This morning, Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro, delivered her budget in reply and outlined the CLP’s vision for the Territory.
A vision designed to address crime and grow our economy.
“Our plan for the Territory will take back control of our streets, rebuild our reputation and get our economy moving forward again.
“Our plan is a way forward, where Territorians can get back to enjoying the things they love, our incredible lifestyle and opportunity. A plan where we once again look forward to the future and can live knowing that this is the place where we can, and want to, safely raise our kids.
“We cannot have a strong economy with crime out of control, every Territorian is feeling the personal and hip-pocket impact of lawlessness.
“We will start by putting the rights of Territorians to be safe ahead of the rights of criminals.
“My plan properly amends bail, re-empowers police, deals with problem drunks and brings in tougher penalties for those who commit crime.
“It will also see an implementation of Sentence to a Skill, to break the cycle of reoffending. A program that sees youth offenders learning a skill while serving their time, so on release they have a purpose and are job ready,” she said.
Mrs Finocchiaro used her speech to speak about her team’s economic plan.
“We will ensure the Territory’s economy thrives on the principle of reward for effort and we’ll make it easy and attractive to do business here.
“We will properly slash approval times with our Approvals FastTrack Taskforce and establish the Office of the Territory Co-ordinator to revolutionise the way major projects are delivered.
“We will also make sure that we no longer continue to miss out on opportunities in our minerals, agriculture and gas industries by providing absolute certainty to projects.
“This will put the Territory at the forefront of Australia’s renewable energy transition.
“We will also take up the fight to Canberra, to ensure we get our fair share of defence spending and don’t keep losing defence personnel and manufacturing jobs interstate.”
Speaking to the community’s calls for a change in government, the Opposition Leader today announced Mr Bill Yan will take on the Shadow Treasurer Portfolio and welcomed new candidate for the CLP in Kris Civitarese taking on the seat of Daly.
“The CLP is growing, we are ready and we are focused on Territorians.
“This is not the Territory I know and love but the Territory of today does not have to be the Territory of the future. Only the CLP will lead us forward,” said Mrs Finocchiaro.
ENDS