real thing so …
A member interjecting.
Dr BURNS: Yes. The member for Greatorex was trying to say that the federal government did this, and the federal government got Virgin Blue into Alice Springs. If you believe everything that the member for Greatorex said in his speech, the CLP makes the sun rise every morning. But the world is a bit wider than that.
One thing that was very interesting was that, on the day that Virgin Blue announced that they were coming to Alice Springs on a daily basis with day time flights making an extra 1000 seats a week, there was a press release that went out from the member for Araluen. I have been scrabbling around trying to get a copy of this press release. Member for Araluen, you need to give it to me because it has just evaporated. There is something on the CLP web site, but it does not seem to be the same press release that went out on that day that I heard about. I will make an observation here, member for Araluen: you missed all the signs.
Ms Carney: Really?
Dr BURNS: You did. You should have read the signs that the deputy CEO of Virgin Blue was coming to Darwin, and that there was intense negotiation between NT Airports and Virgin Blue …
Ms Carney: We talked about that.
Dr BURNS: Basically,. you missed the sign, and you sent this press release out. Really, you just need to back off the rhetoric and the anger, and try to read what is going on around you. You can stick with the model planes if you like, but I would advise you to get out into the big game. I have taken a bit of time clearing up some of the misconceptions that have been put about by the opposition about tourism, because it is very important.
One of my other portfolio areas is Environment and Heritage and, as everyone knows, we released a discussion paper on Strategy for Greenhouse Action in the Territory. The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre and the Arid Lands Environment Centre are to be congratulated for their Cool Communities program, which this government has contributed to, because it encourages the use of greenhouse friendly hardware in the home, establishes behavioral change, and establishes a range of rebates for solar hot water systems.
The Renewable Energy Rebate Program is soon to have a significant effect in Central Australian communities. Rebate funding of $3.425m has been recommended for Hermannsburg, Lajamanu and Yuendumu solar power projects. These projects will save over 380 000 litres of diesel fuel and 1000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
Heritage: I spoke this morning in my report about what we put on the register in Central Australia recently - the Araluen Homestead precinct and the Catholic Church precinct, and the appointment of a senior full-time heritage officer in Alice Springs. That is very important.
The pastoral industry is very important and significant in Central Australia, directly contributing more than $100m to the economy with significant multiplier effects. There are a significant number of the NT herd in the Alice Springs and Barkly areas, and indigenous people own significant land in this pastoral estate. As primary industries minister, I am very committed to trying to get pastoral land with indigenous ownership back into production. That is a priority, it is very important economically.
I am also pleased to advise that the Centralian Land Management Association has recently been successful in securing Commonwealth funding to develop a pilot environmental management system with the support of the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment. This is all about delivering business and environmental outcomes for the industry in the region. About 15 pastoral enterprises have nominated to participate in this very important project.
Camels are very important area, and have a lot of potential for Central Australia. Mr Seidel was one of the first ones who knocked on the door when I became minister, so he is very keen. The gross value of live exports for 2002-03 is approximately $1m for 1600 head, and current projections from Mr Seidel and the industry point to a demand of 20 000 head per year in less than a decade.
We are also looking at a feasibility study for an export abattoir in Central Australia. This is a government funded study. We are looking at a purpose designed mini-abattoir in the Territory for multi-species, including camels, to be processed for export.
I mentioned something about horticulture developments in Central Australia earlier in these sittings. It is mainly based on about 400 hectare of table grapes which yielded $20m in 2001-02. The whole industry at Ti Tree is to be commended, and I am working closely with the growers about infrastructure there, developing a program, as I said, to combat fruit fly in the whole of the region. We have given in-principle support for a Ti Tree horticultural infrastructure initiative, which identifies land for horticultural development in the Ti Tree region, as well as associated infrastructure. Negotiations on native title issues are advanced for three 100 hectare new farms on Pine Hill, and that is very important. Other significant horticultural development has been identified south of Alice at Deep Well and Orange Creek.
I have mentioned the $6.2m over the next 12 months to do with Ilparpa Swamp, the sewage effluent treatment here in Alice Springs, and developing horticulture at the Arid Zone Research Institute. That is a fantastic project. I mentioned one of the other major announcements I have been involved in since I have been down here is the $3m for the Mereenie Loop Road, which has tourist implications - fantastic.
Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I have run out of time. I have really enjoyed coming here to Central Australia. I have enjoyed coming to the sittings. I believe they have been a great success. I compliment Madam Speaker for all her efforts. The people of Alice Springs got behind it. I enjoyed meeting a lot of people here.
Today I have outlined some of the most important developments in my portfolios for this region. I believe it has a bright economic future in pastoral and horticultural ventures, but overriding all of that is really the tourism industry. I can assure the House that I and the agencies that fall within my portfolios are focussed on Central Australia, and will continue to work with the Central Australian communities to build on the good work done to date.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I wanted to make a few remarks on the Chief Minister’s statement, particularly after some of the wide-ranging debates we have had during the week.
I have lived in Alice Springs for 42 years now. This is my town and I really love Alice Springs. I would not have stayed here for so long if I did not. There are so many good things happening in this town that never receive the recognition they deserve. It always disturbs when political parties run smear campaigns and campaigns that distort the truth.
Last night, I know I surprised some people when I grabbed a banner at that rally that said: ‘I love this town’. I did it purposely; I did it because I do believe that this town has a lot to offer people. When I hear people say that people are leaving because of crime, I question that. I have friends who have retired, and they are leaving to be with their family down south. I have friends who are leaving because their parents are getting elderly and they need to be with them. I have friends who are leaving because they have children at university and they need to support them. People come and go in this town for many reasons. Some may leave because of crime, but not all people leave because of crime, and that needs to be recognised. Also, a lot of people come here because they enjoy the lifestyle.
I said last night that I still walk my dog, and quite often I walk the dog on my own - Graeme has been a little incapacitated lately with his foot and he has not been able to do it. Whenever I do it, it can be at all times of the night, and I do not ever want to stop that. I do not intend to stop my lifestyle because I am afraid. The worst thing you can do in a town like this is to back off and lock yourself in the house. The reason I stay here is because I love the lifestyle. It is interesting to note, the other night when some of the press went out looking for trouble, they said all they found were people jogging, walking, people with their kids - they could not find the so-called trouble.
I say to the CLP that you should not always be highlighting crime as an element of this town because it is one part that we do not like. If you are going to be negative about it, at least try to be constructive. I am still waiting for what they are suggesting we do.
I find the best way that I can help this town is to set up a good relationship with the police. I regularly ring Gary Manison or Trevor Bell and I indicate to them the hot spots, as we call them, in the town. And they respond; they are great. They get out there and patrol and they move people on and, within a day or two, that so-called hot spot has cooled down. I get great cooperation from them and I enjoy a very good relationship with the police. I have my problems the same as everyone else in this town, but if you do not dwell on them and do not let them frighten you, as we keep being told, then you cope with them.
We know these kids in this town. This morning, I presented a petition. This is how it came about. Last week, we had a public meeting about a program Tangentyere was going to set up in public houses in a private subdivision. The residents came to me and said: ‘Hey, we think this is wrong’. I went public and the public meeting was held and Tangentyere backed off. This is where a member can be seen in one or another camp. Tangentyere issued a fairly strong press release about me which contained some words resulting in me feeling as though I should go and get a legal opinion, because they did say some pretty tough things such as: on numerous occasions I released incorrect information - which was not true; I labelled young people as criminals - that was not true; I contributed to a climate of fear - that was not true; at no time did I approach Tangentyere Council - that was not true; this climate of fear dominated the public meeting - that was not true. I was one speaker, there was about 18 others. I certainly do not think I did as claimed. However, Tangentyere have backed off. The reason I went in to bat for the citizens in that area is because that program was inappropriate for there. In fact, I believe that program is inappropriate for what they are trying to do.
Our problem in Alice Springs at the moment is the 30 to 60 juveniles that the Youth Night Patrol pick up every night they operate. What do they do with them? In many cases, they cannot take them back to the camps where they live, or the home they live in here in town. Some of them are from out of town. They tell me the story of one 15-year-old who was drunk. They took him to DASA, our sobering-up shelter. DASA cannot take him; he is under 18. The police do not want him; they do not want a 15-year-old. So what do they do with him?
On Tuesday night, I met a grandmother down at the education event. She said to me: ‘Loraine, keep pushing the opening of Aranda House’. What happens to those children? The grandmothers of the town have to look after them; they are dumped on them. She said: ‘Quite frankly, I am tired’. I am sure they are tired, because too few are caught too many times to do too much. It is time this government, started looking realistically at what to do with these juveniles. Then perhaps we will not have the rock throwing, the window smashing, the break and enter looking for food - all the things that we have heard about over the last few days.
Aranda House sits side by side with Giles House, the remand centre. But let me make it quite clear: the remand centre is not part of Aranda House. The remand sector is where children stay for the short time before they go to court. In this town, it has only been up to a maximum of five days so far - I believe that is going to change - and then they are taken up to Don Dale Centre and brought back here in time for their trial or hearing.
Aranda House at the moment is leased by CAACCA. I put on everyone’s table this morning for their information, the Central Australian Aboriginal Child Care Agency letter from their Vice Chairman, Eddie Taylor. We are all well aware that, in the past, Aranda House has had its problems with management. But you have to put that in the past. Like many organisations, they have their quarrels and their problems and they have had some misappropriation of funds. However, that is over. This is a new committee which is trying to work very hard to set up this centre for young people. But, they do not have the funding. They have done some good work, the CDEP people, down there: they have painted it; there are dormitories; there is a kitchen; and there are recreation facilities. However, the story I get from the people who oppose it is that it is next door to the remand centre.
I will get back to why I presented the petition. On Tuesday night, this grandmother said to me: ‘The children say to me: “Why can’t we go to Aranda House?” They know it. They have been there, they feel safe and secure there, it is familiar to them’. So I said to her on Tuesday night, just a day-and-a-half ago: ‘If you can get me some signatures on a petition, I will give it the Minister for Central Australia for him to look at and to take note’. Just in that one night, the juveniles they picked up with their night patrol signed that petition that I tabled this morning. If we had gone for weeks, it would have been immense. I just want to demonstrate to this parliament that there are children out there who know what they want, who see Aranda House as a safe place, and would like us to really consider setting it up. So I say to the Minister for Central Australia: I know you have grand visions, but this program at Tangentyere that you funded, to me does not meet this need. What that program was talking about was four to five children in a house, and a family in another house next door to it. They have all had to be referred under the FACS system. It does not cope with all these children that we are worried about at the moment.
I am trying to get the message through to government that we have a community resource that is being wasted at the moment - absolutely wasted. So, why don’t we do something about it? Why don’t we give the Central Australian Aboriginal Child Care Agency – AACCA as we call it - funding to set up a similar program to do the things they want to do in these two homes in this private area; to make sure that these children can be taken off the streets and, if they have nowhere to go, at least have a bed for the night, a meal, a shower and then, the next day, start providing the support services that we keep hearing about. That is what is important, because while we continue to ignore the plight of these young children, we will continue to have our rock throwers, our break and enters, our nonsense that goes on. So, Minister for Central Australia, please look carefully at that petition, and whatever you do, as Eddie Taylor says in his letter:
- Dear members,
I will answer any questions or be available to you if need be. Please give the organisation a go, even
if it is for 12 months. We will show to you that our work is for real.
That comes from the heart of a the fellow who, might I add, stood against me in the last election.
Crime is a problem in this town, but what I admire about the people of Alice Springs - and perhaps some of the members have not lived here long enough to understand that, or to have been associated - is a tremendous resilience amongst them and a tremendous tolerance that they show. However, the government needs to listen. Government needs to listen to these people, and moreso to the victims, and stop making excuses for the offenders. If necessary, we need some legislation that will empower our courts to make tougher sentences. Too often, the police are frustrated because they lay charges, they get children to court, but what do we find? We find the soft approach happens, and that is why many people in this town are frustrated. That is why the people think it is not worth reporting this crime because nothing will be done.
I do not want to change my lifestyle. I do not want to walk away from Alice Springs, and I do not want to feel that I cannot come and go as I please. I will not be harassed, I will not be bullied by the people out the front who heckled me and tried to make me change my mind. I feel safer walking in Alice Springs than I do in Darwin or in Adelaide, or many other places that I have been. I am quite sure many of you feel the same way. You know jolly well that this is a place that has a lot to offer.
My point to the CLP is: stop your scaremongering and putting down our town, and come up with some good programs. Come up with something to offer, stop being negative and try to work together. This is too important for us to split the community, and that is what worries me - you are trying to divide our community of Alice Springs. We should be tackling this together as one. We are a parliament, we represent the people. For once, drop your politics and start working together to find some solutions to our problems in Alice Springs.
I have talked about the good things that happen in Alice Springs, and we have heard lots about the health system. Can I just say, there were some people who were in the audience last night who were embarrassed by being named. I have said this to members when I have been in the Chair: unless you really have permission, you should not name people in the gallery; it is an invasion of their privacy and they do not really appreciate it. That happened to some of the health professionals who were here last night. They certainly did not like it.
I have not heard one person - and the shadow minister for health is included in that, as well as the minister - who has not congratulated the Centre for Remote Health on providing the opportunity for nurses to study externally from NTU in Alice Springs. I went to a function where there were over 30 students who are presently studying for the Bachelor of Nursing. In the next few years - and it will not be a lot because these people are not working full-time, they are doing it part–time - there will be a trickle of graduates who come out at the end of each year in Alice Springs - possibly five, perhaps 10 - but it will be ongoing. The Centre for Remote Health has a full-time academic position assisting these people, as well as some post-graduate students studying there.
What they are trying to do is try to fulfil a need of this town. Home-grown nurses who have a mortgage and a family will stay in the town. Bringing them in from the Philippines or Ireland or wherever, you know they are only going to be on contract for a short time. However, it is really important for us to have our home-grown people such as we do with our teachers at NTU. It is a very good program.
I have heard little from the CLP this week about the good things. I know they find it hard to accept that the government stands up and says: ‘We are doing this’. They say: ‘Well, it was an initiative of ours’. ‘We are doing that’; ‘That was one of our initiatives as well’. Fine, we do not mind. I remember campaigning on the Berrimah Line and on how little funding we received in the sports grants, and arts grants. I wrote very early on to the minister about Traeger Park I do not mind who or what government funds it. I do not mind if this ALP government continues the work started by the CLP because that is what government is all about. Had they abandoned all those programs, they would have been more hypocritical and it would have been worse for us. But, if it is a good idea, does it matter who puts it up? Does it really matter?
That is what I am saying to all of you in this parliament: think about this crime problem here in Alice Springs, stop this nonsense that has been going on, come up with some good ideas and, if it is a good idea, let us work together. It would be refreshing to hear that from the opposition at the moment, because this week I have sat here and listened to a lot of bagging, scaremongering and knocking of our town. What I would like to hear in the future is something positive, constructive and cooperative.
Dr TOYNE (Central Australia): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, the last speaker – the Speaker speaker - has restored some of the balance in this debate. This has been a long-ranging debate since the Chief Minister placed the statement before the House. We have heard a lot of very disparate opinions and issues.
I would like to start, though, by saying, as Minister for Central Australia, how wonderful this sittings in Alice Springs has been for me. We have seen all sorts of connections to our community down here: 3000-plus people around the galleries over the three days and all of the contacts between all of the members and the Alice Springs Central Australian community. That has to be good for the operation and traditions of this parliament. I hope in the future we might see some more sittings in Alice Springs. However, I will not go any further or I will give the Chief Minister a seizure.
Regarding the claims that we have heard occasionally that this is not a real parliament - I just did a quick tally - seven bills have been introduced in three days, seven bills have been passed in three days. That is a significant amount of legislative change. We had the major statement by the Chief Minister which all members have been able to contribute to on a very wide platform. Anything that anyone wanted to say about Central Australian issues, there was the statement to allow that. We have had two censures, as weak as they may have been, but, again, some very important issues were embodied in those censures. Then we had the usual tabling statements and adjournments, so it has felt very normal to me, as a three day parliamentary sittings. We have not been short-changed in this parliament at all.
I would like to keep above the individual issues to some degree, given that we are summing up this debate. I want to go back to a couple of comments that were made by the opposition. The Leader of the Opposition claimed that there was nothing in the budget for Alice Springs and then the member for Araluen, who has been in fine form over the last three days, said that the ALP never cared about Alice and never will. I would like to provide a few facts here that might dispel those outrageous statements.
We brought the parliament to Alice, and that is not a bad start. This week’s announcements alone: $3m to commence sealing the Mereenie Loop Road; $2m for the Tanami Road upgrade; $2.2m for the Desert Knowledge precinct; up to $6.2m for the reuse of water out of the evaporation ponds; $86 000 to Footprints Forward, the indigenous employment program; $150 000 worth of crime prevention grants; upgrade of the security of the Alice Springs Gaol Cottage as was flagged and is now in progress; and $1.6m for the airconditioning of Alice Springs High School. That is in three days. I do not think that is a sign of a government neglecting Central Australia.
Before the parliamentary sittings, just to name a few of the initiatives that we have bought to Alice Springs: bringing Virgin Blue into Alice - and, again, I congratulate the Tourism Minister for finalising that; secured the release of the first new housing land in over a decade; supported and resourced Desert Knowledge Australia providing, $600 000 towards the Desert Peoples Centre; $750 000 over three years to the Desert Knowledge Australia Project Development; and $1.05m for the successful bid for the Desert Knowledge Australia CRC which will bring in something of the order of $92m over seven years - an enormous increase to our research and development effort here in Central Australia. There is $800 000 for the hocky field at Traeger Park - I call it the paddock, but it is a fantastic surface to play on, much better than the ones I saw in Melbourne recently. We opened the Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner in Alice Springs which will also serve as a contact to the Ombudsman. The West MacDonnell National Park is an Alice Springs icon. We have opened up Owen Springs now for some activities, and we have put the West MacDonnell Ranges under reservation from occupation so they will not be mined.
We are supporting the arts through provision of work space and studio space; a $839 000 capital assistance grant to the Ngaanyatjarra College for a new classroom at Yulara; the Tennant Creek renal unit has $2.1m of federal and NT government funds to support complementary measures against alcohol abuse in Alice Springs - and isn’t that an important one? There are also the Cawood Court and Gillen House redevelopments. If that is the sign of a government that does not care about Central Australia and Alice Springs, I am not sure what you would have to do to change the CLP opinion about that.
The defining debate that has run right through the three days of this sitting is clearly crime and crime prevention issues in Central Australia. There has been a lot said about it. I would like to make one very defining framework over what has been said over the last three days. The ultimate way in which you can show arrogance and contempt towards the people of Central Australia is to deliberately mislead them. We chucked a cat amongst the pigeons when our government took the very courageous decision to put out completely independent and very comprehensive crime figures. This is the first time this has broken the information-free zone that the Northern Territory was in under the previous government. We are now saying to the general public, the media, and to anyone else who wants to take an interest in these sort of issues: here are the best facts available, directly drawn from our police, our courts and our Correctional Services.
That is unprecedented in Australia on the scale that we have done it in the Northern Territory. Every three months, year by year, there will be a new set of figures coming out; always the same figures, always audited. So, people can trust these figures as the best available information. And what have we seen from the opposition? An hysterical attempt to debunk the statistics that have been placed in those publications - statistics that have been prepared directly from the databases of those authorities by an independent unit of statisticians in the Office of Crime Prevention; untouched by political hands. And what do they do? They want to use all the usual tricks of taking the time frames within the time series, doing all the things that statistics say that you should never do with this type of information.
If you are going to talk about statistics, talk about them accurately and explain exactly where your assertions are coming from. Right up until today, we have seen some pathetic attempts - pathetic attempts - to bias the picture that these statistical series have been providing to the general public. We cannot go on any longer within our public debate on these issues, playing these cheap and unethical tricks with the information that has been put out. What that is doing is creating a climate in the community where all the benefits that can come from having accurate information about crime trends are going to be cut off by the political interests that are being played out in the debates, and public assertions that have been made during the last few days. We have to move beyond that; we have to get to the point where both the CLP and the government agree that these issues are so important to our community that we will have informed debate about it, and informed policies and analysis or criticism, if it is warranted, of the effectiveness or otherwise of those policies.
We will live by the figures, our policies and the results of our policies. The CLP cannot accept the picture that comes out from our police, our courts and from corrections, that say that in some areas of crime trends there have been some early improvements. If that is so hard to accept, then perhaps you are only going to prosper if the Territory community deteriorates. We believe we should be celebrating the fact that at least some things are working. We should be combining together to make the best possible constructive policies, deliver them out into our community and support them while they are there.
We are not going to stand away from the fact that we have, over the last 12 months in Alice Springs, had a 17% decrease in offences against the person, 24% decrease in property offences; 16% decrease in house break-ins, 4% decrease in business break-ins; and 19% decrease in assaults. Those are figures that are indicating that some of the things that are going on now - some of the things that have been attempted and carried out - are actually starting to bite into the crime situation in Alice Springs. Let us keep working because, even though 19% might have come off assaults, that leaves the other 80% that are still there. That is what we have been saying consistently; we have not been asserting to the community there are no crime problems. What we have been saying is that there are signs that some of our policies may be starting to alleviate some of those problems.
I would also like to deal with the call by the Leader of the Opposition over the last three days to reintroduce mandatory sentencing for property crime. Well, this graph says it all. This comes straight off the police database, and we now have over two years of data to build this picture up. The red area is rising crime - this is for house break-ins, mandatory sentencing for property crime. The green area is since the Labor government has put its policies into place. So, the CLP is going to have a major problem explaining why mandatory sentencing is such a great idea when, clearly, the offences that it was designed to alleviate were rising for the 18 months prior to them losing government, when mandatory sentencing was fully in place and fully being implemented within the justice system.
It was not working; the figures show it was not working. Why would you want to go back to a policy that was providing no benefit to the Territory community? We do not mind if we are exposed to areas of our policies that are not providing the effect; the figures will show that and we will have to review what we are doing. That is the way the process should work. The ultimate thing should be: is it of benefit to the Territory community? If the Territory community has a better outcome from areas of policy that the government of the day implements, then that is the acid test of what we are doing and that is what we will be remembered for. We will be remembered for what worked, not the rhetoric as to whether we are or are not a good government.
I would like to quickly touch on the partnerships. Again, we have made a number of announcements over the last three days regarding the funding of crime prevention councils and crime prevention grants. Both of those areas are living examples of what we are trying to do in engaging into partnerships with the community to jointly attack the social issues within our community. It is all very well to talk about partnerships but, if you do not put in serious resources to allow the community processes to progress, all you have is empty words. We issued $450 000 in community crime prevention grants, both to support the groups such as the Tennant Creek Regional Crime Prevention Committee and its counterpart here in Alice Springs. We are now looking forward to working with those groups and the Office of Crime Prevention within the government to start to see practical intervention on the ground, community by community, according to the ideas generated from those groups. That is a partnership; it is where government has not only resourced the community processes but provided a really clear point at which advice, ideas and comment from those communities can be very readily picked up by government. That is the Office of Crime Prevention; it is a body that did not exist under the CLP, as the CLP did not have any real commitment to whole-of-government coordinated approaches between agencies. We have brought that in now, and are looking forward to the next two to three years of what these groups can help us to do, and what we can do together.
Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I seek leave to have the membership of the crime prevention councils incorporated in Hansard.
Leave granted.
- Membership of Tennant Creek Youth Initiatives and Safe Communities Strategy Committee:
Michael Dougall, Chair, CEO, Tennant Creek Town Council,
Sharon Kinraid, Alderman, Tennant Creek Town Council and the Director, Barkly Regional
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Advisory Group,
Jean Civitarese, Alderman, Tennant Creek Town Council,
Kevin Neade, Chairperson, Yapakurlangu Regional Council,
Kath Fry, Nigel Povey, and Joe Martin-Jard from ATSIC,
Officers Chris Smith and Steve Edgington of the NT Police,
Pat Brahim, Chairperson, Combined Aboriginal Organisations,
Meg Iles, Principal, Tennant Creek High School,
Ella Cavallaro and Caren Monckton, students from Tennant Creek High School,
Adrian Jackson, Coordinator, Julalikari Night Patrol,
Kent Peak, Assistant Manger, Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation,
Ross Williams, Chairperson, Julalikari Council,
Graham Pearce and Yvone Magnary, from Community Corrections,
Nigel Rush, Youth Worker, Tennant Creek Raiders Youth Club,
Greg Marlow, Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
Bonnie Kappler-Thompson, Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment,
Mark Thomson, Power and Water Corporation,
John Heslop, Department of Heath and Community Services, and
Esther Pearce, Department of Community Development, Sport and Cultural Affairs.
Membership of the Central Australian Crime Prevention Committee:
Mayor Fran Kilgariff, of the Alice Springs Town Council,
Superintendent Colleen Gwynne, NT Police,
Karen Walshaw, Central Australian Young People’s Information Network,
Colleen Devlin, Career and Transition,
Amanda Bowen, Good Beginnings,
Charlie Larkins, Relationships Australia,
Pastor Colin Griffiths, Anglican Church,
Paul Robinson, representing the Chamber of Commerce and Anglicare,
Sue Hanson, Hanson Training Services,
Tim Hampton, Tangentyere Council,
Helen Kantawarra, ATSIC,
Peter Hanson and Jeff Thomas from Neighbourhood Watch,
David Ross, FACS,
John Gaynor, Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services, and
Priscilla Collins, Department of Community Development.
Kurduju Committee Members:
Rotation membership sourced from Ali-Curung, Lajamanu and Yuendumu Law and Justice Committee,
Night Patrol and Safe House Services.
Members represented at Kurduju have included:
Yuendumu Lajamanu
Otto Syms Toby Morrion
Jeanne Egan Martin Johnson
Biddy White Willy Johnson
Johnnies Williams Jerry Jungula
Cecile Granites Norbert Patrick
Tomas Rice Rex Patterson
Rosie Fleming Valerie Patterson
Jimmy Marshal Benny Mcdonald
Gracie Johnson Joe James
Albert Wilson Lilly Hargraves
Jilly Spencer Robyn Lawson
Peggy Brown Elizabeth Ross
Barbara Wilson
Warren Williams
Ali Curung
Majorie Hayes
Gwen Brown
Lionel James
Geoffrey Small
Charlie Poulson
Miranda Brown
Dr TOYNE: I would like to speak quickly, and finally, about the grog reforms in Alice Springs. Again, there has been a lot of talk, in the context of this extensive debate we have had on crime and social order, about what is happening in Alice Springs with the restrictions and complementary measures.
Alice Springs, alongside Tennant Creek, are really the leading, shining lights - at least in the urban context of dealing with these issues of substance abuse. We are on the road and we are moving forward with some benefit. A lot of the 18% reduction in assaults arises from the fact that these grog restrictions and complementary measures are starting to impact on people’s behaviour. I wish I could say exactly, in a case by case basis, how that all connects. We will not know that until we have a look at the evaluation of the first year of the grog trials and the operation of the measures in Alice Springs.
What I am celebrating, though, is that we have nearly 80 fewer victims of assaults of various degrees of seriousness than we had 12 months ago. That is moving forward; that means you have fewer victims. The best way to care about victims is to make sure the assaults do not occur in the first place; minimise offences so we do not have as many victims as we have had in the past. That is our first and major commitment. Beyond that, we have to support the victims who are unfortunate enough to suffer from offences.
The grog restrictions have freed up the police to do other work and that is impacting, along with the changed police operations, on the number of property offences are occurring.
We have heard a lot of talk about ‘Let us toughen up the penalties and put more of these people gaol’. I can assure the House that the sentences handed out by courts under our new laws are 13% longer for property crimes, and 49% longer for the house break-ins. The courts are applying our laws as they were intended to be applied. The people we are putting into gaol at the moment are the serial property offenders, the sort of people who have gone into a life of crime and they will knock over may 60 households with burglaries. They are the type of people we are catching because the police are looking for them; the police are hunting them up; the courts are putting them in gaol; and the sentence lengths are becoming longer so that they stay in gaol longer. That is taking quite a number of the main offenders out of this pattern of crime. Those main offenders, on police estimates, are committing something like 80% of the crimes in those areas of offending. That is smart policing and smart use of law and punishment; we have to do that a lot more. We do not want to lock up people who steal a can of coke, we want to lock up people who have knocked over 60 houses with burglary.
To summarise, I have said a number of things about the CLP’s antics in the last three days. The CLP are in opposition now. It is good that they have a period of time in opposition because they have not given up a lot of their attitudes and approaches. They have to learn to be honest with the people of the Northern Territory again. They have to give up the arrogance that they developed over such a long period in government. All governments may have that danger, but we certainly know from the way that the CLP have behaved in the last three days, that they still have a lot to learn before they will be fit to take government in the Northern Territory.
Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I move that the motion be put.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
SPECIAL ADJOURNMENT
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I move that the Assembly adjourn until Tuesday 27 May 2003 at 10 am or such other time and or date that may be set by Madam Speaker pursuant to sessional order.
Motion agreed to.
MOTION
Note paper - Auditor-General’s Report –
Analysis of 2001-02 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statement
Note paper - Auditor-General’s Report –
Analysis of 2001-02 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statement
Continued from 29 April 2003.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I would like to respond to the Auditor-General’s report on the 2001-02 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statement.
The 2001-02 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report was tabled in parliament in the November 2002 sittings. The report now tabled by Madam Speaker on behalf of the Auditor-General provides additional commentary on the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report in regard to the format, outcome and analysis contained within the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report. Before I go to the specifics of the report, I am pleased to say that this report, the first on the Martin government’s first year of financial results, is very positive and strongly supports the fiscally responsible initiatives implemented by this government.
I turn to specific comments in the report. The overview states that the number of varying formats within the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report make the results difficult to interpret; clearly no different to previous years where there have been various formats to meet a variety of purposes. In 2001-02, this variety of reporting formats was required to meet the Territory’s many reporting obligations including those under the Financial Management Act, the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act and the uniform presentation framework requirements. From 2002-03, these obligations will be met through a single reporting format - accrual financial statements prepared on a government financed statistics basis. This format will be consistent with all the requirements I mentioned and the 2002-03 budget papers.
The next section of the report discusses the nett debt figure reported in the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report for 2001-02. The Auditor-General states that the nett debt should have been $17.7m higher due to the decrease in the value of the market equities held in the Conditions of Service Reserve. In an accrual environment, this statement would be correct. However, the 2001-02 accounts are prepared in a cash environment and, therefore, this revaluation was not brought to account. Under the accrual framework, revaluations of financial assets will be undertaken annually and the statement of financial position adjusted accordingly.
Following on from this, the report states that the operating result for government business divisions excluded from general government - that is, public non-financial corporations such as PowerWater - should be included in the general government sector when these entities incur an operating loss. That would be inappropriate and not in accordance with uniform presentation requirements to determine the general government’s scope based on the profitability, or otherwise, of public non-financial corporations. However, it is planned to examine these corporations during 2003-04 to determine if their financial structure is appropriate.
The Auditor-General’s report includes measures of the Territory’s fiscal performance additional to those included in the government’s fiscal strategy. In the 2002-03 budget, a new fiscal strategy, as required by the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act, was adopted. The strategy has been described by external commentators as being among the better fiscal strategies adopted by governments. While the Auditor-General’s suggested measures of sustainability, flexibility and vulnerability are implicit in the fiscal strategy, consideration will be given to using some of these comparisons in future analysis.
The nett debt result for 2001-02 is discussed in the report, comparative to the result for 1998-99. The increase mentioned, I might say 40%, is a result of the requirement to fund the increasing deficits over that time, as well as the requirement in 2001-02 to meet the Territory’s contribution to the capital cost of the railway. Nett debt will continue to rise while the Territory’s budget is in a deficit position, resulting in an increased debt burden and associated interest costs. It is one of the key reasons for this government adopting the deficit reduction strategy. The strategy was met for 2001-02, and it is expected that it will also be met in 2002-03. It is intended to continue to work towards a balanced budget by 2004-05. However, any further reduction in the Commonwealth’s funding, as seen as a result in change of the population estimates in February, could affect strategy targets.
The report makes a comment on the recorded value of AustralAsia Rail Corporation, due to the likelihood of the asset transferring to the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium during 2003-04. However, it remains our belief that the value of the asset is recorded appropriately, and this view will not change until the transfer takes place.
As stated in the Auditor-General’s report, the move to an accrual output framework in 2002-03 will provide a greater degree of information to the parliament and Territorians on the financial position of the Territory. This move also has the Territory on a consistent reporting framework with all other jurisdictions.
In conclusion, the report is a positive one for the Martin government. It indicates that the results presented for our first financial year in government reflect a true and accurate picture of the Territory’s financial position. It also highlights the positive steps taken by this government in implementing the accrual framework, and developing and maintaining the deficit reduction strategy which, over time, will reduce the interest and debt burden on this and future generations of Territorians.
Mr REED (Katherine): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, that was an astoundingly brief response from a Treasurer talking about a report in which the Auditor-General has qualified the report that he has prepared on the Treasurer’s annual ...
Mr Stirling: Same as you did in 1999-2000 ...
Mr REED: … financial statement. I listened in silence to the Treasurer, and I expect that I have the same opportunity.
This is a very serious issue in terms of the Auditor-General as an independent auditor of the government’s books reporting to not just us as members of parliament, but to the people of the Northern Territory, about the conduct of the financial management of the Northern Territory government. You cannot get many more serious issues than that. From that point of view, we should be taking this debate very seriously. It certainly would have warranted a much broader and more detailed explanation than that provided by the Treasurer. He has touched on a number of issues, as I want to.
I want to start in relation to some of the matters that will be of importance to Territorians. As the only principal issue that the Treasurer raised was that of his failure to declare $17.7m worth of debt, which was the qualified item in the Auditor-General’s report, I want to dwell on that for just a little moment, because the Treasurer has given an excuse which does not wash. It does not wash for the reasons that the Auditor-General, a very professional man, appointed, indeed, by the Martin government, has highlighted in his report. We should carefully have a look at that because the words are very serious. Indeed, if you were the director of a private company and your auditor made the remark:
- The impact of not bringing to account a decrease in the market value of equities held in the Conditions
of Service Reserve, was to understate the reported nett debt by $17.7m.
That is to say that the Northern Territory government is telling us that debt is one figure where, in fact, it is $17.7m more than that. Therefore, it is a very serious issue, particularly when you take into account that debt has increased since this Labor government came to office, in 21 months, by $280m. That is the background to the issues that we face here. The Treasurer has just told us that there are reasons for not having included the $17.7m in his annual statement: the information was available, it was not appropriate - all sorts of lame excuses. Well, Treasurer, can I refer you …
Mr Stirling: No, not true. The same as you did in 1999 and the same as you did in 2000.
Mr REED: Well, I will refer the Treasurer to the Treasurer’s – that is, his - Annual Financial Report in 2001-02. If he turns to page 69 and looks at notation (a), which reads, and I quote:
- The Conditions of Service Reserve holds virtually all of its own investments in equities. The equities
market has been volatile since September 2001. The value of the reserve as at 30 June 2002 was
estimated at $148.2m. This constitutes an unrealised loss of $8.5m.
This is last year when the Treasurer made this report. Its final remark is:
- The most recent valuation as at 30 September 2002 estimates the reserve at $139m.
$139m plus $17m is $156m, which is the figure that the Auditor-General has called into question. So, the Treasurer cannot say he did not know the amount because he gave the amount; he stated the amount in his financial report. Now we have the situation where he is denying that the information was available. If he read his own report and was aware of the content of it, he would have been aware of the $17.7m furphy that he is now trying to perpetrate, and he would not be rejecting the proposition and, indeed, the qualified statement that has been provided by the Auditor-General.
This is very serious; that debt should be understated. It can be done for no other reason than the government is trying to make the position, as far as debt is concerned, look better than it is. That is a very serious situation and one that the government should address; and the Treasurer should have addressed more thoroughly than the six minutes that he contributed to this debate this evening.
There are some other very worrying aspects of the Auditor-General’s report. I move to the question of government business divisions, the enterprises of government - the Power and Water Corporation, NT Fleet, to name a couple - and the performance of those bodies in their success as regards the business acumen and the trading of these agencies.
It is worrying in the extreme - if the Treasurer is interested, he might turn to page 43 of the Auditor-General’s report - that in the year 2000-01 when the Treasurer inherited these organisations from the CLP, they made a $36m profit. I point out to the Treasurer, if he is interested enough to be following this that, in fact, in the Auditor-General’s report, that is shown as a loss. In the little time that we have had to go through this report, given it was only tabled the day before yesterday, it looked apparent that what is shown as a loss of $36m - nearly $37m indeed - is a profit.
I took the trouble this morning to telephone the Auditor-General. I daresay there would not be many Auditors-General around the country who answer the phone. However, I got straight on to Mike Blake, and that clearly demonstrates his willingness to be able to assist members of parliament or anyone else who wants to speak to him about matters of government finance. I discussed this with him, and he has confirmed that, in fact, there is a typographical error, and that is all it is. These things can and, unfortunately, from time to time do happen. I am not making an issue of the bracketed figures here, apart from the fact that when this current government took over from the last government, they had a number of government business divisions - the Construction Division, Darwin Bus Service, Darwin Port Corporation, the Government Printing Office, Housing, Business Services, ITMS, NT Fleet, NT Treasury Corporation, Power and Water Authority, Territory Discoveries, Territory Insurance Office and Territory Wildlife Parks – which, in 2000-01 under a CLP government, made a profit of $37m.
In 2001-02, only a year later, there was a $48m turnaround. That is to say, deduct $48m from the $37m profit of the previous year, and those organisations are now shown as having an $11m-plus loss. That demonstrates a few things to us, I believe. First of all the policies, and perhaps the direction and the oversight of this government, is not having an effect that Territorians would expect it to have in positive terms, and that the trading circumstances - it would not be drawing too long a bow - of these government business divisions perhaps are reflecting the broader economy and the trading circumstances of too many businesses in the Northern Territory which are finding the going very tough. It is only reasonable to draw those comparisons; that whilst the government - and we have heard it a number of times this week - are getting up and waxing lyrical about a strong tourism industry, and they are doing all the wonderful things and everything will be rosy, just relax, and talking about what is going to happen in five years time, and the future is bright, as I said earlier today, business across the Northern Territory is today concerned about how they are going to pay the salaries of their staff next week and next month. They are concerned about being able to survive the next four or five years in order that they might still be in business to be able to enjoy the good times, if and when they come. Of course, we all hope that they do arrive and that the business circumstances improve.
It is remarkable that a Treasurer should get to his feet and speak to the Auditor-General’s report and not even make the slightest reference to the fact that there has been a $48m turnaround in government business divisions from a $37m profit to an almost $12m loss. That is an astounding position for a Treasurer to adopt, and it should send shivers through the Northern Territory community regarding where this government is heading and its mastership over the finances of the Northern Territory.
I also made reference earlier to a number of other issues. I want to touch on a couple because, whilst there are lot of decreases in the use of cash reserves that this government has absorbed over the last 21 months, there has also been - and it is again amazing that the Treasurer did not mention this - an increase of $169m of Commonwealth grants to the Northern Territory. That is an absolutely staggering amount - an absolutely staggering amount. There is no reference to that by the Treasurer. He made no reference to the fact that, on the one hand he has borrowed an extra $100m over the last year, he has spent $170m of cash reserves. Where has that gone, there was no mention, either, of that from the Treasurer. In addition to that, we have $169m extra in one financial year that he has received, which also received no reference from the Treasurer - but all that money is gone. Well, Treasurer, we would have liked to have heard where it has all gone, because it is pretty hard to consume a $169m increase in grants from the Commonwealth - and we hear a lot of criticism of the former CLP government in terms of black holes.
Well, I remind you Treasurer that, in 2000-01, you inherited $292.9m in cash and deposits, as demonstrated here by the Auditor-General in his report. In just 12 months, that amount reduced by $170m to $122.6m. These are amazing figures. They are startling, very worrying figures, particularly when the Treasurer comes to report to parliament on the Auditor-General’s report on his activities and the expenditure of government, and this amazing amounts of $0.5bn does not even rate a reference or even the slightest mention by the Treasurer.
This is just extraordinary stuff. I mention just a few of these, and also the fact that I spoke briefly to the Auditor-General this morning. I do that in the context of this report being tabled here in Alice Springs on Tuesday and it being brought on for debate today …
Mr Stirling: Yes, exactly what you used to do. Yes, check your records.
Mr REED: The government wants to get this off the paper today. They want it fully debated because the government is embarrassed by it. They are embarrassed by a qualified report and they want it out of the way as quickly as possible.
The Treasurer did not even have the good grace to stand up and make reference to just three items that I have mentioned: $170m in cash that he has spent; $169m that he has received from the Commonwealth; and an increase of $280m in debt, not to mention many other matters. It is for that reason and the depth of investigation that one should rightly have the opportunity to undertake in relation this particular report of the Auditor-General, that I would like to sit down with the Auditor-General and talk to him about some matters, and receive some further advice from him. That, I do not believe, is an unreasonable request.
It might not have been as necessary, if the Treasurer had tonight in his presentation given a full and detailed explanation of these issues pertaining to many hundreds of million dollars of - not the Treasurer’s money, not the Chief Minister’s money, not our money as a collective parliament - but the money of the people of the Northern Territory. That is what we are talking about here today. We have heard lots of waxing lyrical of black holes and all sorts of shock horror stories. Well, that pales into significance in relation to this.
They talked about black holes of $8m, $9m. In one hit here, we have $17.7m that was not even reported and is the subject of a qualification of the financial report by the Auditor-General. If the Treasurer was a director of a company, he would be on the carpet; he would be in very difficult trouble. In addition to that …
Mr Stirling: How come you were not in trouble in 1999-2000?
Mr REED: Because the problems to which you alluded on that occasion were false. They were political nonsense regarding the attitude that you adopted in relation to them. In that regard, we have here today a statement from the Auditor-General that says you have fudged the figures $17.7m. In relation to that …
Mr Stirling: Not true!
Mr REED: Well, if it is not true, you better go and explain it and get a briefing from the Auditor-General also, as I would like to.
I want the opportunity to go and speak to the Auditor-General. It is only fair, on behalf of Territorians that, as shadow Treasurer, I have the opportunity on behalf of Territorians to fully scrutinise this before this debate comes to an end. In addition …
Ms Martin: You could have rung him.
Mr REED: Well, I did ring him - the interjection from the Chief Minister. You should have been here, Chief Minister, listening to the appalling contribution made by your Treasurer, and his failure to hit the …
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Mr Burke: Surely not ‘appalling’? Don’t tell me ‘appalling’ is unparliamentary.
Dr BURNS: The member for Katherine is reflecting on the presence or absence of a member of the Assembly.
Madam SPEAKER: I am afraid I did not catch it. Member for Katherine, I presume we are talking about a member inside this Chamber, are we?
Mr REED: I made reference to the Chief Minister. If they are so sensitive …
Madam SPEAKER: Well, it is all part of the debate.
Mr REED: Clearly, they are very sensitive in relation to this issue. However, the nub of the question that I am getting to is that I want to now seek leave to continue my remarks at a later date - after I have had the opportunity to talk to the Auditor-General, and have had the opportunity, together with other members of the opposition, to be able to be fully scrutinising this particular report, and to be able to do so and fulfil our parliamentary responsibilities on behalf of Territorians as we should do. So, I seek leave to continue my remarks at a later date.
Leave denied.
Madam SPEAKER: Leave was denied.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Well then, we need to adjourn debate. No? You just want to stop it.
Mr REED: You want to gag the debate on this important bill? Several hundred million dollars!
Madam SPEAKER: Leave has not been granted to you, member for Katherine to continue your remarks …
Mr REED: Well, Madam Speaker, if that is the case, I will continue with my remarks in the remaining 11 minutes.
Madam SPEAKER: You may finish your time, yes.
Mr REED: The member for Nelson may want to contribute to this debate. There is clearly no opportunity for any other member of parliament to be able to fully scrutinise this very important document.
Mr Stirling: You have had it for two days.
Mr REED: We have had it for two days. Two days is not very long, Madam Speaker, to be able to scrutinise a report to this extent.
I, at least in perusing the report, was able to find the error, if you like, in relation to the GBDs. The honourable Treasurer, as he indicated this morning in a response, was not even aware that his figures had been presented or interpreted incorrectly. So, I will proceed.
It will be a matter that I will be drawing to the attention of Territorians because, if $170m of cash reserves have been spent; if $169m of additional Commonwealth grants have evaporated; if debt has increased by $280m; if the interest payments on debt have increased by $15.7m a year - that is to say Territorians are now paying an extra $1.3m per month on interest payments on the additional loans that this government has taken out over the last 12 months - then Territorians need to be able to get full and detailed information about this. They need to know why, in addition to the $169m extra that this government has received from the Commonwealth, they found it necessary to go and borrow another $100m.
What is unfair about these questions? Why shouldn’t Territorians be allowed to fully scrutinise this report? Why is the government so frightened of this report that they table it and want it debated here in Alice Springs this week, and they do not want it to reappear on the Notice Paper so it can be further debated in Darwin where it might be open to more scrutiny? That is a government in hiding. That is a government you would expect to be in hiding when they have concealed $17.7m worth of debt that they have not included in their reports, when they have spent …
Mr Stirling: That is a lie!
Mr REED: Madam Speaker, I ask the Treasurer to withdraw his assertion that that is a lie.
Madam SPEAKER: Treasurer, withdraw.
Mr Stirling: I withdraw it is a lie.
Madam SPEAKER: Just withdraw.
Mr Stirling: I withdraw.
Mr REED: Madam Speaker, in my remaining time, I will touch some other points, as much as it might upset the government. However, I am going to fulfil my duty as best I can in the limited time that they have provided.
I ask members to turn to page 29. I notice that none of the members are too interested in any of this, and they should be highly interested. As I do not have much time, by way of example I will make reference to some issues. First of all, perhaps page 27. It is a very telling graph on page 27 at the top, the five-year trend in the level of nett debt.
We hear a lot about the awful circumstances that the CLP government were supposed to have left for this incoming Labor government to inherit. I point out that, in that graph in 1997-98 when I was Treasurer, the nett debt was $1.3bn. In 2001-02, that has grown to $1.74bn. If you just look back to 2000-01, my last budget, it was only $1.4bn. Nett debt in 21 months under this Labor government has increased by $300m. No mention of that from the Treasurer in his presentation tonight; and he might well have a red face because he deserves to.
I ask members who are sufficiently interested in this to turn page 29. Have a look at the five-year trend in nett debt to total revenues, where both are based on the UPF and FPS basis. It has gone from 69.4% in 2000-01 when I was Treasurer, to 77.8%. Nett debt is growing at an alarming rate; at the same time that this government is receiving record increased grants from the federal government - absolutely astounding! If you also look at the five-year trend in own-sourced revenue, this tells you how the economy is performing. The Treasurer tried to hoodwink Territorians this morning by saying: ‘Everything is fine, the economy is going well’. As I have demonstrated with the government’s own business divisions, they have turned around in terms of a $48m decline to an $11m loss in 2001-02.
The same can be said for the business community. We are hearing that the business community is doing it tough. The government keeps coming into parliament and saying: ‘Everything is going rosy and there are lots of opportunities and a very strong economy’. Well, it is reflected in the five-year trend in own-sourced revenue; and that is revenue raised by the Territory government that has contributed to Territory government coffers. That has dropped. The Auditor-General says:
- The decrease should be of concern to the government and is dropping due to dropping interest earned …
It is dropping because the interest that the government had on its cash reserves has fallen down to $5m - that is more than half. The reason is that they have raided the cookie barrel. They have spent $170m over the last year since they have been in government and, as a result of that, that money is not in the bank and earning interest, so they have depleted their own income from interest rates on their bank savings:
- … caused by lower financial assets and lower interest rates, little growth in taxation revenues …
Well, there is little growth in taxation revenues because business is doing it tough. Business has declined, and businesses are paying less tax.
Mr Stirling: We are reducing it.
Mr REED: You are not reducing it, because the point I was about to make was: notwithstanding that under this government, in 21 months, water rates together with sewerage rates have gone up 8%. Their income tax revenue has gone down, notwithstanding that they applied a $90 tax to vehicle registration - $90 extra tax …
A member: It is not a tax.
Mr REED: You can call it what you will, in the interjection from the member, but a tax is a tax is a tax. If people are being slugged $90, they are being taxed. Believe me, that is what they are saying. Notwithstanding that this government has increased taxes alarmingly, they are still receiving less income of their own in their own taxation base, and that is simply reflecting the reduced level of activity across the economy. These are very serious issues that should have been dealt with by the Treasurer in his presentation to us today.
Turn to page 34, for those who are interested, and at the bottom of that page you will see that, in nett interest paid, the current figure of $170.6m which, of course, does not include the $17.7m that the Auditor-General says should be included in nett interest. So, it is really $187m interest. What was it when the Labor government inherited government from the CLP? It was $150m. Their debt interest payments on an annual basis have increased $37m. This did not rate a mention from the Treasurer. This is not allowed to be debated by members in this House. No member of government is sufficiently interested in these alarming figures to even contribute to this debate. The government is determined to gag the debate, and to prevent other members in this parliament from talking about the Auditor-General’s report. This was the government that was elected on a platform of open, honest and accountable government, and ‘We will provide people with all the information they want’. We have a Treasurer who did not even touch on any of these very important aspects in his tabling of this paper today. That is alarming.
I mentioned earlier the interest received, and you will remember that I told you that $170m has been spent. They inherited from the CLP government - the big black hole - $293m. That was what was in the bank when they took over government in 2000-01. In 2000-01, they were receiving incoming interest on that bank account of $17.7m. These spendthrifts have, in the last 12 or so months, spent $170m; they have reduced their money in the bank to $122m; and they have reduced their interest received - that is the income on their bank account from their interest - to $5.5m. It was not hard. As I said earlier; in fact, it is over a two-thirds less. They are very startling figures. They have depleted their own income stream in the efficiency and the performance of their business divisions, by virtue of raiding the cookie barrel and depleting their income stream from interest.
They have not explained the additional income - this is the government that cries poor. Also, unprecedented, they have received $169m extra from the Commonwealth government - an amazing amount of money. Where in the community is the benefit of that? You cannot get elective surgery at Alice Springs Hospital and you cannot walk safely down the streets in virtually any Territory centre because of the levels of crime. The evidence of the benefit to the community of this enormous expenditure and the lack of the ability of the Treasurer to describe it is just breathtaking.
Madam Speaker, there should be a more open and accountable debate in relation to this, so that the government can be fully tested. I will pursue it with the Auditor-General and, in closing, I call on the government to allow this debate to be deferred in order that other members can avail themselves of the opportunity to contribute to what is the most important issue.
Mr BURKE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, the analysis of the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statement is, as we all know, a very important report that comes from the Auditor-General to this parliament. I do not think I can recall a shorter tabling statement from a Treasurer in the time that I have been in this parliament, but I certainly can recall extensive debate by the opposition on many occasions as a result of the Auditor-General’s report. It often figured as a key plank in their way to criticise the performance of government expenditure. In that context, it is a very important report. We are away from Darwin, we are in Alice Springs; we have only had this particular document for a day, and it also in the context of a busy parliamentary session.
The shadow Treasurer has, to his credit, analysed this document to some extent. He has asked, in all fairness, for further time to analyse the document. He took the opportunity, in the quick analysis that he did, to point out to me that he thought there was an error in one of the pages. He also took the time to ring the Auditor-General who himself said: ‘Yes, there is an error’. As he said, it is no criticism of the Auditor-General, but there is a typographical error in the document itself. But, more than that, the document on the face of it is a damning indictment of government performance.
The shadow Treasurer, during Question Time, raised a couple of the issues, particularly the unreported increase in debt of $17.7m. In answer - I am sure in the opinion of the Treasurer and government members - in quite a humorous reply, the Treasurer spent more time on the sketch on the front than he did maturely demonstrating the seriousness of the question that was being asked by the shadow Treasurer. Now, you expect this sort of debate to be closed with a one-on-one speaker. Well, certainly, any reason …
Mr Stirling: That is what your government used to do every year, Denis.
Mr BURKE: That is wrong!
Mr Stirling: That is not wrong. We will ...
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Treasurer, order!
Mr BURKE: The Treasurer interjects and says that somehow this is a long-standing convention. There is no doubt that there have been occasions in the past when the Auditor-General’s report has been straightforward …
Mr Stirling: You used to sneak in and drop it at 11 o’clock at night!
Madam SPEAKER: Treasurer, order!
Mr BURKE: There have been times in the past when it has been straightforward and not necessary to labour debate, but I can tell you that an easy search of the Hansard will show you that members like Mr Bailey, Mr Bell, Mr Stirling and others debated these reports extensively, and were allowed to debate them extensively by the government, and rightly so.
In the time that I have had a look at this report, if you look at page 19, the Auditor-General asks the question: What the true position of the Northern Territory’s nett debt? He says:
- The impact of not bringing into account a decrease in the market value of equities held in the Conditions
of Service Reserve was to understate the reported nett debt by $17.7m …
- An 11.2% reduction in the market value of the investments supporting the balance in the Conditions of
Service Reserve was not recognised in determining the nett debt at 30 June 2002. The Conditions of
Service Reserve is supported almost entirely by investments in equities …
- These investments have not been ‘market to market’ on 30 June 2002 but are carried at the same valuation
reported at 30 June 2001 …
Because that is the way the government chose to carry the return on those investments.
Mr Stirling: And guess what? It is the same as you did the year before and the year before that.
Mr BURKE: May I be heard in silence, Madam Speaker? He points out that that is the way these investments have been reported in this Auditor-General’s report, and he says that that is incorrect because it is not a true recognition of a true market value of those investments.
If one turns to page 29, as the shadow Treasurer pointed out, in the five-year trend in nett debt, in the period of this government the total revenue has gone from 69.4% to 77.8%. If one flicks to the cash and deposits, as the shadow Treasurer pointed out, under the period of this government, the actual money in the piggy bank has depleted from $292.9m to $122.6m - so the piggy bank has been robbed.
If you look at the dividends from government business investments, we see that dividends have dropped from $41.6m to $22.5m. If you look at the total Commonwealth grants, which I pointed out on many occasions, you were receiving from the Commonwealth a total of around $170m. In various media releases, I said that was the true picture. I was humbugged by the government saying: ‘You are wrong, you are wrong, you are wrong’. What does the Auditor-General writes here? Total Commonwealth grants over that period increased by $168.9m. It says in there that it is well up on previous years.
If you look at the performance of government business divisions, as the shadow Treasurer has pointed out, there has been a $48m turnaround down in those government business divisions.
These are serious issues for this parliament to debate. It requires further scrutiny by the opposition; it certainly requires the opposition to seek further advice from the Auditor-General. I move that the debate be adjourned.
Debate adjourned.
TABLED PAPER
Report of Inquiry into NT Electricity Network Access Code
Report of Inquiry into NT Electricity Network Access Code
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I lay on the Table the report of the Inquiry into the NT Electricity Network Access Code, Final Report, April 2003.
As you may be aware, section 8(2) of the Electricity Networks (Third Party Access) Act requires myself, as regulatory minister, to review the Territory’s Electricity Networks (Third Party Access) Code by 30 June 2003. On 12 December 2002, I directed the Utilities Commission to undertake a review of the code and, following public consultation, the commission provided me with its final report on 16 April.
As required by section 34(4) of the Utilities Commission Act, I present the commission’s final report to the Assembly.
Many of the report’s recommendations are technical in nature and have the stated aim to improve the code’s effectiveness and reduce its compliance costs. The government is currently considering its response to the report, and will advise the Assembly of these, including possible amendments to the code, in due course. In current circumstances, with no current competition in electricity supply, there seems no basis to rush consideration of the issues. I understand that interested persons will be able to obtain copies of the report from the Utilities Commission.
MOTION
Note paper - Report of Inquiry into NT Electricity Networks Access Code
Note paper - Report of Inquiry into NT Electricity Networks Access Code
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the report. I seek leave to continue my remarks at a later hour.
Leave granted.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr VATSKALIS (Transport and Infrastructure): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
I would like to comment on some of my colleagues working in my department who have recently retired after a long and distinguished career in the Northern Territory Public Service. Mrigendra Verma, who is also known as Mick to his friends, and his wife Jaya migrated from India and started work in the Northern Territory in 1973. They have worked in the public service in Darwin since 1973. During that period, they have raised two sons and a daughter. Mick has worked in the groundwater field with the Northern Territory water resources group as it has been moved through many agencies.
His major work area was mapping and documenting the groundwater resource in the Darwin area, and he completed the hydrological maps of the Darwin region and also the Helen Springs region. He has provided advice to many landowners in the Darwin rural area regarding the chances of them getting the amount of water they required from a bore on their block. He has provided similar advice to many Aboriginal communities across the Northern Territory. He has also provided advice to many pastoralists with regards to where to site their bores and how much water they would be able to get.
He has also contributed to community life in Darwin through, among other things, his musical contribution to the annual India on Mindil Festival. Mick retired from the public service on 21 March.
Another public servant who has retired from the Northern Territory Public Service is Roy Scott, who joined the Australian Public Service in 1975 as a storeman, dedicated to the removal and storage of personal effects from homes of residents who evacuated Darwin after Cyclone Tracy.
Roy was transferred to the Department of Transport and Works in 1985 and, during this time, he was located at the old government accommodation of Ward, Brennan and Wells buildings. In 1991, Public Works Division moved to Highway House in Palmerston and Roy, once again, relocated with the division. He was working there until his retirement.
Roy is highly regarded throughout the organisation by clients and contractors. He has always been the type of employee who is willing to get the job done with a minimum of fuss. He has always willingly assisted employees in the section by providing necessary training and transfer of information and experience. He retired after 28 years in the public service.
Don Langford retired on 15 April 2003 after 20 years service with Parks and Wildlife and its predecessors. Don came to Alice Springs in 1974 to work as a teacher at Alice Springs High School and Yirara College. Don and his wife Linda were house parents at St Mary’s Village and they later raised two boys in Alice Springs.
Don joined the Conservation Commission in 1983 as a Technical Officer 1. During the early years with the commission, Don worked on fauna surveys, particularly in the Gulf country. He maintained the AZRI laboratory, and was also responsible for maintaining the population of Mala at the laboratory area. He was instrumental in manipulating breeding pairs for optimal genetic diversity, as well as supervising the contract staff responsible for the daily care of the animals. He also took responsibility for the captive population of Mala held at the Yinapaka Mala Paddock in the Tanami Desert.
Don was appointed to a temporary Acting T3 position in Darwin with the Heritage Conservation Unit, demonstrating his love of history. For a period, Don acted in a T4 position, during which time he was the Chairperson of the National Mala Recovery Team. In his role, he brought together experts from across Australia to focus attention on the plight of this endangered animal. He was also responsible for drafting the Mala Recovery Plan.
Don spent a lot of time in the Tanami and also helped very much to save the endangered species in relocating them to alternative sites. He worked very closely with the Conservation and Land Management in Western Australia, where Mala were introduced to Trimouille Island, and reintroduced to Dryandra and Perron Peninsula - a very significant project for rescuing this endangered species. More recently, Don undertook a supervisory role in the Finke bioregion fauna surveys, and he assisted the Endangered Species Officer with his considerable expertise.
Don was always ready to do more than his share of any task. These achievements are all the more remarkable when it is understood that Don’s formal training was as a geomorphologist/teacher, not a biologist. Among Don’s greatest assets are his cheerful disposition, gentle nature, empathy, diplomacy, and his rapport with Aboriginal people.
Don has travelled widely in Central Australia and has visited many historical European and Aboriginal sites of importance. Don has a great interest in history: Central Australia, Australia, and the world. He is an avid reader of historical and environmental books.
A funny story came to my attention: Don and a colleague were to do some trapping at the top of Hugh Gorge in the West MacDonnell Ranges. As it was a three-hour walk from the vehicle, it was not feasible to carry traps, swags, food, etcetera, to the site so the gear was taken in by helicopter. Don and his companion set off for the site but, on their way, Don took the wrong turn up a gully. They reached the top of the gully but could not find the traps or other gear, despite searching around the area. It was getting late and the weather was deteriorating, so they decided to walk back to the vehicle. On their way down the gully, it started to rain. The two travellers arrived back at the vehicle wet, cold and hungry. However, their food and swags were up Hugh Gorge. The two spent a very uncomfortable night huddled in the vehicle trying to keep warm. The next day, Don was shown his error in navigation and the gully he mistook for Hugh Gorge is now called Don’s Folly. The trip was not a disaster though; Don discovered the largest known population of a rare land snail.
Don Langford plans to stay in Alice Springs for some time after his retirement, but he will be deeply missed by his work colleagues. Congratulations to Don Langford, and especially to Roy Scott, and Mr Mick Verma, who I personally know very well.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Mr Deputy Speaker, tonight I would like to say a few words about the wife of a good family friend, the mother of a young lady who worked for me in my previous life as a medical practitioner. Her name was Jan Willis. She passed away about two weeks ago and her funeral was last Saturday.
Jan Willis was born in Punchbowl, Sydney, on 12 May 1943, the youngest daughter of Mary and Charles Joseph Sherlock. Her father was a policeman, which meant that they moved frequently to different posts, generally these being in rural settings. I believe that, as a child, she grew and developed a passionate, spirited and caring personality: thoughtful, determined, and always ready for a challenge. In her teenage years through to her adulthood, her compassionate and determined personality always shone through.
She was particularly close to her two elder brothers, Barry and Brian. By the time she was three, she had her own Shetland pony which she called Kikero. She and her two brothers would ride and often have races. Evidently, the brothers can recall the times when she rode her horse with her hair plaited in two plaits with red ribbon - that was the sight they used to chase.
Jan finished her high school education at a Catholic school in Wollongong. While religion did affect her quite closely, she never talked much about her Catholic school days. After school, Jan began to work for Lysaght in the library section and proved not only to be a lover of books, but also turned out to be an excellent badminton player.
In 1961 at the age of 18, Jan’s father passed away. It was an incident that affected her deeply and influenced her life greatly from there on. She became very health conscious and, for some reason, assumed a diet more of fruit and salad rather than red meat.
In 1965, Sandra Brown, a long-time friend, introduced the innocent Miss Sherlock to a handsome young surfer who knew his way around the dance floor. For Jan, that was her new love and, evidently, Bill Willis was quite smitten by his dancing partner. Within three months, they were married. Within 12 months of their wedding, their first son, William, was born, followed by a second called Matthew in the winter of 1968.
Unfortunately, young Matthew passed away within a few months, well before the onset of spring of that year. The effects on Jan and Bill were quite severe. Where once Jan had aspired to be healthy, she was now doubly determined, through her change in lifestyle. A sweet and healthy baby girl called Rowena was born, and that relieved some of the grief for the family. Rowena was born in October 1969 followed by Bronwyn, who was born in 1971. Both the girls were born at home with only the help of midwives.
In 1973, the ever-growing Willis clan packed their belongings, with many a book, into a caravan to travel around Australia. The adventure of fruit picking in Victoria and New South Wales pales in comparison to the journey through the drought-affected interior of Central Australia. From Alice Springs, they explored the Pit Lands of northern South Australia, having experiences that are only best lived by the retelling of one’s story, at least.
One such would be the twin storm they experienced in Ernabella just hours after they arrived in the valley. The storm was so extreme that it lifted water tanks from their stands and the Willis’s little caravan from its wheels and rolled Bill’s seven tonne truck. You can imagine the cultural shock for an east coast girl but Jan, with her characteristic openness, revelled in changes and newness, giving a piece of her heart away to the red beauty of the land and the open generosity of the Pitjantjatjara people.
In 1974, a dairy farm with 100 cattle and 420 acres of land was bought near Gympie. Megan was born there on the farm in September 1974. Brenda, the youngest, also shared that birthplace, being born in 1976. The time on the farm was a good time for the family and it was there that the three older children and Bill, their father, came to pick up religion very strongly. Jan’s faith in God and her personal awareness of His presence throughout her life was very real. In Queensland, and through relationships that developed with other Christians, her relationship with God was cemented into a very vital and growing partnership. From then on, she really led a very religious life and became one of the pastors in Alice Springs.
The family obviously remembers a lot about their mother and the way she spoke of God - many words of wisdom and insight. I recall the many nights that I would see her saying the epilogue on Imparja. Many times, through the religious relationship within the family - you could see that this family was very close knit - did a great deal of charitable works in this town. In fact, they took over the women’s half-way home, I would call it, at Bloomfield Street, to house Aboriginal young women and others who are pregnant waiting to have their babies in Alice Springs.
The Willis family returned to Alice Springs in 1986. From then on, their children grew up here, went to school, got employed, married locals and now the children have 10 children of their own, all born in Alice Springs.
Jan was buried on 26 April 2003, and I wish to convey my condolences to Bill Willis, William - whom I know very well - Rowena, Bronwyn, Megan - who worked for me - and Brenda.
In the time left, I would like to make a few comments about the commercial passenger vehicle industry that is still being very, very troublesome for us. Before that, I would like to just correct something that I said earlier today about the federal government’s funding for Virgin Blue Airlines. I was incorrect in saying that the federal government gave money to the Northern Territory government. In fact, the federal government gave some $7m to Virgin Blue to bring them into Darwin a lot earlier than they would have come to Darwin otherwise. It was not until very much later that the Northern Territory government kicked in the $2m to help Virgin Blue also.
Coming to the commercial passenger vehicle situation; it is amazing. This saga has been going on for well nigh 18 months now, and it still has not come to any conclusion. We have less than two months left until the CVLs expire this financial year. None of the operators with PH licences, for instance, know what is going to happen after 30 June this year, and the minister cannot advise them. I understand the minister had a meeting with the private hire car operators in Alice Springs. I also understand he told them that the private hire car category would now be rewritten into the legislation; the executive taxis will be withdrawn from the legislation; and limousines will be retained. Mobile telephones, which were not in the legislation, will now be rewritten back into legislation. Ranking might even, on special occasions, be allowed in legislation.
It seems to me that the minister is going to withdraw the bill that is currently sitting on the table. I do not know what he is going to do with the second reading and the legislation which is still applicable. He has not advised us in this sittings what he intends to do, and the next sittings are not going to be until the end of May, which really leaves very little time for any one of us and the industry to consider what this new legislation is going to look like - if the minister is able to get Cabinet approval, if at all, to introduce that legislation.
I understand also when the minister spoke to the industry reps in Alice Springs, he suggested that CVLs, or commercial vehicle licences, will cost something in the order of $3000 per year for private hire cars to operate once this legislation comes in, which will increase to $4500 in the second year, and $6000 in the third year, and subsequently, for those cars and licences which are currently operating now. If you want to go into the industry, you need to now buy a new licence, and to get a new licence now it will cost you, as of 1 July this year, $6000. That is a very, very substantial hike. Apparently, it costs them $1000 to operate a CVL for a private hire car in the Northern Territory. To expect an operator, who is, essentially, is a very small businessman - one person looks after his own bookings, drives the car, picks up passengers, and that is all the operation is. He makes enough to live on, a bit of profit, maintains his vehicle, pays for his fuel and other expenses, his mobile telephone. This is going to go from $1000 to $3000 in one hike. I suggest to the minister that it might be really enough to tip a lot of small businesses over, because it is a lot of money.
Until we know what is going to happen with the legislation, we cannot discuss this any more except to say: ‘Hey, we think this is going to happen. Minister, can you tell us what it is? When is it going to come about? What about all these private hire car vehicles now that are on the road? What is going to happen to them after 30 June?’
I know that operators have recently gone to the Motor Vehicle Registry to try and get their vehicles reregistered for the coming financial year and also to get their CVLs extended. MVR said: ‘Sorry, we cannot do it past 30 June; we do not know what is going to happen. We cannot give you anything because we do not know what categories are going to be available’.
The insurance on their vehicles and their public liability insurance is coming to an end; they want to go and get more insurance. When they go and talk to their insurance brokers or insurance companies and they say: ‘We can only give you insurance to 30 June. We cannot go past that because we do not know what is going to happen. We do not know what to insure you for’. What they are saying is: ‘Okay, we will give you insurance for May and June, two months’. For the two months insurance they do not charge two months pro rata rate of a 12-month insurance policy. They have to charge for the two months plus the overhead of doing business. Come 1 July, they need to reinsure and, to be insured for say the next 10 months, they are not going to get any pro rata-isation of what they paid for May and June into the next 10 months from 1 July.
So, suddenly it is now costing these people a lot more money to just stay in business for two months. It is because this minister, being so absolutely incompetent about it, came out shooting from the hip left, right and centre, and tossed legislation which we have told him over and over again is flawed - this legislation has so many problems with it that he just cannot push it through. But he did; he did it in February. I tried to stop him, but he would not listen. Now he has done another backflip.
I remember the member for Daly saying: ‘This is the new minister for backflips’. He has done three, four, or five backflips now. How many more are you going to have? It is important that this minister comes up with something quickly so that we can look at it in detail. At least get it past Cabinet first quickly so that we can know that Cabinet gave approval of what he wants to do. Then get it out to industry and to the opposition so that we can look at it closely. Then we can decide whether to support it or not.
This whole industry is in a bloody – excuse me - very big mess, and nothing the government has done so far has convinced us that they know what they are doing about it, and the industry is going to come to a grinding halt in a couple of months time.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Mr Deputy Speaker, I want to place on record tonight my congratulations to the staff and all those who have been involved in getting this sittings together. I do not think people realise the amount of work that has gone on behind the scenes for over a period of months. But it has been a long road; we were never quite sure what we were getting into. However, the way the staff have handled it, the cooperation we have had from the convention centre, from people like Top End Sounds, and all the other people in this town, I have to congratulate them on their professionalism, expertise, and cooperation, because, without them it certainly would not have been a success.
It was a success for the town. I want to quote the figures - and I say we could take out about 10% for staff movements. On Tuesday there were 1391, on Wednesday 1210, and today, about half an hour ago, 1128. So, basically there were about 1000 people a day coming, and for a small town like Alice Springs that is tremendous.
The feedback has been really positive. Questions that people have asked me have indicated how unfamiliar people in the Centre really are when it comes to how their parliament works. For instance, they said: ‘Why are they talking so long? Why are they going on? Why don’t they get to the point?’ So next time, we will put more information into a booklet to help people understand the procedures that happen. I really loved the remark from one of the students from one of the bush schools. He said to me: ‘It is strange to see whitefellas shouting at each other’. I guess that is the way they saw it.
I had a bit of a saying about a week ago: despite the war, despite SARS, despite Denis Burke, we are going to have them. If the Leader of the Opposition had his way, it would not have been on. The continual undermining of these sittings by the Leader of the Opposition and his team has been so disappointing, I really felt at times quite sick in my stomach when I knew how hard everyone was working. Even the message he put in the souvenir booklet - I rang his office and said: ‘Change it. This is a souvenir, this is historic and the people of Alice Springs will treasure it’. And they have. But it was nothing but sour grapes on his part, and he is to be condemned for it. He made much of the cost. The final cost will be available to everyone, but please remember that the Legislative Assembly budget is there to support sittings, and it cannot be used for health, as was suggested continually.
I thank the member for Greatorex for his support of the sittings. He went out and doorknocked and distributed newsletter and displayed the poster in his window. But may I say how disappointing, no thanks to the member for Araluen - no poster in the window, no private support, just bagging and not encouraging people to come.
How many people did the member for Macdonnell actually invite to the sittings; to the ceremonial opening? I said to the staff: ‘Give every local member plus the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition 20 seats or more if they want it’. How many did he invite? Zero! So that how he cares about his constituents and about what was happening.
The Leader of the Opposition put great emphasis on functions occurring this week, ignoring that this is a normal part of government, and the fact that it was a part of his government, no matter where it was. Might I say he had functions down here. We have heard much of the barbecue in my electorate on Sunday afternoon and, of course, Monday evening he had the media to dinner.
His remarks in the parliament, too, reflect badly on him. He said: ‘This is not a parliament in Alice Springs, it is a cocktail party’. I was highly insulted by that, and I am sure my staff were as well when he suggested such a thing. The member for Araluen called them ‘B-grade sittings’. How do you think that made the staff feel? What does it say about her? Her performance was, to say the least, far less than even B-grade.
I notice that the Leader of the Opposition continually tried to disrupt the proceedings by censure motions and then claimed that they were gagged. He has a short memory. The stats show us differently, and I will quote some from the Eighth Assembly when he was Chief Minister. The member for Nhulunbuy sought to censure him for taxpayer funded voter opinion research - speakers: Stirling, Burke; then the question was put. Therefore, gagged after two speakers: one-on-one. The member for Fannie Bay sought to censure him for alleging a corrupt judicial system - speakers: Martin, Burke, Stirling, Reed. Gagged, two-on-two. Leader of the Opposition, Mrs Hickey, on the position of ALP on effects of native title on pastoral and town leases on the then Chief Minister, Mr Stone – sorry, this is the Seventh, but there again- two-on-two.
The Eighth Assembly, the member for Fannie Bay sought to censure the Chief Minister on mandatory sentencing: one-on-one. It was gagged by the government after that. So it goes on. I have a whole list of those, but you get my drift. It is not unusual in our government in the past, particularly when Mr Burke was Chief Minister, to have censure motions where there was one-on-one, or two-on-two. To suggest that, because they could not have numerous speakers, they were being gagged is hypocritical to say the least.
We have also had a huge debate - a waste of 42 minutes, according to the people in the gallery who listened to the debate - on whether we should have a meal break or not. The comments that I have here reflect what people in the gallery thought: ‘Why are they doing this?’; ‘It is too long’; ‘It is often irrelevant’; ‘What has it got to do with government business?’; ‘Why don’t they get on with it?’ So, we did a check of the Eighth Assembly. The times I am giving you are after adjournment break; so it is the business of the day and the adjournment break. February 2001 - 6.28 pm; 28 February - 6.55 pm, not very late is it?; 6 June - 6.38 pm, and I am just picking a few out. We have some here, 29 November 2000 - 5.51 pm, not even 6 pm, we adjourned. And this one here is great: 13 June 2000 - 4.41 pm; 24 February 2000 - 5.20 pm. And the list goes on and on of early stops in the parliament under Denis Burke, the Leader of the Opposition’s government at the time.
Therefore, to come in here and make this huge fuss about having a meal break, and suggesting that this sittings was not a proper session of parliament, to my mind is, it is insulting. Particularly as we can show the evidence that it has happened over and over again; that government and parliaments work like that and it is not unusual. For goodness sake, let us get on with the job!
A lot of the people who were in the gallery for that debate left, I might add. They left because they said: ‘What is going on, what has this happened for?’ They agree with me, that the debate was most unnecessary. We were here to do business, why didn’t we just get on with it. The posturing that I heard, I believe, was very hypocritical because short days, to say the least, have occurred on many occasions within the parliament of the Northern Territory.
I have no wish personally for accolades, even though the Leader of the Opposition said on Stateline that it was a case of self-promotion for myself. That is not true. I am not here for self-promotion; I am here to give the people of Alice Springs a look at how their parliament works. That is what it is all about. It is not about how good the Chief Minister or the opposition looks, or what am I doing in the Chair up there; it is about bringing democracy to the people of Alice Springs so they can see how we operate, how legislation goes through, and how on earth the parliament that seems to belong to Darwin can operate out of Darwin in a remote location.
People continually asked me: ‘Explain to us a bit more about what is going on the House’. I guess if I had been more prepared I could have done that by handing out sheets to them. But what they have said most of all to me, is that these sittings were great. And might I add, many of these people were good, staunch CLP members - people I know who are members of the CLP - who said: ‘Let us just get on with it. Let us stop this nonsense about the cost. Let us stop bagging it. We like it. We are glad to be here’. And so we should. Therefore, when you have 1000 people a day - if I can do that - and if it ends up costing us $120 000 for the three days out of the Legislative Assembly bucket, then I would say - what did I work out? - it is about $24 a day per person to come to this parliament. I consider that pretty cheap; that is good value for money - that certainly is.
This has been an enormous logistical exercise. Tomorrow morning, we are going into Youth Parliament. The staff here at the moment, while we are all sitting in here, are out there packing up because we have to clear this room straight after Youth Parliament. We have to clear that room for them to start for their next reception tomorrow. There is so much for us to do and, as I said, this staff have lost their Anzac Day weekend and their May Day weekend at home. I certainly owe them, and I am going to say: ‘Take time off for all the time that you put into these sittings here in Alice Springs’, because they deserve it. You have to realise that many of them came down last Thursday and they are not going back. If they do happen to go to the races in their own spare time, well and good. They deserve it.
I can say to the Leader of the Opposition I was really disappointed. I did try to speak to him. He knows I sent him messages to ring me so he could understand where I was coming from; but that call was never returned. However, I want to end on a positive note.
I cannot possibly refer to individuals who helped because I will always forget someone; there will always be someone who might be a little insulted. But, you and I know the work of many of the people. I want to single out Caroline Angel who came on to my staff part-time a few weeks ago to help us through. Her cooperation with the Deputy Clerk has been fantastic.
To all the other staff, I know you have done a huge job - you have done a great job and it has not finished because tomorrow is Youth Parliament. I just place on record for people who will be here at Youth Parliament - and I know you have all been invited - bills that these students will be debating. This one is from the Nyangatjatjara College; it is the Inhalation of Petrol Fumes Bill. It is to reduce damage to health, property crime, violence and community disruption arising from the inhalation of petrol fumes. This one is the Youth and Community Service Bill; to reduce the incidence of substance abuse by Territory youth by providing for education, community sport, and requiring offenders to spend time performing constructive community work. These students could tell these people in this House a few things about how to get on with it. The Rights of Adults to Donate Organs Bill; a bill to provide for organ donation for adult Territorians. The final one they will be debating is the Airport Security Bill, relating to security at airports within the Northern Territory.
Our students are going to be in here debating those responsibly and sensibly. It would be a good thing for all the members in this House to come and listen to them; you might even learn something from them. You might learn that the youth of today has something to say. I said that in my earlier speech: you are not listening; it is time both sides started listening to our youth.
Mr Deputy Speaker, finally, I thank all those members who have been so cooperative. I thank those members who have been so enthusiastic in the way they have approached the sittings here in Alice Springs. I also thank the township people of Alice Springs who came along and supported it. Without that, it would not have been the great success that it has been. I must finally say to the media: thank you, you have also done a good job for us.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr REED (Katherine): Mr Deputy Speaker, at the outset, I would also like to also express my appreciation to the Hansard staff and everyone who has given the commitment to prepare for this sittings in Alice Springs. They have been successful and have, as demonstrated by the people who have attended, been appreciated. From that point of view, it could be said that they have been successful, and that is very good. Across the Australian populace, there is a very broad ignorance of politics and how parliaments work. That is probably best demonstrated by some of the remarks made by the member for Braitling, the Speaker, regarding the lack of understanding the people had, for example, in relation to the 42-minute debate that ensued before the adjournment last evening.
As a member for over 16 years and, indeed, the longest serving member in this House, I find it somewhat surprising that the Speaker should make some of the remarks that she just has. She has a right to make those remarks, but all members of this parliament have an equal right to express their view. That some members in recent weeks have expressed their view and those views does not comply with the views of some members - in this case the member for Braitling - should not be a matter of concern because that is what this parliament should be about. This parliament is about the opportunity for the 25 elected members to come here on each sitting day and to express their views, as is their democratic right and as is the expectation of Territorians who elected them to their various constituencies.
It is the very heart and foundation of our democracy and it is something that we should all cherish. Given that a Speaker should be bipartisan, and that we have just had the presentation from the member for Braitling, the Speaker, of a speech which was verging on - if not partisan - I find it, very disturbing, that that should be the case.
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: I hear chuckles now. I will have my say and you can have something to say to the alternative if you wish. It is very important that speakers are not partisan. I am not accusing you, Madam Speaker, the member for Braitling, of undertaking that, but I believe that you veered very close to doing so.
That is a matter of concern because, in a democracy an opposition, in particular, has a responsibility to ensure that alternative points of view are enunciated and that, where necessary, the activities of the government are challenged. We were of the belief, while we strongly supported the sittings being held in Alice Springs, that there were questions of priority in relation to the expenditure and the cost of them that should rightly be asked. Indeed, they were asked but not answered. Had the Chief Minister, for example, been forthcoming in relation to the costs that her department and other departments were contributing to this, the issues that were raised by the opposition may not have been necessary.
The Speaker has, for the best part of the year, indicated and stated quite clearly and openly that the costs were to be in the order of $125 000 for the Legislative Assembly. Open and shut case; no further questions, Your Honour. However, the Chief Minister was interviewed on radio regarding the cost. She avoided the question and, indeed, she suggested that I should phone her on the matter, and have a briefing in relation to it. I immediately phoned her office when she finished her interview with Fred McCue on ABC radio only to be told: ‘She is not here’. ‘Oh, that is interesting. The Chief Minister has just done a radio interview’. ‘She is busy’. I asked the person who answered the phone: ‘Okay. Is the Chief Minister busy in the office or out of the office?’. ‘She is in a meeting’. It was a very conflicting response, and not a response that you would expect from the Office of the Chief Minister who had just invited me to phone her for a briefing. I did so immediately knowing that the opportunity existed.
What we might have been advised of was the costs in relation to ministers travelling, because those costs do not come under the Department of the Legislative Assembly. What are the costs for other persons? We have had a private lawyer here, as we should have, to advise the government on legislation during the course of the week. Was that to be advised to members? No, it was not. That is but an example of the sorts of external costs that the Chief Minister has avoided providing that, had she been more open, honest and accountable earlier in the piece, these matters may not have arisen in the way that they did.
I also raise the point of the 42-minute debate in relation to the adjournment last night. The program - as you yourself, Mr Deputy Speaker, pointed out in this House at this podium yesterday at about this time - said that we would not be having a dinner break. If we are going to agree to a program, as we did in the February sittings, as to the course of business that was to be pursued at the Alice Springs sittings, as a parliament, if we cannot agree and carry through a program to be conducted in the following sittings, how could Territorians expect to have faith in the broader and more serious deliberations that we pursue on their behalf?
It was clearly the government’s intention to have the function yesterday, come what may, come hell or high water, because it was debated in the February sittings. Indeed, you might recall, Mr Deputy Speaker, that the original draft timetable for these sittings, as circulated by the government, was for us to start work at 10 am, finish at midday, recommence at 2 pm and adjourn at 6 pm. But for the opposition, we would have had, at these historic sittings in Alice Springs, a very subjugated debate - a debate that was restrained because we would have been finishing at 6 pm after just six hours work each day of these sittings. We opposed that in the February sittings on the basis that, if this parliament was going to be taken to Alice Springs so that the people of Alice Springs can experience what parliament is all about, they will experience a parliament that is real. They will not experience a parliament whereby we break off at 6 pm so we can off to the jollies and have a picnic or a party or some cocktails, because the Chief Minister thinks it is appropriate.
On that basis, the debate of 42 minutes last night, although it was lengthy, was appropriate, because we were pursuing the maintenance of a timetable and a program for this sittings that had been jointly agreed by all members in the February sittings. The government were the ones that went back on that agreement. The government were the ones that cancelled the arrangements that we collectively had agreed to and, from that point of view, it ill behoves the Speaker to be making the sorts of remarks that she did in that regard. In any event, they are the very types of issues that, sadly, do take up a lot of parliamentary time. Procedural debate in this House, and every other parliament in the Westminster system, is often one that occupies a lot of time. It is, quite naturally, seen as a waste of time by those who are not familiar with it and, indeed, as members, we often ourselves consider those debates to be a waste of time. However, they are important parts of process and we were simply pursuing a matter that this Assembly had agreed to in February, but the government chose to break that commitment last night. That was a fair and reasonable pursuit of a matter that should be of importance to this House.
With regard to early stops of adjournment, I take the point of the member for Braitling, in relation to the fact that, in the past, there have been many occasions when the House has adjourned early. I could, just as the member for Braitling did, go to those Parliamentary Records that sit before you and give many examples of when this House has sat until 10 pm, 11 pm, midnight, 1 am, or 2 am. I ask, in fairness and without being provocative, why was it that Madam Speaker chose simply to give examples where the House has adjourned early and avoided giving examples where the House has adjourned late? That would have been a balanced representation of the historic business of this House, and much fairer.
In relation to the censure motions it is, in my mind and with over 16 years’ experience in this parliament, extraordinary that a Speaker should criticise an opposition for conducting a censure motion. A censure motion is the most important motion, as the Leader of Government Business indicated when the two censure motions were moved this week. By virtue of their importance, they have and always should and, hopefully will, take precedence over all other debate. Whether you, Madam Speaker, or the government considers those issues of importance, this parliament’s elected opposition - here not for their own jollies or just to pass the time and have a good time - is here to pursue the interests of Territorians, as I hope, collectively, we all are. We all must show some tolerance and understanding that we are not going to agree with the actions of a particular member or a particular political party, or your point of view, Mr Deputy Speaker, as an Independent, because you have a right as does have every other member and the opposition, as the elected opposition and alternative government, has a right and, indeed, a responsibility - and a very strong responsibility - to come into this House with issues that they think are of sufficient importance to move the censure motion.
I find it just extraordinary, with respect, that the Speaker should criticise the fact and, not only criticise the fact that the opposition moved censure motions, but did it with the intent - and that is an extraordinary statement in itself - to disrupt these sittings. Censure motions happen to be a very important issue; they do take precedence over all other business. To suggest that they should be done to disrupt the sittings, I find quite extraordinary. I am not going to pursue the matter any further.
It is appropriate that we thank the staff. I was talking this afternoon to two of the staff who have been fostering the schoolchildren into the Chamber and talking about different issues that have arisen through the week. I will follow the example of the Speaker by finishing on a light note. Going by the comments made by the school kids, it was their view - as passed on to these very capable and very professional staff members who looked after the school kids - that the two members who take the reward for being the most boisterous in the Chamber were the members for Araluen and Nhulunbuy. Most unusual, I thought, and out of character for the member for Nhulunbuy. So, it is appropriate that some form of award be prepared for those particular members because it is an historic sittings. It might be appropriate that we take note of the comments of the kids and the expression of view that they have passed in that regard, and so reward on this historic occasion, the members for Araluen and Nhulunbuy.
I close by saying it has been an historic occasion. It has been an extraordinary effort when you see everything that had to be done by all of the staff to achieve what has been achieved. I stand by the right, and will defend to the end, the responsibility and the ability for the opposition and the 25 members of this House to express their view in this House as they see fit, because when they cannot do it is the day the place should be closed down.
Ms MARTIN (Fannie Bay): Mr Deputy Speaker, it saddens me greatly to stand in here on the final session of this historic sittings of parliament in Alice Springs and hear an attack on a Speaker. I know the CLP has a track record of attacking Speakers. Sadly, it was the member for Braitling when she was previously the Speaker. In appalling parliamentary behaviour, a Speaker’s ruling was overruled by the then government. To hear the continuity of this contempt for a Speaker from the member for Katherine - and I assume reflecting the opposition position - is an embarrassment to our parliament. It is.
We have a Speaker who is an Independent member of this parliament who, if you look at it in that context, is the most independent Speaker we have every had. To sit here and listen to the words of the opposition trying to defend their very poor behaviour in the run-up to these sittings and during these sittings, brings shame on the Territory parliament. So, I would like to say to our Speaker: you have overseen these historic parliamentary sittings with an independence that we respect and, from the government’s point of view - and sadly I cannot say from the opposition’s - you have done that with a great deal of dignity and, I must say with this sittings, a great deal of pride and excitement.
It is sad to listen to the words of the opposition. The arrogance we saw when you were government, which once overruled a Speaker’s ruling - which has never happened before - shows that you have not learnt, from your time in opposition so far, about parliamentary processes and behaviour. It saddens me that we should be coming to the end of this sittings in Alice Springs and witness this kind of behaviour. On behalf of this parliament and Territorians, I apologise to the Speaker and thank her for the independent way in which she oversees our parliamentary proceedings.
I also pick up on some of the comments made by the member for Katherine about the costs of these sittings and the bleating way that he said: ‘The Chief Minister got on radio and said: “Why don’t you ring me?”, and I rang here straight away. Do you know what? She does not sit at her desk waiting for the call. She is actually busy and has a series of meetings and other engagements during the day’. For the member for Katherine to expect that, when I say on radio that if he is genuinely interested about the cost of the parliament then give me a ring - and I have said the cost of the parliament was $125 000, which was indicated. To expect me to sit there at my desk - for how long? How long do you want me to sit there at my desk and wait for a call from the member for Katherine? From memory, it was a Cabinet day, so I was waiting to go into Cabinet. I took the call to go to radio, and then I had to go to Cabinet.
The member for Katherine bleats and complains in typical fashion from this opposition which has not quite grasped the role of an opposition yet. You can actually ask for briefings. There is a deficit briefings being sought by this opposition. We had the unseemly sight of the Leader of the Opposition talking to important counter-terrorism legislation saying: ‘I do not know the answer to this question, and I hope that the minister answers it’, but he never came for a briefing. We had to write to the member for Goyder and ask him to come. We had to contact him, and really persuade him to come for a briefing. The Minister for Justice and Attorney-General was totally frustrated by trying to get you for a briefing …
Members interjecting.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! All the other speakers have had a fair chance to speak in silence. Order, please.
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, member for Arnhem!
Ms MARTIN: So, we have the opposition not taking the briefings that they should about important legislation before this parliament.
As an example of that, the Leader of the Opposition, who should be setting the example, did not even take the opportunity for a briefing and stood in here, a man who should be embarrassed when he said: ‘I do not know the answer to this, I hope the minister can answer it’. But he has not taken the opportunity for a briefing.
As well, underpinning why the Speaker expressed her frustration about the behaviour of the opposition in this sittings, we have seen over the last 21 months 320-odd questions asked in this parliament, 22 of which were about Alice Springs. As I understand it, not one of those was about crime! All of a sudden, you have discovered Alice Springs and Central Australia, and you have discovered crime. What hypocrisy!
It was good to have this sittings here in Alice Springs to expose your hypocrisy and the poor performance of your local members to the Central Australian community. You are a disappointment to the running of this parliament. You do not attend briefings, you make rhetoric instead of real action, and then you turn around and criticise the Speaker which really underpins the fact that you do not have respect for this parliament and parliamentary processes.
However, this is the adjournment debate, and I have issues to tackle that are important issues, recognising the work done in Central Australia and excellence that has happened in Central Australia - which happens, may I say, very often.
I would like to draw attention to yet another area of excellence in the arts in Alice Springs. In my ministerial statement on Tuesday, I was very happy to spend time talking about the arts and the enormous contribution Central Australians make to our artistic endeavors.
Central Australia and Alice Springs has an extraordinary number of talented artists who continue to represent the region with distinction and honour. On 6 April, the Music and Film Independent Artists held their 2003 MAFIA Documentary Awards at the Valhalla Cinema in Glebe in Sydney. MAFIA is a non-profit Australian arts cooperative established in 2001 with a mission to help independent artists create, collaborate and demonstrate their art. The inaugural award was held in 2002. The judging panel for the 2003 awards included distinguished arts and practitioners in films and documentary making. The films submitted had to be produced on a digital format and were run for less than 8 minutes. Finalists were selected for their originality, coherence and innovation.
Eight finalists were selected for the awards. Alice Springs-based filmmaker and director David Vadiveloo was awarded Best Film for Bush Bikes. This is a story about a group of inventive Central Australian children making their way to a waterhole for a swim. The win is a considerable coup for a Northern Territory independent documentary filmmaker, as it was the overall national first prize as judged by respected peers in an open competition. I would like to pay tribute to David Vadiveloo’s outstanding success in being awarded Best Film. Central Australia has proved itself a fertile ground for creativity and excellence in the arts and, on behalf of this parliament, congratulations.
I would also like to share an experience I enjoyed a couple of weeks ago, on 5 April, at the presentation dinner for the Young Achievers Awards at the launch of National Youth Week. All the finalists and winners were outstanding, and I am sure the judges had a most difficult time in reaching their verdict. The contribution of young people to community and civic projects is most impressive, and gives me terrific confidence for the future of the Territory with young citizens such as these.
This evening particularly, in view of this historic session of Alice Springs Parliament, I would like to pay tribute to the finalists and winners who came from Central Australia and share with you some of their successes and endeavours. Two young people made the finals for the ConocoPhillips Environment Award. At just 22, Craig Woods is an inspiration to his peers. Craig’s commitment to environmental issues is ongoing; he has demonstrated a focus in his studies, completing a Certificate IV in Ranger Law Enforcement, Certificate III in Civil Construction and an Indigenous Heritage Management training course at James Cook University.
Craig is a Pitjantjatjara Warlpiri man living at the Mutitjulu community within the Uluru/Kata-Tjuta National Park. In addition to his studies, Craig is fluent in three languages: Pitjinjatjara, Walpiri and English. He began his ranger traineeship in July 2001, and is currently studying his Certificate III in Lands, Parks and Wildlife Management as part of his Environment Australia traineeship. Craig is responsible for reporting in the areas of walking track repairs, fence repairs and erosion. He also assists with rock art protection. His contribution helps minimise the environmental impact which the mass volume of visitors can have on the world-famous park. He is an excellent role model for young Aboriginal people through his stable work ethic and community involvement.
The other finalist for the ConocoPhillips Environment Award is Glenis McBurnie, who is also just 22. Glenis is currently completing her third year of a horticultural apprenticeship at the Alice Springs Desert Park. Last year, her work attracted considerable interest when she developed and presented a paper on ‘The Germination of Central Australian Plant Seed after Long Term Storage’ to an international audience at the International Plant Propagators’ Society’s annual conference.
Glenis has a record of achievement and commitment to environmental issues. During Year 12 at Centralian College, she was awarded the NTCE Academic Excellence Award for Biological Science. In addition, she has successfully completed a Green Corps traineeship in Alice Springs, working and training in conservation and the environment. Last year, Glenis was invited to be one of the three Youth Ambassadors for the Outback. This involved travelling to Sydney with the Lord Mayor, taking part in official launches while in the company of the Deputy Prime Minister or the Prime Minister. Glenis is seen as a leader in the community and an important role model in encouraging young people to pursue careers within their local communities. Her research and efforts as an apprentice have both already had a positive impact on seed propagation, both in the Territory and elsewhere. Glenis was recognised for her efforts and awarded the winner of the ConocoPhillips Environment Award.
It is not only in the area of environment protections that young Centralians are shining. Two young Centralians were finalists in the Perkins Shipping Regional Initiative Award. At 26, Leandrea Fry has given a great deal to community life in her home town of Tennant Creek. Leandrea holds the position of Youth Team Leader, Sports and Recreation, at the Community Development Unit in Tennant Creek. Her responsibilities include coordinating after school programs and school holiday programs for youth within her community of Tennant Creek. Leandrea has also worked in the area of sport and recreation and community development for the past six years, working with young people to develop life skills and drug awareness education.
She has undertaken many courses throughout her career to educate herself and multiply her skills. She has completed study in such diverse areas as cross-cultural awareness, fat loss management, applied suicide intervention skills, various safety management and training courses, and has even qualified to become a licensed coach driver. Her ability to communicate with young people in particular who are often going through difficult periods in their lives, has made her a role model in the community and an inspiration to all.
Another finalist in the same category, the Perkins Shipping Regional Initiative Award, was Sarah Chunys. Her speech at the awards dinner moved the crowd alternatively to both tears and laughter as she shared her heartfelt experiences with us. Sarah’s passion is educating society on mental health issues, particularly focussing on young people. She is a proactive community member with a passion for education of mental health issues. She has an enthusiastic campaign for community organisations, schools, parents and families to be more aware of mental health. Through her efforts, she has successfully enlisted the support of many agencies around Alice Springs. Sarah was responsible for coordinating and hosting a mental health forum during Mental Health Week last year. She is currently involved with the Life yellow ribbon program, and has committed many hours volunteering with the mental health team, Mental Health Association, the Life Promotions Unit and Alice Springs Youth Accommodation and Support Services. In addition, Sarah has been invited to be a keynote speaker at national and interstate conferences. Sarah has also utilised her considerable writing abilities by publishing a number of newspaper articles and writing a play which was performed during National Youth Week. The personal diary Sarah kept while suffering depression herself, is soon to be published.
Mr Deputy Speaker, that night was a wonderful night. The talents and abilities of our young Territorians from Central Australia inspired me and all who were there. We are, indeed, fortunate as a community to have such wonderful talents here. More importantly, perhaps, these young people have chosen to devote their abilities so wholeheartedly to the community, environmental and civic wellbeing. My congratulations to them and to all nominees, finalists and winners.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Mr Deputy Speaker, at the outset, being my last opportunity to contribute during this sittings, I also pass on my appreciation to all of those members of the staff of the Legislative Assembly who have made possible what is truly an historic event, which I am privileged to be part of. Not only the staff of the Assembly, but also the staff of this fine centre. I have been immensely impressed by the professionalism, the thoroughness of the service that we have received behind the scenes here in this resort centre. So, my congratulations to Bill Coffey and to his staff.
The Arafura Games occur in the Top End of our Territory but does have, in a sense, a Central Australian context in that there is, I understand, a soccer team planning to attend a tournament at the same time that the Arafura Games were going to be held. I understand the need and support the decision to cancel the Arafura Games. The SARS issue is one that is further directing our attention to the seriousness of this and, in the light of the overloads of international security concerns and the impost upon us as a jurisdiction to manage the cost of security as well as the medical issues, it is fully accepted.
However, to make the announcement to the community that the Arafura Games have been cancelled, I understand, is a difficult and correct decision. However, it does not end there. The Arafura Games are held every second year, and I would suggest that, in a time of a cancellation of a sporting event, the effort needs to be doubled in terms of managing that which is left as a residue of a cancellation of a sporting event. There has been a reference made not to worry, it will all be okay with regard to the volunteer organisations behind the scenes. However, there is a pronounced degree of unhappiness in the sporting organisations. There is a need for clear leadership and direction, and a clear sense that they are being supported in this time. It is easy to manage, in a time when we have the template sitting over it in the traditional form of the games as it is normally being held.
We are now looking at a situation where there are sports who are required to continue their tournaments because, for example, in the triathlon, there are competitors who are competing in that from around the country who are required to attend this event in order to accrue championship points. So, the pressure is upon the Darwin Triathlon Association to run the event. They are obligated to do so; they want to keep the chain going. They are not receiving competitors from SARS-affected regions. The basketball community is also obligated to continue the event. There are a number of competitors coming from the United States. In a time such as this, we need even stronger and clearer direction, and a greater sense of what is what - what kind of support are these volunteers going to receive?
When it comes down to a few days, or a few weeks remaining for the start of the games, the issue of medals is still being discussed. There is uncertainty. In fact, I am led to believe that there has been a direction given by the department to the sporting organisations who are trying to patch together a tournament of sorts, that they are not able to use the medals that have already been cast for the event. That does not leave very much time for anyone who has been involved in a sporting event, unsure in changing circumstances of how many competitors you are actually going to have now, to now try to cobble together some kind of order to be able to get the medals there in time. That is one of the difficulties we do have in the Northern Territory; we do need a lead-in time. It strikes me as unhelpful to the extreme to have messages which can only be interpreted by sporting organisations as practically unhelpful.
I call on the minister to please send a very clear and urgent message of real support to these volunteers who are keeping the Arafura Games alive, in a sense. If we are going to talk, as the Chief Minister spoke of, bigger and better in 2005, it is absolutely critical that this particular juncture is properly managed and looked after, because the weight is falling upon volunteers. It is well and good to say to the wider community, with the volunteers actually listening to this grand announcement: ‘Do not worry, everything will be all right. The volunteers, the sporting organisations will be looked after’. The rest of the community probably think that that is fine, isn’t that a nice government looking after the volunteers. Well, the volunteers have not had, in their judgment, any practical support at this point and they need a clearer focus.
Moving on to another issue, one that I would seek the minister for Education’s investigation of. In the issue of managing of staff, morale is critical. We can see the issues affecting morale in a discrete unit, such as a staffing body but, when we go broader to the teaching service generally, issues of morale are paramount to ensuring that we have the best possible outcome produced. We provide the best possible service conditions for our teachers, in this case, and issues of morale need to be carefully watched and managed. Sometimes they are quite difficult, I appreciate. However, when it comes to, as was alluded to earlier in the year, local teachers - some with many, many years of Territory experience, a personal investment in the Territory - being put into positions with an understanding from one quarter of the department and then, from a higher position to be told: ‘Unfortunately, we have made a mistake and please stand aside, we have an interstate person to fill that position who, it is revealed, has no experience’.
Maybe it can be explained on one side that this person is going to now be an investment in the Territory for long-term gain, but we have someone who has already been in the system for 17 years and is not going anywhere, and will stay there, and will continue to stay there and needs that encouragement. We can argue it on that small case. But, the broader message that is sent out to the teaching service when we have stories such as this replicated through the system, does cause morale to be damaged.
A recent case has come to my attention, and I take this opportunity to present it, for the minister’s attention particularly, so that we may have some clarification on it. I specifically want to address the issue of the morale ramifications of such occurrences. I hope that this is not the case, as it has been brought to my attention, and perhaps the minister can assure me that this is not the case.
It has been brought to my attention that there is a senior teacher in an executive position who was on leave overseas and uncontactable by family friends and the department. Whilst overseas on leave, this person was unaware that a vacant promotional position which they possibly would have applied for, became available. It was discovered that this person wins the expression of interest promotion, which is a short-term position. A promotion looks good on the CV. However, it was discovered that the application is alleged to have been submitted by someone else, because the person who won the position was unaware that they had actually won that position. The application, it is claimed, was submitted by a friend in the department, and after the closing date. It is claimed that the person who won the position was en route back to the Territory unaware of their promotion.
Now, an isolated case we could probably explain away. However, stories such as these - and there are others that circulate through the system - do compound and add to problems with regards to morale: the non-observance of due process, unfairness, and a slap in the face to others who feel that they were overlooked and are undervalued.
Members opposite will now interpret this, I presume - as I have judged by other responses to such things being brought up as an opposition is meant to – by saying: ‘Oh, you are talking down the service, you are being critical’. We need to be a little more learned and circumspect when we engage that there may be criticism, and let us see its reason to criticism reasonably responded to, rather than in a hysterical or sensitive way. This is not about personal agendas; more about getting the business of the Territory in hand. The role of the opposition is to ensure that that is the case.
I now wish to draw attention to the activity of a volunteer organisation in Central Australia. I know little about autism. I have encountered the weight that autism brings upon a family on a number of occasions through my teaching career, albeit, from a distance. I have some understanding of the condition, and I know the immense weight that falls upon a family who are to struggle with the effects of autism.
I was delighted to learn that there was a support group when I made my first inquiries, when I had an approach a couple of years ago at the Fred’s Pass Show, in fact. I discovered that there was no support group in the Top End. I had another approach from someone in Central Australia, and I began to look for support groups. I found that there was a reasonably active group that came together in Central Australia. I believe there is the beginnings of a support group. With all due respect, it may well be well-formed at this stage, but there is a fledgling support group in the Top End now.
The Autism Support Group of Central Australia was formed in January 2000 to help families of the NT deal with problems of having no appropriate services to deal with or to advise on sufferers of autistic spectrum disorders. To date, this group has achieved the following: they have run public awareness campaigns through the ABC, Imparja and NT newspapers; organised a series of autism and educational public awareness forums including special forums for NT community health and special education programs; they have been instrumental in having a pilot scheme annexe for autistic spectrum adolescence instigated through the Education department; been instrumental in the Education department receiving special training from the autism Queensland group; have discussed with employment groups the needs of those with autism in the workplace; organised two-day forums on autistic diagnosis and management; and have established contacts in key positions throughout the NT with persons in hospitals, Health departments, mental health areas, education and employment. All of these remarkable achievements have been accomplished without any funding from the NT or any other authority.
I will take no other position than to applaud them and any other group such as that who simply do the job and stand in the gap and make a difference. I would recommend to the government that, if there is an opportunity to support this group, I urge you to meet with this support group and offer them any assistance that they might seek from you.
I have had the good fortune to meet Steve Courbt who is the contact person and convenor of this group, who has been a resident of Alice springs since 1983. He works practically full-time to bring together this support group. He is a very humble man and passes off all the accomplishments and achievements of this group to the many volunteers who work behind the scenes. To those who are unnamed, I applaud you and thank you for the contribution you make to the area of autism support in Central Australia and the Northern Territory.
It is brought to my attention that there are, to his knowledge at this point, 20 diagnosed cases of autism in Central Australia, with 60 to 80 in the Top End. In fact, that may actually be a significantly reduced number due to the condition being misunderstood. If we had greater education, there may be many people out there suffering with autism in their families, or children who may need the support.
Mr AH KIT (Arnhem): Mr Deputy Speaker, tonight I pick up some of the issues that have been raised throughout the week. I will start with the member for Blain and the shadow minister for sport and recreation, who just spoke.
We will deal with the sporting codes through their peak bodies. I have already requested and invited them to talk to Phillip Leslie who is my executive officer of Sport and Recreation, and to his staff, about how we as a government, and I as the minister, can provide support so that we still encourage people to come to the Northern Territory, and those who have registered to come from around the Territory, to participate in their chosen fields. We will not step away from that. We will assess, in a grant-type process manner, each and every claim that is put to us for that particular sport. We made it quite clear - quite clear - that the games that happen in each and every individual sporting code will not be under the official banner of the Arafura Games.
When the member for Blain talks about the medals - and I noticed there was an article in the news where Alan McGill, the Town Clerk, Chief Executive Officer of the Darwin City Council, is calling for a refund. That is fine. That is fine if they need to obtain a refund for the medals that they sponsored. Maybe they are looking to provide those dollars to assist also the government’s intention of trying to support those games so that people can come to the Territory and participate, not in the Arafura Games, but in competitions that they have trained so hard for.
My staff have worked long and hard to ensure that we would have a successful Arafura Games. The viability was not possible. We had a lot of registrations but we did not have many confirmations from countries to our north. I am hoping that the United States contingent of about 450 athletes will still come. I am also hoping that the 1800 registrations from around Australia will still come. We have, as a responsible government, offered assistance by way of vouchers so that they can come; they can fill the bedrooms up in the hotels and motels, enjoy themselves, take in a bit of a tourist cruise out to Kakadu or Litchfield National Park etcetera.
We are doing everything - myself, the Chief Minister and also the Minister for Tourism – in how we can fill this void. We are certainly saying to countries from overseas, whether it is in South Africa, Malaysia, or the Philippines: ‘If you wish to come, understand what we are saying because we really do want to bring back the Arafura Games in 2005, bigger and better than ever before’.
It was a disappointing decision, but it was a decision that a responsible government had to make. I will give that commitment to the member for Blain that we will assess on each occasion - this is not about sporting codes, through their peak bodies, making a grab for additional monies to help them. This is about assisting them in transport, security, if they need that, but other little ways that we can allow them to have some competition. We must remember that many, many athletes, whether it is swimming, track and field, basketball, netball, soccer, have put a lot of time and effort into peaking for the Arafura Games.
Let me move on and assure the member for Macdonnell that, regrading Mrs Geraghty and her partner, I will give a commitment to work our way through the situation in respect of their position in the Carmichael Valley Estate. It is a position that they find untenable, and I understand that, but we need to work our way through that. I am not going to be a minister in this Martin Labor government, who will throw taxpayers’ hard earned dollars at problems just to fix them overnight. We have to be sensible; we are charged with that responsibility. I, as a minister in this government, will ensure that I go through the proper processes to find some solution and reach a mutually satisfying outcome for both Mrs Geraghty and her partner and the government.
I will also take up some time to explain about Aranda House. I heard Madam Speaker, the member for Braitling talking about Aranda House. We have to be mature enough in this Territory to look at the problems that our youth are confronted with. We have many youth, indigenous, non-indigenous, and from other multicultural backgrounds, who are not in a very good position in our society in the Territory. It is not a matter of Willoughby Court being shut down because the Minister for Housing has talked to the youth bodies in Central Australia, and the Tangentyere Association who are keen to ensure that there is somewhere for these youth to be counselled - to be cared for, to be worked on and to put them back into the work force.
You cannot have your cake and eat it, too. I will tell Territorians, especially in this particular situation, that, on the one hand you say: ‘We have got to do something, and the government must do something about the youth out on the street’ and then, on the other hand: ‘Yes, but not next door to my house, not in my street, not in my court’. If we are a caring government, and if we are concerned about these kids who are coming from very hard backgrounds, and who have been experiencing problems in the junior years of their life, we have a responsibility. We have a responsibility, this parliament, with very little politics, to ensure that we cater for those needs. That is why I say: be careful, you cannot have your cake and eat it too.
Let me move onto soccer. I thought for a while that maybe the member for Blain, the shadow minister for sport and recreation, and I could, in a bipartisan way, work together to sort out the problems with soccer in the Territory, in the dealings we need to have with the Northern Territory Soccer Federation. We saw what happened with Soccer Australia, and we know about the Crawford inquiry and the recommendations. We have a situation where we have the Territory Amateur Soccer League, which has pulled away from the Northern Territory Soccer Federation and established themselves as a fun competition - a little serious but not big mobs of fees to pay.
We have the Junior Soccer Federation and the Darwin Premier Soccer League. I have spoken to some representatives down here who have support, admittedly for the Northern Territory Soccer Federation. I hear on the radio that Nhulunbuy Soccer have concerns about a $5m CLP election promise to build a big stadium of their own. One has to wonder how they are going to do that - and it is taxpayers’ dollars, at the end of the day, that concerns me. We will talk. I will meet with them, hopefully, at the end of next week some time. I was hoping to take the shadow sport and recreation spokesman with me, but I am having second thoughts because, at the end of the day, as nice as I am and as nice as he is, politics intervenes. So, he will look for as much political mileage out of it, and I need to protect my back, and the offer that crossed my mind will not be available because I want what is best for all sports in the Northern Territory.
Soccer is one of them, and I want to work with the Soccer Federation and their affiliates, as with their peak body, the Soccer Federation, to work out how we can accommodate their needs. But I am not going to be a minister that will willy-nilly commit something like $5m of taxpayers’ money to something that I do not think has been organised properly. We will need to work our way through that.
With regards to parliament, I would like to congratulate the Speaker and all the staff. It has been a really good week. Looking at people coming in to parliament, and the amount of hard work that has gone into establishing this makes me feel very proud to be a part of this historic occasion. With the politics aside, the casino people, Lasseter’s Bill Coffey and all his staff, really need to be patted on the back. It has been excellent and, when we discuss in our Caucus with our government about the possibility of coming back here, I certainly will be advocating my position quite clearly: that we should consider it seriously because it has been a huge success.
We did not come here to win over CLP voters; we came here to bring parliament to the people. This is what democracy is all about. People here in the Central Australian region - as with other parts such as Katherine, Tennant Creek, Nhulunbuy, Jabiru – do not have that opportunity of seeing their elected members in action discussing in parliament; and this is healthy for the Northern Territory. We see a situation where, if they are lucky, they will see a little grab on the news or they will read a little about it in the paper. We need to be more mature and show how accountable we can, and should be, to the people who elect us. We need them to tune into the issues that we are discussing in parliament and what is on our agenda because, only then, will we start to mature and look at being a group of politicians, 25 of us, working hard and working well to advance the Territory’s future.
The attacks by the former Treasurer and the member for Katherine were uncalled for and disrespectful. That is all I really want to say about that, but hats off to all the staff – Speaker, Clerk – it has been a wonderful time.
Ms CARTER (Port Darwin): Mr Deputy Speaker, it is with a certain sadness that I pay tribute tonight to Leigh Hillman who has recently left the Territory. Originally a Queenslander, Leigh came to the Territory in 1986 for a fortnight’s holiday in Alice Springs but, like so many others, she found the Territory lifestyle too attractive to leave Central Australia - and I am sure we all understand that - and only returned to Queensland regularly to visit her family in Brisbane.
Her previous experience working with disadvantaged families and street kids in Brisbane, and with the indigenous community of Cherbourg in south-west Queensland, was put to good use in the Territory. As a community welfare worker with Territory Health Services for over 13 years, Leigh worked as a child protection practitioner across the urban and remote communities of Central Australia, the Barkly. East Arnhem districts and, of course, in Darwin.
Leigh’s empathy and pragmatism in dealing with the multitude of problems affecting those communities and her clients strongly engendered her sense of social justice, of which she spoke so feelingly in her speech on International Womens Day earlier this year in Darwin.
However, Leigh herself rejected being tagged as a do-gooder. She would assist her clients to steer through their difficulties but, when the hard decisions regarding the best interests of children subject to departmental interventions had to be made, Leigh would make them. Without fear or favor is possibly the best way of describing Leigh’s modus operandi. Even when placed under personal security during a particularly threatening family matters court hearing, Leigh continued to carry out her work with other clients and support her colleagues during this time.
All members of this Assembly will recall Leigh’s commitment to the Balinese community following the Kuta bombing last October. She galvanised Territorians to kick-in supplies and money to assist those Balinese so devastatingly affected by the bombing and its aftermath. I was delighted to be able to assist this effort in a small way. On her return to Darwin, she instigated the Bali grandparents project, a national fundraising campaign coordinated through the Federation of Council on the Ageing across Australia to provide assistance to elderly Balinese caring for their grandchildren whose parents had been killed or seriously injured during the bombing.
As members know, Leigh has been a constant advocate for our Territory’s seniors over the past 3 years. She was the executive director of the Council on the Ageing. Recently, funding became an issue for the council and, because they could not secure enough funding from the Territory government, the position Leigh held could not be kept. I believe it is a great loss to the Territory that COTA was not funded sufficiently to keep Leigh on. It is true that there was nothing subtle about Leigh Hillman.
I have had a long-standing interest in matters concerning seniors, and therefore I have been well aware of Leigh’s modus operandi for a number of years. I know that Leigh made her comments and did her lobbying without fear or favour. When the CLP was in government, Leigh would provide advice, encourage us, chide us and, at times, take us on directly; and often publicly. She had only one goal: to maximise what COTA could achieve to help Territory seniors. Such action should be applauded by governments. This is how a good lobbyist works. Dealing with lobbyists, utilising lobbyists, should be part of an MLA’s, and indeed, a minister’s or Chief Minister’s patch. We should not shy from interacting with strong lobbyists. We should understand them, use them, because the goals of the lobbyist such as Leigh Hillman, and the MLA, often and should be the same: improving the lot of the people we serve.
As Leigh has so often said, politicians, whether in government or opposition, should not be afraid to hear the news they do not want to hear. That is why we have peak bodies such as COTA to speak as the voice of our constituents and to let us all know when we do not have the policies right.
On Friday 11 April, I attended a farewell for Leigh at the Darwin Trailer Boat Club. The large group of people gathered there demonstrated the range of people Leigh touched during her time here in Darwin. From the young to the elderly, from either end of the political continuum, from COTA members and colleagues to neighbourhood watch volunteers; all were there.
Together, I am sure all us of here tonight wish Leigh all the very best for her future as she heads to Victoria, and for the next exciting chapter in her life. On behalf of Territorians, we say: thank you, Leigh Hillman for doing your job, doing it with a passion and doing it well.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I would like to say a few things.
First, I would like to pay some tributes to two of my electorate officers who have been working for me and have since left. The first one is Joanne van Os. Joanne helped me on my election campaign and became my electorate officer. Sadly, because she has had to move in to Darwin, she is not able to work with me any more. Joanne has been one of the most wonderful people I have every met; she has worked exceptionally hard for me. She has done a lot of work. I suppose both of us had very little experience in running an electorate office, and she made sure, just as she was learning how to run the office, I was also able to be, at least partially organised, in the way I ran the office. I used to say to people that I had the best looking electorate officer in the Territory, and I do not put that in a sexist manner, but she is a beautiful lady. People who came into our office were always happy to see her.
A member interjecting
Mr WOOD: Well, they probably did that too, but she had a beautiful smile and she treated people in such a way that they were always very comfortable. She went out of her way to look after them, and I pay tribute to Jo. She also used to help me with the newsletter. People who might have seen those little cartoons, especially the one on my tie …
A member interjecting.
Mr WOOD: Yes, with the three eggs and one hatched. I thank Jo for designing that little cartoon. I hope she can continue to help me, perhaps in the putting together of my newsletter when she has a moment. So, thank you, Jo.
The other person I would like to thank, who was a part-time electorate officer - because I am one of those electorate offices that has somebody for working for four days and another person working on the Friday. Lida Tatarko was working for me for a while as well. Everyone in this House should know Lida. She worked for the previous Speaker, Mr Terry McCarthy, the member for Goyder, for zonks - for years and years. She is well known throughout the rural area. She was able to fill in as the Friday girl, you might say, and to help me out. I appreciate all the work she has done too, and all the experience she brought.
I could not go and not say something about the Anzac Day cricket match. Well, it is a great cricket match. It was the third annual cricket match. It was played on that wonderful bit of heritage, Minister for Lands and Planning, called the Strauss cricket ground which is near the corner of Cox Peninsula Road and the Stuart Highway, built in 1942 by a gentleman called Vic Borrowicki.
Instead of going into too much about that, I should give you the scores. The Army lost. It did score 345 off 30 overs, to give you an idea that the pace of the game was fairly hectic. The Litchfield President’s 11, captained by the Litchfield President, Mary Walshe, scored the same number of runs in 29 overs. They did belt a few more runs off the last over, so they probably scored about 355. It was a great day, a lot of runs were scored. This year was probably the biggest crowd we have had. From early figures, I would say we at least raised over $1000 once again for Legacy. That was one of the main reasons we played the game, as well as remembering our World War II heritage, and to improve interaction between our Defence Forces and our community. This is one good way to do it.
We had the Southern Districts Cricket Club, which basically make up the Litchfield President’s 11, and through Brigadier Ash Power, and his offsider, the RSM Darryl Kelly, they put together a team which was from 1 Brigade. Although I know they wanted to win, they did not. All in all, the people on the day enjoyed themselves. It was a very friendly day, a very family orientated day.
The Army donated – it is sometimes called The Big Bullet – a casing from a Leopard tank, and that will be the perpetual trophy, engraved each year with the name of the winning side.
I also thank the following people: Legacy, naturally - although they received the money from the day, they spend time down there selling their badges, and we know what an important job they do; the Rotary Club of Litchfield/Palmerston, who helped out with the barbecue and the bar; and the Bradley Road Cheer Squad, which have a members’ stand down there. Bradley Road is the road that is just opposite this cricket ground and they come every year. This year, they mowed the oval and put up the flag and had a wonderful time.
I also must thank Robyn Smith from Hansard who also got together a corporate tent this year with the help of Maxine Dowley, and they raised about $400 from that. Robyn has asked me to mention the following sponsors, even though I reiterate, the Anzac Day cricket match is not going to be sponsored by alcohol companies, but in this case: Territory Party Hire, XXXX Gold, Tyrrell’s Wines, Women that Work, and Darwin Turf Club all made sure that the corporate marquee went off well.
I also thank my friend Max who puts up the power pole, and the Litchfield Shire which allows us to use their sponsorship to cover public liability for the day, which can always be a problem. I thank the government for permission to use the cricket ground because it is Crown land. So, all in all, it was a great day.
Just before I wrap up on the Alice Springs sittings, I would like to quickly raise two issues that I would like to flag for, perhaps, the next sittings. One area which was close to a lot of people’s hearts in Alice Springs was container deposit legislation. Although we did not debate it, I believe it is a subject that needs debating. I would certainly like to hear a report from the government - a full report and a full debate - on why they have not gone ahead with their plans to introduce CDL. They have said that they will introduce something else and I would be interested, because CDL is CDL. You put a deposit on a container, and no matter what you call it, that is what it is, and it increases the price of the goods. That is the main reason they decided to drop it. I would like to see a fulsome debate at the next sittings of parliament on CDL.
There was one other issue but I left it with the Acting Deputy Speaker up there.
Mr ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Bob Moore.
Mr WOOD: Bob Moore, yes. I was just going to say something about Bob Moore. I have written to the Minister for Parks and Wildlife about this issue. The point I wrote to the minister about was that I believe that Bob Moore, who is the ranger at the Howard Springs Reserve has, basically for a long time, had to single-handedly look after, not only the Howard Springs Nature Reserve, but also the shooting reserve, the new Shoal Bay Coastal Conservation Reserve, Tree Point Reserve and Malacca Swamp Reserve. He has actually become quite ill. I only found out today that he collapsed and was taken to hospital. He did see me during the week saying how he had not been well. I am a bit concerned that, perhaps, the amount of work he had to do was the cause of that. I am concerned that, even though we have, I think, 12 rangers, in the end he was doing a lot of that work on his own.
I also write to the minister about the barbecues there. The barbecues were fixed, thank heavens.
A members: Good one, Gerry
Mr WOOD: That is quite all right. However, Bob Moore, sadly, is ill. Minister, I would like you to find out if it was a work-related problem.
Finally, I would like to thank the people of Alice Springs. I have also enjoyed the stay down here. I certainly think it was a great move by the government and the Speaker to have parliament in Alice Springs. I was saying to people before, when I was on Litchfield Shire Council in the early days, we used to take our meetings around the shire. I believe that was very important. For reasons of possibly safety in that case, they decided not to do that. I try and take my table and chair around various parts of the electorate because it is important that one gets out to the people, rather than having the people always come to you.
I thank the Hansard staff who are back there in hot and sweaty Darwin while we are enjoying this lovely weather in Alice Springs. I thank the Alice Springs Town Council for the hospitality it has given us, and the invitation to their meeting and the sausage sizzle. The Rotary Club of, I think, Stuart South – there are no local members here – also put on a lunch for us yesterday.
It is terrific that all the schools have come. That is very important when you are trying to educate people about the importance of government.
Also, I thank the staff of the convention centre and all our staff – or the Speaker’s staff – who have worked so tirelessly out the front organising the children to get into the right place; selling all the souveniers; helping all those people who needed help and assistance, especially some of the elderly people who came. There were people here every day of the week, and that was pretty amazing.
Finally, I would like to say thank you to everybody in Alice Springs for making it a wonderful stay, and I hope we are back once every two years, not once every term.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016