Dear Residents

Welcome to the new “electronic” Araluen Newsletter.

With the end of the Centralian Advocate as our local newspaper in June last year, the dissemination of news and community information at a grass roots level is very challenging. I have used several modes over the years including paper hand-delivered newsletters, publishing in the Advocate and now electronically. We will continue to hand distribute the Araluen Newsletter to people who are not connected to the internet.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Araluen for their continuing support. After more than 10 years as the Member for Araluen I am more motivated and fired up than ever. I can 100% guarantee you I will be working harder than ever to represent you in the NT Parliament on the issues that matter to you.

Crime Explosion

Crime remains the number one concern for Alice Springs residents.

The rise in crime we have seen in Alice Springs is real. The NT Police Crime Statistics over the past few months demonstrate an extremely concerning overall increase in crime. The latest Police Crime Statistics for Alice Springs that came out in March 2021 pertain to the period ending on 31st January 2021 compared to the previous 12 months. The most concerning statistics are a 30% increase in Domestic Violence, a 24% increase in house break-ins and a 19% increase in Assaults.

01/02/2019 - 01/02/2020 - CRIME IN ALICE SPRINGS 31/01/2020 31/01/2021 % CHANGE

Assault 1507 1794 19.04

Domestic violence related assault 866 1126 30.02

Alcohol related assault 781 909 16.39

Sexual assault 69 67 -0.29

House break-ins 516 644 24.81

Commercial break-ins 350 348 -0.57

Motor vehicle theft 388 300 -22.68

Property damage 1853 1933 4.32

*NT Police Crime Statistics released on 19th March 2021

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Assaults in Alice Springs are directly related to alcohol. A dramatic increase in assaults suggests one thing very clearly, that people are accessing large quantities of alcohol despite our strict regime of alcohol restrictions in Alice Springs. Putting it bluntly, our alcohol restrictions are not working. We have all heard stories of grog running being prolific in Central , providing access to alcohol at all hours.

The current high rate of alcohol related presentations at the Alice Springs Hospital Emergency Department also indicates this current failure of alcohol policy.

(Damage to the Araluen Electorate Office – February 2021)

The Gunner Government has a huge amount of work to do in continuing to address crime and alcohol minimisation and harm reduction.

On Monday 15th March 2021 Channel 9, A Current Affair (ACA), featured Alice Springs for all the wrong reasons. We should not have to get this point before we get real action from the Government.

A desperate community making a desperate plea.

The NT Government is 100% responsible for all legislation designed to maintain law and order, and to address crime in the NT. The blame and finger pointing needs to be directed firmly at the NT Chief Minister, , and his Cabinet.

We need to be united in our voice demanding that more be done to address crime in Alice Springs. Fighting amongst ourselves only serves to take the pressure off the Government. Tourism is suffering because crime is out of control – with or without national media attention.

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Alice Springs Youth Hub

The NT Government is currently doing a review of the Youth Hub on the corner of Railway Terrace and Wills Terrace. The Youth Hub operated 24/7 for about 6 weeks throughout January and most of February. This was a trial not without problems. Drawing large number of kids into the CBD at night became a problem. None of us will forget the last weekend in January 2021 with at least 25 homes and businesses in the CBD broken into between the Friday evening and Monday morning. The residents living along Railway Terrace have been generally unimpressed with the behaviour of kids from the Youth Hub. But despite some not-so-good aspects, the Youth Hub is attracting lots of great kids that simply want to hang out and enjoy the great facilities they have.

I visited the Youth Hub on the night of Saturday 13th March and was pleasantly surprised by the services provided by Territory Families.

Currently the Youth Hub operates just on the weekends.

The review of the Youth Hub is due to be completed at the end of March. It remains to be seen what the next instalment will look like. The Youth Hub has operated in competition with two other NT Government funded night time youth services: Brown Street run by Tangentyere Council and the Gap Youth Centre. It seems unnecessary to have three youth centres running at night essentially in competition with each other.

Youth centres are an important part of the solution to youth crime but far from being the total solution. On the night I went to the Youth Hub there were about 30 kids perfectly behaved attending, all around 9-13 years of age. I was assured by Territory Families staff that they are all transported home safely to a responsible adult. However the next morning I awoke to the news that 30 very young children were seen stampeding around Alice Springs at 6.30am. I wondered whether any of the children I saw the night before were amongst these children.

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Getting children off the streets at night and into a safe environment is in everyone’s best interest. The Youth Hub operates on a schedule and tries to get kids home safely by a certain hour.

I strongly maintain a curfew for children needs to be trialled in Alice Springs, as a Child Protection and crime prevention strategy.

NT Parliament

The NT Parliament only sits for 11 weeks per year and this includes two weeks of Budget Estimates hearings. A usual sitting week is three days: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The February 2021 sittings of the NT Parliament went for two weeks and were dominated by the so called “sex and cocaine scandal” involving the new Member for Blain and a Senior Advisor to the Chief Minister. The scandal unravelled over the 2 weeks and by the end, the Member for Blain, an ex-police officer, , had been thrown out of the Labor caucus. The senior Labor staffer was also thrown out, or jumped before he was pushed.

All this sort of nonsense takes up hours and hours of precious time that the Parliament should be focusing on what really matters to Territorians, like crime and the economy.

The most important pieces of legislation to pass during this sittings was one to ensure the efficient roll out of the COVID 19 vaccine, and a curious and suspicious urgent amendment to the Planning Act to get the Minister out of some potentially damaging litigation. The Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics was keen to push this through with minimal debate. This amendment was dodgy. I dare say we have not heard the end of this story.

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The March 2021 sittings of NT Parliament will be for three days from 23rd to 25th March. The Government intends to push through their “ring leader” legislation. Adults or people over the age of 18 who recruit kids to commit crimes could face up to ten years behind bars under this new legislation. This is in response to mounting pressure to tackle youth crime throughout the Territory.

There is no need for this legislation at all. The existing legislation is suffice. It is a desperate attempt by the Gunner Government to look like they are doing something to address escalating youth crime. It has been described by a NT solicitor as “lawmaking for lawmaking’s sake”. Budget News

The 2020 NT Budget was not handed down in May of last year, as is the custom. Because of the disruption and uncertainty caused by COVID 19 it was handed down after the NT Election in November 2020. Territorians went to the election not having a clue about the state of finances. Extraordinary! According to the NT Auditor General, Ms Julie Crisp, the NT debt is close to $13b, about $2b more than what our Chief Minister / Treasurer declared in his first Budget.

This discrepancy is astounding. The appalling mismanagement of the NT finances by the Gunner Government is something we should all be very concerned about. The fiscal future of the NT is even bleaker with little hope of the Budget being repaired over the next 10 years and Territorians paying millions and millions of dollars in interest payments each week.

The 2021 NT Budget will be delivered by the NT Treasurer on 4th May 2021.

The 2021 Budget Estimates Hearings will go for two full weeks in June and involve each Minister being questioned for many hours on all of their portfolio responsibilities.

I would like your input into the Budget Estimates process. If you have questions for any of the Ministers please forward them through to the Araluen Electorate Office by Friday 11 June 2021. Confidentiality will be assured.

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The re-election of the Gunner Government in August 2020 saw some changes to the Cabinet and allocation of portfolios. The most stunning changes were:

 The Chief Minister gave himself the position of Treasurer. The former Treasurer made a monumental mess of the finances, taking the debt from less than $2b in 2016 to $6b in 2020 before COVID hit in March 2020. Gunner has already proven to be equally as bad managing our finances, taking the debt to a reported $13b in 4 years.

 The new Attorney General is Selina Uibo, Member for Arnhem. was taken out of the Attorney General position and is now Minister for Health and Tourism.

 With Dale Wakefield losing the seat of Braitling, the new Minister for Territory Families is , Member for Sanderson.

 And on a local level, is our new Minister for Central Australia (Economic Reconstruction). Chansey is now the most powerful politician in Central Australia. We look to him for leadership and action on all issues pertaining to our economy, lifestyle and well-

being.

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Riding for Disabled (RDA) Alice Springs Inc.

RDA Alice Springs is a community of extraordinary people providing equestrian activities for people with disabilities and people with other emotional and personal challenges.

RDA is sponsored by dozens of generous local businesses. It is funded by NT and Federal Government funding. The centre is managed by Tiffany Keane. The Horse Manager is Alice and she is assisted by coaches, Bonnie and Chloe and stable hands, Richard and Isaac. These caring people work tirelessly.

RDA is always looking for volunteers. If you want to volunteer go onto their website or go out to see them at Blatherskite Park – at the far corner.

I am honoured to be the Patron of RDA Alice Springs.

A note from the Araluen Electorate Officer: David

We are here to help you.

If you have any matters relating to government business or any community concerns or problems, we will try to assist. If you would like to discuss any matter please visit our office located at the corner of Bath Street and Gregory Terrace, Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm.

Ph: 8951 5588 or email at [email protected]

The Araluen Newsletter is sponsored by Mad Harry’s

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