This extract is taken from the Draft Daily Hansard of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory, and will be subject to further edits by the Hansard Unit before incorporation into the Parliamentary Record.
Mrs FINOCCHIARO (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, yesterday a puffed‑up Chief Minister delivered a puffed‑up budget that condemns Territorians to record levels of debt, rehashes announcements and claims credit for spending that has nothing to do with him or his government.
Interstate tourists, gas developers, miners and solar power developers are not coming to the Territory because of the Chief Minister. They are coming here despite the Chief Minister; because the Northern Territory is rich in economic attributes that ought to be fostered and developed; and because the Northern Territory has a pivotal role to play in our nation’s future.
This is an extraordinarily deceitful budget that, once again, highlights the laziness of the Gunner government. The hard work only begins for Labor when it comes time to spin its shortcomings and failings. Territorians know it is the Morrison–McCormack Coalition government that is driving economic growth in the Northern Territory, not the Treasurer or his Labor cronies on the benches opposite. The best news to come out of yesterday was not Michael Gunner’s budget, it was the Commonwealth announcement that insurance relief is on its way for thousands of Territorians living in cyclone zones.
Of the many failures in the Chief Minister’s budget, among the most glaring was this government’s failure to deliver the platform Northern Territory businesses are crying out for to create a climate to grow the economy and create jobs.
The Member for Gwoja said it best yesterday, heralding ‘this is a Labor budget’. It certainly is, because it fixates on spending money we do not have and fails to deliver the incentives required to grow our own-source revenue and be more sustainable going forward.
Yesterday’s budget failed to deliver a plan. It hits businesses and dives into the hip pockets of Territorians but offers nothing in return. In the shadow of the Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission report, it is staggering that this budget offers barely a note to the recommendations delivered by the expert panel charged by the government to revive our economy.
The Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce laid out a pre-election budget blueprint for the government, with the top of the list being implementation of the Reconstruction Commission’s recommendations to drive economic reform and reduce costs of government to business. It is five months since that report was released and there is still no visible roadmap for the implementation of these recommendations, other than three highly paid public servants with brand new job titles.
It is also worth noting that John Langoulant’s recommendation in his budget repair review, advising that government stimulus is not a sustainable substitute for private investment, has been arrogantly ignored. Private investment is the only way to grow our own-source revenue and dig us out of the $9.1bn hole that has been dug by the hands of all of the 14 members sitting opposite me. A hole that my children, your children and Territorians’ children will have to pay back some day. This budget contains nothing that will grow the private sector or the economy, or create jobs.
It is instructional to note how we got here. The extraordinary events of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last 15 months have been exceeded by the extraordinary budgetary events over the same period. On 24 March 2020, a supply bill was moved and passed on urgency and at the same time changes were made to the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act—in one day with no estimates process, no budget speech and no budget reply.
The changes to the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act were to eliminate the pre-election fiscal outlook, which is normally an apolitical document prepared by Treasury to allow the people of the Northern Territory to be reassured and knowledgeable about the state of our finances prior to an election. What the government eventually offered instead was to prepare a COVID-19 financial report on the final day before the government went into caretaker mode so that the Chief Minister and then Treasurer could exercise political control over it.
This political sleight of hand occurred just weeks from an election and was entirely at odds with the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act provisions that exist. How did that report go? The Auditor-General, in her report tabled on 10 December 2020, found that the Chief Minister’s financial report was either unsourced or misleading, in particular around two key areas: the impact of COVID-19 on the Territory and the levels of our debt. Both issues were of prime political and financial relevance then and are important and ongoing issues to today. I wonder what the Auditor-General will find about the Chief Minister’s current political document?
Prior to COVID in November 2019, 50% of businesses surveyed as part of census business index considered the Territory economy to be in slow down. The Chamber of Commerce survey showed 85% of respondents rated the Gunner government as ‘poor’ or ‘extremely poor’. We endured the worst-performing economy in the nation pre-COVID. Those opposite have short memories or more likely would rather forget.
Last week CommSec’s State of the States report confirmed what businesses have been saying to us for years: the Northern Territory is Australia’s worst performing economy and has been for ten consecutive quarters. For the tenth consecutive quarter the Territory is ranked last in at least six of the eight key economic indicators. Compiled by independent economist, the report cements the fact that Labor has no short, medium or long-term economic plans to reverse the $9.1bn net debt it has raked up over the last four-and-a-half years in government. How can our economy ever rebound if we are ranked dead last in six of the eight key economic indicators?
The report showed we lagged the rest of the nation in retail spending, the job market, construction work, population growth, housing, finance and dwelling stats, all of which are important measures of a healthy and successful economy. Yesterday’s NT News showed on the front page that a major Top End shopping centre is now in receivership. What better example do you need of your failures? However, in response to a population growth crisis, your government announces a flimsy five-year plan for land release as some sort of lure to grow our population.
Your government has spent millions of dollars on purple rockets, branding about ‘Boundless Possible’, financial trinkets and offerings for people to come to the Territory. It has all failed because you do not understand that people will come to the Territory for a good job, stay for a great lifestyle but will not move to Territory if the jobs are not there and they do not feel safe. This government has failed to deliver the jobs and community safety that is required to ever have a strong economy.
We also cannot talk seriously about growing our population without working hand in glove with the Commonwealth on migration and visa arrangements. That is why I have been in constant contact with my federal counterparts, championing changes to the Designated Area Migration Agreement and other reforms that will help support business who desperately need to meet staffing shortfalls.
A glaring omission from yesterday’s budget was the cost of crime to the economy and the budget’s bottom line. There are obvious outlays in policing and the resourcing required to maintain services in a large, sparse jurisdiction like the Territory, but there is the not so obvious cost that hits at the heart of our economy: the impact on tourism. A report like the Current Affair exposé highlighted the government’s abject failure to combat crime in Alice Springs and the profound impact that has had on tourism.
You know something is going wrong when the tourism industry in Central Australia’s biggest concern is not sealing the Mereenie Loop, which is so important, but is dealing with tackling crime in that community. There is the cost to business which has to deal with the impact of the break-ins, the stolen property, the vandalism and the impost it has on their insurance premiums. Then there is the impact on the people, some of whom we have spoken to and have told us that the reason they are leaving the Territory is because crime is out of control. The Chief Minister’s negligence and, worse, his indifference was highlighted by the scant regard he paid to crime in his budget reply speech yesterday.
We cannot have a strong economy if law and order is not under control. We cannot have a flourishing tourism sector if people are too scared to come to the Territory. We cannot have a strong business environment if businesses have to spend $5,000 on glass every time they are broken into. Many businesses have been broken into multiple times. The cost to our bottom line, to individuals and businesses and the social and emotional costs weigh heavily on our future. Today in the hands of a government without a plan.
Chief Minister, yesterday’s performance, using COVID-19 as a budget shield, was an outstanding joke. Despite what you would like Territorians to believe, the economy was well and truly in crisis long before COVID-19 hit. It is seriously concerning that the devastating economic shock resulting from a once-in-a-century pandemic has not been enough to force the government to change its approach to financial management.
Instead of allowing the private sector to rebound and flourish as the economy re-emerges after COVID-19, it has wasted the previous opportunity to continue the positive momentum we saw during COVID-19 when things just had to get done. We need more of that can-do attitude, not less. Instead of seizing on this flexible, agile and open-minded way of making decisions and working with the private sector, you have gone back to your bad old ways of throttling investment with mind-boggling arrays of red tape and blowing out approval times from everything to mining permits to liquor licences.
Look no further than your protracted onshore gas moratorium and Dan Murphy’s for examples of how it strangles business. It has dragged its feet on the onshore gas and manufacturing industry and business has had to deal with regulatory goal posts being constantly shifted and expanded requirements. The Gunner government talks a lot of hot air about manufacturing at Middle Arm but the Territory will not see movement in Middle Arm without cheap energy and access to water, topics that fell to their silent death yesterday. There was no talk of water security or the Beetaloo. You cannot grow an economy without both.
Approval times for mining exploration licences take 4.5 years in the Northern Territory, compared to just eight months in Western Australia. Labor has fundamentally failed to understand that throwing $45m over five years does little to attract miners when at the same time your government is increasing mining tax, predicting declining royalties and overseeing a major drop in our Fraser Institute mining survey ranking since coming to government.
The government’s abject failure to identify any savings in their bloated budget is deeply concerning. In last year’s budget, the Treasurer talked tough about agency chief executives; they were being held responsible by the Chief Minister for blowing their budgets. Yesterday he announced exactly the same thing, only this time he adopted our policy of sacking them for fiscal mismanagement. He was then at pains to justify why he will not act on unwanted departmental debt.
The Chief Minister really is the boy who cried wolf. What makes his empty promises this year any different to his empty promises last year?
In last year’s budget he claimed savings from a public service pay freeze that was not implemented. It was no surprise that he did it again this year, announcing savings from a public service pay freeze that still has not been implemented. Why? Because he knows he has to go head to head with his union mates and get through the EBA negotiations in August, so any accounting for the $400m in budget savings is absolute fortune-telling on the part of the Chief Minister. For a man who professes to love the public service he sure has thrown them under the bus quickly on this pay freeze.
The question that the Chief Minister refuses to answer is whether his budget contains any budget savings that have been implemented by his government. We cannot find any.
In his first set of financial statements the Chief Minister failed. Despite this he proceeded to promote himself to Treasurer and went on to deliver another budget, the supplementary part of his first urgent budget, six months ago in November. It was the work of numbers in the Territory’s history—at least up until yesterday.
Budget 2021–22 fails to outline a clear plan for budget repair. Its overall strategy can be summed up as hope for the best. It was lacklustre and dispassionate. I have said this before, and it is a point worth making again, that the Territory’s net debt has eclipsed the entire appropriation for the upcoming financial year and is projected to further advance on that appalling mark over the forward estimates period.
As we were informed yesterday, the Territory’s net debt will be $9.1bn by the end of June 2022. By the end of 2024–25 that number will balloon to over $11.4bn. To put that number in perspective, our total budget appropriation for this year was just $6.97bn. To put it in further perspective, by 2024–25, if the net debt was distributed to each Territorian—adult, child and newborn baby—we would each be responsible for close to $50,000 worth of debt.
We are paying $1.15m per day in interest repayments alone. The deficit has also shattered any previous deficit ever recorded. This year the Gunner government will spend $2.13bn more than it brings in as revenue. That equates to $3.7m per day that we are borrowing just to pay salaries, provide services and keep the lights on. That is unsustainable.
COVID and the need to provide stimulus has definitely played a part in this budget, but it is only part of that story. The Chief Minister would have you believe that COVID is responsible for our $9.16bn debt, but it is not. The Chief Minister’s own figures last year showed that COVID was responsible for $400m in debt, which is a far complimentary from the wrecking ball that is the Gunner government. None of Labor’s previous four budgets have set out a vision or a plan for the economic and fiscal health of the Northern Territory.
The early days of this government saw the shameless attempt to shift blame away from its own mismanagement to the Commonwealth. Then it started shifting blame to the CLP, even though Labor has been in power for 16 of the last 20 years and the CLP left Labor a $1.5bn debt in 2016. We have a $9.1bn debt. Tell me, Chief Minister, who is to blame? In five long years you have not once set out a plan for the Territory. Your pathetic political posturing looked especially hollow last week as you trailed along behind Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister, who was announcing hundreds of millions of dollars on spending in the Territory.
The only reason the Territory has any economic momentum at all is because of the Morrison–McCormack government. They are the only game in town. They bailed Territorians out with JobKeeper and JobSeeker. They promoted gas while your government did its best to drive that sector away. They are pumping billions into its vision for Defence. They have backed our construction sector with HomeBuilder and now it is insurance safety net. This is what is increasing economic activity and hope in the Territory, not you.
Not matter what the ultimate debt figure is, continuing to increase spending without growing the economy, increasing our population and own‑source revenue, leaves the Territory in a perilous position. Sometimes, debt can be a nebulous topic. When the numbers are so big, it is hard to see the literal impact. Territorians deserve to know how it is hamstringing the capacity of the government to respond to the needs of Territorians, and threatens the ability of this government to deliver frontline services and infrastructure.
Instead of investing in our schools, hospitals and roads, the Gunner government is borrowing $3.7m every day and paying $1.15 every day on interest repayments. That is money that does not go elsewhere.
One example in yesterday’s budget is the fact that the government scrapped the build bonus grant for first homebuyers—a fatality of its budget crisis. When the cupboard is bare you have no money to spare. The fact that this got the chop will have a massive flow‑on effect. It hits aspirational Territorians looking to build their new home here. It hits the construction sector as well as a diverse range of businesses such as cabinetmakers or air conditioning installers. This is the trickle‑down effect of Labor’s debt. This is the reality that Territorians are being hit with under Labor.
The consequences of Michael Gunner and Labor’s debt burden will burden the economy for at least a generation—almost certainly more. Make no mistake, this is the only generational change they are achieving. It will also mean the Territory will be more dependent than ever on the Commonwealth, especially in times of crisis.
Yesterday’s budget was a disappointing admission that you have no plan to grow our economy, manage our debt and tackle crime, no money, no capability and no vision for the future. Independent experts agree. The last credit outlook from rating agency Moody’s shows the Gunner Labor government is completely reliant on the federal government to prop up the Territory’s ailing economy, and has no hope for reining in the debt. Moody’s specifically stated that Labor’s budget repair measures will likely not be achieved. They even have no faith in you; imagine how Territorians feel.
The latest State of the States report again labels the Northern Territory the worst performing economy in the nation for the 10th quarter in a row. It is proof that you have obliterated our economy and the budget during your time in government. The Chief Minister attacked the report. He said it was deeply flawed and that Territorians should chuck it in the bin. Chief Minister, the only thing that should be chucked in the bin is your hopeless government. It is another sign of your arrogance and desperate need to shut down dissenting voices.
There has been a stark lack of urgency and action from the government when it comes to addressing the issues that Territorians are raising with us. Since the launch of the Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission report on 1 December, the government almost immediately began to backslide from those time frames and commitment. The Langoulant report is buried so deep in dust it does not even rate a mention by the Gunner government anymore.
First, we heard that Team Territory did not meet for months, despite the fact that it was meant to be in charge of implementing the recommendations. Finally, we saw the government’s response to the TURF report. I have been going through the budget and the TURF report. What really strikes me is the lack of connection and coordination between those two governments. I really do not know why I am surprised. This government has never had a strategy, never delivered what it said it would do, and spends all its time spinning the rest. We have no doubt that the TURF report will very soon join Langoulant, grey and dusty on the Chief Minister’s shelf.
Unlike Labor, the CLP is out there. We are entrenching ourselves in the community, listening to Territorians about what is important to them. We have our ears on the ground in every corner of this beautiful place we call our home. While the Chief Minister runs off stage like a coward at his budget presentation, we are out there every day listening to what is important to people on the ground. One question we asked around the Territory is what would the CLP do differently? My team love this question. It gives us the opportunity to tell people what we will and will not do.
We talk to people about how we will grow the Territory, not hold it back with needless red tape and regulation. The Northern Territory has all the ingredients to do something truly amazing: sunshine, good soil, water, gas, minerals, rare earth, cattle, land, iconic attractions, culture and people with a fierce can-do attitude, ready to take risks and give it a go. We just have the wrong people in the kitchen.
The mob over there are so insecure about their incompetence that they repeatedly claim that the CLP would cut services. Nothing could be further from the truth. We wholeheartedly recognise that the only way to get the Territory out of their mess, save jobs and continue to deliver services is through unlocking opportunities and going for them.
We want to capitalise on the energy and innovation the Territory generated during COVID. We recognise that the economy is fragile. We want to create opportunities by letting businesses come here and prosper, not hamstring them with Gunner-government-style red tape. Our iron-clad commitment to Territorians is that we will halve approval time frames across government: whether you are a big mine or Mary in Braitling who wants to open a cafe, your business is welcome and it will be facilitated in record time.
We will legislate powers for the By Local Advocate, giving the role teeth and grit, and reinstate the local benefit advisory panel to improve the amount of government business going to genuinely local companies. We talk to people about our desire to create a Territory coordinator with tangible legislative powers to facilitate and fast-track decision-making across government. The opposition introduced a bill to that effect. There are 12 private sector initiated projects on the major projects list; seven are mines and one is a petrol gas project that targets stranded gas reserves in the Timor Sea. These projects alone would provide thousands of jobs and potentially grow the Territory’s economy by billions, including millions of dollars in taxes and royalties revenue.
TERC and Langoulant agreed; the only one who did not agree was the Gunner government.
The Territory Coordinator Bill 2020 put words into action and provided a legislative framework for the facilitation of major projects in the Territory. The Gunner government voted it down and replace it with three new job titles for public servants.
The need for reform is clear and overwhelming. Over the past four years I am unaware of any new major project that has been approved or delivered by this government. We look forward—we would look at the report into water security commissioned by the federal government and build necessary infrastructure to ensure the people of the Northern Territory have safe, sustainable and reliable drinking water. We look to the future to ensure industry has the water it needs to develop agricultural and manufacturing opportunities in a sustainable way.
There is no shortage of opportunities for economic growth in the Territory, whether it is exciting new opportunities in the agriculture industry, the immense gas reserves of the Beetaloo Basin or the vast manufacturing and mineral prospects. We are the land of opportunity.
However, slogans, catchphrases and business as usual will not turn our $26bn economy into a $40bn–$50bn economy within the next 10 years. We will not realise this opportunity with Labor at the helm. In addition, our needlessly complicated and antiquated tax regime is holding back mines. That is why the CLP has a plan to introduce a revenue-neutral ad valorem royalty system. We have heard nothing from the Gunner government about streamlining the resources sector to facilitate growth. It is not enough to say that the Territory should be the easiest place to invest, it has to be the easiest place.
The government introduced legislation to be debated this sittings to try and shore up its own taxation regime against the burden of litigation as mining companies seek to clarify what the rules are and how they work. This legislation is a piece of duct tape, trying to hold together its hopeless hybrid mining tax. Rather than trying to patch up the broken system it should be following our lead and creating a revenue-neutral, simple, streamlined, ad valorem tax system. Mining royalties make up almost 40% of the Territory’s own-source revenue, by far the largest source. That number is shrinking and this budget predicts drops in mining revenue royalties. There is an enormous opportunity here; you are wasting it.
If we are going to exploit the enormous opportunities a post-COVID world presents or hope to pay down any debts, we need to act swiftly. The Territory is blessed with vast, mostly unexplored and underutilised resources. Harnessing these key resources will be key to our long-term growth and mining is the single largest economic driver in the Territory. It is a $6bn industry that could be a $10bn industry. or even more. in just a few short years. Those 6,000 jobs hang in the balance pending approvals, being dragged along by the Gunner Labor government.
Despite the moratorium that set the onshore gas industry back two to five years, we have finally seen some momentum in that sector with the federal government spending $220m in new investments committed to developing the Beetaloo Strategic Basin Plan, $225m on Exploring for the Future program and expanded road funding with over $450m already spent by operators on exploration activities.
As an aside, one of the federal government’s identified priorities of its strategic basin plan is to reinvigorate the Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the NT Government in 2018. It is an absolute indictment on the Gunner government that an MOU signed a little over two years ago to boost mining investment has to be reinvigorated by its federal counterpart.
What have we seen from the Gunner government? As part of their conditions for approval they mandated, the Strategic Regional Environmental and Baseline Assessment, or SREBA as they are known. Recently, it came to light that the government’s tendered contractors to do these baseline assessments have had the work taken off them by the government, putting back the process by at least eight months. This is a Labor government doing what it does, their own project coordinators cannot fulfil their own legislative requirements.
What we need now is for the Gunner government to get in there and genuinely back the gas industry. We need to make compliance and approvals efficient and move through them as quickly as possible whilst ensuring that environment regulations are fully complied with. Make no mistake, the Commonwealth Government are the only ones investing in gas and roads as well as $50m to drill 10 new wells this year. Unlike the Gunner Labor government, we will not ignore the regions or the bush because we know it is in our regions and in the bush that we have the most potential.
The importance of the Commonwealth is highlighted by its infrastructure spend. Incredibly, in an economy crying out for leadership and direction, the Treasurer has left the heavy lifting to Canberra. Budget 2021-22 includes $1.69bn in infrastructure spend, significantly down on the $1.75bn promised in last year’s budget. This government is so incompetent it failed to spend this so-called record infrastructure with a staggering $900m not spent. Truly, a government that is all talk and no action. They have revoted $900m unspent last year to this year. When you should not spend money you do, when you should spend money you do not. That is a hallmark of a truly incompetent government, shame on you! What confidence can Territorians have that any of the targets you announced yesterday will actually be achieved? If it was not so serious, it would be laughable.
Going over the budget on individual projects, year after year, it has had some substantial underspend in this space as projects drag due to poor planning. If we want to jumpstart our economy, have targeted infrastructure spend, that is a good place to start. Infrastructure creates jobs and opens up opportunities for new and existing industries. Once again, it is the Commonwealth doing its part; investing more than $244m in immediate works in the Territory; $120m for the Carpentaria Highway upgrade; $46.6m for the National Network Highway upgrade; and a much needed $22.9m for upgrades to the Stuart Highway at Coolalinga. This presents an estimated 1,050 direct and indirect jobs across the Territory, a significant jobs boost for a void left by a hopeless Gunner government.
In addition to this, $472m upgrade at Larrakeyah Barracks and the construction of the new wharf and fuel farm to support Navy operations in Northern Australia. Separate to this, during his visit last week the Prime Minister announced $747m to upgrade defence installations across the Territory, including Bradshaw, as part of the $8bn commitment to improve our military preparedness across the north. There is no doubt that the additional infrastructure spending is key to any economic activity happening on the ground at the moment.
The federal government cannot fund projects if the Territory does not have them ready to go. That is precisely why a CLP government would invest in design work, do the proper planning. We need to have a drawer full of projects ready to go at a moment’s notice. It is smart to plan ahead, but how do you plan ahead when you are stone-cold broke?
The CLP opposition will leverage our relationship with the Morrison-McCormack coalition government and will fight hard for Territorians in Canberra, unlike the Gunner government. We will not just to deliver laksa paste to the Prime Minister, which is the only thing he knows how to do. We will develop well supported, well thought through, wealth generating opportunities that the federal government can back.
Whilst there was an overspend on individual projects, the Gunner government has a history of overspending in all its budgets. This means that the budget does not stimulate the economy as forecast and we get less projects for our money. Our closest example is the aboveground underground car park next door to Parliament house. Before the 2020 election, the illustrious Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics confirmed that the car park would cost $19.4m. After election—bang, tricked you!—it cost $26.7m. What is going on in that department?
Garramilla Boulevard was $14m over budget; the demolition of the Chan Building blew its budget by an extra million dollars and the museum …
Members interjecting.
Mrs FINOCCHIARO: Unbelievable overspends. If it was not so serious it would be laughable.
What about the playground that cost $4m, a whopping $1.3m over budget? Let us not forget the $432,000 to move a bus stop from Cavenagh Street to Smith Street and back again. My personal favourite is the $2.7m on the shade structure on Cavenagh Street that does not offer shade. The Member for Nelson keeps getting a cross-work suntan every time he walks under there. You guys still spent another $80,000 to get an interstate university to tell you whether it provides any shade. Newsflash—it does not!
What would the CLP do differently? We would plan properly, plan ahead and stop the waste. I spoke earlier about the Auditor-General finding the Chief Minister’s COVID financial statement to be misleading. The Auditor-General has also found that the figures the government used to sell its projects are also, at best, rubbery.
The Auditor-General probed a list of 10 significant projects and found the number of jobs created was either a fraction of what was projected, could not be calculated due to inconsistent and inadequate performance management systems or found no evidence of the predicted job-creation that could be delivered. Spin, spin, spin—keep spinning those wheels.
The report also found that despite claiming 575 jobs would be supported during the construction of the $25m Alice Springs Hospital accommodation. It was estimated to directly employ 110 people and only 154 actual jobs were reported.
The $38m Gunn Point Road upgrade originally projected 177 jobs, yet only 133 actual jobs were reported. The $8.5m Katherine Fire and Rescue Services complex reported 130 actual jobs, despite 240 jobs projected by the government.
I ask people to keep in mind that when the government’s own Auditor-General calls them out for not being factual about their job numbers—we all know that the Deputy Chief Minister loves her little chance of ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’. It seems like the Auditor-General is putting a hole through your garbage and is calling you out for what you are, which is a hopeless, out of touch, out of step incompetent government. Shame on you!
Any discussion about the budget and the economy must have a serious component about the crime crisis we are experiencing, be it the people of Alice Springs, who are being desperately neglected by the Gunner government, Wadeye, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Darwin, Palmerston or any of our regions—Mataranka, we were there last week and Nhulunbuy a few weeks before that.
It is bitterly disappointing that crime was only mentioned once during your speech. How out of touch can you be? Combating the persistently high crime rates and antisocial behaviour in the Territory goes beyond the consideration of budget line items, it requires the political will to get something done, meet this issue head-on and acknowledge that crime will not go away by sitting on your hands, closing your eyes and running out of Alice Springs with your tail between your legs.
Understandably, there is little confidence in the community that your government will tackle this issue. Crime is gripping the Territory and impacting every sector, industry and person. Police attrition is through the roof with an average of 10 officers a month and it was a lot more last month. The budgetary and economic impacts of crime should not be discounted and failing to address crime will worsen our economic and fiscal situation. We cannot have a strong economy without law and order under control.
The opposition brought forward legislation to deal with this. Although your government refused to debate our bail bill at the last sittings, it is my hope that it will be debated this evening and that you will back the bill that is going to stop that revolving door of bail and target repeat offenders and put victims not offenders first. All of you have done is issue a press release in that space and talk a lot of hot air. We cannot wait to see the finer detail of your bill which you have not given to us or the cross bench for debate later this week. This shows how much confidence you have in your own reform which is zero. Your team is deeply divided over this crime legislation and who knows what washed-up bill we are going to see tomorrow.
The Chief Minister says that the CLP government will make cuts. That is nonsense. The only cuts the CLP government will make are to crime and that is our iron-clad guarantee because we will always put victims first, not offenders. If we cut crime, businesses will be able to flourish; the tourism industry will go forward; and people in Alice Springs will not have to worry as much as they do. The economic benefits are so obvious. You just cannot see it.
What about health? The efforts of our health care workers have been extraordinary over the last 15 months. We owe them a debt of gratitude. At every turn, they have risen to the challenge and have kept COVID-19 at bay with their help. It remains to be seen what long-term impact COVID-19 will have on our health system and on our budget. We have been told to live with it for the foreseeable future.
But current reforms to health are very concerning. We had a $580,000 report prepared by Ernst and Young, commissioned by the Department of Health, which originally began as a COVID-19 response and review to recommendations. But it has somehow morphed into an extensive internal restructure, centralising power in Darwin, removing regional health services and your legislation is ready to go to this effect. It makes no sense to take the power of health out of the regions. Apparently Territorians will never get to see this $580,000 report. It is buried away in the Gunner government’s treasure trove of hidden secrets.
At least we all know, coming out of yesterday’s budget, the reason why the Gunner government is putting the police commissioner in charge of international quarantine at the Howard Springs facility is because you are putting profits over people with a sweet deal for a $514m cheque from the Commonwealth Government.
The Chief Minister’s second budget as Treasurer builds on the disappointment and delay of the first four years of his government. It is a disappointment that will reverberate into the future and affect the productivity, fiscal and social health of the Territory for many years to come. The Gunner government needs to put its hollow words into action immediately, on the economy, debt, crime, population and jobs.
Instead, yesterday and going forward, we had the government’s spin machine trying to polish a document that would desperately fall flat in all aspects and relies on the Commonwealth’s efforts to foster gas developments and bolster defence. The Chief Minister’s puffed-up performance yesterday was typical of the Labor government he leads. There is zero substance, plenty of spin and it is Territorians who pay the price.
The CLP will continue to meet with Territorians no matter where they live and develop policies that reflect the reality on the ground where Territorians are, in their communities. Our commitment to remain in touch with what matters sets a stark difference between us. We are passionate, skin-the-game Territorians who if given our chance, will make meaningful change in the lives of Territorians. Our only hope is that the Gunner government has not burnt the place to the ground by then.