DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Madam Speaker took the Chair at 11 am.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable Members, I have received message 10 from her honour, the Administrator, notifying assent to the bills passed at the November 2017 sittings. The message is dated 16 January 2018.
PAPER TABLED Estimates Committee Report
Ms AH KIT (Karama): Madam Speaker, I table the Estimates Committee Report on Agency, Annual Report Hearings and the associated minutes of proceedings. This report was sent to you and made public under Standing Order 200 on 1 December 2017.
MOTION Note Paper– Estimates Committee Report
Ms AH KIT (Karama): The Michael Gunner Labor government gave a commitment to open parliament to the people in order to engage more effectively with Territorians regarding our parliamentary processes. Amending the estimates process in 2017 saw a trial run of the splitting of estimates hearings into two separate hearings that were held in June 2017 and November 2017.
Estimates hearings provided an opportunity to scrutinise expenditure and performance by agencies and it was great to have the Member for Nhulunbuy join government members for both the June and November hearings to participate in the scrutiny.
It was also great to have the Independent members for Blain, Araluen and Nelson participate in the scrutiny process during the November estimates hearing. I thank all ministers for their participation in these hearings and send a huge thank you to government agencies for all their hard work in preparation for both hearings.
I acknowledge and thank the hard-working staff within the parliamentary committees unit for your assistance to the Estimates Committee and send my final thanks to all members of the Estimates Committee who participated in the estimates process for 2017.
I trust that you all found value in these hearings and I look forward to receiving your feedback on this new process. It is important that we as parliamentarians review the processes we have in place in order to improve the way we work so that we can maximise our effectiveness for greater benefit to Territorians.
I move that the report be noted.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): I want to comment on the Estimates Committee process again. I understand what the member has said in that we should look at ways to improve how we do our business in this parliament. It is important we retain that whole concept of being open and transparent, especially when it comes to government business.
I did not attend the first sitting of the Estimates Committee because I believe that, to some extent, people on this side were being railroaded into a process which they did not support—even from the point of view of being micromanaged when they were basically told what hours they would operate in discussions with ministers.
My concern is that we have come away from the essence of what the Estimates Committee is all about. The estimates committee is meant to scrutinise the budget and when it is fully scrutinised it comes back to parliament to be passed as a bill. That did not happen this year. The government decided to put part of the estimates process to one side and bring it back later in the year to look at annual reports long after the bill had been passed.
To me that is not a common sense way of operating. I am not against the annual reports being investigated— I use annual reports and have so for years, selectively, not all annual reports, because there are lots of annual reports. I have used the annual reports during the estimates process to raise issues that needed to be raised in scrutinising the budget.
By doing it later in the year, you have an opportunity to look at the new annual reports for a department, but the point is, that that is not the role of the Estimates Committee simply because it has finished its operations when the bill has been passed in this House.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
I would be supportive of the parliamentary accounts committee being the body which looks at the annual reports. That makes perfectly good sense, because the parliamentary accounts committee’s job is to scrutinise government the whole year around—to look at various projects, where it has spent its money et cetera—and it can selectively pick a particular annual report or part of that annual report and do an investigation. That is exactly what the PAC has done in the past. Whether it is the Attorney–General’s annual report or other issues that have risen from annual reports, or even if it has not come from annual reports— the parliamentary accounts committee as it is at the moment where it can basically set its own agenda, subject to the majority of people on that PAC supporting that move—it can thoroughly investigate matters that have come from departmental annual reports.
I think that is the simplest way to do it. It allows the annual reports to be scrutinised. I do not think it makes a lot of sense to try to jam in a relatively short period of time, theoretically, all the annual reports. There is an enormous amount of annual reports, there are little ones and big ones. Sometimes it is even difficult when government departments get amalgamated, and if you have tried to find your way through the website that we have to work our way through, it is very difficult even finding if there are any annual reports. I have had to type in annual report—I have not been able, in many cases on websites, find—as it used to be a list of annual reports year by year. Some websites have it; others have not. That in itself needs an improvement.
I do not know whether the Department of Education is better than anyone else but ...
Member interjecting: No, it is not. CLP spent all the money upgrading the websites.
Mr WOOD: I agree. I think the change in the websites has made it very difficult for people to navigate and it has become less transparent since those changes. I am not asking the government to spend a lot of money to reverse that but maybe there is a set of instructions at the beginning of each website on how to navigate through the website. The point is, it is important that we have annual reports and it is important that there has been a move to emphasise the importance of those annual reports through this parliament.
I would say that most of the time that I have been in parliament that generally annual reports were not looked at very much at all. Maybe people would read them, maybe some of the people in the department might read them but how often were they actually looked at in depth.
I think that is one of the changes that has been good is that there has been a move to emphasise the importance of annual reports and the importance for members of parliament, especially, to look at those annual reports to find out not only what governments have spent but to find out what programs have happened over the last year, to compare annual reports with annual reports.
One of the areas I followed from the day I came in here was literacy and numeracy in remote and very remote communities, and sometimes it is a bit of a wakeup call when you have a look way back and you have a look now, and you say we still have a problem. That is the advantage of annual reports. It gives you the ability to look at how departments are operating, to compare those from year to year and be able to ask questions in parliament during the normal process.
If there is a good thing that has happened, it is the emphasis on annual reports, but I do not think the way we did it this year was the way we should do it. I think we should leave that up to the PAC and I prefer to go back to the old—not using old because I believe it is an old-fashioned method. I think it is a method that we worked through—and you have to remember Labor were the ones that introduced the Estimates Committee. They introduced the parliamentary accounts committee.
I was on the committee that went to Tasmania originally with a bipartisan group with members of parliament. We developed that in time with the hours we would spend, how we would operate and I think we came up with a good process for looking at the budget. And that is why I was disappointed that, all of a sudden it had been changed, where we cut the budget time down and threw the rest out with annual reports.
My suggestion is we go back to what we were before and I am happy to—if there is room to move and room to improve, I am not going to get in the road of that. But I do not think the changes we had helped and I would leave the investigation or the scrutinising of annual reports up to the PAC where I think you can get a better, more selective approach of which parliamentary reports are worth looking at. And it means that those particular reports can be scrutinised at more depth, than trying to jam a whole lot of annual reports into a relatively short space of time.
Ms FYLES (Attorney-General): Thank you Madam Speaker and I would like to take a moment to thank all the committee members, particularly the chair, the Member for Karama. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
It was an enormous body of work—the first process of putting this in place—and was an opportunity for the additional scrutiny of not only where we place the Northern Territory Government’s expenditure but how that money is spent.
I pick up on the comments from the Member for Nelson and I certainly—as always we get that little bit of a history lesson—but certainly look forward to working with …
Mr WOOD: Are you saying I am old?
Ms FYLES (Attorney-General): No I am not saying that. You said that. Do not try to verbal me.
Madam SPEAKER: Order.
Ms FYLES (Attorney-General): I will verbal him straight back and quote ‘move to emphasis the annual reports’ that the Member for Nelson just spoke about.
The government, in the lead up to the election in 2016—we talked about this reforming of parliamentary process. And the emphasis on how government agencies spent the budget. Did they deliver what they said they would in providing that scrutiny? I thank the Independent members who participated in the committee. As a minister I welcomed the opportunity for questions and looking at how agencies spend that money.
Going forward we acknowledge that we want change with some emphasis on the annual reports, but acknowledging the opposition and Independent members who feel they also want to make sure that we follow the budget estimates process.
The Standing Orders Committee will go forward looking at this. The Member for Nelson is not on that committee, but we will make sure that every views of all members are included so we can look at the process going forward, and I am just speculating this is nothing—but do we go back to 60 hours in June? Do we have 40 hours in June, 20 hours in November? The Member for Nelson raised PAC here this morning.
As a parliament, the Standing Orders Committee is the best place to discuss this formally, so I will be—as the chair of that committee—putting that on the agenda going forward.
But talking to every member of the House to make sure that people have the opportunity to scrutinise the budget, how we spend that budget, what we deliver for Territorians. We are in the entrusted position of making sure tax payer dollars benefit Territorians as much as possible. We will be talking to every member of the House around this process going forward.
I think that—looking back over history—you need to embrace that change. Change can be difficult, but we had not the foresight back in 2000–2001, to put in the estimates process, we would not have seen that.
But we certainly have heard the comments from all members and I look forward to—through that Standing Orders Committee that represents both the opposition, government and independents—working out a process this year going forward that we can see every one actively participating in this process.
I thank all those committee members. I reiterate my thanks to the Chair of that committee who did an amazing job, as a fairly new member of the parliament. Mind you, I do not think anyone is new; we have all been here coming on two years now.
Madam Speaker, I am happy to seek the feedback of all members in the establishment of the process for 2018 forward.
Motion agreed to; report noted.
TABLED PAPER Social Policy Scrutiny Committee Report on Inquiry into Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (Consequential and Related Amendments) Bill 2017 (Serial 35)
Ms AH KIT (Karama): Madam Speaker, I table the Social Policy Scrutiny Committee’s report on its Inquiry into Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (Consequential and Related Amendments) Bill 2017 and associated minutes of proceedings. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
MOTION Note Report – Social Policy Scrutiny Committee Report on Inquiry into Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (Consequential and Related Amendments) Bill 2017
Ms AH KIT (Karama): Madam Speaker, this bill amends a number of acts in relation to the establishment of an independent Commissioner Against Corruption and repeal of the Public Interest Disclosures Act.
The committee has recommended that the Assembly pass the bill with the amendment proposed in recommendation 2 regarding the new section 75C of the Criminal Code Act. Section 75C outlines improper conduct, but the committee does not believe it provides enough protection by way of a safeguard for those who have undertaken trivial improper conduct where damage to the public interest is minimal.
While section 75C could result in a large amount of reporting of improper conduct, due to provision allowing the courts to look at all available evidence before determining whether the improper conduct warrants criminal sanction, the committee was concerned that there was potential for the public to not report improper conduct that does not warrant criminal sanction.
The committee also looked closely at section 79 which outlines the need for a public officer to report substantial conflicts of interest, but was satisfied with the explanation provided by the Department of the Attorney-General and Justice and the examples scenarios provided to help clarify how this section could apply.
On behalf of the committee, I thank Professor Aughterson for his independent legal advice and the Department of the Attorney-General and Justice for providing a response to that independent legal advice. I also thank the Social Policy Scrutiny Committee members for their bipartisan support of this legislative review process and the committee’s unit for providing us support.
Madam Speaker, I move that the report be noted.
Ms FYLES (Attorney-General and Justice): Madam Speaker, I will keep my comments short. I acknowledge the work of the committee in looking at this bill. The main Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bill was referred to the scrutiny committee, but that was outside the process - we had been in the process of establishing them.
I acknowledge the work of the committee and of the government agencies in allowing this bill to have the scrutiny of the committee and thank those committee members who have done this body of work between the sittings over the Christmas/January break. I again thank the Chair for the work, Madam Speaker.
Motion agreed to; report noted.
MOTION Extend Reporting Period of Economic Policy Scrutiny Committee
Mr SIEVERS (Brennan)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move the Assembly extend the reporting date of a report from the Economic Policy Scrutiny Committee on the Pastoral Land Legislation Amendment Bill 2017 until 13 March 2018.
Motion agreed to.
INDEPENDENT COMMISSIONER AGAINST CORRUPTION (CONSEQUENTIAL AND RELATED AMENDMENTS) BILL (Serial 35)
Continued from 19 October 2017.
Ms FYLES (Leader of Government Business)(by leave): Madam Speaker, Standing Orders will review these practices we put in place last year. One of them is the situation we have just had with the Chair of the committee presenting the report back to the House. The committee had kept me and my agency informed that it had a change, which we are comfortable with. We want to have the process where, rather than leave that on the Notice Paper until tomorrow, we can bring it on for debate. f I seek leave to make that bill an order of the day, and it can be called on today. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Leave granted.
Mrs FINOCCHIARO (Spillett): Madam Speaker, in November the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bill 2017 was passed in the parliament. That legislation represented the culmination of a process that began in 2015 with a parliamentary resolution to establish an anti-corruption, integrity and misconduct commission in the Territory and, of course, the Martin inquiry.
The Martin inquiry final report was delivered on 27 June 2016 and amongst other things, the report anticipated that a number of Territory acts would require amendment in order to assist the new commission in the performance of its duties.
The Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (Consequential and Related Amendments) Bill that we are debating accomplishes many of the anticipated amendments that were considered in the Martin report. The most significant amendments included in the bill concern the Criminal Code Act, but this legislation will also implement changes to:
the Criminal Records (Spent Convictions) Act in order to vet ICAC staff and others
the Housing Act, allowing the ICAC to investigate complaints under the act
the Legislative Assembly (Disclosure of Interests) Act to allow the ICAC to inspect the register of interests for past and present MLAs
the Procurement Act to exempt the ICAC from buy local and other procurement rules
the Police (Special Investigative and Other Powers) Act to enable the ICAC to undertake controlled operations
the Surveillance Devices Act to empower the ICAC to apply for surveillance device warrants as part of investigations
the Telecommunications (Interception) Northern Territory Act, which will allow the ICAC to implement wire taps under Commonwealth law
the Witness Protection (Northern Territory) Act to provide ICAC witnesses with protection arrangements
the Correctional Services Act in order to provide the ICAC with access to places of corrections.
As the length and breadth of these extensive changes suggest, the ICAC has been granted extremely expansive powers to investigate matters within its jurisdiction. This is in addition to the already extensive inquisitorial and investigative powers which reside in the head ICAC Act that was passed in the last sittings.
As a result, the powers of the ICAC will be on par with, and in some instances much greater than, those given to police. These investigative and inquisitorial powers are further bolstered by changes to the Criminal Code Act, which will increase penalties and introduce new offices which may result following ICAC investigations. They will substantially increase the exposure for criminal prosecution for those subject to an ICAC investigation and will therefore increase the authority of the ICAC.
Under the changes public servants, politicians and others who are subjects of an ICAC inquiry could face significant penalties ranging from two to 10 years’ imprisonment.
New section 76 alters the current statute dealing with the disclosure of confidential information by extending potential criminal liability not only to current but past public servants. Under the amendment a public officer, defined in the head ICAC Act as any minister, MLA, judicial officer or public servant, will be bound to confidentiality even after they have retired or otherwise left the public service.
This change is potentially concerning as public discussion and criticism of government policy, administration and procedure is a fundamental tenet of our democracy. As Mason J wrote in Commonwealth v John Fairfax and Sons Ltd—known as the Defence Papers case—the disclosure of historical government information fosters good government.
Mason J wrote: DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
It is unacceptable in our democratic society that there should be a restraint on the publication of information relating to government when the only vice of that information is that it enables the public to discuss, review and criticize government action.
…
The court will not prevent the publication of information which merely throws light on the past workings of government, even if it be not public property, so long as it does not prejudice the community in other respects. Then disclosure will itself serve the public interest in keeping the community informed and in promoting discussion of public affairs.
Put differently, the right to criticise the government is an important one and this implied freedom of speech should only be curtailed where absolute necessary.
The explanatory statement accompanying the bill cites the Australian Law Reform Commission Report 112 to support the proposition that liability for exposing secrets should extend beyond the tenure of a public officer. However, that report dealt with information that would:
… damage the security, defence or international relations of the Commonwealth …
And other information that would endanger the public safety.
There is no such limitation in this bill, as with the existing section 76, it relies on the common law definition of confidential information, which was defined in Snell v Price to encompass all non-public information.
This is a very broad definition and arguably covers all manner of information including information that, if made public, it could potentially have benefits of cutting down government waste or improvement of government policies.
Given the potential effect the new section 76 might have on public servants and the confusion it might cause concerning the implied right to political communication in the Territory, special attention should be paid to the way this section is utilised once the ICAC is up and running and changes in the parliament should be made if they become necessary.
The further amendments to section 77 through to section 81 will expand the reach of criminal law to cover all manner of misbehaviour. These sections will penalise conduct that could be described as soft and hard corruption.
Many of the elements of official corruption and extortion are retained but augmented by the new idea of obtaining a benefit. In the context of these sections, a benefit need not be monetary, contemporaneous or even tangible, but rather can be a benefit of a promise or a future benefit.
Receiving such a benefit commands the most stringent punishments under the new section 77, with a 10-year punishment attaching to corruption when the benefit is intentionally requested or knowing obtained and a particular result is achieved. Where no result is obtained and the corruption remains essentially inchoate, the potential penalty could be five years’ imprisonment under section 78.
Additionally, new section 79 makes it an offence to hold a secret private interest or to benefit from such an interest. This section of the bill broadens the current statute and increases the penalties available where an interest is not disclosed—potentially up to seven years at the more serious end of that spectrum.
New sections 80 and 81 condense and broaden offences for abuse of office involving dishonesty, arbitrary and prejudicial conduct. These offences require intentional deception or action on the part of a public officer and penalties could range from two to three years with the more serious end dealing with intent to obtain a benefit.
Each of the new offences in the bill include, as an element of the crime, a requirement that the conduct be found by the (inaudible) to be improper. As written, section 75C of the bill essentially defines improper as behaviour that warrants criminal sanction.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
In turn, whether a certain action warrants criminal sanction is determined by giving regard to a number of factors, such as whether the defendant acted in a reasonable manner, the seriousness of the conduct and the result of any conduct.
The finder of fact must give consideration to the listed criteria, but the section does not say that attention must not be given to other unspecified factors. I raised this a potential issue with the Social Policy Scrutiny Committee and it was discussed that section 75C should have an adequate criteria in order to determine whether a defendant acted improperly, as this would create less ambiguity, ensure certain behaviour is punished and provide certainty to the ICAC when investigating matters.
The committee recommended that the language of section 75C be changed to prescribe that conduct would be found improper, ‘unless the conduct is trivial or the damage to the public interest is minimal’.
I therefore look forward to hearing from the Attorney-General and learning whether proposed amendments to the bill will be made and how those will assist in this respect.
The breadth of the changes to the Criminal Code Act underscore the necessity for the ICAC to be truly independent from the machinery of government or politics of any sort. As has been seen in other jurisdictions, simply being referred to an ICAC for investigation, even if no investigation results from that referral, is a very serious matter.
This means we need to get it right and ensure the ICAC operates as intended and as Territorians expect it should. We all agree that Territorians deserve an ICAC that is properly resourced, free from influence from political interference of any kind and supported by legislation that is robust and fit for purpose.
However, cautionary tales do exist and recently Graham Richardson, a former Labor minister in the Hawking and Keating governments wrote in The Australian in reaction to the idea of a Commonwealth ICAC of the abuses of the New South Wales ICAC prior to its reforms as a result of its unchecked power run rampant.
One of the most important checks on the power of the ICAC is independence and strict separation from partisan politics. This is certainly why the opposition urged the government to install the selection procedure for the commissioner from any political influence prior to the head legislation being passed last sittings. Everything else will flow from the selection from the commissioner and the tone will be set for the entire process from that moment onwards.
The fact that the Attorney-General and Cabinet will have a hand in the selection of the commissioner is something we strongly argued against. The government of the day should not have any influence over that process and Territorians must have the ultimate confidence in the impartiality of the ICAC. It must not only be impartial, but seem to be impartial.
Similarly, the funding arrangements for the ICAC detract from its impartiality. The government has allocated $3m per year towards the operation of the ICAC and this is despite Justice Martin’s prediction that the actual cost will be much higher than, or maybe even double, this figure.
This puts the ICAC in a precarious position where it is forced to ask the government for a Treasurer’s advance in order to pay for staff or carry on its investigations. This is contrary to the very tenets underlying the establishment of an ICAC and may prove to be its undoing if it is not looked at and fixed.
Forcing the ICAC Commissioner who is charged with investigating public servants and politicians for wrongdoing to approach the Treasurer every time there is a cost overrun gives the government of the day the opportunity to limit the ability of the ICAC to properly investigate matters.
The opposition has always supported the development of an independent, properly resourced ICAC that is up for the job of tackling serious abuses by those who are charged with serving the public of the Northern Territory. Only an ICAC that is beyond reapproach and has the force of integrity will suffice and that is what Territorians deserve.
I hope that the Attorney-General will address the concerns I have raised and reassure Territorians the commission will be fit for purpose and up to the challenge in-front of it.
Ms MANISON (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (Consequential and Related Amendments) Bill which will ensure an effective and efficient Independent Commission Against Corruption. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
As outlined by the Attorney-General, this bill will give the ICAC the remaining powers recommended by the Anti-Corruption, Integrity and Misconduct Commission Inquiry. It will provide a more contemporary definition of offences relating to government corruption and a number of miscellaneous amendments which will assist the establishment of the ICAC and the repeal of the Public Interest Disclosures Act.
As the Attorney-General outlined, among the powers recommended by the Anti-Corruption, Integrity and Misconduct Commission Inquiry and now included under this bill are obtaining warrants under the Surveillance Devices Act, the Telecommunications (Interception) Northern Territory Act and the Police (Special Investigative and other Powers) Act and allowing the Territory to apply to the Commonwealth for the ICAC to be exempt from certain Commonwealth offences that criminalise intercepting telecommunications, increasing powers relating to witness protection under the Witness Protection Act.
The introduction of these measures will ensure our ICAC has the same powers as other anti-corruption watchdogs around the country and we will ensure ours runs smoothly and effectively. The Attorney-General also mentioned a number of amendments to the Criminal Code Act which will widen the definition of those able to be investigated for government corruption to make sure ministerial advisors, members of this Assembly, police and judicial officers are all included under the ICAC umbrella.
This is as it should be. The ICAC needs to have as much scope as possible to ensure any corruption is tackled vigorously and successfully. In an ideal world, we would not need an anti-corruption watchdog like an ICAC, but we know it is important to have one put forward. Unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world, which means we need to make sure we put all safeguards in place to ensure public can be more confident when it comes to the conduct of officials and making sure they are doing the right thing.
There has probably never been a better time for the Territory to go down this path after the all-encompassing erosion of trust in good government that was caused under the chaos of the previous government.
Trust in members of parliament and other public officials was left at an all–time low after those disastrous four years, and the introduction of an ICAC is one of the measures this government is introducing to try to restore faith around how the Territory is run, and giving the public more assurances that there are eyes, ears and an ICAC there ensuring that we have a system that is free of corruption.
Before I go any further, it is probably worth mentioning a bit of the history around this issue in the Northern Territory. Despite Australia’s first anti–corruption watchdog being established in New South Wales nearly three decades ago the idea has certainly been met initially with some resistance in the Territory. There were governments that claimed it would cost too much and the Territory was too small for an ICAC. Even attempts to establish independent inquiries in to allege corruption had been met with resistance at times.
Who can forget the former government’s contempt for proper scrutiny in 2014 when it rescinded a private members motion which passed in this House, which would have looked at the previous 20 years of political donations? Certainly, there was no doubt that there was a lot of outrage in the community over that decision— and after a lot of public support, and unfortunately I think it was driven by the fact that public believed it was absolutely needed—we are at the point where we had the Honourable Brian Martin, QC, appointed in 2015 to inquire in to the ICAC in the Northern Territory. He released his report with its 52 recommendations in May 2016.
This government has taken up the overwhelming majority and here we are today with the consequential amendment act that we have here before us—after a lot of work on the ICAC Bill that has come in before this Chamber—and this is delivering on a key election commitment of this government to establish an Independent Commission Against Corruption, which is a first for the Northern Territory and it is timely that it is delivered.
What is really important, and something that I would like to talk about why it is so important to have an ICAC— is one of the best answers I have seen to those questions has been when we have had a look at ICACs around the nation and at some information from New South Wales which has led the way when it comes to corruption watchdogs in this country—there is some information we have found that says:
Undetected and unchecked corruption in the public sector can cause serious damage including: undermining public trust in government wasting public resources and money causing injustice through advantaging some at the expense of others inefficiencies in operations DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
reputational damage which makes it difficult to recruit and retain quality staff or obtain best value in tender processes. It may also be more difficult to attract business investment, adversely affecting prosperity.
As Treasurer, the next part, particularly caught our attention:
Globally, the World Economic Forum has estimated that the cost of corruption is about US$2.6 trillion a year. The impacts of corruption disproportionately affect the most vulnerable people in society. Widespread corruption deters investment, weakens economic growth and undermines the rule of law.
The information on the New South Wales ICAC website goes on to say—an additional reason why an ICAC is important—deterrence and prevention:
… the ICAC works to prevent corruption before it occurs and provide guidance and advice on what public officials can do to prevent corruption and how to manage specific corruption risk functions.
Put simply, an ICAC helps prevent corruption happening in the first place by creating a more corruption resistance public service.
Most importantly it is knowing that people have the confidence that there are eyes on what is happening, the ear is to the ground, and that if they conduct themselves in any corrupt activity they will be investigated and they will be brought to justice.
The establishment of the ICAC ultimately is here about preventing that corruption, and in doing so it will ensure help that we have more public confidence in government, that we do save more in public resources, that we improve efficiencies on operations across government, we improve the reputation of our public sector, which will make it easier to recruit and retain more staff, and it does increase the confidence of business in our public service which will help see greater investment.
As the Attorney-General recently outlined, the original ICAC Bill will align 50 out of the 52 recommendations to the Anti-Corruption, Integrity and Misconduct Commission Inquiry. We will have an ICAC established that will have far-reaching powers that will enable it to investigate the most serious corruption by public officers and public bodies.
The Attorney-General has made it clear that the definition of a public officer is broad. It includes public servants, judges, statutory office holders, any officer or employee of a public body, and the people who have the privilege to work in this building—us, as members of the parliament, ministerial staff and advisers. It is important that the people who make decisions and provide advice are covered by this legislation. If we are to be transparent and accountable to the public and uphold the standards that the public expects of us, we must be fully subject to the work of the ICAC.
It is not just public officers who will be captured by the work of the ICAC; it is anybody who conspires with a public official that can be investigated and brought to account. The Attorney-General has pointed to a few instances of collusive tendering, misappropriating or misusing public resources, and dishonestly undermining a regulatory scheme designed to promote or protect health and safety, public health, the environment or amenity of an area, or the management and commercial exploitation of resources.
Everybody has been put on notice. If you commit a corrupt act, the ICAC will be there to catch you. It will also be able to investigate historic matters and will use its independence freely and fully to determine its priorities, not the government’s or opposition’s—the matters it thinks most relevant to the Northern Territory. That is a very important part.
We want an independent ICAC. That means the public will have confidence in their conduct and how they are going about their job. We want to know the ICAC is free of politics. That is also Territorians’ expectation. They want to know the ICAC will be fully independent and conducting investigations based on where they feel is corruption.
Although the ICAC will focus on serious incidents of corrupt activity, that does not mean that lesser offences will slip through the system. The ICAC will have the ability to refer matters that are not serious enough for its remit but well within its parameters of other bodies which already respond to improper conduct, such as the Ombudsman, police, the Children’s Commissioner and the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
The ICAC will add to the existing framework for dealing with matters of misconduct. Rather than replace those, we are already doing such an important job in those areas.
One of the reasons we put for and against establishing an ICAC in the Territory before is that it is too small— everyone knows each other. That argument was that there would be too many conflicts of interest for the smooth running of an anti-corruption watchdog in a close-knit jurisdiction with such a small population. But this legislation for the ICAC addresses that problem by providing the ability for an acting ICAC to be appointed, for instances where there are personal conflicts of interest. The acting ICAC would address the matter while the existing ICAC carried on with its day-to-day activities and investigations.
There is no doubt there are plenty of safeguards in place to ensure this is an effective ICAC working in the best interests of the Northern Territory and meeting the needs and expectations of the Northern Territory.
The ICAC will have wide-ranging cohesive powers, including the ability to inspect financial records of banks and financial institutions without a warrant; to require a person to attend a location, answer questions, produce documents and other things; to enter and search premises without a warrant; to enter and search private premises if a warrant is granted, and seize and retain evidence located during searches; and to issue directions to public bodies to do or refrain from doing something in order to avoid obstructing an investigation or protect a whistleblower.
These are substantial but necessary powers, which is why it is so important that the person who performs the role is beyond reproach and has a proven track record of meeting the high standards of community expectation and that is what the community deserves when it comes to ICAC commissioner. And there is a huge amount of work that is happening behind that process as we speak.
We know that the person who takes on the role of leading our ICAC is a skilled person, is impartial and that they do have a CV of including: being a lawyer of at least 10 years; standing or a former judge of a supreme court; someone with no recent political affiliations—and I have to stress this very important, that political affiliations part, we need to have an ICAC that is absolutely not seen to be in any way controlled by politics at all—that has not served as an MLA, a ministerial adviser, staffer; a political office holder or made reportable donation to a political party for at least five years, it is very important.
In addition to that it is important to note that the ICAC will also be answerable to another independent body to ensure it remains accountable as well. It is important that we have an ICAC that Territorians absolutely have faith in. That they know will go about doing their job to the high expectations of Territorians.
There has been a huge amount of work that has taken place to be here to this very day. Firstly, and certainly the last parliament we did see that there were very serious questions that continue to be raised around the conduct of ministers, of advisors and some serious conduct questions within the public section. And some of those issues remain ongoing. Unfortunately it got to the point where, it was an absolute necessity to have an ICAC here in the Northern Territory and it had to be pursued.
Of course, the Honourable Brian Martin did a huge amount of work in putting together his inquiry—his report—to make the recommendations about how we establish the ICAC and that was certainly a significant body of work there.
In coming to government, we made sure that we had a public service tasked— and this was one of our top priorities—which was to put the legislation and the resourcing together and we will see the establishment of the ICAC this year.
And this will be a properly resourced ICAC. We have certainly, the budget allocation there. But this will be an ICAC that will be well resourced to get on and doing their very important job and deliver on this key election commitment around restoring trust in government and giving Territorians more faith in the conduct of ourselves, of the staff that work around us and making sure that people who work within the public service and around it, conduct themselves in a manner that everybody expects.
It is about having that set of eyes and ears there so people know that if they do conduct themselves in a way which is corrupt, that will we found out.
And that there will be a body to find them. And I think it is going to be very helpful, particularly to members of the public because I think we have all had it as members from time to time, when you get somebody who comes through the door picks up the phone, to describe something that they do not believe is correct conduct. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
That they believe is questionable. That they want to see scrutinised. That they want to have faith that the hard questions will be asked and it will be looked at.
And there are bodies in place but I think this will be the ultimate investigative body when it comes to those serious allegations of corruption that you get from time to time to know that they will have confidence that they can go the ICAC, they can put their allegation forward, or what they have seen forward and it will be looked it. It will have the powers to look into these issues properly.
It is something that we need and I think it is something that Territorians will welcome this year. We are very much looking forward to seeing the establishment of that body, which will do such an important job in the Northern Territory in helping restore more trust and more faith in the conduct of the Northern Territory Government and everything that is associated with that because it is a very big machine and there are many people involved right across the board.
I thank all the hard-working people who have put in the time and effort to put this important legislation together to the committee which have done the important work in scrutinising that legislation to the point where we are here with the consequential amendment bill. It has been a huge body of work which has taken some time. The government has been working flat out to get this up and running, but we are here. This is another important milestone today towards the delivery of the ICAC.
I thank the Attorney-General for her work. This has been a huge body of work. She has done some very heavy lifting in bringing this consequential amendment bill before the House.
This will be an important time in the history of the Northern Territory. I hope that, ultimately, we see an ICAC up and running that gives people faith that if there is ever serious misconduct, people will be found out. It will act as a further deterrent to people conducting themselves in a way which is corrupt.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to the House and thank the Attorney-General and all the members of this parliament, the public service and members of the public who contributed with their feedback in the development of this bill. With all the work that has gone in, we will finally have an Independent Commissioner Against Corruption in the Northern Territory in 2018.
Mr SIEVERS (Brennan): Madam Speaker, I will not speak for long. I welcome everyone to the first parliament sittings in 2018. It is great to be back. It is even great to talk about the ICAC Bill and the serious work that has been done behind the scenes on it.
Today I speak about the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bill and the amendments that are required to ensure that the ICAC is effective in its operations. I have spoken before on the ICAC and I again congratulate the Chief Minister, the Attorney-General and this NT government for being the first government in the NT to establish an Independent Commission Against Corruption. I again congratulate everyone involved. This will be in the history books as one of the biggest turns in the Territory and one of the best things the Territory has done.
This government has kept its election promises. We continue to deliver – yes, deliver. The ICAC Bill is still at the forefront for everyone in our community. Territorians do not want a repeat of the appalling CLP behaviour to ever happen again in the Territory – appalling behaviour that led to a book being written on their shortcomings and outrageous behaviour that was embarrassing to not only all Territorians, but to all people across Australia and even the world. It was improper behaviour that made the Territory the laughing stock of many others. Shame!
We must move on from there and keep positive for the Northern Territory. The families and hard workers in my electorate of Brennan want the ICAC to be implemented as soon as possible. They want the ICAC to investigate and prosecute any members of service of government, both past and present, who have acted improperly in their duties.
I have noticed that many people I speak to these days are very pleased that they now have a stable, hard-working Labor government that is working for them, their future and their families and puts Territorians first with jobs, education, health and police services. It is very clear Territorians want a voice and a government they are able to work with. They want a government which will look out for them, is willing to stand up for them and their families and is fair and accountable. That is this government. We have listened and acted and are now one step closer to delivering the ICAC. We are delivering on another election promise.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
This government are not only bringing in the ICAC, but we are restoring and growing the Territory’s reputation, integrity and economic future to Australia and the world. The ICAC will hold all government officials and services to account on any level of government, including politicians, police, judges, chief executives and more—past, present and into the future.
The ICAC will bring in a system and process to ensure the community is protected from any misuse of power or authority. It will bring in a system that is independent, fair and long overdue. I understand Territorians have been consulted on the bill and have had the opportunity to provide input into its development, including its referral to the Social Policy Scrutiny Committee which is another level of transparency provided by this government.
The ICAC Bill is a complex and important bill that is now another step closer to being completed in this parliament. When it is complete it will be a significant moment in the history of the Territory and of this parliament.
As a government that is accountable and transparent it is clear that the establishment of an Independent Commission against Corruption is another very positive step in the Territory to restore government’s integrity and accountability to its people.
Madam Speaker, I thank you for another opportunity to speak about the ICAC in parliament again and I commend the great work this government and department staff are doing. We are a government that keeps on delivering and I support the ICAC Bill amendments to the House.
Debate suspended.
The Assembly suspended.
INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION (CONSEQUENTIAL AND RELATED AMENDMENT) BILL (Serial 35)
Continued from earlier this day.
Ms LAWLER (Education): Madam Speaker, I, like so many Territorians, believe in an open and transparent government people can trust. We live in a society that expects governments and its public officers to act in the best interests of its people and to perform their roles with professionalism and integrity. When Labor came to government we knew a lot of work was needed to restore trust in our government processes and public confidence in the government’s ability to make decisions in the interests of all Territorians, not just a few.
I do not need to tell Territorians how we got here and the failures of the previous CLP government. We all know, through its actions and decisions, it lost the trust of the community. Reducing important community services such as health and youth services, making significant cuts to education and having weak governance processes helped to erode trust in government and we do not want that to ever happen again.
We want Territorians to know that government can, and will, be accountable for its decisions. We have already implemented a number of measures providing greater openness and transparency, including:
changing legislation to public money is not spent on political advertising
establishing an inquiry into political donations going back 10 years
establishing a select committee to investigate how we can make parliament more accessible and transparent; establishing not one but two scrutiny committees—the Legislation Scrutiny Committee and the Social Policy Scrutiny Committee which are providing important oversight of key legislation and policy initiative, including this bill
publishing the costs of official overseas travel of government members.
This government is working hard to ensure trust and accountability is restored in all levels of government. However, the independent commission against corruption needs the power to do its job effectively—and laws align with community expectation.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
I support the consequential and related amendments to the ICAC Bill. These amendments will provide the commissioner with access to information that enables them to better detect and assess corruption. It will ensure witnesses can have the confidence to come forward, knowing they will be properly protected and criminal or corrupt behaviour and practice will be investigated and dealt with appropriately. It will ensure that anyone who is a public officer including members of this Assembly, ministerial advisers, public servants, police and judicial officers, will be accountable for their actions.
These amendments will make it clear without any doubt that it is an offence for a public officer to accept or request a bribe, or for a person to offer or give a bribe to a public officer. Corruption cannot and will not be tolerated.
Corruption of public officials is a breach of public trust. It can result in wasted or misused public money and resources and can create inequity and damage to the Territory’s reputation.
We know that the vast majority of public servant are honest, hard-working, passionate and committed employees to do an incredible job. The ICAC is not about them; it is not targeting public servants who act in good faith and get on and do their work.
These amendments are about protecting the community from the misuse of power and authority, and rebuilding community confidence in our processes and institutions. It is about restoring trust in government and the Northern Territory Public Sector. To do this, our elected officials, public servants and government agencies must act with honesty and integrity.
Territorians deserve a mechanism to ensure their government and public agencies are open, accountable and operate with integrity. They deserve the same oversight that other states, like New South Wales, have. They established an ICAC almost 30 years ago.
Territorians deserve a system of integrity that holds government to the same high standards as our southern neighbours. I think we can all acknowledge that this is well overdue.
I am proud to be part of a government that wants to take the Territory forward. We are a team that is personally invested in the Territorians. A number of my colleagues and I—including the Chief Minister—grew up in the Territory. This is our home, and we are working to support the growth and prosperity of the Territory now and into the future.
I believe we are a government which, unlike the previous CLP government, is demonstrating to Territorians that we will act with honesty and integrity. Although not all Territorians will agree with all our decisions, they can have confidence that the decisions we make are not self-serving or made to directly or indirectly benefit us. We are putting Territorians first.
The ICAC and these amendments will help to build and maintain that trust. It will ensure that officials in positions of power are not left unchecked and will be accountable to the public for their actions and decisions. This government is serious about listening to Territorians, but building trust and integrity in government is more than just listening. It is built by doing what you say you will do, and involving the community in important decisions.
I am proud to say this is a government that is delivering on its commitments. I am focused on delivering on those and to building and maintaining trust with the community, schools, families and key partners in education. We have been working hard to reinvest in education so our young people can engage in their learning, grow and achieve to their full potential.
We are delivering on our commitment to invest an additional $124m into education during this term of government. I spoke in Question Time today about even more than that. We said we would put an additional $20m directly into government school budgets, and we are doing that. This investment has a positive impact on our students, with more teachers, support staff and resources at our schools.
We committed to a review of the global school budget funding model, and an independent review was undertaken by Ernst and Young which involved talking to school councils and principals so the voice of the school community was considered in their findings.
Last year I released a copy of that independent report. We can be proud, as a government, of releasing those reports and sharing them with the public so that they understands the decisions we make. We are also DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 making sure we have firm, comprehensive implementation plans that address those recommendations. That is what we have done with the school resourcing model.
We have provided a fair and transparent model that puts students first and is predictable for schools. Government is investing an additional $39m over the next four years to implement this new model and get things right.
We said we would provide an additional $8m per year for early intervention services, tackling challenging behaviour in the classroom and supporting students with additional needs, and that is exactly what we have done. There are more support services for children with autism spectrum disorder in the Territory. We are upskilling our educators so they can better teach children with additional needs, including those diagnosed with autism, dyslexia and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
We are improving student access to allied health professionals and expanding the teams that support teachers to meet the needs of students. We established an early intervention learning hub—Mimik-ga—for children with additional needs in the Darwin and Palmerston areas. I could go on and on, but it is about making commitments as a government and making sure they are fulfilled. We are building trust by demonstrating to Territorians that we will take action and deliver on those commitments.
Whether children are at home or school, they learn that if they deliberately do something wrong or break rules there are consequences. This should be the same for all adults, and I think Territorians agree with that. This government was elected on a platform of trust, accountability and integrity, and we understand our responsibility to Territorians. We do not take that responsibility lightly. We understand that we are responsible for using public funds in the best interests of the Territory. We are here to serve Territorians in the best way possible, not our own self-interests.
That is why I support the ICAC (Consequential and Related Amendments) Bill, and I commend it to the House.
Ms NELSON (Katherine): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the bill before the House today. Corruption undermines trust in institutions, businesses and markets. It is a destructible force which, at its worst, reduces faith in the rule of law.
All this has significant impact on any economic and social development, making it harder for people to prosper and for any community to support its most vulnerable. We are all here to support our communities.
Corruption does not happen everywhere, instead it is concentrated in certain pockets of industry, government bureaucracy and society. As the previous speakers have mentioned, corruption undermines the rule of law.
This bill before the parliament has been rigorously scrutinised by the public and the Social Policy Scrutiny Committee, ensuring we have struck the right balance between power, protections and accountability for anyone involved in the NT Government or in spending NT public money.
This has ensured the best possible model for the NT ICAC. This is a model built for and with the people. It is quite obvious that a Labor government locally and federally is the only government committed to implementing legislation that will bring an ICAC.
Bill Shorten recently announced that a Labor government will support a national anti-corruption commission when elected to government. I was caught off guard by this—the Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce, apparently does not agree with that statement. He stated late last month that he believes there is no need for a national anti-corruption commission because the system is working fine. It is astonishing that he would make such a claim, especially when about two weeks ago a survey was conducted by the Australia Public Service Commission, which found that an increasing number of public servants had witnessed corruption largely in the form of cronyism and nepotism.
Those things sound awfully familiar from about two years ago.
This survey also revealed 5% of public servants reported witnessing corrupt behaviour in 2016-17, which is a significant increase from the 2.6% who had witnessed corruption in 2013-14 and the 3.6% who had responded in 2014-15.
About a year ago, more than 40 high-profile Australians renewed calls for a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption after the political expenses scandals led to the resignation of then Health minister, DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Sussan Ley. Of course, who can forget the Bronwyn Bishop episode? Obviously, their calls were dismissed by the current government.
Mr Joyce has also said that an anti-political corruption watch dog was unnecessary in Australia because he did not want Australians to get to the point where people were scared for the government to govern. He is quoted in The Guardian news on 28 January saying:
I don’t think there is a real sense in Australia of a concern with the political system ...
I wonder what Australia he is living in?
We don’t lack any capacity in our federal system to pursue issues that are a concern within the political frame. We’ve got a Senate in federal politics which all the time calls inquiries, it can basically subpoena people, it has the capacity if there is a query to follow that through.
I am thinking that Mr Joyce has not grasped the independent component of the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
It seems a recurring theme, though, within conservative political parties, but the current CLP members of parliament do not seem to fit into this recurring theme because they are quite supportive of this ICAC Bill that is before the parliament.
However, I recall in 2015, then Attorney-General, John Elferink, announced that his government would set up an anti-corruption body due as a consequence of criticism, despite his opinion that there was no need for one. He would only set one up because there was some public criticism.
I also remember that was during the year that the then CLP government had faced immense pressure in the media and from the public about the Foundation 51 and the travel allowance sagas, and the Peter Maley affair. When he was asked why the government appeared to have back flipped on their sentiment on the ICAC, Mr Elferink said it continued to be his personal opinion that there was no need for the new body, but the government had a change of heart as a consequence of criticism.
In an ideal world there would be no need for an Independent Commission Against Corruption, but quite obviously the world we live in today is imperfect and not ideal.
Last year I had the privilege of representing the Australian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Northern Territory government as a delegate at the 2017 OECD Global Anti-Corruption Integrity Forum which was held in Paris. As a newly-elected member of the NT Legislative Assembly, to be given the opportunity to listen and learn from government representatives of countries that have successfully established and implemented independent commissions against corruption was truly a privilege. The information presented at the forum—whether it was through sessional speakers, moderators, participants or experiences of my fellow CLPA delegates I travelled with—was extremely valuable and further reinforced my long-held belief that an ICAC corruption watch dog is well overdue in the Northern Territory.
During my campaign, throughout my inaugural speech and over the last 18 months, I have spoken consistently and passionately about trust, transparency and honesty. In my inaugural speech, I stated that I believe trust is a vital part of leadership and community engagement. For that reason, I have implemented processes that have improved the transparency and accountability of the representation I am giving to the people of Katherine.
Creating an ICAC is not only about ensuring a better government, but most certainly about repairing the broken relationship between Territorians and their government.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I commend this bill to the Assembly.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Before I go to the Minister for Territory Families, I remind honourable members to turn your phone off or onto flight mode. If you do not, I will have one of the Attendants have you removed!
Ms WAKEFIELD (Territory Families): Mr Deputy Speaker, I am feeling a little nervous after that. It was been very good to start this parliamentary year with this important debate and talk about the importance of what we do and to have mechanisms that support the parliament and government to be trusted, to do things transparently and for the public to have faith in what we do every day. That has been lacking over the last DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 few years and I am extremely proud to be part of a government that is finally putting in place and Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.
When I have spoken on this issue before, I have talked about my shock in becoming a politician. As someone who worked in the social services for many years, had been a social worker and in a position that people generally trusted and believed to be working with good motivations, to then become a politician and have people who do not personally know me assume I am somehow part of a process that is untrustworthy has been a shock.
It is something we really need to reflect on as politicians in terms of how we got here. How did we get to a place where politicians are seen as untrustworthy when my experience on both sides of the House is that the people who put their hands up for public service are people genuinely committed to their community? They are people who are genuinely interested in doing the right thing by their community, passionate and give up a lot to represent their electorate. That is my experience, yet that is unfortunately not how everyone has behaved.
Prior to being elected, I listened to some of these debates in the House and one of the most striking things was the previous government resisting putting in a process like this at every turn. It was extraordinary to listen to. One of the things that struck me the most in the arguments about why the CLP though we should not have an independent commission was that we live in a small place and that is was not really worth it.
For me, this makes it more important and vital that we have an Independent Commissioner against Corruption because we are all interconnected; it is a small degree of separation between people in the Northern Territory. One of the things I say to people when they move to Alice Springs is it will not be long before you go to the supermarket and see someone you know. You do not have much time in the community where you will not run into people you know; it is a small place.
To use that as an excuse not to have one is nonsense because we need to have those ongoing safeguards in place as well as—the other thing that can happen in the Northern Territory is that power can be concentrated in quite small places. If one person is not acting in an ethical way, the ripple effect on our whole system can have a huge impact. There can be small groups of people making decisions and that is why we need those checks and balances in place that make sure we are accountable for our behaviour in all the decisions we make at all levels of government.
That is one thing this legislation does well, it gives the flexibility and ability for this ICAC to look at a wide range of matters which is highly important in a jurisdiction like the Northern Territory.
I think the Deputy Chief Minister said it adds to that framework of already quite a strong accountability framework but there was a piece missing and we know there was a piece missing for a long time. Whilst we have the ombudsman in place, the children’s commissioner and a range of other independent bodies, the anti–discrimination commissioner, who oversee a range of functions and give the public an ability to complain about public institutions around specific issues, there has been missing that overarching kind of watch dog that we need to work on.
I echo what the Deputy Chief Minister said—we have all had people come and tell us stories, we all have had that experience in this place. In Alice Springs I can tell you under the last government some of those whispers really reached fever pitch. A lot of people were concerned about processes. Whether those concerns were valid or not the reality is without an ICAC we do not know. That is where we absolutely have to be careful, and I know the Leader of the Opposition got quite sensitive today in Question Time around questions of corruptions and criminality, I understand that.
I understand that sense of why someone might feel defensive if they are feeling accused and that is why we need an ICAC because we need a body that can definitively investigate claims, who can definitively be trusted by the public to do that in an independent way, in a non–partisan way, or else the whispers are just going to continue.
I think that is where we erode the trust in this institution that we are standing today, and erode the trust in our public servants who work hard. I am very fortunate to be the minister of an extremely hard working department. It must be disheartening to those public servants when they are accused of not being transparent of not acting in ethical ways when it happens—because that is not the experience that I have but when there are those whispers, those perceptions we need to be able to tackle them head on with an independent organisation that can have the trust of the community to oversee it.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
As someone from Alice Springs there was a lot of discussion. The Member for Brennan talked about how embarrassing it is to have a government in place that has a book written about it—a book that got passed lawyers so we know there might have been things that were not in there as well—I have heard things that were not in that book.
I have to say it was one of the main reasons why I put up my hand to run for politics. I watched the Member for Araluen leave the party because of her disappointment in the party and that gained her a lot of respect within our community. I do note today she has not closed the door on going back which was a little bit of a surprise and a startle to me, I have to say, back in to the boys clubs, although there are much less boys in the club at the moment, but that is her choice. Obviously she is thinking about what her options are going in to the future, good on her.
She earnt a lot of respect for being independent and being free thinking and standing up. Would she have done that and compromised herself so much if there had been a way for her to refer the issues that she was seeing that were concerning her to an independent body. That is a really important thing to note that this protects all of us.
Again, it was the embarrassment and there was a perception. The Attorney-General mentioned Dave Tollner’s talk about what opens doors in the Territory. There was perception in Alice Springs that if you went to the pub and had a few drinks, you could get grant money. That was the perception, whether it was real or not, I do not know. But that was what the perception in town was, like ‘Adam Giles, good bloke. You go down to the pub, have a few beers’. That was the type of thing that was happening and it has been said to me multiple times by multiple people.
And again, if it is not true, we have to have a mechanism to show that. We have to be able to investigate these whispers. Because the power of whispers is a hang-around. They hang around corners. Everyone goes ‘oh you know, you have heard that story or you heard that story’. What we are doing as a government is stopping those whispers by giving an independent commission against corruption for people to refer those concerns to. Because if they are genuinely concerned, they need to.
I think the other thing we need to talk about today is, it is not only the perception of politicians that is up for grabs here. One of the things with those type of conversations is that there whispers against other businesses. If a business under the previous government got a contract—now they might have that contract completely in an absolutely independent, robust tender process, but what was happening in Alice Springs, was that there whispers about how people got that contract and it impacted on the reputation—I think sometimes—of very good, local businessmen, who were trying to do their best—do their best for their business—but they were getting smeared by being part of this process. Seen down the pub, having a beer with someone, then they get a contract. That does not mean that there was a process there, but people are putting two and two together and getting five, but nowhere to go with that. Nowhere to have those conversations.
We need to be very robust that this is not only about investigating those type of processes, but it is also about accountability. So that if you do hear a whisper from someone, you can say, ‘well you can refer that one. You need to act on that’, rather than continuing this process which constantly undermines the Northern Territory, because that is the reality of it. It does not undermine individuals, it undermines the sense of who we are as a place.
And I think it is really important that we really—I think there are some core values about the Territory in pay in this debate, and that is about people liking a straight talker. People liking truth tellers in this place. We are a straight forward place. People will tell you to your face, what they think about your decision and we have all had that experience. We need those processes to make sure that there is truth and accountability in government as well.
I would like to also say that has been a really robust process and I would like to thank the Attorney-General for the process as well as the opportunity that we have as a government to actually deliver, rather than just talk about on this process, but I think the fact that we are so open with the draft of the legislation that people were able to scrutinise that. There was such a public process around the legislation that there was a—the scrutiny committees were used really well and I watched those processes and I think that they really brought in new information, which was great.
I think that we have shown a really—through the process that we have taken to the parliament has—every step of the way—shown why we are doing what we are doing and we are doing it with the intent that we want to continue on making sure that the process is transparent, that as many people as possible had input into DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 the legislation, that we have talked and listened to people and we have given all those people who—I have to say sometimes told us stories that they feel nervous about sharing—giving them the guarantee that we are setting up an independent process that will absolutely support those people to challenge things that they feel are not right, are not fair, in a way that is safe for them, that is transparent and also non-political in its process. The Attorney-General has set the tone for this well and I thank her and the Chief Minister for their leadership.
I note there was some criticism in the newspaper the other day about the police preparing for an ICAC or something. It was an interesting argument because I think we need to look at the preventative impact of a body like this moving forward. If you think you can get away with something, the temptation is always going to be greater. Whether people chose to or not is a personal choice about ethics and how you behave in a set of circumstances.
We need to know where someone is under pressure—and there is a range of thigs that can support people to make small or large decisions that can end up being corrupt in their processes. We need to not underestimate that sense of thinking, I will be caught, there are people around me who will make sure I am accountable and there is a way they can refer me to an independent body.
It is really important we do not underestimate that because I know in running organisations and hiring staff, you need to have those accountability processes in place; people need to feel you are watching them. One of my great tips was to turn up all the time on weekends when I was running a 24 hour service, just dropping in on my way back from somewhere. It was just to turn up so people did not know when I would be on the premises.
That is a very small example of what you need to do when you are running an organisation; you need to make sure people are aware they are accountable and that there are significant and substantive consequences for this process. It is very clear in this legislation there are substantive consequences and accountability measures that make sure people know if they do the wrong things and step outside a very clear boundary, there will be a consequence and an independent body without fear or favour making sure the Territory is a place that is fair, accountable and transparent.
This will be an exciting role and many people are excited about the prospect of having this level of accountability because for too long in the Northern Territory people have worried there has not been enough checks and balances. I am very proud to be part of a government that is saying we want to do things differently, much like we want to do things differently concerning the youth space, children and families. This is a part of a whole package we have clearly articulated to the Territory public when we went to the election.
This government is about kids, trust and jobs. Today we have had a lot of conversation around jobs. I note the great work that the Treasurer did outlining our package because we know this will be a tough year. We need to look to our future and I see this ICAC as oriented to be part of a strong future for the Northern Territory. This is about making sure we have a robust Territory with strong governance.
\Weak governance is bad for business. Poor decision-making and weak governance led to the business community not trusting the previous government to deliver and that was one of the reasons business knocked back in the last election. They did not, because they did not trust them to do things in a way that was transparent, fair and reasonable—without the chaos either. The chaos is a whole other level.
If we will have a secure economic future we have to put in place the building blocks so business and private enterprise can trust governments to deliver and that if tender processes or a range of other things from government are not straightforward, there is a mechanism in place. This is not just about the public trusting the Northern Territory government, it is about business trusting the government as a place to do business with a straight bat and not having to go out drinking until all hours with the minister to get something—which is ridiculous—and to be clear and transparent about our plans and deliver on them.
It has been great to talk about this today because it is something I am very passionate about. It is one of the reasons why I am in this place—not only because it made me put my hand up but why I am the first Labor member in Alice Springs. This is one of the reasons why the people of Alice Springs said they had had enough of poor government, CLP corruption and the perception that it is all about your boys and mates and if you are not in that club you will not get an equal opportunity.
That is why I am a very proud member of a Labor Party that is about equality, fairness and talking with everyone and giving them an opportunity to be part of a very shiny future for the Northern Territory.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Ms MOSS (Environment and Natural Resources): Mr Deputy Speaker, with my colleagues today, I support the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (Consequential and Related Amendments) Bill 2017 introduced to this House by the Attorney-General. This is an important development in the establishment of an Independent Commissioner Against Corruption and another important milestone against one of the most important commitments this government has made to Territorians.
First and foremost, I thank members for their thoughtful contributions to the debate so far. We probably all agree that there is no more important work than the work we are doing as a parliament and government to establish the ICAC, but also implement measures across the different portfolio areas we have charge of to increase transparency and engagement with the community, and restore that community voice back into decision making.
It was a pillar of the Territory Labor government policy platform to restore trust back into our public institutions. We see this as a vital part of government functioning the way it is supposed to and to acting in the best interests of Territorians. Territorians also expect and deserve it, quite rightly and fairly.
In the time leading up to the 2016 election, in opposition, we said it would be a Labor government that would deliver an ICAC and we were right. I am proud to stand today amongst my Territory Labor government colleagues who put people at the heart of their actions and policies. We are no longer in a position where we will be delivering an Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, we are delivering it. We cannot underestimate how important this is to people in our local community to have that independent oversight and independent watch dog, giving confidence back to Territorians in our local community that there is somewhere they can go to a body that will keep us accountable in the way they expect us to be held accountable, both at a political level with politicians and representatives and through those public institutions.
The Member for Brennan truly hit it on the head when he described this as an historic time. It truly is. The Territory Labor opposition, when doorknocking and consulting, heard that message loud and clear that the trust in our public institutions and our representatives had been lost. The Member for Braitling described that articulately this afternoon.
I was reflecting as she was contributing previously to me that I also came from community services. I have worked in the public service with community services. It is an odd transition into this position, particularly after the former government—experiencing the distrust that some people hold toward politicians.
Never more was that trust lost than in the four years of the CLP government that preceded us. It was a distinct lack of transparency and decision-making, a chaotic and dysfunctional team of individuals who spent more time looking out for themselves and playing political games than representing the people who put them in that privileged position. They forgot what it meant to be in this Assembly representing Territorians and the honour that is. It is an honour that comes with accountability.
Earlier today the Leader of the Opposition was a bit sensitive about a press release that went out from the Attorney-General about the year ahead and this government’s actions to curb corruption and criminality. I just want to make it clear that in my recounting of some historical events—I am not making any accusations, but I think it is important—we are not rewriting history. We are remembering the events that have allowed an environment of distrust in the community to fester. I will recount some of that today.
We saw the CLP government—members of which remain in the Chamber today as opposition and Independents—overturn a political donations inquiry after the Casuarina by-election after playing along with it throughout that by-election.
As the candidate for Territory Labor and having the great honour of becoming the Member for Casuarina in 2014, it demonstrated the contempt the former government had for the voters in my electorate. It showed me well and truly—not that we needed any more evidence at that point—the contempt the CLP had for Territorians the width and breadth of this place.
It was disgraceful behaviour that, I believe, personified the CLP government. In some ways, despite everything that had come before it, it was a shocking entry to this place. It was a steep and early learning curve.
February is the anniversary of that fateful couple of days when the Territory had no idea who was Chief Minister. It was times like these that characterised the way the CLP government operated, the environment of distrust grew, and our reputation across this country plummeted. Business confidence and our reputation nationally plummeted as a result of the behaviour and the chaotic actions of the former government. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
It was instability, self-interest and a lack of transparency—we have to be bold in our actions to lift the standards. Stability, certainty and accountability are the key to restoring trust in government. The number of Territorians who were turning up to our town hall sessions in opposition to talk about initiatives that would restore trust were testament to the sentiment in our communities. The desire Territorians held and continue to hold, to be part of a conversation about a modern parliament and government they trust to make decision, impacts on their daily lives.
This is how long ago this work started—this does not happen overnight. We have been active in our communities for some time, making sure Territorians have been included in this conversation and that we arrive at the point we are at today, with an ICAC that will be functioning in the Territory.
Anybody who has been on the doorsteps of local families would have felt it. The community wants to know that government is doing what it can to increase transparency, to fight for them and be accountable. I heard that message in Casuarina and it was felt across the Territory. Now the ICAC will be a reality this year. We are one of the last Australian jurisdictions to establish an anti-corruption watchdog. It is more than timely that we do that to ensure we are fulfilling our commitment to Territorians.
Part of our history in the Territory—we are, in many ways, a frontier and we do things differently. We have to lift the standards and make sure we are doing the right thing and being accountable for our actions.
I want to talk about the proactive measures being taken in my portfolio areas to increase transparency and accountability. We had the water licence review that was undertaken by the Department of the Chief Minister with action currently being enacted by my department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Water is one of the most precious resources we have in the Territory. It is a finite resource and we need to make sure Territorians have confidence it is being managed sustainably and responsibly and the decisions around it are transparent. We are committed to making sure we are restoring trust in that system and it will be a big body of work.
During that water licence review, one of the things found was that almost half of the water allocated in the Northern Territory was allocated in the four years of that CLP government. I will allow that to sink in for a moment. Almost half of all the water allocated in the Territory was allocated in four years under the CLP.
They had a reckless approach to water allocation and were doing this with a department that was under strain. There are a whole range of recommendations under that water licence review that my department has been working really hard on over quite some time to make sure there are better processes and record- keeping in place and we are increasing the transparency over decision-making.
In early 2017 I announced the water portal where all that water licensing information is now available to the public on the web. People can go the Department of Environment and Natural Resources website and can see what the water allocation plans are, who is on the advisory committees, what decisions have been made and the factors that have been involved in allocating that water.
It is incredibly important and is now an expectation of Territorians that they can see how these decisions are being made. We are supporting the actions that have come out of the water licence review with additional funding to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to make sure they are properly resourced to process those licences and do their important work. This year we have additional funding of $1.8m in 2018–19 and $1.6m ongoing from 2019–20.
We will make sure we are restoring trust. We have also committed to reforming the Water Act as part of that process. Water is an increasingly pressing topic right across the Northern Territory, Territorians care about it. That is also why we are doing the Environmental Regulatory Reform; during the period of the former government we saw the port that was not a port and who was responsible for ports so we can make sure things get the proper scrutiny they deserve as projects with potential environmental impacts.
We are going through a significant environmental regulatory reform process. We are doing all this hand in hand with stakeholders and the community. We have re-established things like the water advisory committees and helped give a voice back to our environmental groups whose funding was ripped out under the former government alongside a whole range of other community groups.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Independent voices, scrutiny and advice from community groups and organisations was not particularly important to the former government but it is important to us because we believe their voices add valuable scrutiny and accountability to the decisions we are making and the policies we are putting in place.
In terms of the Department or Corporate and Information Services, we are getting on with the commitment we made to Territorians about open data. Open data can come with a certain amount of fear. It is really important that data is kept private where it needs to be and we are de-identifying data as it needs to be done. Open data is a really exciting concept, it means the government data that can be made available is done so. It is a great opportunity for us to be making evidence based policy in conjunction with other organisations and stakeholders; it is great for transparency.
I am really excited we are progressing that. As a government we have a Buy Local advocate which is really important as another layer of independent oversight. I want to touch on the work the Minister for infrastructure, Planning and Logistics is doing around planning reform. Anyone who went to our town halls in 2016 or before that, or anyone who has been part of our conversations since, will be aware that planning is an area in the community where there is still a trust deficit. People felt very disconnected from that process and that the transparency was often missing from decisions about planning. I commend the Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics for the hard work she is doing in the community to reform our planning system. Again, that community voice is vital to keep us accountable, making sure we are meeting the expectations and needs of Territorians.
It is also important to touch on 50:50 gender representation on board and an effort to increase diversity across the board and throughout our public sector. That is also incredibly important to making sure we lift accountability and make more informed decisions that better meet the expectations and needs of the community.
Ultimately, this is something that will transform the Territory and provide some great confidence in all of our electorates and communities that government is interested in being held accountable and it has that independent oversight they have been expecting for a long time. It is incumbent upon all of us to do our very best to look at all the ways we can lift the standard.
Before I conclude, I thank the Attorney-General and her team and her department staff who have worked exceptionally hard on getting the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption establishment to this point. It is a huge body of work and they should be commended on that. Thank you to everyone who has been part of the discussions with your local members at the town halls through this legislative process. This is an important journey for us to be on together. Thank you very much for allowing me to contribute today.
Mr KIRBY (Port Darwin): Mr Deputy Speaker, I also speak about the consequential amendments to the ICAC Bill. I take the same opportunity to recount on not only how we got here as a government, but personally what effect the previous four years had on me, my standing in the community and how I was encouraged to run for public office.
I support the introduction of this consequential and related amendments bill. I was very heavily encouraged— as not surprisingly a number of other members have mentioned they were encouraged—to run after seeing how the previous administration had played out over those three years. It did not take the full four years for people to realise there were some significant problems.
We built a platform of kids, jobs and trust, which was the foundation of our campaign. It has remained to be the foundation of the way we wanted to govern and some of the big rocks we spoke about when we first came into governing. No matter where we were having those discussions in the community about trust we are talking about with the ICAC issue was one of the major concerns the public had. I was astounded, through the seat of Port Darwin, at the lifelong CLP supporters who could not bring themselves to vote for the CLP in that election purely and simply because of the trust deficit and their concerns about the way they had behaved over the previous few years. There was no trust that they would be able to curb their behaviour and behave any better in the future. It is clearly why we have 18 seats in this House at the moment and it is very vacant across the other side of the Chamber.
There has been a massive amount of work done already in those three areas and a number of ministers have already covered off on their portfolios about some of the significant issues and how those large rocks are rolling down. It will take a long time to get momentum around a lot of those issues, but the kids, the jobs and the trust will still remain at the pinnacle of everything we strive for as a government.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Because of the community concern that legislation was introduced in August last year after the departmental people and everybody who has done all the hard work to get that legislation in and it was reasonably, robustly debated at the time. And I understand that some across the other side of the Chamber that were asking or explaining ‘be careful what you wish for’ and you would be naïve to think that everybody who has ever walked through this Chamber or any public role, that there is not going to be any ripples that are not going to be dug up in to the future. But that cannot be a reason why we do not head down these lines.
I was extremely proud to be in the Chamber last year when that was wholeheartedly supported. It was referred off to the social policy and scrutiny committee and we can only thank everybody on that committee and particularly the Chair for all of the hard work that they have done in highlighting the amendments that need to come here. And these changes will give the ICAC the remaining powers that they need—and there are very similar powers that other jurisdictions around the nation have had to make to make their ICACs run as efficiently, but as thoroughly as they need to run.
There are some sections that are designed to safeguard—not endorsing trivial misconduct, but not—making sure that the ICAC is not bogged down with it either—right through the public sector for my history—and understanding there are strong performance management procedures in place to deal with those matters and the last thing we want to see somebody who wins a bottle of wine at Christmas show having to front an ICAC meeting to explain why they forgot to notify anybody of that. It is encouraging when we do have people on the outside of the Chamber to hear that they have some support for the consequential amendments that are coming forward.
We heard from the Treasurer earlier today about how hard some of these behaviours and suspicions about things that were happening in the Territory over the last number of years under the previous jurisdiction. That it makes it very hard for businesses to be enticed to the Territory and makes it even harder to entice people to invest into the Territory. It was something that we came in with an understanding that we had to uphold public expectations.
And probably to reiterate, it is not just us that all public office holders need to be in that same situation. I guess with how tight things will remain to be for businesses throughout the Territory over the next year or so, it is as important—or more important—now more than ever that people have the confidence in their decision makers and all public office holders that decisions are being made in the best interest of the community and the Territory at large, not for any individuals.
Independent watchdogs need to be careful, they need to be beyond reproach, but once you have a body set up that has extensive powers, you need to make sure that their behaviours are of the highest of order and some of these amendments will help out with that.
Some of the offences which currently apply only to persons employed in the public sector will soon apply to anyone who is a public officer within the meaning of the bill and it also brings offences up to a contemporary standard, both in the terms of policy and in the terms of drafting style.
I pick up on what the Member for Braitling said. I grew up in small communities and we certainly are a small community throughout the Northern Territory. Whilst that means in some regards, there is an extra level of obligation on everybody because in some small communities, everybody does know what everybody else is up to, and that can be a good thing. But it also means that if there are any untoward behaviours, those ripples resonate right through the community very quickly and very deeply. And the effects of any of those untoward behaviours can be extremely devastating.
Across the Territory everyone will benefit from these amendments that are coming forward and the ICAC more generally.
Now more than ever, Territorians have to have public confidence in their public servants and elected members. I thank everybody for their input. There has been some common themes amongst the speeches from everybody, not just for hearing that a lot of us are here for similar reasons but also to hear that they understand that confidence within Territory businesses and businesses outside of the Territory as we are looking for investment, they need to see standards raised. They need to know that there is long–term confidence in the government, and that is something we will be working extremely hard to do right across the Territory.
I wholeheartedly thank everybody for their input and thank the committee and the department for all of their hard work and commend this to the House.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Ms FYLES (Attorney-General): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank all members who have contributed to the debate here today. We passed the ICAC Bill to establish the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption late last year, but this bill is as equally important. This bill allows the commission to operate. It gives it the teeth to do so.
I thank those members who have contributed today to debate. The Member for Drysdale speaking on behalf of the Opposition and for providing her comments and my government colleagues who spoke this afternoon. This government is absolutely determined to continue to deliver on our promise to restore trust in to government.
I note that the Member for Karama, Chair of the Social Policy Committee, tabled the committee’s report in to this bill this morning and I again thank the Member for Karama for all her hard work and also extend my thanks to the committee members and committee staff for the report.
While some of us had a break away from parliament and parliament procedures they certainly got stuck in to looking through this bill calling for submissions, and I note that the Member for Araluen and the members of the government team participated in hearings or committee work just last week. I thank them for all their hard work.
The committee has made two recommendations. Firstly, they have recommended that the bill be passed and I thank them for that recommendation. The second recommendation from the committee is as follows:
that section 75C be amended to clarify that the finder of fact must find that conduct warrants criminal sanction unless the conduct is trivial or damage to the public interest is minimal.
The government is pleased to accept this recommendation and I will be moving an amendment in the committee stage to implement this recommendation.
By way of background, this section of the bill was the subject of a query to me from the Social Policy Scrutiny Committee. The committee indicated some concerns with the clarity of the section of the bill. I subsequently wrote to the committee with the advice of the Department of the Attorney-General and Justice, which noted that the section could be narrowed and that such a change would achieve both the government’s policy objectives and also address the committee’s concerns.
Before talking to some of the details of the bill I would also like to comment on some of the matters raised during debate. In terms of that committee stage the amendment has been circulated in the House. If people could please let the attendants know if they have not received a copy, and I did indicate to the Opposition and independent members as well as the government members that I would be accepting that recommendation for amendment and that we had an amendment drafted.
The Deputy Opposition Leader made a number of comments which require a response. Firstly, the issue of the appointment of the commissioner was raised. This matter, of course, forms part of the ICAC legislation which was already passed late last year. I can update the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that an expression of interest for the appointment was advertised widely and nationally. The panel in accordance with the judge’s appointment protocol will assess the candidates and make recommendations in due course to the government.
The second point that the Deputy Opposition Leader criticised was around the funding of the ICAC. I do recall that when the CLP was in government they never wanted an ICAC but we have go on with the job of delivering an ICAC for Territorians. The ICAC received $3m in the 2017–18 financial year. The Martin Report estimated that $2m to $5m per year might be required.
The ICAC will be operating—the expressions of interest have been advertised and we are passing the legislation. The $3m will be for this financial year and the ICAC will only be operating for a small part of that.
That was a figure in the budget to show that we are genuine about putting the legislation in place and having government policy, and that we funded it through our budget. The money needed to operate an ICAC will be there. The Martin report gives us that broad, ball-park figure of $2m to $5m per year. The government is committed to the ICAC and the funding in the budget will keep flowing.
The third point the Deputy Opposition Leader raised concern with was section 76. This is the offence to disclose confidential information. The current offence in the Territory is lacking as it only applies to current public servant. All the Criminal Code jurisdictions except Tasmania, which has a relatively old provision, have DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 confidentiality offices that continue to apply after a person ceases to be a public officer. This includes section 70 of the Crimes Act of the Commonwealth, section 251 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act South Australia, section 81 of the Criminal Code WA, sections 85 and 92A of the Criminal Code Queensland, and section 359 of the Criminal Code 2002 ACT.
It is therefore very important to bring the Territory into line and make sure that sensitive, confidential government information is not used after people exit government. These days, people have many careers and work with many employees, but there should be the expectation that once you depart that position you should still have respect for it. Just because you resign or leave a position it does not suddenly mean you can disclose information.
The opposition raised a concern that public debate might be stifled by this change. I note that the other Criminal Code jurisdictions have the position we are adopting in this bill. There has not been a subsequent stifling of debate in those jurisdictions.
I thank the Deputy Chief Minister for her comments in support today. She noted the importance of our government’s work to create a fully independent ICAC with strong powers to investigate and uncover wrongdoing. As the Deputy Chief Minister said, the ICAC will make our Territory better in its necessary reform for our Territory.
I thank the Member for Brennan for his support. Last year he would always jump up and participate in debate, and that is continuing this year. He spoke about how the families and hard workers in his electorate want an ICAC. They want trust in their government is made in the community interest for the long term.
The Member for Brennan is delivering in his community. I think I saw a newsletter delivered for his pizza night. He is part of a government that is delivering for the Territory.
The Member for Port Darwin just closed off debate with his comments. I thank the Members for Casuarina, Katherine and Braitling, who all spoke about why their communities want to see an ICAC.
Turning to the details of the bill.
This bill strengthens the accountability of every person working in and with government so Territorians can have trust. The bill finalises the legislative amendments required to deliver the government’s in-principle commitment to deliver 50 of the 52 recommendations of the report presented to the Assembly by Commissioner Brian Martin AO, QC in relation to establishing an anti-corruption for the Northern Territory.
The ICAC Bill, which provides the main elements of an ICAC, passed in the November 2017 sittings. This bill makes consequential and related amendments to a number of acts in order to facilitate the operation of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, the ICAC. In particular, the bill gives the remaining powers to the ICAC that Commissioner Martin set out in recommendation 37 of his report. It gives the ICAC the power to seek warrants under surveillance and telecommunication legislation and to seek authorisation to conduct unlawful activities and assume false identities. These powers are typical of anti-corruption bodies interstate and are powers the Territory police currently have.
The bill also advances recommendations 23, 37, 45 and 46, all of which relate to powers to enable better protection of witnesses, a very important element.
The bill also ensures that the ICAC has powers to enter prisons; to access the register of interests of members of this Assembly; to engage external investigators without any interference from government officials; and to access records of spent convictions. It also makes some minor technical amendments to remove obsolete references to the Public Interest Disclosure Act in various Northern Territory acts, as that bill will be repealed when the ICAC Bill commences.
This government has no tolerance for criminal behaviour or corruption in government. A vitally important element of this bill is to deliver tougher penalties for corruption. The changes implemented in this bill will assist our law enforcement to prosecute any corruption uncovered by the ICAC. These offences have not been reviewed since the 1980s when the Criminal Code was adopted and are framed in language that we would no longer use, contained gaps and loopholes and are rarely prosecuted. The amendments will make the Criminal Code offences relating to official corruption far more comprehensive.
The definition of ‘gain’ in the code has been broadened to include various forms of gain in services as well as property. This closes a loophole where it could not be corrupt gain for a public officer to accept a kickback DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 in the form of having services provided for free. The definition of ‘public officer’ has broadened to align with the more broad definition of a public officer in section 4 of the ICAC Bill. The current definition is limited to persons employed in the public service and does not include, for example, ministerial advisers. I need not speak more about that position. This new definition will capture all persons performing services on behalf of the Northern Territory government, irrespective of whether they are retained as contractors or public sector employees—very important in the modern public service that delivers services in various ways across the Territory.
The amendments define the previously undefined term of ‘benefit’. The term ‘benefit’ is defined to include not only pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefits, but a benefit that is received by another person. This means that performing government functions in a biased way in order to obtain a third person—such as for a family member or a friend. A benefit will also be captured by the offences that use this term.
Importantly, the penalty for official corruption at section 77 of the Criminal Code Act has been raised from seven years to 10 years imprisonment. This offence concerns bribing or attempting to bribe public officers and covered both the behaviour of a public officer and of the person offering the bribe.
The backup charge to official corruption provided by section 78 has been modernised to reflect an approach which has been developed and tested in the ACT and Commonwealth jurisdictions. The amended offence at section 78 applies when the bribe cannot be shown to have a casual connection to particular conduct, but would tend to be an inducement to perform functions corruptly.
An amendment to section 76 concerning unauthorised disclosure of confidential government information closes a loophole where it was no an offence to leak confidential information after the public officer was no longer employed as a public officer. I spoke about that earlier.
The amended section 79 replaces the narrow offences at sections 79 and 80, with a broader provision relating to a failure to declare conflicts of interest. As per the existing legislation, a stricter offence is retained which applies to public sector employees where the offence is a mere failure to disclose a conflict.
A new aggravated version of the offence has been introduced which applies to all public officers, which is where a conflict of interest is concealed in order to obtain a benefit, and the benefit is obtained. The penalty for this aggravated offence is to be seven years.
The existing offences at section 81 to 84 have been replaced with more comprehensive offences in modern language.
Section 86A allows a court to return a range of alternative verdicts to a charge under the major offence of official corruption at section 77. This amendment is designed to avoid a situation where it could be a strategic defence to a charge under section 77 that a lesser corruption offence was committed, knowing that the double jeopardy rule would then prevent the offender for being tried for the lesser offence.
Section 75 ensure that the corruption offences apply to a matter of serious corruption and that criminal liability can be excused for low-level matters that would be more appropriate for training or disciplinary action in accordance with community standards.
As I mentioned previously, I will be moving an amendment in respect of section 75C to give effect to the committee’s recommendation. I will also be moving a small number of technical amendments to update references to section numbers and titles of the ICAC Bill to reflect changes to the section numbers that were made as a result of the Consideration in Detail stage amendments to the bill.
Members of this Assembly may recall that the Social Policy Scrutiny Committee recommended that the ICAC Bill be amended to introduce a corporation’s law displacement provision. Last November the government accepted this recommendation and indicated it would occur through an amendment to the ICAC Consequential Bill, which we are debating today.
The Northern Territory Government has been advised that this has become unnecessary as in December last year the Commonwealth introduced its own legislation that will remove the conflict between the Corporations Act and the ability of corporate whistleblowers to report to the ICAC. The relevant law is the Treasury Laws Amendment (Whistleblowers) 2017 that is currently before the federal senate. I am advised this will pass the federal parliament later this year.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Mr Deputy Speaker, in concluding I would like to thank the hard-working staff in the Department of Attorney- General and Justice who have led the development of this bill and more broadly, working extremely hard to deliver an ICAC for the Northern Territory. We have a wonderful, hard-working public service right across the Northern Territory.
The staff in the Department of Attorney-General and Justice have gone above and beyond with the delivery of these two ICAC Bills and should be very proud that they are a part of history, implementing the first independent commissioner against corruption in the Northern Territory and providing key support and advice and drafting and legislation work that puts that in place.
I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge the Office of Parliamentary Counsel who certainly deserve this Chamber’s support and thanks for all their work on the bill. It is not a straightforward process and at times can become incredibly frustrating. It has been dealt with in a very professional manner and I sincerely thank the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.
I would finally again like to reiterate my support to the Social Policy Scrutiny Committee, in particular the Chair, the Member for Karama for all her committee’s work and I commend the bill to the House.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Consideration in detail.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Assembly will now commence consideration in detail of the bill. The Assembly has before it the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (Consequential and Related Amendments) Bill (Serial 35) together with a schedule of amendments number 35 GOV circulated by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice.
Clauses 1 to 8, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 9:
Ms FYLES: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I move government amendment 1 to clause 9.
I move amendment 1 that clause 9 be amended from proposed section 75C, the words, ‘The finder of fact is satisfied that’. This amendment when read together with amendment 2 will modify a new section of 75C of the Criminal Code to address the Social Policy Scrutiny Committee’s concerns that section 75C needs greater clarity as I will explain in relation to amendment 2.
Mrs FINOCCHIARO: Thank you, Attorney-General. You might recall in my earlier comments I was just concerned around the definition. So how will a court determine what is public interest, seeing as public interest is not self-defined?
Ms FYLES: It is similar to a reasonable test, so it is looking at all the facts surrounding it and that is that the test, a community standard test.
Mrs FINOCCHIARO: Is there a particular reason why you would not define public interest, as in other acts?
Ms FYLES: It is to allow to provide community standards, so to have that opportunity when looking at a matter with the facts before them.
Mrs FINOCCHIARO: And then in respect to the definition of ‘warrant criminal sanction’ it provides some of a definition, but it is not exhaustive and it does not rule out the finder of fact to be able to look additional things other than what is on the list. And I was wondering why is that a preferred course rather than setting it out clearly?
Ms FYLES: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is modelled after the South Australian legislation which was explored by the scrutiny committee. It provides for a wide range of circumstances so they can take in what is before them, the evidence before them.
Amendment agreed to.
Ms FYLES: Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. I move amendment 2 that inserts a new subclause (2A) after the subclause 1 in the new section 75C. This amendment—read together with amendment 1—will modify the DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 new section of 75C of the Criminal Code to address the Social Policy Scrutiny Committee’s concerns that section 75C needs greater clarity. Issues were raised that it may be preferable to narrow section 75C as to more clearly delineate that 75C only applies to lower range behaviour.
Currently section 75C provides that in deciding whether a person’s conduct is improper for the purposes of the offence is contained in the proposed section 76, 77, 78 and 80, that the court must be satisfied that the conduct warrants criminal sanction. These sanctions various types of activities that are illegal. However, with each of them there is scope for lower level misbehaviour that is not such as to warrant conviction and punishment under the Criminal Code. Section 75 was intended to give the discretion to excuse low level behaviour that would be more appropriately dealt with by way of disciplinary measures.
75C is being amended as to set out a number of additional factors that govern the decision as to whether the conduct is improper. These additional factors state that the conduct must be considered to be improper unless the conduct is trivial or the damage to the public interest is minimal. If the conduct is trivial or the damage to the public interest is minimal, the court must then turn its mind to whether criminal sanctions are warranted in all the circumstances. This ensures that section 75C cannot be used to excuse serious corruption and creates greater clarity and certainty as to its application.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 9, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 10 to 15 taken together and agreed to.
Clause 16:
Ms FYLES: Mr Deputy Speaker, I move government Amendment 3 to clause 16. I move Amendment 3 that clause 16(2) be amended to omit the reference to Section 125 and replace it to section 126. This is a technical change to reflect the change in numbering of the sections that was made as a result of amendments to the ICAC Bill that was passed in November 2017.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 16, as amended, agreed to.
Clause 17 (by leave) agreed to.
Clause 18:
Ms FYLES: Mr Deputy Speaker, I move government Amendment 4 to Clause 18. I move Amendment 4 that the new Part 5A be inserted into the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (Consequential and Related Amendments) Bill. New Part 5A inserts new sections 18A and 18B, Part 5A entitled Amendment of Commissioner Against Corruption Act and the new clauses provide as follows.
18A Act amended provides that the new Part 5A amends the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Act 2017. 18B Section 164 Amended renames Section 164 which was inserted as part of the consideration in detail stage amendments and was unfortunately given a heading with the same name as a nearby section of the bill. At the recommendation of parliamentary counsel, Section 164 is to be given the clearer and unique heading of Information and Records to be Transferred.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 18, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 19 to 103, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 104:
Ms FYLES: I move that Amendment 5 that Clause 104 be amended to omit the reference to Section 92 and refer instead to Section 93. This is a technical change to reflect the change in numbering of the sections that was made as a result of the consideration in detail stage amendments to the ICAC bill that was passed in November 2017.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 104, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 105 to 106, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Ms FYLES: Mr Deputy Speaker, I move government amendment six to the schedule. I move that amendment six that the schedule be amended to omit the reference to section 59 and refer instead to section 60. This is a technical change to reflect the change in numbering of the sections that was made as a result of the consideration in detail of the stage amendments to the ICAC Bill that was passed in November 2017. Schedule, as amended, agreed to.
Ms FYLES: Mr Deputy Speaker, I move that the Bill now be read a third time.
Motion agreed to, Bill be read a third time.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Jobs
Mr GUNNER (Chief Minister): Mr Deputy Speaker, the government’s number one priority is jobs. In 2018 we will create as many jobs as we can to grow the economy as fast as we can. Let me be clear, the government knows that this is a tough time for business. Our team are out in the community listening to concerns about the depth of the problem. We are getting a clear understanding of where in the economy confidence and activity is lowest. We have a plan to grow jobs and we are implementing it. We are investing and creating jobs in the immediate medium and long–term.
Our investments will be spread right across the Territory. It will be an investment designed to create complimentary jobs by leveraging private investment. The plan has been designed to soften the blow of the end of the INPEX construction period but nothing that government can do alone will match the annual $10bn injection made by this project.
The INPEX project a project brought to the Territory by the persistence of two Labor Chief Minister’s has had a massive impact on our economy. It will continue to do so in to the far future. For now in this transition period the number of workers in Darwin and INPEX will drop from 9000 to 1000 in a very short space of time. That reduction will have a massive impact. Governments have responsibility to do what they can to smooth these cycles to create a robust economy to absorb the blow. That requires clear planning well ahead of time.
The plan we have put in to place now should have been put in to place four years ago. That was the time to plan an increase in the capital works programs and the time to design and prepare for that work. It was also the time to chase new projects and diversify the Territory economy. Sadly, the chaos of four years of CLP administrations, two and a half Chief Minister’s, more than 20 reshuffles, constant scandal and disruption all took its toll on the planning for our economy. The CLP realised too late the economy was in trouble, failed to respond sufficiently and left government with no forward plans in place.
Worse still, the CLP talked big about its financial management but actually left a budget badly in deficit and debt and with very little flexibility to respond to the current problems. The first question Chief Minister, Paul Henderson asked after signing the INPEX deal was what do we go for next? The CLP should have answered that question and did not. Instead, they squandered four years the most self–indulgent government in the Territory’s history.
From August 2016 this became our problem. In the 18 months we have been in office, we have put in place the immediate, medium- and long-term plans required to grow jobs and build a better Territory. Now, more than ever, this plan will help smooth the post-INPEX construction impact. The government has, and will continue to, put funds into immediate stimulus of the economy, but this alone cannot solve the problems. Stimulus needs to be accompanies by medium and long-term planning.
The government’s stimulus includes home improvement scheme Mach II, a bigger and better model introduced in 2017. Investment during this government’s time amounts to approximately $23.5m and has resulted in the generation of approximately $67m worth of work, with an estimated impact of $111m. The immediate works grants—a program designed to improve the community facilities that underpin our multicultural, sporting and creative life—brought forward work on community infrastructure that allowed us to create jobs. A $21.4m investment resulted in $28.7m in work with an estimated economic impact of $53.8m.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
The government stimulated the first homebuyer’s market to create important jobs in real estate, home refurbishment and home goods retail. Our first homebuyer’s program scrapped stamp duty on the first $500 000 of first homebuyer’s houses. We also provided a principal place of residence discount and a senior’s discount. We added $10 000 in home renovation grants that resulted in 990 first homebuyers in the market, with government spending $6m to date on home renovation grants, producing an estimated economic impact of $12.5m.
The government stimulated the bush economy by bring forth $15m Room to Breathe programs. This has seen 155 additional living spaces build in 22 communities—the tip of the iceberg of what more this government will do in remote housing.
Government has provided $10m in stimulus for urban public housing aimed at small trade businesses with a workforce of 19 or less. These works improve living standards for public housing tenants, upgrading roofs, fences, bathrooms and kitchens, as well as providing much-needed trade works for the construction industry to help retain local employees in small business. This program has pumped more than $7m into the economy so far for those smaller businesses and tradies.
We have also invested an additional $2m in repairs and maintenance stimulus for remote health clinics. The $2m package is delivering 38 different projects across the electorates of Stuart, Barkly, Nhulunbuy, Arafura, Arnhem and Namatjira with over 20 health centres. Thirty-two projects have been completed to date, four projects are currently under construction and two additional projects have been added to the program.
The government acted quickly to put in place a stimulus package for the steel industry valued at $5m.
Stimulus is a lever the government has pulled and will pull again. In fact, I can tell the House that the government will be making announcements over the coming weeks designed to provide stimulus to a number of sectors of our economy. Stimulus is a short-term hit designed to sustain jobs in the community. To build on those jobs, the economy needs clear medium- to long-term investment in jobs. This takes more time to achieve. The government has brought forward larger projects onto the works list and has been working hard to deliver those projects in a timely manner.
The government will create and sustain jobs to the medium term and the long term in our infrastructure program. We have a $1.75bn cash infrastructure program. This is roughly made up of $1.15m in cash for capital works for government and government-owned corporations, $219m in cash for capital grants and $379m in cash for repairs and maintenance—the largest cash injection into repairs and maintenance ever. This is the largest cash commitment by any Territory government ever.
This level of cash should generate and sustain around 10 000 direct construction jobs this year. Additionally, about 2000 indirect jobs will be generated by this expenditure. That is 12 000 jobs being created and sustained by this expenditure alone. This money is going out at record levels in record time. We are applying the blow torch to make sure this money is spent. Some of it is Commonwealth grants for specific projects. While it is tied to a project, but for what we are responsible for we will spend.
The economic summits last year provided an agreed sound basis for our investment strategy, best in growing the economy and best in infrastructure that leverages the private sector. The 10-year infrastructure plan— co-designed by the private sector and produced as a result of these summits—is based on that strategy. It provides long-term certainty to business about what we will invest in.
The $1.75bn program this financial year has seen us bring into place a number of projects designed to sustain thousands of Territorians involved in subcontracting jobs. We have awarded to, or put out to tender, projects such as:
the RDH car park at $12m—Sunbuild with 71 jobs—under way and growing next to RDH
Warren Park $25m was awarded to Halikos last week and expected to create 120 jobs during construction
building a new Health House, Sandran, 250 construction jobs
Palmerston Boulevard, $40m, 80 jobs about to be awarded
the underground car park next to Parliament House, $32m project just out to tender, 60 jobs in construction and estimated at 165 indirect jobs
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
the Palmerston Police Station, $26m, currently out to tender, creating 100 jobs in construction
the Katherine Fire Station, $8m of construction, on track to commence in the early Dry Season
upgrading police facilities in Groote Eylandt, $10m
the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner and cyclotron, $18m at the RDH. Construction is well under way for the PET scanner and a construction tender is about to be awarded for the cyclotron
the Alice Springs Women’s Shelter, $6m is currently in design and expected to be awarded shortly;
$6.2m for upgrades to sporting facilities in Alice Springs
$50m in recreational fishing infrastructure this year and over the next few years
the Marrara indoor netball stadium, $18m and is under construction right now
2017–18 has seen the start of the government’s remote housing program, $1.1bn over 10 years.
combined with the NPARIH program, this year we will see $326m allocated for new houses, $29m allocated for Room to Breathe, $24m allocated for new government employee housing and $67m allocated for repairs and maintenance.
This year has so far seen 79 new houses to date built across 18 communities, 166 upgrades in 16 communities, 118 Room to Breathe additional living spaces across 20 communities and 11 government employee houses built. In doing so, this program is being rolled out to allow the growing number of community base jobs. This program is achieving 49% of Aboriginal employment. That is a remarkable achievement that will and has to improve over time.
Sustainable communities in the remote Territory will rely on the creation of a local economy. The jobs generated by this program will create sustainable jobs over a long period of time. Next financial year the Northern Territory government has committed a further $35.2m for the servicing of blacks, as well as the $110m for housing expenditure. This will continue to build a sustainable economy in the bush and promote sustainable communities where people are working, living and playing.
The roads program is the largest in the Territory’s history. This year alone, the program has around $625m. This program not only generates jobs in the direct construction of roads, but also in the private sector by boosting tourism, agribusiness and mining. Critical roads that will be improved this year include the Buntine Highway, Sandover Highway, Tablelands Highway, Plenty Highway, Barkly Stock Route, Tjukaruru Road, Tanami Highway, Maryvale Road, Stuart Highway and a lot more.
Of course, the infrastructure program also builds our needed social infrastructure like schools. The Labor infrastructure investment will build or upgrade Acacia Hill School, $6.8m in upgrades expected to commence in April this year; $3.6m for Braitling Primary School stage 2 early childhood precinct, construction due for completion in June; $1m for Ross Park Primary School assembly upgrades, construction due for completion in June; a brand new $2.7m science facility at Taminmin College; Darwin High School redevelopment and expansion, $18m for stage one which is under construction right now.
Out bush and across the Territory, schools are receiving a $300 000 building program. To date, $1.64m worth of work has been completed at eight government schools, Alawa Primary School, Dripstone Middle School, Leanyer Primary School, Ramingining School, Gray Primary School, Bakewell Primary School, Howard Springs Primary School and Taminmin College.
Further, $2.62m worth of work is under construction across 12 schools. $11.64m worth of work is at planning, tender or design stage across the Territory. The total education infrastructure program is $142m, a significant investment that will generate and sustain more than 850 jobs right across the Territory. The government’s infrastructure program provides a platform for staying jobs, medium to long-term which in turn keeps people living and growing their families here.
This government’s efforts to grow jobs in the medium-term does not just rest on our infrastructure program. We use our power in the economy to sustain and generate jobs in other ways. $20 000 public service individuals and their families depend on the government’s commitment to jobs. The government can also generate jobs through policy decisions; we have done that particularly in education. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Our reversal of the CLP’s outrageous cuts to Education has seen us employ 178 additional teachers and support staff in the Territory. Those teachers and their families make a strong contribution to our overall economy; they buy houses, go to shops and have entertainment.
In Alice Springs and the surrounding region of Central Australia, the decision by the government to boost police numbers and direct recruit to Alice Springs will add 31 families to that area. The government’s use of its buying power can also create Territory jobs. We invest in Territory jobs by bringing in the strictest Buy Local regime in the nation. There have been five major reforms,
1. the instruction of value for the Territory and not value for money
2. reducing price to equivalent or below local content weighting
3. requiring all contracts to have local content driven right through the whole contract
4. binding those who receive government capital grants and the government-owned corporations to government procurement policies
5. introduction of the most comprehensive auditing process of all government contracts and
6. the appointment of a Buy Local advocate.
The government believes this regime will keep more of the government spend driving down through contracts to local subcontractors. It is hard to calculate the jobs this will generate but local purchasing by government underpins a significant retail economy in the Territory, one of the economic sectors hardest hit but the INPEX construction finishing.
The government also recognises that sustainable jobs over a long term need to be generated. It means investing now in the economy of the future, undertaking larger, longer term projects by government and the private sector. This smart economy can ignite and make real our desire to diversify the Territory economy and drive it into the mid-21st century and beyond.
This government has grasped these opportunities with both hands. We have published the Roadmap to Renewables, a paper designed to put the Territory in the box seat for alternative energy developments. We have extended the business innovation grants program and sought to include more recipients from the regional and remote Territory. We have directly encouraged innovative projects such as LightSPEE3D, a successful local innovation.
We have invested in the Darwin innovation hub with $250 000 and are currently developing a digital Territory strategy and an innovation strategy, both of which will be released this year.
The government has announced a number of major projects to be built over a number of years. The projects will generate jobs in the construction and operational periods. They will generate ongoing jobs in the local community. These projects include the Darwin City Deal, a joint effort between the Northern Territory Government, the City of Darwin, the Australian Government and Charles Darwin University. This project has received my government’s commitment of $100m, and with the government seeking a similar commitment from the federal government. The project will see a new State Square, a fine art gallery, heat mitigation projects through the streets and extra greenspace across the CBD.
It will see CDU move some of its campus to the CBD, generating many hundreds more residents in the CBD and changing the character of Darwin.
There will be the Territory Experience, a new major iconic building and destination centre on Myilly Point, telling the story of the Northern Territory.
Alice Springs CBD revitalisation—you will see an iconic national Aboriginal art gallery and a $20m injection into the mall, alongside a new museum highlighting the Alcoota Fossils that will transform the Alice Springs CBD, create more jobs in construction, attract more tourists and generate millions in multiplier income.
In Katherine the government has a team of people working on developing the inland port and agribusiness hub. This will generate millions in construction over a sustained period while boosting agribusiness in the DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 region. Through this and the government backing, the Katherine master plan will see a sustained transformation of this unique and historic town.
In Tennant Creek with transforming the sporting grounds, building new educational facilities and targeted tourism investment, the town will be developed further as a mining and mineral services centre. Tennant Creek is doing well now, and the government will sustain this into the future.
The government will invest in infrastructure support and develop long-term projects to generate long-term sustainable jobs. We will support the development of the following:
seniors living areas in Darwin, the rural area and Alice Springs—the Alice Springs proposal is now very advanced
a water theme park in Darwin
a new tourism adventure in Katherine and Alice Springs.
The government expects these projects to generate a lot of jobs not only in construction, but ongoing generation of money into the economy through increased tourist numbers and keeping seniors in the Territory.
In our efforts to grow and diversify the economy, the government has worked to deliver timely processes and strong support for private sector major projects. This is bearing fruit.
Seafarms will deliver the largest prawn farm in the southern hemisphere, with a net export value equivalent to the whole of the live cattle trade. It will generate 1200 ongoing jobs. It is under way; it is happening. The government has supported that with $140m in road investments.
Equatorial Launch Australia is expecting to launch suborbital satellites from a site near Nhulunbuy this year— a whole new industry for the Territory. We have actively supported this project to generate a new set of high- technology jobs and space tourism opportunities.
In Darwin Energy Renaissance is bringing together a major project to build lithium batteries in the Territory. If this project comes off it will mean new jobs in smart industries. The government has a memorandum in place with them.
The shiplift is cracking along. This will generate hundreds of jobs in construction and allow us to grow the maritime service industry of the Territory and keep more Defence personnel here. It has the strong support of the government—up to $100m and many hours of work by a major project group to make this project happen.
In some major projects the ability to control the outcomes and jobs of those projects is outside of our grasp. All we can do is influence. We are working to influence the federal government in the way the billions of dollars we spent in Defence impacts on our business community. We are battling to make sure our companies get to be part of that growth.
I have been to Hawaii to see the major US military chiefs. Along with other ministers, I have been to Canberra numerous times to see Ministers Pyne, Payne, Cormann, Canavan and the Prime Minister regarding this subject. We have appointed a Defence industry advocate in retired Air Vice Marshall Marg Staib and doubled the number of people working on Defence issues.
All of this in an effort to ensure local industry benefits from these big projects. Time will tell.
This statement is, in many ways, the tip of the iceberg to kick-start this economy into gear and to create, grow and sustain more jobs. More jobs are the basis of growth. Jobs will underpin population growth. More jobs will restore confidence, boost the retail industries and give construction hope.
The Territory is a place of enormous opportunity. The government has the plan in place to seize the opportunity for all Territorians.
Mr HIGGINS (Opposition Leader): Thank you Acting Madam Deputy Speaker. Let me begin this contribution by addressing some of the half-truths, mistruths and untruths in Chief Minister’s statement. The DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Chief Minister has government’s number one priority is jobs. Yes it is, jobs for failed Labor candidates, their Labor mates and not for Territorians.
And the Chief Minister has also being a bit tricky with a truth when he refers to $50m in recreational fishing infrastructure this year and over the next few years. The Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries clearly states $50m over four years. These tricky words do not trick us.
Not only this, but the Chief Minister has deliberately misled Territorians twice today with respect to the cash component of the infrastructure program. The Chief Minster speaks of a $1.75b cash infrastructure program. Budget 17–18 clearly states that the cash component of the infrastructure program is $967m.
Now the opposition wants truth and for government to say it is open and transparent, it should be open and transparent. Chief Minister, where are the 12 to 14 000 jobs per year, you said you would create?
Let me give you some of the facts. In September 2016, there were 135 189 people employed. In February 2018, there were 135 340. That is 158 extra after 18 months. That is 8.4 jobs per month. At a minimum, you are actually 20 991.6 jobs short of your election promise. Nearly 21 000. Construction is now 11% of the NT output, when Labor won office it was 21%. Unemployment today is 5.2%. In September 2016, it was 3.5%.
I note also that the minister says in his statement that the government knows that this is a tough time for business. The opposition agrees with this statement and hence our astonishment when the government lobs a bombshell of uncertainty in the form of a revenue discussion paper. And further throughout the job statement there is an attempt to whitewash the critical role of the former CLP government played in supporting the INPEX Ichthys Project. Putting a stimulus lever cannot be swiping the Territory tax payer credit card.
We also pick up on the statement by the Chief Minister that the $32m underground carpark will support 60 direct and 165 indirect jobs. What are indirect jobs? And how will this underground empty carpark support them?
Then there is Sea Dragon, the Seafarm’s Project Sea Dragon. The government is in danger of over promising and under delivering on this project as the venture is still subject to finance. For months and months now the Labor party has kept the hamster wheel of government turning through inquiries, committees, committees of inquiries, moratoriums, panel of experts, economic summits, audits, surveys, advisory boards, consultation boards and feasibility studies.
Chief Minister, it is a telling indictment on the Northern Territory that two of the Territory’s most prominent businessmen have opted to spend $50m in Queensland, rather in their home base, due to bureaucratic red tape. This yet again confirms what Territory businesses are telling the opposition and that is that this Labor government is more in rolling out the red tape than the red carpet to private investment.
As reported in today’s NT News, John Foxy Robinson and Nicholas Paspaley are building a 200 room Ridges branded hotel in Gold Coast airport precinct on a 99 year lease. To quote Mr Robinson, ‘Ever tried to spend $50m in a hurry? The process is too long to get through all of the departments. No one wants to make a decision. In Queensland they are open for business. No one wants to make a decision, does that sound familiar?
It has been the Labor Party’s modus operandi in the Territory since winning government in August 2016. The trepidation in inaction is permeating through the public service. This should be no surprise.
As Mix FM and News Limited columnist Katie Wolfe aptly put, this government is excelling at talking but failing on acting. This is a disconnect so evident out in the real world; business and families want action now.
The Chief Minister has heralded the city’s deal as a great shared belief for Darwin as the great cultural and economic capital of Northern Australia. A hub of commerce and regional engagement.
Not stopping there with the laudable revitalisation of the CBD. What have we seen and how many jobs have been created? What we have seen has talk, talk and more talk with no action. Something the private sector is crying out for.
Let us look at the projects in more detail. A $50m-plus museum that the majority of Territorians do not want and, if built, with a minimum of $8m per annum operational subsidy. A $32m car park that has no cost benefit analysis, no indication of how much Territorian residents will have to pay to park, a car park that is free for DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
100 staffers from the ministerial offices of Parliament House. The question has to be asked, ‘What current car parks will be closed and how many long-term sustainable jobs will be created?’ Perhaps a car park attendant or two.
There is the 18-month car park study to identify opportunities to develop more underground car parks. I can see it now; a city of empty car parks.
A university campus, with student accommodation built in Cavenagh Street. No costings have been made public, let alone a timetable. We do have a new vacant pop-up shop in the mall and how many jobs will be created for this? One or two CDU employees will be relocated from Casuarina. How many students does the Chief Minister think will travel into the city from Casuarina, ‘to connect with other students’?
The Chan Building. This will not be demolished until 2020 and there is no time frame for the art gallery in State Square. We have a schematic, no timetable, no plan, no cost estimate. Does all of that sound familiar?
There is the Barneson Boulevard, a project that was agreed by the previous CLP government, the federal government and the Darwin City Council.
Moving the bus terminal. I am not sure how many sustainable jobs will be created by doing this. The highest commercial property vacancy rate in the nation. The Chief Minister says, ‘a hub of commerce’. Really, has anyone walked down the Darwin Mall lately?
The best one is the greening of Cavenagh Street and the installation of a camouflage canopy after knocking down a few remaining trees and enclosing the street between Knuckey and Bennett Streets.
How many jobs will be created by this so-called Heat Mitigation initiative? Perhaps a couple of gardeners to sweep up the leaves from the grapevines over the canopy. It sounds like a joke, but this is the seriousness. This is seriously the Chief Minister—Territorians are hurting. People are leaving the Territory in droves and you are talking and not creating new jobs.
Today’s Sensis Business Index survey paints a bleak picture for the Territory economy. The Territory trails all other states and Territories in the survey’s rank of business confidence. Northern Territory small businesses, which make up 90% of all Northern Territory businesses recorded the only negative perception of the economy in Australia.
These latest statistics further show a sliding economy. Last week, illustrated by the CommSec State of the States report and commercial property rates of 21.6% being the highest in the country.
As a government, it is Labor’s responsibility to attract private investment.
Acting Madam Deputy Speaker, the Chief Minister and Treasurer have stated many times that the Country Liberals did not have a post-INPEX plan in government. Well, that is a lie, and we did.
I seek leave to table the CLP plan for the diversity of our economy. Here it is; here is the plan.
Leave granted.
Mr HIGGINS: It was a direct and straightforward plan to diversify our economy. The seven key pillars were energy, minerals, tourism, agribusiness, international education and training, Defence supply and services. I quote from the plan:
A CLP government will keep taxes down and lift up our economy.
Keep taxes down and lift up our economy. No government did more to reduce debt and deficit that the previous CLP government did over the last term of government. In the lead-up to the 2012 election Territory Labor was spending its way to $5.5bn of net debt. The previous Labor government had no hesitation in making future generations of Territorians pay for their reckless ways. There are always massive interest payments that need to be paid by all Territorians.
The Territory could not grow under that Labor debt mountain. There was an unprecedented level of capital investment and major projects embarked upon by the former CLP government—projects still being pushed by the current government and included in their infrastructure plan. They have the audacity to claim credit for DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 them. Roads, railways, bridges, schools and hospitals were all built under the Country Liberals’ plan and the current infrastructure plan has initiatives of the former government.
Most significantly, though, was the net debt to revenue percentage fall dramatically by over 57% in just four years under the CLP. To go from 47% to 27% net debt to revenue was an outstanding performance and speaks volumes to the previous CLP government’s commitments to a plan to grow the economy and pay down the debt.
Stability and certainty of government policy are also critical to foster private sector investment. Here I reference the last-minute Dan ban—a ban this government finally admitted was not based on a shred of evidence. The 400 m2 liquor retail limit, the part-day public holidays and stopping a $200m investment for a new hotel on the waterfront are private investment being stifled by red tape and today’s story is that the $50m of private sector investment has been lost to Queensland—$40m is gone with the Dan Murphy’s debacle, $50m walks out the door to Queensland due to red tape.
This is not monopoly money, this is real money. The CLP opposition is here for those who get up early in the morning—those people who have no other option than to live in the real world. It is clear that the Labor government does not live in the real world. This Labor government fails to understand investment and how investment works. The signals it is sending out drive jobs away from the Territory. It is the opposition of being open for business.
With the two extra days’ holiday, it has let the employment agenda be set by the unions. This hurts small businesses, the largest employer in the Territory. Remember the rationale for doing this? To grow the population—something not borne out in the budget papers. With the Dan Murphy’s decision, it has let its alcohol policy be set by the AHA. With a 50% renewables energy target, it has let the federal Labor Party set its energy policy, despite the very different energy generation mix in the Territory.
Flying the kite of more and great big new taxes is cowardly. It is a lazy, uncaring Labor government going for the easy option. Why is the Labor government not making the hard decisions? Instead, it is attacking the ordinary Territorians who get up early in the morning, goes home late at night, often hours on the road. Labor has stopped caring for people and is not authentic.
Can you believe Labor is promoting an increase in the cost of living for seniors, low-income earners and vulnerable Territorians? To those people, we say we are with you. The CLP opposition will stand up for you. We will oppose it because it is unfair, unwise and unnecessary. Government must foster the conditions for growth. The CLP opposition is here for all those who get up early in the morning—the lifters, not the learners.
It is clear that the Labor government does not live in the real world. Territorians are being consulted to death— and we heard that this morning. The welcome to country—consulted to death. This Labor government is out of touch with Territorians and reality. All forward looking indicators are basically the signposts that tell us what direction the economy is heading in. And on every one the Northern Territory economy is in trouble.
Times look like they will get a lot worse before they get better. For example, some key forward looking indictor including mortgage lending and population growth numbers. If Territorians feel confident about their employment and future in the Territory they will take the ultimate step of putting down roots by buying their own bit of the Territory.
When the opposition like this, this is a disappointed and troubled to learn that mortgage lending is down 20% on the decade average. Not only is mortgage lending down but so too are dwelling approval numbers. Critical population growth figures will go negative for the first time in 14 years. This is a damming indictment of the government’s economic management.
We know that this Labor government is introducing unnecessary, uncertainty into every aspect of business and life here in the Territory. Take planning for example, the whole system is under review. What about seniors and pensioner concessions. Now every tax and royalty is up for tinkering and up for review. The opposition are echoing industry when we say that many current reviews under way need to be concluded, recommendations adopted and a clear pathway articulated.
Industry says that the Top End tourism has experienced a significant downturn. Where is the Labor Government’s plan to get more people on planes and into the Territory? They cannot even keep airlines flying into the Territory. Simply put, if people are not flying here they are not buying here.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
A recent Chamber of Commerce survey of businesses indicated that 30 per cent of businesses intend to lay off workers in 2018. The biggest employer, small businesses, are going to lay off—30 per cent of them say they are going to lay off workers this year. Good transformative job creating private investment such as Dan Murphy’s, the Cambridge Luxury Hotel, the $50m 200-bed hotel that will be lost to Queensland have been impacted by red and green tape.
Yet what do we get from this government, a $32m three-storey underground carpark. That is $71,000 per bay in this new 450-park car park. That is $71,000 per bay. And even more when you consider 100 people from the fifth floor of Parliament House will be parking there for free. This investment of government money will unlock no economic benefit and will not attract one cent of additional private investment.
If anything the construction phase will inconvenience retailers and workers greatly. Consultation cannot and should not be an excuse for delaying decisions indefinitely. Acting Madam Deputy Speaker, let me finish on this note. Simply that the opposition put a motion up in May 2017 calling for a whole-of-parliament approach to grow the Territory. That was passed unanimously in May 2017.
Yet what has happened from then until now. Absolutely nothing. The time for action is now. And it is interesting to note that nowhere in the Chief Minister’s speech is there any mention of onshore gas. Deloitte Access Economics found an NT onshore gas industry could provide a cumulative boost to growth state product of up to $22.4bn between 2020 and 2040 and create up to 6300 long-term jobs.
It could also provide between $236m and $460m per annum in government revenue. This is the most important decision the government will make this year regarding job creation. No mention. We need those 6300 jobs, we need a decision about onshore gas. We need more jobs and taxpayers, not more taxes.
Thank you, Acting Madam Deputy Speaker.
Ms FYLES (Attorney General and Justice): Thank you. And what a speech, Madam Acting Deputy Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition previously apologised for the CLP Government. He came in here on the first day of parliament and apologised.
What we have had to date is him talking them up, talking up the decisions that cost Territorians a $1m man that came in overnight and hiked up our power 30%, sewerage by 25% and water by 40%. You talk about the success with the economy but you failed to mention how you got there. You sold TIO, you sold the port, you sold the buses, and you sold the Government Printing Office—is that how you get to a sustainable economy? No. You ignored Territorians. You did not care.
You talk about seniors—you were the one that scrapped the scheme for seniors overnight. We did the tough work. The biggest survey that the Territory government has ever done—listening to thousands of senior Territorians about what they want to see in the scheme, who you left behind. You cut them off the scheme overnight. Yes, it is tough but we need to have a sustainable scheme.
I am delving in to other minister’s portfolios, but after that rant from the Leader of the Opposition coming in here on the first day of parliament and apologising for the previous government, apologising for the chaos and the dysfunction, for the lack of planning post the INPEX construction phase, for not caring and not listening and then coming in here to talk about their plans. Their plans that hurt Territorians and were not plans—they just did what they wanted on a whim overnight. They paid the Renewable Management Board, they went straight back to the 80s and 90s, a million dollars, faceless men who hiked up the cost of living for Territorians.
The Northern Territory right now is going through tough times. We know Territory businesses are doing it tough and that is why we have the biggest infrastructure $1.75bn getting it out the door on projects. The Leader of the Opposition talks about projects saying that they were the CLP projects. They are projects that a government designs to help Territorians.
We are a government that listens and a government that acts. We have a plan to create jobs, to restore confidence in the economy and to ensure that the full potential of the Northern Territory is realised. This evening you will hear from other ministers within their portfolios what they are doing, listening to Territorians and putting in place actions that will help Territorians.
In the portfolio of health we just heard from the Leader of the Opposition that they were delivering a hospital. If there was ever a joke in that speech it was that point—the Palmerston hospital, the hospital where they DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 dug a hole, used some special concrete and covered it over. It is certainly not delivering a hospital as a health minister.
The minister for infrastructure’s department has been leading this project working closely with the Department of Health—we are very excited about the Palmerston Regional Hospital. It will be delivered this year. Not only will we be delivering more health services to Territorians, high quality closer to home but there will also be jobs. There is jobs in the construction phase when we actually got on and built it unlike those opposite but the work force recruitment plan for Top End health service and the Palmerston Regional Hospital has been activated.
I was talking to a doctor the other day at school, and he was explaining to me that they usually have rotations of five but they were on rotations of six because the Palmerston hospital preparing for the opening of that is already on our clinicians rotations.
There was 80 jobs advertised at the end of 2017 that included emergency department and operating theatre positions, for nurses, administration, personal carer positions, PCA as they are more commonly known, medical imaging professionals and a small cohort of key operational positions that are required to support the commissioning. This is a project that the CLP talked about, they held media stunt conference after conference but this is a project that we have delivered.
The recruitment and timing of roles for Palmerston Regional Hospital has been constructed in waves so that we can provide the key staff for on board commissioning as we transition from an infrastructure site through to an operating hospital. Each wave of job recruitment is determined by the amount of times that different roles take for on the site training and scenario testing. There are many jobs coming through.
In the first wave there will be over 100 jobs which will start around 12 weeks prior to the go live phase of the Palmerston Regional Hospital. These will be mainly emergency department positions, senior nursing positions and administration roles commencing. We will then go through to different stages of the recruitment getting that hospital ready for opening. Frontline service delivery positions will represent over 93% of the workforce profile with 72% being direct frontline workers.
Medical staff recruitment is being managed by medical heads across the department of Top End Health Services. We need that long lead time to ensure we have senior specialist staff in those positions and alignment with those medical training rotations, which I was just talking about.
It is a very exciting project. When the Leader of the Opposition said they built hospitals, I question which hospital they built, because it certainly was not the Palmerston Regional Hospital.
There is a national recruitment awareness advertising campaign that has commenced. This is a whole-of-government campaign that focuses on the Royal Darwin Hospital and the Palmerston Regional Hospital. Palmerston Regional Hospital is a campus of the Royal Darwin Hospital. The campaign, Our Life Out Here, has been rolled out across Australia and New Zealand, targeting hard-to-recruit positions across a number of electronic media such as Seek, Linkedin, Facebook and health journals. The website uses the real-life story of Brett Lang, who is clinical nurse manager at RDH, talking about the incredible opportunities and lifestyle that you have in the Northern Territory.
When the Leader of the Opposition wants to talk about action, we have action. We are delivering, as a Labor government, the Palmerston Regional Hospital.
In Question Time today, I spoke about the new Health House—something, yet again, the CLP talked about but failed to deliver. Health administrative staff in the CBD are spread across multiple locations. This is something that has been talked about for a number of years. The co-location of those staff is so we can make sure everyone is working together in a new built-for-purpose building. The old Health House is a very old building and all agree it will be great to have our health staff in a new building.
The old Cavenagh House building will be demolished and will be replaced by a nine-storey building which will create about 250 construction jobs and will become the new administrative headquarters for the Department of Health. The proposal features substantial CBD activation measures that will deliver broader benefits to the community and contribute to revitalising the Darwin CBD.
To digress for a moment, the Leader of the Opposition was talking about the State Square car park project. He fails to see the vision. This is master planning our CBD, activating as much green space as we can. He DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 talked about university students coming in from Casuarina. He fails to recognise that we already have university students in the city.
This project of the new Health House will certainly activate the Cavenagh/Litchfield Streets areas of the CDB. I was very pleased to stand with the Chief Minister when he announced this project very early in January. The project includes greening the exterior of Energy House and improving the building’s façade. It will have a childcare centre on the ground floor of Energy House, a capital contribution to the City of Darwin to upgrade and green Litchfield Street, as well as a new public car park in Litchfield Street. It is so important that we get this infrastructure right and have these strong plans.
The project was part of a broader job-creating proposal following the public tender for 10 000 m2 of office accommodation in the CBD for long-term government lease. Health will be the anchor tenant, utilising about 7000 m2. Sandran has been selected as the preferred tenderer after extensive assessment process, including input from a number of subject matter experts and oversight by an independent probity adviser.
I spoke in Question Time today and acknowledged the Department of Corporate and Information Services which led this project. Sandran has committed to using 95% local contractors and suppliers on the project, and both the car park and childcare centres will be locally managed and operated—so more jobs for Territorians.
At Royal Darwin Hospital, we can all agree that parking is a complete debacle. I am very pleased to inform the House that we are delivering on the key election commitment of the multistorey car park at Royal Darwin Hospital. Not only is it delivering jobs through Sunbuild, which is working as quickly as it can—I am not sure how the rain is affecting them. Before the Wet Season arrived, that project was flying along, creating jobs in the construction phase. It will upgrade the facilities there. It will allow our staff to park safely and securely and will allow visitors and patients who are attending the hospital to access parking easily close to that main tower. That is something the previous government failed to deliver. We brought forward $12 in the budget to priorities the development of the multistorey car park. We know it will bring great relief to patients, visitors and staff.
A design and construct contract was awarded to Sunbuild, a local contractor. It is fantastic. They have been on-site. Work commenced in October, I think. We are expecting the project to be completed in around August this year. Delivering on our commitment we will also be delivering free car parking. It is important—unless you are visiting a new baby—most of the time when you visit hospital it is not a fun occasion, so it is important—in fact there is evidence that shows that at times people have to choose between accessing health care because some of the car parking costs interstate are so high. Very proud that this will be free to all that use it. And important component of providing services to Territorians.
In terms of more action in the health space, delivering more services for Territorians, the PET scanner. And this was something we know that every Territorian has the right to access essential cancer treatment. And we know that early diagnosis and treatment are vital to ensuring more Territorians survive cancer. And that is why this Labor government is committed to delivering a PET scanner and cyclotron for Northern Territory. It was something that has been talked about, promised, but we got on with the job of delivering it.
The Territory is the only jurisdiction without this significant piece of medical technology. It is commonly used to identify and assess the presence and progress of cancers and as well as other illnesses and diagnoses. Currently patients who require those services—require the need for a PET scan—have to travel interstate— which we support through the PATS scheme—but we recognise that there is a significant emotional cost for the patient and family—particularly at a stressful time of diagnosis or getting an update on your treatment. And we know there are Territorians who simply do not get PET scan because they are not well enough or choose not to head interstate for that.
I worked very closely with former senator Fiona Nash, the then Minister for Regional Development, with her mutual support for the project and I would like to acknowledge my parliamentary colleagues have supported me in delivering this project. $15m from the Australian government and $3m in budget 2017 to purchase the cyclotron. This will finally bring this important project to reality.
Local company Hodgkison architects was engaged by the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics to provide the concept design estimate and documentation. The construction tender for the PET- CT scan has been awarded to Sitzler and building works commenced in September 2017.
I was out at the hospital recently and significant progress is being made. And the project not only provides the opportunity for our health professions to have more tools to diagnose Territorians and help treat them. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
But it also opens up research opportunities for scientists and medical professionals both here in northern Australia and also in the Asia Pacific regions.
Every effort is being made to minimise the impact of the construction on patients and staff with both these projects—the multistorey carpark and the PET scanner—and I thank everyone for their patience. And the PET scanner is expected to be completed later this year with the commencement of services in September.
12 new chemotherapy chairs and the associated functional spaces will also be added to Alan Walker Cancer Centre at a cost of around $5m. This means more Territorians can undertake treatment closer to home. The construction operation of these facilities at Royal Darwin Hospital not only supports jobs but provides vital healthcare to Territorians and allows people to have as much of a normal life they can through their journey of chemotherapy.
The design and documentation tender for the cyclotron facility and the chemotherapy expansion has been awarded and the construction works being tendered together to obtain a single construction contractor to minimise the disruption around the Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre. I think we can all agree, across all sides of politics that this is good for the Territory. It is good the care for our patient, long term jobs for our medical staff and also construction jobs.
I would like to take the opportunity to update the Chamber around the National Disability Insurance Scheme that continues to be rolled out across the Territory. The bilateral agreement between the NT and the Australian governments provides for the NT to transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme from 1 July 2016 right through to 30 June 2019.
The agreement commits nearly 6 500 Territorians with a disability to transition to the NDIS and ultimately provides around $200m for participants participating at the full scheme from July 2019. The Commonwealth has provided funding and there has been significant investment in sector development funding which has been secured to support the implementation of the NDIS in the Territory.
The funding will be used for the development of community plans and local decision making in remote communities. Innovative and enhancing service models, growing our remote workforce, participant family and carer readiness and quality safeguarding and capacity building. This is a huge, life-changing opportunity for many Territorians, particularly those from remote areas but we need to build the workforce capacity, especially in remote communities.
In September last year I announced $2m in NDIS grants for innovative projects which are designed to support local providers and increase local jobs to promote local decision-making and to help really provide those extra supports and reshape the disability market in the Territory. We have some wonderful providers and I have had the opportunity to meet many of them. This will support others to grow and provide what the NDIS will need at its full implementation.
Close to $1m in innovation grants has been awarded to local Territory providers to increase the range of disability supports in the Territory. Investments in this sector range from the purchase of a 3D printer to support repairs and maintenance of mobility equipment to developing a culturally safe service hub and empowering local decision-making through community development and awareness of the NDIS.
The second round of innovation grants will be announced very soon. The NDIS has commenced in East Arnhem for supported accommodation in Darwin and the Barkly, which was one of the trial sites. Darwin, remote, Katherine and supported accommodation services in Central Australia commenced from 1 July last year and from 1 July this year the remainder of the Darwin region and Central Australia will transition across to the full NDIS scheme by mid next year.
The NDIS is not only about providing the care and services to those Territorians who need them, it is about the opportunity for jobs. It is expected there will be around 1000 jobs across the Territory and many of those will be in remote areas. There is the opportunity for remote Territorians to be in control of who provides them with their care, but also for jobs in communities. We will be continuing to work with service providers and making sure people have the skills and pathways so they can participate in these employment opportunities.
Last year I was able to update the House that budget 2017 would deliver funding for renal health infrastructure both in Darwin and in remote communities with renal-ready rooms. I headed to Pirlangimpi with the Member for Arafura as it has been identified in the first location in the Top End region for a renal-ready room. It was very welcomed by that community and the Member for Arafura spoke with me in great detail about the need of his community members to have those services. I understand that is a need across the Territory. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
It was wonderful to meet the families that day. I think there was three or four people whose families were separated because people were receiving medical treatment in Darwin. We have earmarked $9.7m for a new renal centre, the very outdated Nightcliff Renal Unit which was not purpose-built, has been added onto over the years and certainly needs upgrading to provide people with the healthcare they need.
In terms of Health infrastructure there are certainly many programs and projects right across the Territory. Some highlights are $2.1m for minor new works to the Department of Health infrastructure assets, $1.8m for repairs and maintenance to Department of Health infrastructure assets in Central Australia and the Top End, $11.7m for minor new works and $38.1m for repairs and maintenance to Health infrastructure assets.
This is a commitment to not only improving …
Mr KIRBY: A point of order, Madam Speaker. Standing order 43, I seek an extension of time for the member to complete
Motion agreed to.
Ms FYLES: Mr Deputy Speaker, these commitments are not only improving the Territory’s Health infrastructure, investment in the health and wellbeing of all Territorians who deserve that, but it provides economic opportunity.
In late November we announced $2m in repairs and maintenance for remote healthcare clinics. Having visited remote clinics, I know they are often the first point of contact for many community members. We have such hard-working staff, Aboriginal health practitioners, remote area health nurses and we certainly want to try to provide as much support as we can so that we can have strong and healthy communities.
That $2m package is delivering 38 different projects across a range of electorates. Four projects are currently under construction and additional projects are being added at Maningrida and Milikapiti. That remote health work stimulus project is not just about creating jobs, but are of clear benefit for remote health staff and patients. Improving facilities supports our remote health staff, in particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners who are key to delivering appropriate, cultural, safe health outcomes in remote communities.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I know this is a project you very much care about, as does the Members for Braitling and Stuart, but the palliative care facility in Alice Springs has begun its recruitment campaign to attract experienced palliative care staff. There has been a great deal of interest. The facility will be staffed with 10 nurses, four personal care attendants, as well as a range of other staff such as ward clerks and staff, social workers and occupational therapists who will support people.
This is not just an initiative that is creating jobs for the community of Alice Springs, this is providing medical care, particularly to people at the end of life when they are very vulnerable. It is an exciting project and I look forward to it. It is very near completion and the official opening will be very soon.
Another initiative that aims to grow our own medical practitioners and creates jobs in the Territory is the combined NT Government , Flinders University and Charles Darwin CDU Northern Territory medical program. It is unique and was designed specifically to provide the Territory with home grown and Aboriginal medical workforce doctors. It is serving that purpose and is a very good return on investment.
I acknowledge the previous Member for Solomon, Damien Hale and Paul Henderson, a previous Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, and the Rudd/Gillard government for support for this program. I was with Paul Henderson at the recent graduation. There were 26 new doctors who graduated. Nine will undertake internships at Royal Darwin Hospital and seven at Alice Springs Hospital as a part of NT Health. It was wonderful to see that graduation. People who are part of the Territory community will stay here. They have the opportunity to study, train and be a doctor in the Territory. For so long, Territorians had to leave the Territory if they wanted to become a doctor. This program has provided tens of doctors over the years, from the original cohort in 2011 where there were six—I might have that figure incorrect. It is a program where people are bonded to stay on and work. With the support, many do not want to leave.
Over the period of the NT Medical program there have been 22 Aboriginal medical students and six have graduated and are currently working as interns in residence in our NT training hospitals. It is wonderful to see a program that provides that support and helps deliver quality healthcare to Territorians. It is anticipated DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 that over the next five years there will be over 120 additional doctors who will graduate from that program and become part of the NT medical workforce.
Flinders provides employment for approximately 80 Territorians across four regional campuses. Thirty are directly employed with the program and there are many who work as clinicians within our hospital.
We have support for the Health IT infrastructure program, the Clinical Four Systems program—a program the CLP failed to plan for the full implementation. We have invested $259m over five years towards a new fully-integrated health system that will transform the delivery of healthcare for Territorians and create local jobs.
This is a ground-breaking project that will enable our nurses and doctors—our health practitioners—to focus on treating patients and spend more time saving lives. It is an exciting project. It is the largest, most complex ICT system project ever undertaken in the Northern Territory and is a major project in our public health system. The Territory will be leading the country with this program in place. It is a program where we have the ICT workers working with our health professionals so we can have that information and the system can be truly build around the needs of health professionals.
I was very pleased in June last year to announce Intersystems Australia as the successful tenderer for the project of $259m over five years. This is a project that will link our hospitals and remote health clinics and make sure our patients—when Territorians are at their most vulnerable—get the best healthcare based on their personal information.
I have heard stories where doctors have had to go into hospitals in the middle of the night and try to work out where a patient is. This will completely rewrite that, there will be up to date information available. It is a very exciting and huge project and it will deliver huge benefits in supporting people in those roles to do the best job they can so they can focus on the healthcare of Territorians.
In the Justice portfolio, we have funding of repairs and maintenance packages of $6.5m throughout the Territorians. The local court in Alice Springs will be adopting a specialist approach to deal with domestic violence related matters in its civil and criminal jurisdiction with the $3m in capital funding that has been allocated to upgrade facilities at the local court to accommodate a new domestic violence court. The Member for Braitling and I received a tour of that facility and heard first-hand about the benefits.
The physical changes to the facility will maximise the safety and comfort of victims and will increase the capacity for victims and defendants to participate in the proceedings without the victims feeling unsafe or intimidated by the court process. These upgrades are significant in terms of delivering safety to Territorians, allowing the court process to not be confronting for victims.
There is significant work being done. The Northern Territory Local Court and the Supreme Courts have lighting upgrades, infrastructure to support our hard-working court staff, and these works are expected to be completed by June 2018. The Katherine Local Court has also received upgrades, the Tennant Creek Court House will also receive some minor upgrades. This government is investing in jobs and Territorians.
Under the Health portfolio, we are much focused on the healthcare we provide to Territorians but there is also the opportunity to stimulate the economy through those targeted projects using local suppliers and construction firms like Sunbuild and Sitzler on projects that will deliver long-term benefits to the community, stimulating the economy now and providing the jobs so desperately needed.
The Education minister will speak about it in detail, but the $300 000 for every school across the Northern Territory is so exciting. Among the schools in my electorate, one school has already been provided with that and the others are eagerly awaiting it. That is cash supporting local businesses and leaving us with long- term community gain. That is the key in these times, we have a very tough job; the Treasurer has the toughest job in the Cabinet. We need to make sure we use taxpayer dollars wisely, stimulate the economy carefully and leave the Territory with those assets for long-term gain.
I commend the Chief Minister’s statement and thank the House for the opportunity to speak to it, sharing with you about my portfolios of Health and Justice and reiterating what we are doing as a Territory government, investing in jobs right across the Territory. More jobs are the basis of growth and the jobs will help restore confidence in the economy. We are listening to Territorians in our electorates. I commend the Chief Minister’s statement to the House and thank you for the opportunity to speak.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Mr McCARTHY (Housing and Community Development): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement on jobs. This will be a very tough year for the Northern Territory economy. This is not an abstract problem; less economic activity means fewer jobs, opportunities and economic momentum to drive our programs forward.
This government relies on leveraging local enterprise to drive our agenda for local jobs through our Buy Local procurement reforms. If our local enterprise starts to flag, we risk losing our ability to deliver important programs for jobs, the bush, children and restoring trust. If there was ever a time to act it is now. Now is the time to make the smart investments in our economy.
We know where to invest our precious resources because we listen to the community and the expertise of our public sector. In the portfolios I represent we are investing in creating jobs in both the short and medium to long-term. We want to create vibrant communities with industry. We need to be here for the long run both in intent and spirit.
By getting our investments right across remote communities, we will have self-sustaining economies based around creating infrastructure and providing services to local areas. We will build capacity in our regions to ensure locals are becoming skilled and we are delivering not only infrastructure, but jobs.
Government has always played a critical role in managing economies, spending where necessary to smooth out the cyclical nature of the market. It is important to us that we get this right in order to soften the fall caused by the loss of 8000 highly skilled, paid workers from the INPEX project in Darwin. Withdrawing that many workers will be a massive hit to not only the government’s bottom line, but everyone who relies on associated industries such as training, catering, supplies, transport and so on.
The CLP sat on its hands for the last four years in government, and now Territorians are hurting because of its failure to plan for the INPEX wind-down.
There is no doubt we will need a little shot in the arm to help generate some jobs and economic activity. In the bush we brought forward $15m for the Room to Breathe program and the repairs and maintenance stimulus package last year. This equals 155 additional living spaces in 22 remote communities. We have had some fantastic feedback about this program so far. We are hearing about how, for a small investment, we are seeing big results tailored to the needs of that particular household. It is the little program that could. It is a good sign that things to come in the remote housing space are on the right track.
The money being invested in this program has paid local businesses to undertake construction. They use this money to pay their local staff to procure materials from local businesses and engage local subcontractors for a variety of tasks. The workers involved on-site use a local store and local amenities. That money will be spent on other goods and services, again circulating that cash through our economy. Everyone gets a share.
Think of what I just said—when you consider the $10m for urban public housing, aimed at small business. We have already tipped in $7m from this fund, which improves the living standards for public housing tenants and fuels the economy. This program engages a variety of trades and ensures that while there is not as much capital floating around the economy, these businesses are able to stay afloat and retain their staff.
That is what people have told us they want and need. They told us things were slowing down, money was not coming in as much, so we did what any responsible government would do to avert a downward spiral, that is, apply the accelerator to stimulate the local economy.
I can tell you the absurdity of the CLP members. Let me attest to it. Last year they criticised our government for spending. This was a time of low growth, and now this is especially true. If the opposition had its way, the government would have massively contracted spending at a time when it was most needed. We would have seen all the local businesses, small to large, topple over because the money would not circulate.
The CLP’s tunnel vision on debt will hurt ordinary Territorians if they ever get their way on this. Labor is a responsible government that spends strategically when we need to so businesses do not fold and workers do not lose their jobs.
There will be more to talk about soon from immediate stimulus activities, and I look forward to sharing those stories with the House.
This year will be huge for remote housing. This excites me greatly. The rubber is hitting the road, and we will see some great inroads to the seemingly intractable issue of housing overcrowding and poor amenity. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
What excites me equally is the prospect that solving this will create jobs and build capacity in the bush. Investments like what we are doing in the bush have multiple benefits. When we get our houses built, and ensure locals get skills and wages from it, we will reduce overcrowding, improve health and support education.
This all takes time. While we can spend money and watch the houses go up, we will have to wait a little longer for the great social benefits of remote housing to start bearing their true fruit.
To start with there is essential services our public utilities. This financial year power and water has $33.3m in the pipes for a wide range of urban and remote projects. Some of the highlights for bush essential services are $2.5m for new bores at Barunga to improve water quality, $3m to upgrade Numbulwar’s water storage and water treatment facilities, $3m to drill new bore fields and construct a pipeline to alleviate Ngukurr’s water supply issues, $6m to replace high risk sections of the sewerage network at Ali Curung, $1.8m for three new bores at Robinson River, $7.6m for an ambitious project to connect Bathurst and Melville Islands via a high voltage line in order to allow us to retire one power station and save on capital replacement costs and expensive fuel.
We are also splitting $24m with the Australian Renewable Energy Authority to deliver solar diesel hybrid systems to 17 remote communities this year by integrating solar panels with our existing diesel generators in the bush we stand to make significant operational savings. Each of these projects provides work for locals in land clearance, fencing and basic maintenance. The money we save on operations can go on to provide further investment in bush utilities, which in turn is another job creation cycle. Combined the tail end of the federal housing partnership funding this government is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in to the bush this year in a partnership between the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory.
Let us start with the $326m for new builds. That is a lot of houses. Houses where Territorians will live, raise their families, get ready for work, skill up and so on. If we can get housing right we have a better chance of getting health, education and social justice right. It is the corner stone to a vibrant community, and of course I have not forgotten about the jobs. Think of the work that $326m of new builds will bring, while a lot of that will be taken by materials a big chunk of that spend will go towards wages for workers. I do not need to run you through the economics of money again but this money will circulate and this is what we want circulation in regional and remote communities.
As I mentioned before about Room to Breathe I will take this opportunity to talk about the next year also— $20m for Room to Breathe. Think of the difference that that is going to make not only to communities receiving these works but to the trades people and the labourers who are getting the work out of it. There is $24.6m for government employee housing funding new housing to support vital government services in the bush. Some of this housing will also go to locally recruited people as part of this government’s policy to provide government employee housing for locals.
There is also $67m of repairs and maintenance of our existing remote housing stock. All of these investments are vital, not only in housing service provision in the bush but for keeping a pipeline of works open for local organisations who take on work, hire employees and grow their businesses at a sustainable rate. Nobody knows remote service delivery like Territorians and this is why we are so insistent on ensuring that local organisations are taking on this work.
As we know, this program is working because it has achieved 49% Aboriginal employment so far. Under the Northern Territory Government’s remote housing investment package in Room to Breathe 18 contracts were awarded to 13 Aboriginal business enterprises with four contracts awarded to regional councils. Of the 59 contracts awarded this financial year 2017–18, under the works being delivered for the national partnership in remote housing and the remote area strategy, 20 were awarded to Aboriginal business enterprises.
We are delivering for the bush and we are making a difference. The Room to Breathe program has contributed significantly to these outcomes. To date 124 additional living spaces have been created with another 32 under way through the Room to Breathe program based on local decision-making.
This means that 124 families have additional living spaces equally, with more bedrooms and more spaces for children to grow healthy. The Room to Breathe Program has generated 133 local jobs in 22 remote communities. To keep it real, in Ramingining out of the 11 workers working on the Room to Breathe Program, nine were local indigenous community members, some of whom I have met.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
In Areyonga five local workers. While Kybrook Farm had four locals who also went through their certificate II in training. Lajamanu had nine indigenous Territorians and four local Lajamanu community members working. These are great outcomes but we have to do more. I will continue to look forward to the opportunity to update the House this year and beyond with more good stories of local import, local capacity building, local training to employment.
Next financial year we are also going to see $110m for new remote builds and $35.2m for vital land serving to support the growth of tenements in these communities. As I have said, I want to see sustainable economic development in the bush with local organisations taking charge. Local development for local people, local infrastructure, local services and local jobs.
Our $1.61bn investment over 10 years creates economic security for remote communities and for the broader Northern Territory. This provides the platform for sustainable jobs and paves a pathway to securing ongoing, regular employment and training for those living in remote communities, a pathway that will generate regular income and translate to positive social outcomes such as supporting education, health and wellbeing. We just need the Commonwealth to fully come on-board and provide matched funding and join us on this very important project.
The 2017–18 budget allocation for the Indigenous Jobs Development Funding Program is $8.5m and this program has been one of the most cost effective Aboriginal employment initiatives across Australia into the local government sector. The program was established by the former Territory Labor Government to address the destructive changes to the Commonwealth’s Community Development Employment Program around the time of the intervention.
At the same time shire councils and Aboriginal organisations were threatened with the loss of hundreds of jobs but this simple way subsidy program has meant most regional councils have maintained Aboriginal employment at between 70 and 80 per cent of their total staff. There would be few other organisations in the Territory or indeed nationally that could claim such significant and sustained indigenous employment.
The Jobs Development Funding Program, that is as it is now called, is provided to regional councils and to the Belyuen Community Government Council. The funding provides financial assistance to allow councils providing local government services to receive a subsidy to employ indigenous staff working in the area of local government service delivery. For example, in parks and gardens; sport and recreation; waste management; animal management; administration; library, civil works; and of course other important activities.
A notional annual allocation to each council is determined by the Department of Housing and Community Development and paid retrospectively on reported council expenditure. The jobs development funding provided to regional councils enables cost sharing the employment and the employment of an average of 552 indigenous Territorians each year.
In 2017–18 the approximate number of positions supported through this funding include 136 positions with the MacDonnell Regional Council; 79 in East Arnhem; 71 in Roper Gulf; 54 in Central Desert and Tiwi Islands; 51 in Barkly; 47 in West Arnhem; and 29 in Victoria Daly. This is 552 people in employment delivering local government services, not the make work programs but actual delivery of core local government services.
Similarly the Labor Government’s Homelands Jobs Program supports around 142 people in the provision of municipal and essential services to homelands and outstations. Homelands jobs funding of $5.9m is being provided to 34 homeland service providers for the employment of local Aboriginal staff. Again, an ongoing real employment which provides skills development and opens the way to broader opportunities for future employment.
Critically, both the local government and homelands jobs programs create local employment and help to build local economies and grow further employment opportunities.
As a Minster for Public Employment, I am especially concerned with insuring that we have an efficient public sector that is delivering government policy. As I said, governments have always had a role in stewarding the economy. While there are many things beyond our control, we have the ability to create or destroy jobs. We are in the business of job creation in this Labor government. We have our 20 000 public servants engaged in a wide range of roles, all working in support of each other and government policy.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
I have spoken before about the economic effects of a public service. The public service really does matter because they represent a more or less static category of employed people in the Northern Territory. Not only do they provide services for the public, but they spend their wages directly in the local economy which sustains and creates jobs.
Significantly retracting the public sector is one of the gravest mistakes a government can make if it wants to grow the economy and stimulate jobs. Who can forget how the short lived Queensland Liberal Premier— Campbell Newman—terminated 16 000 public servants and how that action devastated the lives of dedicated public servants and the communities around them.
I can also recall reading newspaper articles when the Abbott government did the same to the Australian public service in Canberra. This was a public sector that was rated as one of the most productive and efficient in the OECD. The cuts had the effect of depressing small businesses that were situated around the town centres where the public service was located. All of a sudden, there were thousands fewer workers using gyms, cafes, childcare centres, dry cleaners and so on. These cuts ripple through an economic affecting house prices, other small businesses that provide services and destroy competition in markets. We cannot afford for that to happen, so we will not take such drastic actions without sector.
That is one reason why we reversed the CLP’s treacherous cuts to education. We have employed 178 additional teachers and support staff, much needed roles for our kids, our economy and mostly importantly, our future.
Mr VOWLES (Primary Industries): A point of order, Madam Speaker. Standing order 43, I seek an extension of time for the member.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Is leave granted? Is leave granted? Minister for Housing you may continue your remarks.
Mr McCARTHY (Housing and Community Development): We are also concerned with ensuring we have a public sector that represents the people it serves most. This is why we introduce government employee housing for local recruits and are revamping the Indigenous Employment and Career Development Strategy.
Currently there are 2 367 public sector workers who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or just over 10%. We also have around 63% of our public sector identifying as women and there are women senior executives than men. We are also planning ahead, ensuring that feeding into public service are high quality candidates for graduate and entry level recruitment programs.
Many of our public servants are on the cusp of retirement, which is why we have also developed a policy and try to retain as many retiring public servants as possible by either extending their careers by offering flexible work, or by calling on them post-retirement in order for us to draw on their wisdom and experience. Institutional knowledge is hard to replace and we need to maintain capacity within the public sector so that we can deliver on our policies.
Of course there is one other measure we cannot ignore when it comes to this government making a solid commitment to jobs in the bush. As I have mentioned earlier, the highly successful Indigenous jobs development funding and the homelands jobs program support the employment of around 700 Aboriginal people in our remote communities and outstations, this is vital spending in the bush supporting hundreds of workers to help deliver services and build infrastructure. This is a great example of government stepping in and keeping economies alive.
We have a pipeline of investment rolling out across the Territory bush and our urban centres. This money will go to fund a variety of works, but what matters rights now is that we unleash this money into our economy so that business stays open and Territorians stay in work.
I am excited to be heading up some of the large programs in the bush which will revolutionise the way we do business with the bush. No doubt, we will see many communities take on the challenge to lead the way in their own economic development. If we can build the capacity of local organisations, who knows where this will take us? It is a safe bet that if we do it right we will create a lot of ongoing jobs which present future governments with many fantastic opportunities for remote development and remote communities going forward.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I commend the Chief Minister’s statement to this House.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Debate adjourned.
PAPERS TABLED RTD No 1 of 2017
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, I table the RTD No 1 of 2017, correcting a minor error on the face of the document.
Speaker’s Determination No 5 on Media Personnel at Parliament House
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, I further table Speaker’s Determination No 5 on media personnel at Parliament House.
Travel Reports from Members for Katherine, Port Darwin, Araluen, Goyder, Nelson and Drysdale
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, I further table travel reports from the Members for Katherine, Port Darwin, Araluen, Goyder, Nelson and Drysdale.
MINISTERIAL REPORT New Policy on International Travel
Mr VOWLES (Primary Industry and Resources): Mr Deputy Speaker, we have a new policy on international travel, but I first mention that I am a bit distracted by the 42 500 red Brahman that have just been sold to a Katherine station. That is fantastic for the Territory.
Which leads me into my travel report about a new policy on international travel. I will take a couple of minutes of the Chamber’s time.
In December 2017 I had my first visit as the minister for Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources to Vietnam. I also went to Indonesia, but it was the first time I had been to Vietnam as the minister. I wanted to first of all talk cattle and buffalo, and the Arafura Games. The main purpose was to reinforce the Territory’s relationship with the government and industry in Vietnam, which is the second biggest destination of our live cattle trade.
The secondary purpose, as I said, was to discuss the participation and commitment of those countries— Indonesia and Vietnam—to the Arafura Games.
I go back to the first part about cattle and buffalo. I was supported and accompanied Tom Ryan from the NT Cattlemen’s Association and Louise Bilato from the Australian Buffalo Industry Council, plus and adviser and two staff. It was fantastic to have Tom and Louise with me. It was a very successful trip. We were warmly welcomed by both government and industry in Vietnam and Indonesia. In Vietnam it was very clear that the Territory relationship as a most important trading partner remains very strong.
The presence in the delegation of Louise from the buffalo industry and Tom Ryan from the cattle industry, along with our government, is especially valuable in building new relationships in Vietnam, and strengthening the existing one that has been built over many years by many governments.
I went to Hanoi and had a very good meeting with the Minister of Industry and Trade and the Vice Minister Agriculture and Rural Development. In both of them, we stressed the importance of increasing the level of our trade under the Free Trade Agreement and strengthen and continue our strong relationships through our friendship and business with the Northern Territory.
We visited some facilities and I am not very fluent in Vietnamese, so please excuse if I have it wrong, but I will try. The Hai Phat Group Company near Hanoi and (inaudible) near Ho Chi Minh City. These two companies (inaudible) account for more than 70% of Vietnam’s imports of cattle and buffalo. Very important trading partners and a very important country for us in not only the trade we have but growing our trade.
They have both made considerable investments in modern feedlots and abattoir facilities, the two facilities I mentioned previously. And the standard of their animal husbandry and management was equally impressive. Vietnam is a relatively new market for live cattle for us, it has only been a large scale importer with much of the credit opening up the market due to the work of successive governments over many years, as I have said. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
But we have had a rapid increase in cattle numbers imported into Vietnam which then led to some problems of course of compliance and profitability. The Vietnamese market has now matured. Cattle numbers imported from Australia have settled down to a sustainable 200 000 head with an annual increase of about 10% anticipated.
With increasing sophistication of the companies involved, standards of welfare and slaughter are no longer areas of concern. And from our briefings and discussions we were able to conclude that Vietnam will remain a steady and reliable market for NT cattle for many years to come and it will have continued attention from the Northern Territory Government and the industry.
Vietnam is our most important market for buffalo. Although the 3000 we currently export to them is a fraction of the number that is possible, the importing companies made it very clear and very…
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Johnson, if I may. Do you have further remarks?
Mr VOWLES: No, I have about a minute.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Because if you do we can look at doing this in a Ministerial statement.
Mr VOWLES: One minute.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you.
Mr VOWLES: Vietnam is good, Indonesia is good, cattle is good, buffalo is good. Buffalo in Vietnam, they said they are going to take 10 000 more which made Louise Belatto very happy. It was a great trip. Arafura Games, went to Indonesian and Vietnam, spoke with them, they made commitments to turn up. It is a great story for us. We need to make commitment. The Arafura Games are going to be a ripper and I am very glad that we brought it back.
CONSIDERATION OF COMMITTEE AND AUDITOR-GENERAL’S REPORTS AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSES
Auditor-General for the Northern Territory, August 2017, Report to the Legislative Assembly: Motion to note— deferred.
Public Account Committee Inquiry into Taxi Licensing and Subleasing Report: Motion to note—deferred.
Auditor-General for the Northern Territory, November 2017, Report to the Legislative Assembly: Motion to note—deferred.
RESPONSE TO PETITION
Madam CLERK: I inform members that a response from the Minister for Health to Petition No 13 has been received and will be circulated to honourable members. The text of the response will be included in the Parliamentary Record and placed on the Legislative Assembly website. A copy of the response will be provided to the Member for Daly for distribution to petitioners.
ADJOURNMENT
Ms FYLES (Leader of Government Business): Mr Deputy Speaker, I move the Assembly do now adjourn.
Mr GUNNER (Chief Minister): Mr Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to mourn the passing of one of the Northern Territory’s most gifted athletes, Mr Daymon Stokie. It is hard for me to believe, it was just under 12 months ago I stood in this House to congratulate Daymon on becoming the first ever Australian to win one of the hardest and most insane motor sport races on the planet, Mexico’s Baja 1000.
Only eight months ago I had the pleasure like others in the Chamber, a few others in the Chamber, of witnessing his first Tatts Finke Desert Race King of the Desert Crown in front of an adoring hometown. He was the first local since 2006 to bring the title back to Alice Springs and out of the hands of those pesky interstaters.
Tragically, Daymon lost his life to the sport he loved the most. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Most locals will tell you that the campaign to a successful racing season and that elusive Finke win begins at one of Australia’s toughest motocross events, Deep Well. Temperatures soar well above 40 degrees and the competition is as fierce as the heat. Riders travel from all over Australia to compete. There is something about racing in that red Central Australian dirt.
It was at this race on Saturday 27 January 2018, with his home crowd behind him, that tragedy struck. It would be Daymon’s last race and last breath.
I got a call late Saturday afternoon advising me of Daymon’s passing, and it was a shock. My first instinct was one of disbelief, ‘No way. How? Surely not!’ I have no doubt this was the thinking of most people, in Australia and overseas, when they heard the news of his passing.
The motorsport community in Central Australia is one of the most tight-knot and supportive families I have ever come across and I count myself lucky to be a part of. In the face of tragedy, everyone unites and no one is left to grieve alone as the shockwaves were felt throughout the racing fraternity locally, nationally and overseas.
I was fortunate enough to have met Daymon when he won Finke. My first impression was how tough the guy was—he won Australia’s toughest desert race with a broken hand! He held onto a motorbike going speeds of up to 180 kilometres an hour for 460-odd kilometres with a broken hand; that is an incredible achievement. My admiration for the guy only amplified when he took some time out from being hoisted on shoulders by friends and team mates whilst being sprayed repeatedly with celebratory champagne and beer—and who knows what else—to shake my hand and chat.
I was left in awe. Not only was he one of the toughest athletes I have ever had the chance to watch compete, but he was also one of the most humble and down-to-earth people I have had the pleasure of being introduced to. And there he was, thanking me for coming, and the minister and other fans who were cheering him on—thanking us! I thank him. He put on the performance of a lifetime. I was simply a spectator.
He was humble in victory and generous with his time, speaking to everyone who wanted to wish him congratulations, and stopping for literally every child who had dreams of one day following in his Finke- winning footsteps.
In Daymon’s short time here, he managed to achieve more than some people will in a lifetime. He was the first Australian to win the famed Baja 1000; he is a Finke Desert Race King of the Desert; and he has won multiple local, national and international events in Mexico and the USA. He had definitely made it into the motorsport history books.
As I am sure everyone in the House today does, I wish to pass on my sincere condolences to his family, friends and the motorsport community, and I take this time to remember the forever king, Daymon Stokie.
To his parents, Melissa and Matt; Jamie and Jacqui; his partner, Bridget; his step-daughter, Alish; and his siblings, Ella, Seth, Ruby, Connor, Georgia and Isabelle, may you find the courage and strength to move forward in peace and confidence knowing Daymon lived each day to his absolute greatest.
As we all take a moment to pay tribute to Daymon, I will leave you with the quote used to summarise his time in life by the people who knew him best:
Life is not a journey with the goal of arriving quietly and safely in one pristine piece, but a chance to twist the throttle until it sticks full open.
To leap over, slide under or hammer through obstacles. To look fear in the eye and backhand it in the head.
To skid, slip or stumble across the finish line out of gas, leaking oil and blood, covered in dirt and free of regrets.
Mr HIGGINS (Daly): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister for those words, and I echo the same sentiments.
It is in the same vein that I say last month the Territory mourned the loss of one of its own. That was 14-year- old Amy ‘Dolly’ Everett. She sadly lost her life to suicide. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Dolly was a much-loved member of a well-known cattle family from Katherine and is described as having been a kind and caring girl who loved looking after animals, younger children and other kids from the school, who needed her help.
She leaves behind parents Tick and Kate, and sister Meg, who in the face of tragedy have shown great strength, bravery and resilience. In a touching tribute they have launched a campaign to raise awareness of the cyber bullying which plagued Dolly, in an endeavour to stop it from happening to any other young person. They do not want another family to go through what they have gone through.
The Dolly’s Dream Foundation has been created with the aim of delivering information on the mitigation of bullying, including cyberbullying to school-aged kids. Since Dolly’s story has brought cyberbullying to the national stage a number of Territorians have brought their own experiences with cyberbullying to light and indeed a number of my own constituents have contacted me to tell their own stories.
Youth suicide is extremely problematic in the Territory and across Australia. Although the decision to take one’s life is often much complex than a single factor such as bullying, the fact remains that cyberbullying is a contributor. It is never excusable, its effects cannot be ignored and perpetrators must be held to account and made aware of the consequences of their actions.
Cyberbullying presents unique challenges in that the perpetrators are not face-to-face with their victims; they cannot see for themselves that the person they bully may already be vulnerable or the impact their actions can have, but the impact can be vast.
In 2014 the Safe and Supportive School Communities Working Group conducted a literature review on student bullying in Australia from studies conducted over four years. Some of the findings of these studies were quite shocking, for example they found that in one study, approximately 12% of students reported continuous exposure to bullying each year. A cumulative effect was also identified for these students with noticeable differences in attendance, discipline problems, academic achievement and risk behaviour.
Another study found that slightly more than one third of the students who reported being bullied had ‘scores within the clinical range for post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms’. Further studies found that although students who had been bullied in person reported that they felt their bullying was harsher and had more impact on their lives than those who had been bullied online, the correlates of their mental health revealed those bullied online actually reported significantly more social difficulties and higher levels of anxiety and depression.
While certain federal and Territory laws cover some aspects of cyberbullying, they are not well-suited to prosecuting offenders. There is a particular need for specific legislation to target cyberbullying behaviour and the perpetrators directly. I have written to the Prime Minister requesting a meeting and to highlight this need.
Social media and the internet presents both opportunities and challenges to our modern society. Today is Safer Internet Day, a worldwide events that aims to raise the awareness of emerging online issues so it is a fitting day for me to say we need to have the conversation about the safety of our children online at every level of the community. Parents and their children, schools, law enforcement agencies and all levels of governance must have a comprehensive discussion about the ways we might end cyberbullying.
The tragic suicide of Dolly highlights the need to have this discussion about how to make our children’s online interactions safe and positive and to put in place measures to end cyberbullying before another life is lost.
Ms FYLES (Nightcliff): Mr Deputy Speaker, tonight I congratulate the NT Flinders Medical graduates who received their Doctor of Medicine in Darwin in late 2017. It was my absolute pleasure to attend the event and witness the investment into growing our own medical workers. The Northern Territory Medical Program is a Flinders, Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory, Commonwealth government partnership delivering all four years of the postgraduate Doctor of Medicine course in the Territory.
The Northern Territory government provides nearly $2.6m in funding for the program each year. The aim of the program is to develop the local medical workforce to be ready to work in our challenging environment and to increase the number of Indigenous doctors nationally.
There are 104 students currently enrolled across the four years including nine Indigenous students. NT residents and Indigenous applicants are prioritised for enrolment in the degree. We have had a number of doctors graduate over the years to join our workforce and strengthen our health services. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
I particularly want to acknowledge the graduates who achieved their degree at the ceremony last year, those being Anette Baker, Natasha Bertschi, Cristina Dickson, Jarrad Dickson, Kimberly Flavell, Debbie-Anne Gillon, David Huynh, Sanjay Joseph, Thomas Kaye, Pawan Koirala, Paul Lee, Geordie Mogan, Brandon Mu, Monica Mu, Lisa Murphy, Khadijah Nadeem, Brendan Pheelan, Nancy Saunders-Clay, Teresa Sutherland, Lauren Thomas, Jessica Turner, Belinda Washington, Adam Whitehead, Andrew Wren and Josie Wright.
Congratulations, and as Minister for Health I wish you all the best for a long and enriching career.
I also had the privilege last Monday to join the Humpty Dumpty Foundation and their patron Ray Martin and our Royal Darwin Hospital staff and it was the launch of the Mansel cot. This incubator cot will assist with transferring premature babies between hospitals and health centres reducing vital wait times in emergency situations.
The cot was purchased via fundraising efforts from the Humpty Dumpy Foundation in 2017 at a cost of close to $200°000. Dr Louise Woodward and Robby Tate were the driving doctors behind this as well as many of our Royal Darwin Hospital nurses and admin staff. It was wonderful—I hosted an event in Parliament House to acknowledge the foundation which has provided assistance to 45 NT health facilities with equipment for improved care of our children.
Last year’s Humpty Dumpty Ball raised $430°000 and every dollar was used to purchase equipment to save the lives and improve the quality of healthcare in the Territory. The foundation are hosting a ball this year on 24 March, and I encourage everyone to come along and support Humpty Dumpty’s fundraising. The generosity of the foundation across the Territory is outstanding and greatly appreciated by children, their families and all our dedicated health professionals and staff caring for them. On behalf of the Northern Territory Government I sincerely thank the Humpty Dumpty Foundation for their ongoing commitment to the Territory.
Yesterday, it was my pleasure to join the board, General Manager of CareFlight, Craig Gibbons and the team of hard working nurses, doctors and pilots, administrative and support staff at CareFlight Northern Operations at the naming ceremony of a new plane that has recently joined their fleet—named City of Darwin, Garramilla, the new plane standardises the fleet and increases the safety of the service.
Last year alone, CareFlight flew over one million kilometres helping more than around 3500 patients from crocodile bites, snake bites, bull and buffalo goring’s, jelly fish stings, stingray spearing’s and a variety of other serious medical and emergency trauma situations CareFlight was kept very busy. CareFlight provided around 5500 flying hours with the fixed–wing fleet and the Top End Rescue Helicopter operating as the Northern Territory medical retrieval service on behalf of the Northern Territory Government. We certainly appreciate the essential role CareFlight plays in delivering critical care for Territorians in times of their greatest need.
Members of this parliament representing vast remote electorates would absolutely appreciate the holistic service an integrated service where the care is provided seamlessly with medical nursing, administrative and pilots all working as part of the CareFlight team.
I was at an event last week where someone approached me and they now do some volunteer work for CareFlight because one of their family members was medevacked from Borroloola, Member for Barkly, in to Darwin and they can never thank them enough. We as a government thank them for their dedication.
It was wonderful to join the Lord Mayor and former health minister, Kon Vatskalis, at that naming ceremony. It was wonderful to acknowledge Garramilla, the Larrakeyah name—talking about the port of Darwin on that aircraft—especially in weather like we have had over the last few days and weeks. At night you will hear the distinct sound of the king air turbo prop taking off and if you see a white light that means it is a aero medical plane. They are out there battling the storms whether it is 8°pm or 8°am helping Territorians when they are at their most vulnerable. As a government we thank CareFlight for the partnership, the delivery and the health services they provide right across the Territory.
Finally, I pay my respects to Daymon and to Dolly and acknowledge the Chief Minister’s and the Leader of the Opposition’s speech.
I also sadly acknowledge in the House the passing of Charlene Ericson, a local mum and author who passed away on the weekend from ovarian cancer. I extend my condolences to her husband Shaun, her two young daughters Bethanie and Stevie. A year ago next week Charlene spoke at a ovarian fundraiser and she was DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 someone that fought ovarian cancer twice and she certainly touched the hearts of all of us here in the Territory and we pay our respects to her family.
Sadly, NT Firefighter, Ryan Clay, also passed away from cancer and I extend my condolences to his wife, Dani and his young daughters, Peyton and Jordan. Very sad for Territorians, far too young to be leaving us but in the House tonight I pay my acknowledgements and the House’s respect to those Territorians and to their families. We are thinking of you and sending you much love and support.
Members: Hear, hear!
Ms MOSS (Casuarina): Thank you. I too would like to just begin by expressing that I echo the comments of those have adjourned before me this evening on the loss of some fantastic, great Territorians who have each made their mark on the Territory on very different ways. And to pay my respects as we all do as a Chamber.
Tonight I do stand to address the Assembly on the 2017 top end fire season and to recognise the incredible work that is done in partnership between the volunteer fire brigades and Bushfires NT. I know that many people in our community—particularly those in our rural areas—experienced a very challenging fire season as a result of high fuel loads, hampered efforts to back burn and install firebreaks and early severe fire weather conditions.
Bushfires NT supports 22 volunteer bush brigades across the Northern Territory and approximately 320 authorised firefighting volunteers attached to those brigades. And together they work closely with land holders and residents across the Northern Territory to implement improved fire management on their properties.
The 2017 top end fire season was predicted to be intense following the high wet season rainfall, resulting in heavy fuel loads. And in response to that the following measures were taken: extensive planning with local brigades and landowners to reduce the fuel load and put in fire access trails or firebreaks; the employment of an extra three seasonal staff to assist with fuel hazard mitigation and wildfire operations; and staff and volunteers from other parts of the Territory to assist the Vernon-Arafura region during peak fire weather conditions. They were rotated to augment the top end crews.
It was also planned that the 2017 mitigation burning would be approximately 80% completed in the Darwin- Rural Area by the end of May. However, due to the boggy ground conditions making areas inaccessible to both Bushfires NT and landowners, it was around 20% of the required mitigation burning achieved at that time. And the weather conditions and high winds between May and July also added challenges and delays to mitigation activities.
The annual Firebreak Enforcement Program commenced early in June. However, many areas remain too wet to install or undertake firebreak maintenance. But needless to say, combined conditions made the top end fire season extremely challenging for landowners, volunteers and Bushfires NT.
2017 top end fire season saw a number of large dangerous wildfires in the Darwin, Batchelor, Adelaide River, Dundee and Marrakai rural areas. On the first week in June, an intense wildfire in the vicinity of Darwin River Dam required the use of aerial firefighting assets, Bushfires NT personnel and 13 volunteer bush fire brigades. The fire took more than two days to contain and another two days to mop up, burning in excess of 300 square km of country. The speed and intensity of the fire so close to major assets was one of the largest seen so early in the season.
On the Queen’s Birthday weekend in June, Bushfires NT staff and volunteers worked the entire weekend fighting wildfires across the Darwin-Batchelor region. It is highly unusual for Bushfires NT to experience this volume and intensity of fires so early in the season.
In late August there were multiple fires requiring the deployment of both land and aerial resource and losses reported included mango orchids, irrigation, demountable sheds and fences. And fire bans were issued for eight days in a row.
On 5 September 2017 a large wildfire raged through the Marrakai corroboree area. This fire was significant because of the size and the intensity of the fire and the remoteness and distance from neighbouring volunteer brigades. The Marrakai area is serviced by the local Beatrice Hill Volunteer Bushfire Brigade, a small bridge that looks after approximately 1 300 square km from the wetlands through to Corroboree Park, down to the Adelaide River and on the Marrakai track. And we know that the introduction of grasses such as gamba in the northern parts of the Territory has substantially increased fuel loads and the fire risk.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
At the peak commitment the containment effort included three fixed-wing aircraft, five helicopters and three water tankers as well as 22 grass fire (inaudible) from across the region and several private fire units. Bushfires NT deployed fixed wing aircraft to support the helicopters and ground crews in order to contain the fire. It was outside of normal arrangements, but the ferocity of the fires and severe fire weather conditions required an increased level of response to protect residents and assets.
While the fire weather conditions continued to increase there was a coordinated effort—as there always is— and the wildfire was brought under control with efforts concentrated on saving lives and reducing the impact to property in the area. Containment took several hours, with the mopping-up effort continuing to take a further three days.
Bushfires NT knew that many residents might require support post-bushfires. As the weather continued to pose a risk, it was important that it was using its resources to continue to respond to that high level of risk across the Top End. It requested that the Australian Red Cross follow up to provide that support. I know they were out there to provide the community with the support it needed.
This is only one of 627 fires responded to by our volunteer brigades and Bushfires NT across the Territory during 2017. That is a huge number and we are so thankful for the volunteers and the work they do. The fire season we had in 2017 would have challenged any fire service. What makes it extraordinary is the amazing efforts of volunteers and the small team at Bushfires NT who respond under extreme to catastrophic fire weather conditions. Many of those volunteers have been in our brigades for a very long time. There are a number of new volunteers coming on board to assist with what is, essentially, lifesaving volunteer work. There is no doubt in my mind that during that fire season they save many assets and lives through their selfless actions.
With the combined and united efforts of both volunteers and Bushfires NT, it has been proven and continues to prove to be valuable work. As the responsible minister, I acknowledge and thank them. I had the opportunity to thank them at a function late last year. It is a pleasure to get to know them. In Alice Springs and across the Territory, our volunteer firefighting brigades are out with Bushfires NT responding in some pretty hairy circumstances often.
I am sure all the members in the Chamber will join me in thanking them for the incredibly hard work all year round, but especially during those challenging fire seasons.
Ms WAKEFIELD (Braitling): Mr Deputy Speaker, first I echo the sentiments of those who have adjourned before me in acknowledging the death of four young Territorians who had a lot to contribute to our community.
I mention the death of Daymon Stokie, which has had a huge impact on my community of Alice Springs. I did not know Daymon, but I knew of his achievements. But what struck me when listening to all the tributes to him is how much he was loved and admired. People talked about his humility, his friendship and love for his family, partner and his friends and how much he was committed to his community. Those are the things that will make his loss felt so hard in our community. My thoughts are with his family and friends over this time, which is incredibly difficult.
I also thank tonight many people in my department who have been working extraordinarily over the last few weeks. Territory Families is responsible for making sure that when we have to evacuate people they have somewhere to sleep, food to eat and all the facilities people need. Territory Families is responsible for setting up the Foskey facility. I acknowledge that many workers in Territory Families have gone well beyond their duty statements. Many have volunteered additional time. The logistics of having to respond in a very short period of time to such a large evacuation in a small jurisdiction has been nothing but extraordinary.
The feedback I have had from other departments and CEOs is that it has gone very smoothly. The department has set up—in a conversation I had with Ken Davies when I first became minister was to make sure we reviewed and planned all those emergency responses because it is an important role that Territory Families undertakes. There has been a positive outcome of all that planning work. We have been able to deliver that.
Thank you to all those workers. Thank you to the Red Cross as well. It has shown itself to be the organisation we know it is, responding to emergencies. Thank you to Territory Families as well.
I also thank all the Territory Families who worked through the Christmas period. The timing of the Royal Commission finishing at the end of the year meant that we had to get our response for that going, as well as delivering services when many other government services are not working. That has big impacts on our workforce. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
I especially acknowledge child protection workers, out-of-home care workers, youth outreach workers, sexual assault workers and domestic violence workers, who all give up family time—often time with their own children—to make sure the Territory’s children are safe, supported and engaged over the school holiday period.
I also thank the youth sector, particularly the NGOs. The volunteers, sporting clubs and other groups within our community really stepped up over the summer period. In Alice Springs there were many events, such as the New Year’s Eve splash party, where people volunteered their time to make sure that was a successful event which engaged several hundred children, making sure they had something productive and fun to do.
We have a lot to do in community safety in the Northern Territory. We will not achieve what we need to, and we will not meet our full potential, unless we work together. It is all very easy to shout from the sidelines and only look at the problems, but I acknowledge—I visited child protection workers who were working on New Year’s Eve and saw people giving up their family time, which they could have been spending with their own kids on their school holidays. They rolled up their sleeves and got on with being part of the solution towards a strong and prosperous community. I thank them very much for their time.
Mr PAECH (Namatjira): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I find it most appropriate to use tonight as an opportunity to speak on matters I intend to pursue on behalf of the people of Namatjira and Central Australia over the coming year.
I thank the Minister for Territory Families, a Central Australian colleague of mine, for her commitment to addressing youth matters in Central Australia over the Christmas period to ensure young people had a range of options and activities to be engaged in. I am very thankful for that and look forward to that continuing support.
As we all moved into this Chamber today, fresh from the festive season spent with our loved ones, energised and motivated for a positive year ahead—for many of us, the festive season provides an opportunity for us to refocus and regroup, review the way we intend to pave the way in the land of plenty.
In doing so, I spent time with my family and friends in my electorate—horse riding with rural residents, sitting under the beautiful red gums in the river systems throughout Namatjira, soaking up the enchanting Central Australian landscapes. Our remote lands and communities are deeply embedded into our Central Australian identity—part of a rite of passage for so many people who call Central Australia home.
It is far from suburban life. These very special parts of the Northern Territory are sometimes dependent on aspects of the greater landscapes or environments. That is why I am standing here this evening. Because I believe it is fundamental that we, as elected representatives, as advocates of the Territory and decision- makers for the future consider the bush in its entirety. Not only for its environmentally unique and pristine landscapes, but for its untapped economic opportunities.
I raise that tonight given the economic climates which we are faced with today and into the future. I am confident that with Treasure Manison, brighter days will come.
As the Territory stands at a crossroad, so does the bush. We must ensure we deliver a future which looks at and positions the bush in the best way we possibly can.
Many of our communities have long called for meaningful job creation, stronger communities and a future framed around respectful relationships and a strong economy.
Like the phoenix that arose from the ashes, this year is a year for Central Australia. I am very optimistic for the future in Central Australia and want to take this opportunity to outline why. I am looking forward to working with my parliament colleague, the Member for Casuarina, the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Minister Moss and the vibrant organisation in Alice Springs, Tourism Central Australia.
To ensure that we focus on growing our visitor numbers for the East MacDonnell Ranges, working with communities like (inaudible), home of the Megafauna; Harts Range; and the Gemtree to showcase the outstanding landscapes and tourism products available for visitors when they come to the region.
Nine exciting new arts programs have been given the green light to enliven Alice Springs CBD as part of the Live Mparntwe Arts Program. This is a great win for Central Australia. It will allow local artists to brighten up our town with their creative expressions in and around our community. DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
Whether you are a tough sporting buff or one of the many Centralians that visit our town’s sporting facilities, you will see seven projects funded, thanks to the Territory Labor government to the tune of $6.2m investing in sporting infrastructure in Alice Springs.
Some of these priorities are researching the hockey pitch at Traeger Avenue; air conditioning and fans for the basketball; the Jim McConville Oval change rooms and canteen facilities; the Ross Park change room and canteen; Flynn Drive Oval rebuild, storage and canteen; Rhonda Diano Oval upgrades to track and amenities; Albrecht Oval; the list goes on and on.
I mentioned in this Chamber not too long ago, when I supported the Member for Goyder in her motion recognising the importance of rural show. I am well aware that the Central Australian Show Society have been working tirelessly and hard on putting together a program full of bright and exciting opportunities and activities for Centralians.
It is safe to say that this year it is show time for Central Australia. I am committed to my electorate and welcoming the road ahead. The road to prosperity for Central Australians. The road to a bright future for people in the bush.
Whether it is advocating for the pastoralists who work hard to provide premier beef to many homes throughout the Territory or the hard-working tourism industry that never ceases to amaze me with their innovation and ability to adapt to changing landscapes.
I also reaffirm my commitment to my electorate to ensure the ball is not dropped in relation to remote policing. My people, the people of Namatjira, deserve a safe home wherever they may call home.
This year I want to work with remote communities to help develop community initiatives on sporting and community spaces to ensure that people out bush have community spaces, grieving spaces and places like the ones you see in my great town of Alice Springs. I want my remote brothers and sisters to have these wonderful spaces on communities so that they can enjoy respite in the summer under shaded trees in green parks.
Be rest assured that I will be working hard with all my Centralian colleagues to ensure we look at sporting events. Not only in Alice Springs, but I will be working with the Member for Stuart on working with remote communities to showcase the vibrant communities in the bush and the vibrant sporting legends who call the bush home.
I look forward to supporting the Red CentreNATS. There are a few members in this Chamber who share their love for motor sports as much as I do. The Earth Sanctuary is home to a sustainable lifestyle and premier events in Central Australia. The list goes on and on.
Tonight is an opportunity to talk about the wonderful events, initiatives and times that Central Australia is heading into. As I said in my speech earlier, I am reaffirming my commitment to the people of Namatjira tonight. I am your voice in this parliament. I will advocate on behalf of you. I look forward to getting back out into the electorate and sitting down with many people in many different communities to listen to the stories, share ideas and bring them back to share with members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly so we can celebrate the diversity of people in the Northern Territory. I am very much looking forward to sitting out on the verandahs—whether it is the community of Santa Teresa or communities at Docker River throughout the electorate or standing up for the rural residents to make sure we keep the rural area rural. I will be there and I will be a strong voice for my constituents.
I take note that my time is running out, so I will roll my remarks back. This is a great year for Central Australia. There are many people who are avid voices for Central Australia and doing continuing work there. We have the mega fauna fossil site coming online in the Todd Mall, so I encourage all of my parliamentary colleagues to give me the commitment, come down at some point and experience the Central Australian hospitality and lifestyle because it is fantastic. It is a place that I very much love calling home. I love the people of Central Australia and the lifestyle. That is where I am and where I will be.
Ms AH KIT (Karama): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, this evening I will begin my adjournment by sharing my recent experience with a class of wonderful Karama graduates.
On the evening of 12 December 2017, 20 preschool students from Manunda Terrace Primary School celebrated their graduation from preschool. This occasion was a celebration of the success of not only the DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018 students, but also our community, of fostering and nurturing the development of these students into what will be a prosperous educational journey.
Educators, Mr Ron Shower and Ms Mary Cantrell, wanted to make the night extra special. The night began with an official ceremony held in the school’s library.
A video was shown highlighting special occasions captured throughout the year for each student. Students were dressed in official graduation gowns—bright blue, university style—and I was pleased to hand them all their parchments and pose for a photo. Finally, the students sang Let It Go from the movie, Frozen. It was adorable and there was a lot of gooing and gahing—and a lot came from me.
Parent, carers, educators and many community members proceeded to the school to eat, dance and chat. It was fantastic opportunity for the parents to talk about their preschool graduates’ future development into Transition for this year. Members of the community from many culturally diverse backgrounds celebrated and discussed the successes of a culturally inclusive educational setting where all students have the opportunity to participate and thrive.
I have often spoken about the amazing educators who teach at schools in the Karama electorate. I take the opportunity to again congratulate them all for their efforts and achievements for 2017 and wish them the very best for another educational year this year.
Tuesday 13 February marks the 10th anniversary of the national apology to members of the Stolen Generations from then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. It is hard to believe 10 years have passed since this significant statement was delivered in federal parliament with many members of the Stolen Generations present in the gallery.
10 years ago I was working for the Australian government on the NT Emergency Response. I was hopeful at that time that tides would change with the eloquent and heartfelt words used by Prime Minister Rudd. Sadly, 10 years on we still have a way to go in this country to address the huge issue still being faced by Aboriginal Australians and the impact that the Stolen Generations continues to have on our families, friends and communities.
I thank and acknowledge the work of the NT Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation in supporting our Stolen Generation community members and advocating for appropriate acknowledgement, education and compensation. I will continue to support your work and advocate for NT Stolen Generations community members to be treated as equal to counterparts around the country and urge the federal government to do the right thing a work towards a positive outcome that these people deserve. I also look forward to attending the CDU breakfast and commemoration events in Darwin on the anniversary of the apology.
I wanted to mention the Darwin Barras Indigenous cricket team who are competing on the annual Imparja Cup cricket tournament in Alice Springs this week. The team is comprised of local Darwin Aboriginal men with a love of cricket and comradery who train and fundraise and contribute their own funds in order to compete. I am proud to support this group and thank all players and the team’s coordinator, Anthony Ah Kit, for all your commitment and hard work to ensure you represent Darwin in this week’s Imparja Cup, good luck.
Whilst on the topic of sport I want to make a special mention of Tai Martin-Page who was an amazingly talented footballer playing for the best cup in the NTFL, the Darwin Buffalos. Tai suffered a severe injury during the opening minutes of the Darwin Buffalos versus Wanders match at the TIO stadium in Darwin last month and his story has since been shared far and wide throughout the country.
A campaign called Help Tai Walk Again was created to raise funds to support Tai in his recovery as he was not able to use his legs following hospitalisation from his match. I am pleased to share that the Help Tai Walk Again GoFundMe page has reached its fundraising goal of $100 000 with a total of $105 247 being raised by 732 people in the past 25 days since the campaign launched. That is a fantastic achievement so thank you to all those who contributed.
The support for Tai does not stop there with a number of fundraising initiatives having already been undertaken and still being planned for not just our footballing community, but the wider community. Once such fundraiser is being held for Tai this Saturday 10 February at the Michael Long Centre in Marrara where community members can purchase a ticket for $99 to watch my beloved Buffaloes take on the Wanderers. They can bid on or buy tickets for exclusive auction items as well.
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I acknowledge the Darwin Buffaloes Football Club and NTFL for organising this Saturday’s event. I also wish Tai the very best for his road to recover and look forward to him returning to the best team in the NTFL, the Darwin Buffaloes.
Ms NELSON (Katherine): Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise to talk about my uncle who passed away in December. On the morning of 8 December I attended the funeral of a really close family friend, his name was Lionel (inaudible) .
When I was driving to the Cathedral that day I stopped at the traffic lights and looked out the window and saw all the people walking; they were getting on busses or driving their cars; life was going on as usual and they were busying themselves. I wanted to put down my window and scream at them all, just as I did when my dad died in 2012. I wanted to scream at them, ‘Stop what you are doing; do you not know a great man has died today and we are going to his funeral?!’
As I looked at them, I also felt really sorry for them going on with their day-to-day life because they had missed out on knowing this absolutely wonderful man. Lionel was a friend’s friend; he was my dad’s greatest friend and I will not ever forget the night my dad died. We had all been at Lionel’s house at a party celebrating his birthday. I remember saying after I had wished him a happy birthday, “I thought you said you were not going to have any more birthday parties.” He replied, I only did this one for your dad so he can be with his friends. That pretty much sums up the man who was Lionel.
He was a friend’s friend, selfless, caring, compassionate and truly lovely. He was a remarkable businessman who was well established in Darwin when he decided to move to Dili shortly after Timor became independent. Once there, it did not take long for him and his wife to establish a transportation, construction and mechanical repair business which created jobs for hundreds of families in Dili and elsewhere in Timor, all of which was made possible through his tenaciousness, hard work and commitment to seeing things through.
He was a family man who was always balancing his business drive with care and generosity towards others. Unhesitatingly he was always ready to help. He is an example to many who will not forget him.
I cannot really remember when I first met (inaudible), but I also cannot remember not having him as part of my life. It took me some time to react to the news that he had been diagnosed with cancer and it was terminal. It took me a long time to react because I did not want to admit it was happening. It also took me quite a long time to react to his death.
I did not want to hear the news of the death of a great friend, with whom my father had shared unforgettable moments of unquestionable friendship and enormous closeness. When I first heard the news of his death, one of the things that hit me was that it was just one more link to my father passing away, as well as another great friend passing away.
He always had time for a chat, and he had loud, raucous laughter, with a voice that could be heard far off in the distance. He was a courageous, sincere, honest, supportive, hard-working man who sometimes forgot to live. He was deserving of all our respect, consideration and friendship, and was sometimes a bit critical in relation to his friends and opponents, but always with reason. He was, at the end of it all, a very fair man.
He leaves with us a great legacy built—with his dynamic personality. My family and I have the best memories of him, and he never turned his back on his friends when they were most in need of a friend. His death is a great loss for all of us, his friends, but especially so for his wife, (inaudible), his children, grandchildren and extended family members.
When we lose someone who is precious to us we are left with a feeling of sadness. Whether it is a family member of precious friend, the loss can be too hard to bear. It is as if a part of you has gone missing. Throughout our life we are mass collections of many things—friends, treasured possessions, memories—but having close relationships help us feel as if we are not alone in the world. When we lose someone who is precious to us, we may realise also that there is an aloneness that can never be filled. Ultimately the condition of life is one of being alone before God. That is a sacrifice that we, the living, make when we say goodbye to the one who has died.
On the day of his funeral we gathered to bid him até um dia, which in Portuguese is ‘until one day’, because we do not say goodbye. There was no media, no accolades, no state funeral, no statesmen—none of that. He was farewelled just as he lived—humbly, respectfully and with a lot of love. The legacy he has left behind is far greater than any awards.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
I had a difficult time writing the eulogy that I delivered on the day. To be honest, I did not even want to be there. I did not want to speak, but I did it because my mum begged me to. Being there meant that I had to accept the reality of his death. Instead, I delivered the eulogy—it was a hard one to write—and I ended with this: ‘The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched; they must be felt with the heart, and that is where we will keep you forever. In our hearts.’
Ms UIBO (Arnhem): Mr Deputy Speaker, I cannot believe it is February already.
In the same manner as last year, I want to kick off by informing the House of my travels and talking about my favourite thing: the Arnhem electorate.
At the end of 2017 sittings we finished the parliamentary year with the Estimates Committee and the annual report. Mr Deputy Speaker, I must admit I really enjoyed this process. I found it very interesting to scrutinise the annual reports. I find that sometimes we look so far forward with our planning in terms of budget that we often do not take the time to step back and reflect on how we spent money and possibly how we can improve in that spending in terms of our future planning.
I really enjoyed the process of being part of the Estimates Committee last year. I particularly want to acknowledge and thank the Chair, the Member for Karama, she did a fantastic job in leading the committee and I must say I really admired her leadership in the committee process.
Of course to thank my parliamentary colleagues, the Member for Namatjira, Mr Deputy Speaker, yourself and the Member for Katherine. Of course to acknowledge the independents who were part of the process. I thought it was fantastic. I remember hearing the Member for Araluen saying that she quite enjoyed the process of scrutinising the annual reports which I thought was very positive and I appreciate her honesty. I think it was fantastic to have the opportunity to be part of that committee. Again, thank you to the Member for Karama for doing a great job in chairing that committee.
The following week I was back onto my bush trips around the Arnhem electorate and did a daytrip around Beswick community, also known as Wugularr community with my EOA, Ms Helen Lee. The position of the EOA has now changed and it does not exist for the Arnhem electorate office anymore. So I just want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank Ms Helen Lee for her wonderful work in terms of supporting me, particularly in the area where she has wonderful connections at Barunga, Manyallaluk, Bulman and Beswick communities; and of course across the rest of the electorate in terms of her other hats that she wears; and of course her wonderful duties that she has now as deputy Mayor of the Roper Gulf Regional Council.
It is wonderful she is now the fulltime liaison officer for the Member for Stuart and based in Katherine, so I still get to chat to Helen in her various roles.
On Tuesday 5 December Helen and I travelled from Barunga community up to Bulman community. Bulman and Weemol in the middle of the Central Arnhem Road, wonderful small communities that I always enjoy travelling to. It was great, I had people coming up to me and saying when is your next visit and I was thinking well this visit is not finished yet. It is wonderful when people are asking you when you are going to be back in the community.
Of course it is a privilege to represent big and small communities in the Arnhem electorate. So it was wonderful to have that kind of presence. At the end of the year, December, it is getting hot, it has not rained enough to cool everyone down or shuts the roads off. It is wonderful that people are still looking forward to your visits.
So on Wednesday 6 December Helen and I visited the Roper Gulf Regional Council, the Bulman School, the Bulman Aged Care, the Bulman Outback Store and we also visited Yuen’s community which was one of the first communities in my electorate to receive the Room to Breathe Program. We visited one of my constituents, Yuen. I had seen the start of the process and the plans for the extra living space in Yuen’s home and he was very gracious in showing Helen and I both the bedroom and the veranda extension that he received at Weemol community.
So really looking forward to more projects with the Room to Breathe Program. It really has made a difference in the communities where it has rolled out for in the Arnhem electorate. Of course I am really looking forward to seeing more of those projects in other communities as well as the communities who have already started to benefit from the Room to Breathe Program.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
After the Weemol community visit Helen and I visited the Weemol Rangers at their Weemol Ranger Base. They are doing some absolutely fantastic improvements to their ranger base in terms of a shed and really beautiful landscaping they have at the moment. So really looking forward to seeing them next trip I am out there.
It is looking fantastic on the ranger base at the moment, beautiful green lawns. They have some ducks and chooks as well, wonderful space for learning and helping look after country and a beautiful country it is. Helen and I finished our travels on the Wednesday and later on that week I had a couple of days in my electoral office—which is based in Katherine—and I was very privileged to be asked by the Member for Katherine to represent our government and present the Chief Minister Awards at MacFarlane Primary School. There are a lot of schools in Katherine, so the Member for Katherine was presenting at one school and I got the privilege to present in one of her schools. It was wonderful to be asked to do that. And I got watch the end of school Christmas concert from MacFarlane Primary School which was fantastic. Kind of forgot how fun Christmas concerts are with schools. It was wonderful. It took me back to my teaching days.
On that same day I was very lucky to just to touch base and wrap up the year with some of my stakeholders including the Jawoyn CEO, Mr John Berdo, and the Chairman, Ms Lisa Mumbin, and also Sunrise Health CEO, Dr Daniel Tyson, and the Chair, Ms Anne Marie Lee. Always really good to touch base with stakeholders who are based in Katherine, but servicing the Arnhem electorate. It was really good to be able to spend the time with those important people who are very passionate about the work that they do in the areas that they work in.
Following that I spent a week of travel outside of the electorate. I do not take travel outside of the electorate very lightly, but I was able to organise some stakeholder meetings in Brisbane, which included meeting the federal Member for Griffith, Ms Territory Butler MP, the Waste Recycling Industry Northern Territory Chair Mr Rick Ralph, and also the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Indigenous Education at the University of Queensland— which is the university that I graduated from—it was wonderful to spend some time out of the electorate, but I am still learning and widening my scope of some bigger issues and also with a bit of focus of the tertiary education side which is a bit of a step up from the secondary teaching background that I have.
And my main purpose of travelling to Queensland, and I thank Madam Speaker for allowing me the privilege to access the travel allowance for clause 6 under the previous RTD, and that was to attend the Close the Gap National Aboriginal Health Conference which was held in Cairns and I was fortunate to be able to be asked to be the keynote speaker where I presented about the Northern Territory Government Families as First Teachers program as at the conference in the links of health and the importance of health to early childhood development and particularly in remote communities was the focus.
And there was a lot of interested people tended to be participants, conference delegates from the eastern coast states. There were missing a bit of our friends from the west and the south. However, there was a lot of interest in regards to the FAFT program. I was able to share some networks and some resources and the context we have here in the Northern Territory. That was wonderful.
My expertise does not lie in health, so widening my scope of understanding and knowledge in that area was wonderful and seeing experts in the field, day-to-day grassroots community workers working in both health and mental health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health was a wonderful trip and very worthwhile. I think I will be talking quite a bit to the Member for Karama in terms of her expertise of Aboriginal health and suicide prevention. There were some wonderful networks at the conference which I will endeavour to pass onto my colleague.
And wrapping up for December which is fortunate because we are wrapping up in my time allocation. Finished off the year with a bit of cracker which was the Manyallaluk Christmas barbeque. Very fortunate to be able to tie in with the Roper Gulf Regional Council Christmas barbeque. Made my sausages and steaks look pretty menial. They had chicken, ribs and huge steaks that were all being cooked by the CDP workers. It was a hot day with a hot barbecue but beautiful food and amazing salads. I will definitely be trying to get back to the Manyallaluk Christmas barbecue this year. The kids swimming in the swimming pool on the way out was a top-off to my year. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker for the time and privilege and I look forward to adjourning tomorrow night.
Mr McCONNELL (Stuart): Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise tonight to put on the record a topic which many of my constituents find important, investment in remote community events. A number of us who have been around for a while remember some of the great events that used to be held in Central Australian communities.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018
In 1976, Slim Dusty played live in the old community hall in Yuendumu and gained a whole new legion of fans. Many of us share the cultural references, for example, big frogs in little puddles, and leave him out there in the long yard, two of my favourites still today. They seem relevant somehow, too.
Around the same time one of the biggest events in Central Australia was the Yuendumu sports weekend. The combination of sport and Aboriginal culture drew hundreds from surrounding communities, Alice Springs and tourists as well. Too often our remote communities are presented solely in negative frame in deficit model requiring interventions or a cause of our problems, but we must remember that there are a lot of positive things in our remote communities. We must engage and support these positives.
Today there are still great events happening remotely in the electorate of Stuart. A good example is Freedom Day in Kalkaringi celebrating the Wave Hill Walk Off where it recognises and teaches us about one of the most important histories in the Northern Territory and the nation’s history. A day truly worth its own public holiday.
Kapamilya Day in Hermannsberg is another remote event that combines the celebration of a historic event, the piping of water from the (inaudible) Springs to the Hermannsberg mission with a pageantry of western wear competitions, horse parades, races and a family fun day. There are many more worthwhile remote community events such as the Timber Creek festival in June, the Mimpery Festival in Lajamanu and the Aileron Bush Carnival. Chansey Paech, Member for Namatjira, apparently is a very good performer, particularly at the boot scooting.
I encourage those who have not experienced the Member for Namatjira’s dancing or a remote event to witness such an event soon and attend at least one event in a remote community in the electorate of Stuart— or any other remote area in the Territory. You will not regret it. You will gain a greater understanding of what it means to be a Territory and Australian. You will start to see the positive side of our remote areas.
For those of you who run or are thinking of starting a new event, consider a remote location. The logistical difficulties can be easily overcome and remote locations often enhance an event. For example, I really enjoy the Bush Bands Bash in Alice Springs and have often considered how incredible a performance will be set against the backdrop of the ranges at Papunya—another amazing place with deep musical history in the electorate of Stuart.
However, tonight I wish to throw my support behind the idea of a new event which has been proposed by one of the constituents of the electorate of Stuart, Mr Warren H Williams. Warren H, of course, is one of the Territory’s greatest representatives. He continues to have an incredible career in music, winning many awards, having been nominated for an Aria and touring with John Williamson. He has also been inducted into the Tamworth Country Music Hall of Fame and is considered a living legend in country music.
I went briefly on a holiday to Norfolk Island over the Christmas break. When I told people where I was from, one person said they knew a Central Australian. It was Warren H Williams. He was a performer at their country music festival every year. On this tiny dot in the ocean I met a local artist who had visited Warren H at his community and is painting his portrait for a significant art prize. That is incredible, I believe.
Warren H is an incredibly well known and great ambassador for Central Australia and his home community of Hermannsburg. He has the contacts and relationships to make an event happen, such as a country music festival, in his home community. After many years of travelling all over the country he wants to make this a reality—a country musical festival in his home community of Hermannsburg.
If you know Hermannsburg then you know there is already an incredible country and western culture that will mesh with this event perfectly. Warren H plans to include a night for local band, as well as one for national acts. This event could be an incredible drawcard for tourists alike.
It is heartening to see our local talent keen to grow Territory events and invest in the local theme. New and diverse events in interesting, remote locations like Hermannsburg will broaden the scope of our tourism market, create new economic opportunities and contribute to a more cohesive Northern Territory.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I support Warren H’s idea and will do my best, as the Member for Stuart, to make this event happen.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
DEBATES – Tuesday 6 February 2018