Northern Territory Deputy Opposition Leader Kezia Purick

POLITICS AHEAD OF PROCESS

Victor P Taffa

The Henderson Government’s blanket ban on sea bed mining and exploration undermines the Territory’s sovereign risk and is a knee-jerk reaction to issues associated with exploration in waters off Groote Eylandt.

Deputy Opposition Leader, Kezia Purick, said the blanket ban is a political decision because there is no chance any seabed mining activity will take place in Territory waters over the next three years.

Just a few weeks ago the Chief Minister told Parliament the environmental bar on seabed mining is so high, it is extremely unlikely any projects will be approved in the first place.

“But today, Resources Minister Kon Vatskalis tried to scare Territorians with his melodramatic references to broad-scale mining.” Ms. Purick said.

“Broad-scale mining is a figment of the Minister’s imagination.”

“The Government should deal with exploration applications on a case-by-case basis, but instead has dispensed with due process in an election year.”

“The blanket ban is a political fix and an over-reaction to a bid by Perth-based company Northern Manganese to explore off the coast of Groote Eylandt.” Ms. Purick said.

“If the Chief Minister is right and the environmental bar on such projects is too high, Northern Manganese won’t get its exploration application through the environmental approval process.”

“This makes the blanket ban unnecessary.”

Ms. Purick said the moratorium was full of holes, most notably its exemption on port developments so the Marine Supply Base can proceed.

“It’s okay for the Labor Government to dredge the harbour, but not for the private sector to explore for minerals.”

“Government ministers have spent hundreds-of-thousands of dollars travelling the world telling mining companies the Territory is ‘open for business’.” Ms. Purick said.

“The blanket ban sends out a very strong signal to the national and international business community that the Henderson Government will put politics ahead of process.”

“Labor’s politically risk averse approach to mining and exploration threatens to slam the door shut on another industry that could provide jobs and boost economic growth across the Territory.” Ms. Purick said.

Northern Territory Shadow Minister for Indigenous Policy Adam Giles

SIHIP DEFECTS MUST BE MADE PUBLIC

Victor P Taffa

“Housing Minister Chris Burns must release details of the Government’s audit identifying the flaws contained in the SIHIP houses built in the four Alice Springs town camps.”  Shadow Minister for Indigenous Policy, Adam Giles said.

“We know that up to 85 houses have been identified with serious flaws – what the Government hasn’t told us is the exact nature of those defects on a case by case basis.”

“The people for whom these houses were built and Territorians more broadly have a right to know what’s gone wrong and why.”

“The Minister must come clean with details about what went wrong.” Mr. Giles said.

“The lack of oversight by Government of the SIHIP project is appalling given the hundreds-of-millions of taxpayers’ dollars that have been spent so far.”

“The project has been poorly managed from the outset and is underpinned by the belief that Aboriginal people are prepared to accept second best.”

“The Minister must release the audit detailing what has gone wrong and explain what is going to be done to fix the mess that has been created.” Mr. Giles said.

Northern Territory Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Adam Giles

PORT IN A STORM

Victor P Taffa

Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Adam Giles has called on the Henderson Government to come clean on the progress of Darwin Port upgrades.

“Until last year’s rail derailment, mining company Oz Minerals had been freighting copper concentrate from South Australia to East Arm Port by rail.” Mr. Giles said.

“The rail cars were not hard covered but had exceptional environmental approval to operate because Darwin Port hadn’t been appropriately upgraded to take the newly designed carriages.”

“While the rail line remains closed – despite the Labor Government saying it would be ready by the end of January – Oz Minerals has moved their export process to South Australia and will continue to use those port facilities with their newly designed carriages.”

“Questioned in parliament today Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Gerry McCarthy, refused to say when East Arm Port will be upgraded to receive Oz Minerals’ new rail carriages and he refused to say how much money the Darwin Port is losing each week as a result of Oz Minerals not using the Darwin Port.” Mr. Giles said.

“As well as Oz Minerals, Bootu Creek-based OM (Manganese) has also been forced to stock-pile while the railway line is repaired.”

“The Darwin Port Corporation continues to find it difficult to turn a profit and the ongoing failure to upgrade the port to accept the new rail carriages highlights Labor’s lack of economic focus.”

“Minister McCarthy must detail when the port will be upgraded to take the new carriages, if and when Oz Minerals will return and what the loss of income so far has been.” Mr. Giles said.

Northern Territory Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Adam Giles

RAILWAY CERTAINTY

Victor P Taffa

Territory families and workers continue to pay extra for a range of grocery lines while the Government hedges bets over when the Alice Springs to Darwin railway will re-open.

Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Adam Giles, said the Government doesn’t appear to be on top of the situation when it comes to repair times for this essential piece of infrastructure.

“First we were told by Government it would re-open by the end of January, then it was mid February and yesterday Transport Minister Gerry McCarthy said the track would re-open by the end of the month.” Mr. Giles said.

“Territorians have a right to know when the train will be operating as normal and how repairs to infrastructure at Edith River bridge are progressing.”

“The Government must also detail what improvements are being made to track infrastructure to prevent incidents like the Edith River bridge failure from recurring.” Mr. Giles said.

“At issue when the accident occurred last December was the flood warning system in place when the train drove into water along the Edith River Bridge.”

“Steps must be taken to ensure there is no repeat of the incidents leading to the derailment.” Mr. Giles said.

Northern Territory Shadow Minister for Environment Peter Chandler

SILENT TREATMENT

Victor P Taffa

The Henderson Government has again been caught out running silent on harbour pollution.

Shadow Environment Minister, Peter Chandler, said the latest Beach Water Quality results showed three iconic Darwin beaches posted extreme levels of Enterococci when tested on February 8th.

Lameroo and Little Mindil beaches posted Enterococci levels of 243 and Mindil Beach posted 1106.

Under the Government’s own guidelines, two consecutive water samples within 48 hours greater than 200 Enterococci .per 100m/L should result in the affected beach being closed.

However, no warning was issued by Government about the high Enterococci levels, leaving anybody who had swum at these beaches exposed.

“It’s bad enough water quality levels are high, but this is magnified by the Government’s failure to issue warnings about those high readings.” Mr. Chandler said.

“The Government has no idea of the cause of the pollution – and no idea how to respond when readings are above recommended levels.”

“Health Minister Kon Vatskalis should explain why he has again failed to keep Territorians informed about bacteria levels in Darwin Harbour.

“In Parliament today he made a joke of the water quality tests, showing he doesn’t care about our beaches or Government transparency.” Mr. Chandler said.

Northern Territory Opposition Leader Terry Mills

DODGING DEBATE

Victor P Taffa

Chief Minister Paul Henderson has dodged a challenge to debate Labor’s law and order policies at a public forum in his Wanguri electorate.

Opposition Leader, Terry Mills, issued the challenge during today’s Parliamentary Question Time.

“The Chief Minister is full of bravado in the Parliament, but he’s not prepared to participate in a public forum during which the community can scrutinise his Government’s law and order policies.” Mr. Mills said.

“I’m convinced the arguments he uses in the Parliament to defend his Government’s grog bans and soft sentencing would fail the pub test.”

“Despite the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing the Territory has the highest offender rate in the country, the Chief Minister continues to live in a state of denial about crime.” Mr. Mills said.

“If he’s so confident his Government’s policies are working, he should join me in a public debate in his Wanguri electorate.”

“His repeated refusal to debate law and order and his Government’s grog policies shows a lack of courage and is typical of a Government out of step with community feeling.”

Mr. Mills used Question Time to target the Government’s refusal to announce a review into Police resourcing across the Territory.

“The Chief Minister said last August that Government was considering a review and six months later he said the Government is still considering a review.” Mr. Mills said.

“He offered as an excuse his Government’s dire budgetary situation, which appears to be a case of putting dollars ahead of public safety.”

“The Chief Minister also today refused to say how many Police were on duty in Alice Springs last Thursday when staff from the Aurora Motel was assaulted after an altercation involving an ABC film crew.”

“It appears Police were short staffed that night and the Chief Minister’s refusal to identify manpower levels is a failure to be across the details of his portfolio. The Chief Minister blamed Police for an incident that appeared to be a direct result of poor resourcing.” Mr. Mills said.

Northern Territory Shadow Treasurer John Elferink

TREASURER MISSES THE POINT

Victor P Taffa

Treasurer Delia Lawrie has missed the point about the pressures faced by Territory households on a daily basis.

“While today’s inflation figures are good news on the surface, the problems faced by Territorians go way beyond the latest CPI statistics.” Shadow Treasurer John Elferink said.

“The fact is many people are doing it tough because of the high cost of housing, increases in the price of power and water, the price of fuel and the cost of a basket of groceries.”

“These are very real concerns for Territory workers and families and it’s disappointing the Treasurer and Labor are hiding behind the latest inflation data.” Mr. Elferink said.

“Figures released by Australian Property Monitors today show the median house price in Darwin is almost $580,000, the second highest of any capital in the country and way out of reach of many would-be home-owners.”

“Last week, APM showed median rents for a house in Darwin are $550 a week – the highest of any Australian capital.” Mr. Elferink said.

“Despite the pressures already faced by Territorians, the Henderson Government has no problems squeezing a bit more out of taxpayers.”

“It introduced one of the most expensive container deposit schemes going around which jacked up prices and is right behind Federal Labor’s carbon tax, which is estimated will leave up to 30% of Australians worse off.” Mr. Elferink said.

Northern Territory Shadow Minister for Environment Peter Chandler

CAN’T SEE THE WOODS…

Victor P Taffa

A line of trees recently planted under a Government scheme in Songlark Street, Bakewell, are faced with removal because of a failure to consult with the local council.

Shadow Environment Minister, Peter Chandler, said volunteers recently planted a variety of tree species in Songlark Street, but now Palmerston City Council has asked they be removed and a single species be replanted to minimise maintenance costs.

“The nature strips are council land and at the very least Government should have consulted with the body responsible for the verges before the trees were planted.” Mr. Chandler said.

“In the meantime, I’ll do what I can to ensure the trees aren’t destroyed.”

“I’m calling on council and Government to find common ground to ensure these trees aren’t wasted.” Mr. Chandler said.

“Perhaps Government could agree to meet any additional maintenance costs on these trees and in future, to consult with councils or the relevant body before any new trees are planted under the scheme.”

“The worst possible outcome would be that the hard work done by the volunteers is wasted.” Mr. Chandler said.

“It’s typical of Labor that it can’t even get a small-scale green initiative to function smoothly.”

“Territorians are entitled to ask why they should have any confidence the Government will get the big ones right.” Mr. Chandler said.

Northern Territory Shadow Minister for Regional Development Adam Giles

HAMPTON ABANDONS ALICE SPRINGS AGAIN

Victor P Taffa

Member for Braitling, Adam Giles, has condemned the absence of the Minister for Central Australia during another summer of crisis in Alice Springs.

Mr. Giles described as disgraceful the decision by Karl Hampton to again go missing, this time while the economy is flat-lining and many businesses are struggling to stay afloat.

“Karl Hampton should be fighting for Alice Springs businesses, but it’s been some time since he or any Government Minister has been in town addressing the issues.”

“During last summer’s crime surge the Minister for Central Australia left us in the lurch and again this year he is nowhere to be seen.” Mr. Giles said.

“While its general knowledge the Henderson Government has abandoned Alice Springs, there’s no excuse for the Minister to play that game as well.”

“Once again it is left to the Country Liberals to champion the cause of Alice Springs because the Government has turned away.” Mr. Giles said.

“The list of businesses closing grows in line with the decline in business confidence in the town. Alice Springs is struggling with the lack of Government infrastructure investment, tourism marketing and ongoing crime problems.”

“This month’s shutdown of Bojangles comes on top of the closure of Centrebet, the Red Cross, Rivers, GD McGees, Private Hire Taxis, the Airport Shuttle Bus, Sussans, a newsagent, galleries, travel agent and the downsizing of many businesses like Mbantua Gallery.”

“On top of this Government positions are also being wound back.” Mr. Giles said.

“We continue to hear about infrastructure contracts going to companies outside Central Australia or the Territory and while it is a free market, Labor isn’t assisting local businesses to improve their tendering practices to help them win contracts.”

“As well, works done by interstate contractors aren’t being adequately inspected for quality. Maybe Alice Springs contractors are dearer because they do the job properly and don’t cut corners.”

“There are currently no major projects in Alice Springs and no plans in the pipeline for any additional tourism infrastructure.” Mr. Giles said.

“The prolonged silence by the Government and Minister shows they have no answers to the slump that’s bringing business operators to their knees.” Mr. Giles said.

Northern Territory Shadow Minister for Correctional Services Willem Westra van Holthe

LABOR’S GROG FAILURE

Victor P Taffa

Today’s NT Police Facebook posting detailing the success of a two day blitz on illegal drinking in restricted areas around Katherine highlights the monumental failure of the Government’s grog laws.

Member for Katherine, Willem Westra van Holthe, said Police in the town reported 201 litres of alcohol were seized and destroyed – the equivalent of over 530 cans.

“This is another fabulous effort by the local Police, but it also highlights the failure of the Government’s grog restrictions to make a difference to problem drinking.” Mr. Westra van Holthe said.

“Obviously, the Government’s liquor restrictions and the Banned Drinkers’ Register aren’t working.”

“Despite the Country Liberals’ opposition to the grog bans, the Government went ahead with these unworkable laws anyway.” Mr. Westra van Holthe said.

“A Menzies School of Health Research study on the impact of grog restrictions in Katherine showed that the longer they are in place, the less difference they make.”

“The statistics from the blitz over the past few days confirm that fact.” Mr. Westra van Holthe said.