NT Leaders Election Debate - 9th August 2024

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, you are listening to Mix one oh four point
nine and a very good morning and welcome to a
very special edition of three point sixty. You called for it,
and it's happening. The Mix one oh four point nine
leaders debate now. The polls open on Monday, so this
is the perfect opportunity to hear exactly what the major
political parties stand for. I would now like to welcome

(00:22):
into the studio the Chief Minister evil Or a good
morning to you, Ononning, Katie, and of course the opposition
leader Leah Fanocchiaro.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Good morning to you, good morning and to your listeners.

Speaker 1 (00:31):
Now, I am just going to run everybody through the
rules this morning. You will each get two minutes to
outline why you are best place to lead the Northern
Territory over the next four years. I'll ask each of
you a series of questions, which you'll then have two
minutes to answer. The bell will sound when your time
is up, and we will put those questions that our
listeners have raised to you as well, and you'll have

(00:53):
one minute to answer each of the questions from our listeners.
Some of those will be directed to both of you,
some to just one of you individually. Finally, you'll each
have one last opportunity to tell us in two minutes
why you're the best person to lead the Northern Territory
for the next four years. Now, Crystal Gordon is the

(01:14):
official timekeeper. You'll hear the bell through your headphones. We
might just give it a little test run now, Crystal.
It's very loud, so I'll turn it down a little. Crystal,
don't worry now. Any rebuttles will need to happen in
your own time. So if you do choose to spend
your time criticizing your opponent, that is up to you. Now.

(01:35):
I believe though, that people do want to hear from
you how you will better the Northern Territory. So let's
remember those polls open on Monday. The Northern Territory Electoral
Commission is anticipating a large number of Territorians will vote early.
So this is your chance, as the Territories' leaders, to
demonstrate why they should support your party. So, without further ado,

(01:56):
let's get into it now. Each of you's got two
minutes to introduce yourselves, outline why you are the best
leader for the Northern Territory. Evil or that We'll kick
off with you.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
Good morning as they Good morning to listeners, and thank
you for the opportunity, Katie to be able to be
able to be on your show. But I think Territorians
have seen in the last seven months that I since
I've been Chief Minister, that I have made the tough decisions.
I am direct, I'm decisive around that. So we've seen
the work that I've done around gas in the Northern
Territory is very much supporting the gas industry. But I'm

(02:29):
also very much aware that the number one issue that
Territorians face is around their safety and antisocial behavior. We've
seen the Kelly Review come out, You've seen me take
strong action around antisocial behavior around crime in the Northern Territory.
That five hundred and seventy million dollars invested into police
in the Northern Territory. That's two hundred more sworn police officers.

(02:51):
It's more call takers as well, it's the unsworn officers
as well. So that work around making sure that we
have plenty of police, that we support the police, we
resource the police fully. The residential youth justice facilities three
out of four of those are up and running fantastic.
The courts can now sentence young people to the residential

(03:12):
youth justice facilities, the curfew legislation as well. We've put
in place that the hard things that needed to be done.
And the two youth detention centers, the one in our
Springs is open, the one in Darwin's just about to
just about to take young people. But all we hear
from COLP is the things that they're doing after the facts,
and we do know that we actually need to also

(03:34):
concentrate on the things that happened before the preventative. And
I have worked hard for many many years to get
that full funding for education, So a billion dollars being
invested it into education. My line has always been since
I've been Chief Minister is we need to get Territorians working.
We cannot have another generation of young people, particularly in

(03:55):
our remote communities, not on a pathway to work. So
this billion dollars of education, it's not just about the money,
it's about the outcomes that will produce for the territory.
It will be able to provide vocational education for young people.
Back to two minutes up.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
That's your two minutes Eva, Thank you very much. Now, Leafanokio,
why will introduce yourself and why you would be the
best leader for the Northern Territory.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Thank you, Katie, because the CLP has the experienced team
to deliver change for Territorians for the better. I'm so
proud to lead a CLP team full of people with
real world and government experience. We are so focused on
the future of the territory. Our entire focus is about
rebuilding the territory from the ground up, from making sure

(04:42):
that people feel safe, they feel comfortable and happy to
live here, that they can send their teenage kids out
to work in retail, that they can come into the
city and get an ice cream at John John's, that
they can go to the shops without worrying whether when
they get back their car will be broken into. We
want to see a territory where those jobs and opportunities
of the future are there for us and for our kids.

(05:06):
We know the territory used to be a place where
you'd come for an opportunity and you'd stay for our lifestyle.
But those two things are now fundamentally out of balanced.
And in nineteen of the last twenty three years, labor
have had their chance to make change and they haven't
delivered change for the better. We're asking Territorians to think
about whether your life is better now than it was
four years ago, and can you really afford another four

(05:29):
years of labor. We are so proud to be delivering
an opportunity for change for the territory. We have a
strong plan that delivers on crime, cost of living, relief,
lifestyle and making sure that the territory is a highly
competitive place to live, work and invests. We want to
change the way things are done. We can't keep doing

(05:50):
the same thing and expect a different outcome. So we're
very focused on the future. We are very optimistic and
full of hope about what the Tech Territory can be.
You know, I was born here, my dad was born here,
my grandparents migrated here in the fifties, and so the
territory has given us everything, Katie, It really hasn't you know.

(06:11):
I'll die fighting for this place. It can be better
and under a CLP government it will be better, all right.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
Now. Our first of the questions in just under time
there le of either look of it now. Our first
of the questions is around crime. Now, this is the
issue which has plagued the Northern Territory in recent years.
In every single electorate where we've spoken to candidates and locals.
It has been the number one issue raised, from home
break ins and stolen cars to horrendous rates of domestic violence.

(06:40):
Even what is the plan from a future labor government
to manage this issue.

Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yes, so Katie, we know the number one issue for
territories is crime and our government and as I said,
since I've been Chief Minister has been very much focused
on what we can do to reduce crime in the
Northern Territory. But it isn't simple, one lined as it
is hard slogging, consistent work that will drive down crime
in the Northern Territory and that's what we've done. So

(07:06):
it is about making sure that the police have those
additional resources. It is absolutely about having options for young people,
so those residential youth justice facilities so we don't see
those young people breaching bail or on that merry go
round of getting into trouble on bail, wearing electronic monitoring device.
But it is also the long term work that has

(07:28):
to be done in the Northern Territory. It is that
work around having more housing for young people. It is
the work around education that's what will address crime. One
hundred one hundred and additional one hundred and thirty million
dollars going into mystic family violence is a commitment of ours.
Sixty five percent of people in our prisons are there
because of DV, so you have to focus on that.

(07:50):
We haven't heard. I don't think a single thing from
the opposition around how they're going to address domestic violence
in the Northern Territory that is singly the biggest issue
alcohol as well, and will continue to do the work,
the hard slogging work to address alcohol because underneath most
of these crimes people who have addictions and their families.

(08:11):
Then the impact on their families, the impact on their children,
So whether that's not getting kids to school, all the
issues that we see around DV, substantial issues relate to
alcohol as well. So I know from the opposition it
sounds like it's a simple solution. It is not. And
Leah talks about an experienced team, they are very very inexperienced.
Anybody who has to talk up their experience means that

(08:33):
they're not experienced. So with the COLP, you'll get a
very inexperienced team. Most well, there'll be at least six
of them that have never been in government at all,
and as I said, even their backgrounds, when you look
at their backgrounds, they don't have that depth of experience.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
All Right'm over to you, Leah, and the same question,
how are you going to manage well, how are you
going to what's your plan I guess from a future
CLP government to manage these issues of crime?

Speaker 2 (08:59):
Yeah, US break ins are up one hundred and ten
percent on the last eight years, commercial thirty five percent,
domestic family violence eighty one percent. I don't need to
rattle off the stats for people to know things about
John John's Ice scream is closing, people's choice in Alice
Springs is closing because of crime. Beauty bar and cast
closing because of crime. It's having a profound impact on

(09:20):
our economy and our community. So our plan is very simple.
We have the solutions we need to stop. We need
to deal with the root causes of crime. In the
first place, we need to stop ignoring young people who
need support in their lives. Every child has a right
to an education, to a future. We've got to be
backing them in, which is why we would take our

(09:42):
youth justice out of territory families. To make sure that
territory families is focused solely on the care and protection
of children, our most vulnerable, our future leaders. We don't
want kids entering a life of crime. We must do
that early intervention work. Then if young people are interacting
with the law or there must be consequences, they have
to be meaningful to their age. They have to know

(10:04):
they've done the wrong thing, and that's something that's lacking.
So not only are we lowering the age of criminal
responsibility so we can capture those young ones and make
sure we're putting them into boot camps or other types
of diversion programs to change their lives. But by having
boot camps led by Indigenous mentors that focus on skills training,
we can turn these kids lives around. By having work

(10:26):
camps for adult prisoners, we want to get people out
into skills training so that they're not when they leave prison,
they should be better people. That's the endgame. We don't
want to have better prisoners, we want to have people
who've had an opportunity for reform. And so by strengthening
the laws, and we have a very clear plan around
Week one of Parliament strengthening a range of laws to

(10:48):
support our police. But by really focusing on education and
we've got worsening numbers of kids going to school. By
focusing on getting kids to school and supporting young people
to have happy health lives, that's how we'll drive down crime.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
All right. Now, it's not just crime that's a major concern,
but in some of our major electorates, this issue of
alcohol misuse, public drunkenness, antisocial behavior has been debilitating for
some local businesses, families, and even tourists. Leah, how are
you going to manage alcohol issues? Are you going to
reimplement the two kilometer rule or scrap the BDR?

Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeh, we are going to reimplement the two kilometer rule.
We've already tried to do that in Parliament and Labor
have voted against it because our police need better powers
to deal with public drinking and problem drunks. We've been
very clear about that. But also Labor is only focused
on supply, and that's one way to deal with alcohol
problems and alcohol fueled violence. But the other is dealing

(11:44):
with demand, and you must deal with people's chronic addiction,
that is people wanting alcohol. If you are chronically affected alcoholic,
you will go to a great lengths to get your fixed.
And we're seeing that we're seeing the break ins into
restaurants like Hunnemann Fri Exams sixteen times, always stealing grog.
You know, these are stories, they're very common stories. And

(12:06):
so not only have our police been disempowered, but we
haven't had a focus on getting people well. And that's
our focus. So while labor is shutting down voluntary rehabilitation
to build prisons inside them, we want to see more
voluntary rehab and we want to work with the sector
to come up with a model of mandatory rehabilitation for
those highly chronically affected people who are a danger to

(12:30):
themselves and a danger to our community, so we can
get people well. On top of that, if people are
in prison, we are having compulsory behavioral change, drug and
alcohol programs because we need to use that opportunity to
make people better people going forward, not better prisoners. And
so our focus is very much on demand as well

(12:50):
as supply. We've been very clear that we will scrap
the minimum floor price. In our view and many territory
ins view, it has driven people onto hard spirits. We're
seeing more broken glass than ever before in our parks
on our foot paths, and of course that broken both
those broken run bottles end up being weapons and so
we really need to be removing them, the minimum floor

(13:10):
price on alcohol, dealing with demand not just supply, making
sure Pali's stay on bottle shops. If you're in the
regions and supporting people to be healthier.

Speaker 1 (13:20):
EVA, how will you manage alcohol issues? Will you review
some of the policies currently in place and look to
any changes.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
So first of all, Katie, as I said, anything around
alcohol is highly complex, and again the Northern Territory government
we have worked very hard, probably done more around alcohol
and the issues around alcohol than any government previously. You
have to continually look at things that you can do.
And I'll read about a couple of things around the
two kilometer low Lea's just misleading territories. It is already

(13:49):
illegal to have an open container of alcohol and public
but the issue around that is the police. We've given
police the plowers to tip out. They can tip out
and they can and also put people on the seven
day bandrink register. But if you're being a dickhead and
you're being disorderly, well then the police can find or
arrest you. So that's already in place. So the things

(14:11):
that Lee's talking about are absolutely already in place. Anyway,
Lea's also talking about mandatory alcohol rehabilitation. We know that
doesn't work. We saw that last time, we saw Houdini
and the people who are climbing out from the mandatory
alcohol rehabilitation. It doesn't work. We continue to have voluntary
alcohol rehabilitation. Those facilities continue to be available to people

(14:33):
in the Northern Territory. But we're always looking for ways
to improve the lives of Territorians, the lives of Territorians
that are alcoholics, and so that work is continuous, and
of course we will continue to look at anything that's
there that can improve the lives of Territorians around alcohol consumption.
But it is not simplistic. And as I said, all

(14:53):
you hear from the COLP are these simplistic solutions that
absolutely don't work. About making sure that we can provide
those canteens, those wet canteens in our remote community. So
that's one of the social clubs is an option that
we're working through. That is again hard slogging work because
you've got to work with the whole community around those options.

(15:16):
So we'll continue to do the work around that. So
if you are in a remote community. Your community has
the opportunity for you to say that you will be
able to consume alcohol in your community. So it is
hard work to continue to address alcohol in the Northern Territory.

Speaker 1 (15:30):
All right, let's move along to corrections because based on
some of the changes being proposed by both major parties,
we're going to see an increase in the number of
people in prison. Our prisons are already bursting at the
Saints Now. Anti Corrections Commissioner Matthew Valley earlier this year
said that the Darwin and Alie Springs jails for a
maximum capacity with two two hundred and fifty people in custody.

(15:54):
He told me forty five percent of those in prison
were on remand viva. How will you deal with the
increased prison numbers when we are already full?

Speaker 3 (16:04):
So we already have a plan around prison numbers, Katie,
and that involves the two new women's prisons, so paper
Bark and Stringy Bark, So making sure that we have
those facilities available for women prisoners, so that will alleviate
I think a substantial number. We've already doing the work
around those transportables, so additional prison cells in Alice Springs

(16:26):
and I think it's about fifty two additional cells available
in Alice Springs, so putting in those transportables as well.
We've also increased the numbers at our prison work camp,
so in the Berkley and Jattler being able to increase
those numbers. But again Katie Prisons, and I think I
think it's about one hundred and fifty million dollars to
build a forty four bed youth justice facility. It is

(16:49):
very expensive building youth it's very very expensive building prisons.
I know LEAs said that you'll commit to building a
new prison, will continue to do the work in the
first instance, making sure what we have there we can
expand in any way, but also driving down prison numbers.
That's what you have to do. But Lea's talking about
locking up drunks. That just blows out the prison numbers

(17:11):
as well. So it isn't again with Lea you get
an inexperienced Chief Minister. You'd get an inexperienced team that
have really no understanding of the just how difficult these
issues are. And if you think that I or any
of my ministers sit on our hands around these issues,
we don't. We are led and we make sure we
lead around these really difficult issues around corrections. But we

(17:35):
have an outstanding commissioner and Matt Valley who has a
very clear plan, worked with government around a very clear
plan to make sure we continue to increase the numbers
that we've got there address issues such as women prisoners
so that we've got greater spaces around those. But again
you're trying to hold off the build of a new
prison because you're looking literally at a billion dollars probably

(17:56):
around that substantial costs around building new per so it
is looking at continuing to have work camps and other
options for prisoners. So in the last budget there was
another facility for men prisoners.

Speaker 1 (18:09):
All right, So Leah, how are you going to deal
with the increased prison numbers when those jails are already
bursting at the sea.

Speaker 2 (18:16):
We really don't support the closing down of voluntary our
cohol rehabilitation and kicking out vulnerable people to turn those
into women's prisons. We really don't support that. There is
plenty of space out at Alice Springs Correctional Facility and
out at Holtz near Darwin Correctional Facility to continue to
build infrastructure as is required now under the last eight years,

(18:37):
Labor has failed to increase prison infrastructure and as a
result we've got prisoners taking up police watchhouses. Brent Potter
was very forceful in saying all prisoners would be out
of watchhouses by the middle of the year. It's late August.
It hasn't happened. Labor don't have a plan. We are
very focused on not only driving down rates of crime
by having consequences and dealing with the root causes. By

(19:00):
building two new purpose built, culturally appropriate women's prisons co
located at Darwin and Alice Springs. By having two new
prisoner work camps for adults, meaning those prisoners are outside
every day working whether it's doing maintenance, yard cleanups, verges,
and then having two boot camps for young people, one

(19:21):
in Alice Springs one in Darwin. We can free up
nearly three hundred beds in our adult male correctional facilities.
So by taking the women out and putting them in
a much more appropriate facility, we can then increase bed
numbers for the men. And importantly, we want to strengthen
the Sentence to a job program by getting prisoners out
working every day. The more prisoners we can have working

(19:44):
normal jobs, the better their lives will be when they
leave prison, the safer our community will be. So we
have a very different approach to labor. The numbers are
not in the scam mangering figures that labor would have
you believe. And ultimately, prison infrastructure is called business. It's
like building anything else. Territorians don't give you a pat

(20:04):
on the bag for building something that is needed. You know,
that's just the core business of government, and so that
needs to be done because that work has failed over
the last eight years. I mean the fact that it's
taken nine years.

Speaker 1 (20:17):
All right, Well, we are going to have to take
a bit of a break. If you have just joined us,
well you've missed the first part of the Mix one
oh four nine Leader's Debate. When we come back, well
the debate is going to continue, but we're going to
be heading to the budget, the economy and also looking
at cost of living. That's coming your way right here
on Mix one o four nine's three sixty. Well, it

(20:39):
is certainly very much the most listened to our territory
radio today with the Mix one oh four nine Leader's
Debate in full swing. And if you've just joined us,
we are joined in the studio both both Lea Finocchiaro,
the opposition leader and the Chief Minister Eva Lawla. Now
we're moving along to the budget and in May the
budget for twenty twenty four to twenty five was handed

(21:00):
it down and it revealed the Northern Territory is tipping
into record levels of net debt at more than eleven
billion dollars for the looming financial year. That's about forty
two thousand, six hundred and forty nine dollars per Northern
Territory resident per year and that's predicted to Wilsen by
more than a billion dollars in the next three years ahead. Leah,

(21:22):
how will you rain in the record levels of debt?
Will you rule out cutting public service jobs as we
saw under the previous Colp government.

Speaker 2 (21:30):
Yes, there, we are very focused on a strong public
service to deliver our reform agenda. We need every single
one of them to help us to rebuild the territory.
We've been very clear about that and know asset sales
because we have to grow the economy. The only way
out of this eleven billion dollar mess that labor have
put us in in the last eight years is to

(21:51):
grow the economy, which is why Our plan to rebuild
the economy focuses on shortening approval timeframes, making it easier
to do business in the territory, supporting small business the
engine room of our economy. That's why we are making
sure we have massive payroll tax relief for small business.
That's why we're excluding apprentice and trainee wages from people's

(22:15):
payroll tax cap. We know that if businesses are paying
less tax, they're investing more in their business, which means
more jobs and cost of living goes down because they're
able to provide better prices, be more competitive expand so
we're very focused on reforming the way major projects are
delivered by having a separate statutory authority with real teeth

(22:37):
and real decision making power to get things done. We've
been very clear about having standalone approvals for the conversion
of vacant commercial into housing for international students, for example,
a really important sector for our economy and our community.
So we are very keen on pulling every lever possible
as a government to change the rules of the game

(22:58):
make the territory highly com copetitive. We need to grow
our population. We're currently we're losing about four thousand people
a year interstate, which is why our home build scheme
is very strategic and deliberate. We want to attract as
many people to the territory as we can and retain
as many as we can, which is why we have
a three different homeowner grants for people, including citizens and

(23:22):
permanent residents. We want people building a life in the
territory and securing people through home ownership is one way
to achieve that. So there cannot be austerity. We must
spend properly though and not be wasteful.

Speaker 1 (23:36):
Eva, how can you bring down the level of debt
we're in when it has grown under your watch as Treasurer.

Speaker 3 (23:42):
Yeah, I'm very proud of being Treasurer of the Northern
Territory and that's what you get with me as chief
Minister and experienced, a very experienced minister. But Katie, I
think one that we can be very proud of as
well is the ento oil and gas industry. We've taken
an industry from the start to being able to having
that up and running seventeen billion dollars towards our economy.

(24:02):
So that's that's what you get with the Labor government,
a government that can deliver a brand new industry in
the Northern Territory. Defense is worth about six point two
billion to the Northern Territory as well. The Barossa Project
another six billion dollars. So that's what you get with labor.
We're delivering on driving the economy in the Northern Territory.
GSP is up about two point three percent. It's going

(24:23):
to be seven point one percent. Lea talks about population
and people leaving our population and is actually going up
one percent, So that's a large number of migrants coming
into the territory. So you know it's misinformation that's coming
from Lea. Lea's also talking about payroll tax cutting. Payroll
tax means is a fifty two million dollar hole over
the forward estimates to the Northern Territory. So what is

(24:46):
Lea going to cut. She's going to have to cut
something for that fifty two million. I am absolutely sure
that she will cut public servants, she will cut CEOs,
she'll sack CEOs. She's talking about this coordinator position. That's
your job as chief minister. That's my job as chief minister.

Speaker 1 (25:03):
I drive.

Speaker 3 (25:03):
I have the territory. I have territory in the Infrastructure Commissioner,
the Major Projects Commissioner, and also investment territory. But as
Chief Minister, that's your role to be the coordinator to
drive the economy in the Northern Territory, to drive those
projects in the Northern Territory. Again, simplistic responses around approval
times there are of course in the territory. There has

(25:26):
to be strong, strong rules, strong legislation, strong boundaries around
the environment in the Northern Territory. That's what you need
to do. You need to be able to take territories
with you. You need to have the social license around environmental approvals.
You need to be able to do those things. You
can't just throw those things out.

Speaker 1 (25:44):
All right, We're going to stay on the economy. And
it does seem as though this is a point of
contention really or a point of difference between the two parties.
But after years of lagging in comsept reports, with the
territory economy in some instances ranking dead last in some
key economic measures including housing, finance, construction and unemployment, many

(26:04):
are wondering what is going to be done to really
get the economy moving again. Eva. I know you've just
touched on some of what the government is doing, but
some argue that the government has really not been able
to get a major project off the ground. Is gas
the answer.

Speaker 3 (26:23):
So, Katie, I mean again, we know the story on Comsec.
It's an average over ten years. So when we get
to twenty twenty eight, the big boom that we saw
with IMPEX, that will pass through. But our economy, we
have spent eleven we've delivered and spent eleven billion dollars
of infrastructure. So that's eleven billion dollars of cash that's

(26:43):
gone out to the door to support our civil contractors.
So whether that's road, whether that's the Parmesan Hospital, Parmesan
Police station, the new schools in Parmesan. Our government, particularly
after Impacts, after the Impacts boom, our government kept the
territory moving by all all our investment in civil contracts
across the northern territory, twenty two hundred kilometers of Bitchman

(27:06):
roads that we've delivered. I'm really proud of the work
that we've done. But we've got another four point four
billion dollars of infrastructure in our forward estimates as well.
So that's what you'll get with the Labor government, a
government that continues to push the territory forward, doing that
enabling infrastructure that you need, so continuing to build roads
that are needed for industry. So yes on toil and

(27:27):
gas industry is one. As I said, we'll get to FID.
We've got a a fewer resources, which again we saw
the COP the federal also the Federal Liberal National Party
not support that investment into ARA. A fewer resources er,
a fewer resources will be a game changer for that
southern region, particularly for the town of Ala Springs. So
that's what we do. We will continue to invest in industries,

(27:48):
new industries, but you still have to have the underpinning
ones such as defense. Six point two billion dollars in defense, tourism.
We just recently put another eighteen million dollars into tourism,
building those roads that support our pastoral industry, so the
Carpenteria Highway, the Tanami Highway, the Plenty Highway, for example.
So you have to continue to support the industries that

(28:09):
you have, but grow new industries. And there are really
exciting industries on the horizon. The Data Center next DC.
As you come up Gary Milla Boulevard, you can see
that data center that's just about reaching completion. Hydrogen another
really exciting project for Middle arm.

Speaker 1 (28:25):
Thank you, Eva, Leah, how are you going to turn
things around?

Speaker 2 (28:29):
Well, we know that what we're doing now isn't working.
Otherwise our economy would be growing. We've seen GSP going backwards,
private sector confidences at all time lows, master builders and
other economists have come out and said that we're on
track to build the lowest number of homes in the
territory since records began. And when you go out and
you talk to people in businesses out in Winnelly or

(28:51):
Bearrima tradees, you know they're really unsure where the next
lot of work is coming from.

Speaker 1 (28:56):
Now.

Speaker 2 (28:56):
We've had plenty of promises and plenty of talk about
plenty of projects, but the rubber hasn't hit the road.
Or what labor doesn't understand is that this continual talk
without the actual delivery is actually demoralizing our community. The
numbers speak for itself of people moving into state because
they don't see the opportunities here anymore. Crime is actually

(29:17):
shutting down businesses and again forcing people to leave. So
to do business here, it's very hard. Insurance is through
the roof that inability to attract staff because people don't
want to come here. Tourism is at all time lows
again due to flight prices and crime. So we've got
some serious issues at hand, which is why you know,

(29:37):
and labor can scoff at this, but it doesn't bother
us at all. We are really focused on changing the
way we do things in the territory. Again with labor
nineteen of the last twenty three years, Why on earth
would we continue to keep going with these same policies
and programs. We've got to do things differently, and so
we are very focused on unlocking our economic opportunities. Our

(29:59):
five key folks this area is a mining, gas, tourism, agriculture,
and defense. We've got to get back to basics and
really fundamentally understand our strength as a territory and really
lean into those and support those industries to grow. They
will create jobs and opportunities. And I always talk about
the territory being having everything that this country needs everything.

(30:21):
And part of our plan includes having a Minister for
Asian Engagement and Trade because our nearest neighbors are just
an hour or so away, and we need to be
making sure that we have the strongest possible social and
trade relationships into Asia.

Speaker 1 (30:35):
All right, let's talk cost of living. The cost of
living is having an enormous impact on so many Territorians
who are juggling mortgages or rent, food costs, high petrol
prices just to name a few. Leah, what will a
colp lead government do to lower the cost of living?

Speaker 2 (30:52):
It is crippling territory. Its heartbreaking. I was door knocking
yesterday and spoke to a lady who works at a bank,
and she said it is just heartbreaking work at the
moment moment for them, what they see the struggle people have,
and we recognize that. So our cost of living relief
measures on top of growing the economy and tackling crime,
because crime is adding to cost of living when you're
paying more for security as a shop, that's going on

(31:14):
your product that you purchase in that shop. So we've
also said there'll be free men ninjacockle b vaccine. These
are normally hundreds and hundreds of dollars for young families
wanting to protect their babies from this deadly disease. We've
also frozen We would also freeze motor vehicle regio prices
at last year's prices so that they're not increasing. Also

(31:35):
free drivers' licenses for territorians and three year trailer registration.
We want people spending more time enjoying their life than
standing at the mvrkdie. We've also very, very focused on
making sure that through our home builder scheme, which is
fifty thousand dollars for first home builders, ten thousand for
first home buyers, and thirty thousand for anyone who wants

(31:56):
to build a new home. That's going to help people
get into that home ownership By expanding what pharmacies can do.
There are twenty one very common conditions that a pharmacist
can safely consult on and administer a medication for that
will make it cheaper and quicker for territory and saving
them time and money instead of having to fork out

(32:18):
eighty bucks or more at the GP. So these are
some of the ways in which we can make people's
life easier, safer, quicker to deal with the things they
need to deal with, and of course cheaper because cost
of living is really hurting people, and ultimately we need
to strengthen our economy so people have the good jobs,
the good opportunity, drive down crime, to drive down the

(32:39):
impact of ever increasing insurance, and that pass on effect
of the cost of repairing broken windows, paying excessive amounts
for security, buying bollards, buying mesh, buying roller doors. That
all ends up on the product price.

Speaker 1 (32:54):
EVA. What will the government lead by you do to
lower the cost of living?

Speaker 3 (32:58):
Yeah, thank you, Katie, And it's that we all already do.
We all understand how tough it's been around the cost
of living, and we'd love to see interest rates go
down before the end of the year. We have seen
them go up again, which is a concerning to me
as treasure in the Northern Territory. But some of the
leavers that we can pull we have already done and
will continue to do that work, so particularly around the

(33:20):
cost of power in the Northern Territory. So the Community
Service obligation we subsidize the Northern Territory government subsidized pretty
much everybody's power by over one thousand dollars in the
Northern Territory. The Federal government gave three hundred dollars also,
which is good to see to all well to all
Australians around that. So we'll continue to work to keep
our power prices down. There was a good announcement yesterday

(33:43):
where we're working with the Federal government around the opportunities
for people in apartments. So eighteen percent of Territorians live
in units and apartments and it's been very hard for
them to be able to access sol at solo PV.
So there was a nice announcement yesterday about the opportunities
to match about seven thy five hundred per unit, so
people can, particularly people in units and apartments, we'll be

(34:06):
able to access cheaper power as well. But one of
the really nice announcements we did was around four year
old pre school and so we're going to have instead
of the fifteen hours or the two and a half
days per week, we're going to have full time preschool
for four year olds. So that's a saving between five
hundred two even ony twelve hundred dollars for family, So
families with a four year old will be able to

(34:27):
access full time preschool in the Northern Territory. We'll roll
that out over the next few years, so that's I
think a really big saving, particularly for young people, young
families who have four year olds in preschool or having
to go into childcare. The one around pharmacies that Leah
talked about, we're out consulting on that, so you do
need to consult that's what you have to do when

(34:48):
you're in government. It's easy when you're in opposition. You
can make a statement and throw that out. But we're
consulting around that one. But we've already done the work
also around for example, this seniors and extra fifty dollars
in their hand for their seniors concession, the back to
school voucher and extra fifty dollars as well.

Speaker 1 (35:07):
All right, let's talk health. The Northern Territories suffered through
more Code yellows in recent years than ever recorded. The
emergency departments at our major hospitals are constantly under stress
and overflowing. Staff are dealing with unprecedented numbers and often
pull extra shifts. Locals are having elective surgeries delayed for
extended periods, and as of Wednesday this week, there was

(35:30):
still a Code yellow at our two major hospitals. EVA,
how will you relieve the pressure on the Northern Territory
health system here, Katie.

Speaker 3 (35:39):
Health is a really difficult one and for a variety
of reasons you've seen. I've worked very hard, fought very
hard for the territory to get extra money for education,
extra money for housing, and I have in my sits
extra money for the hospital and I've been working very
hard with the federal government around that to have additional
money for hospitals in the Northern Territory. The issues are

(35:59):
multi multiple issues around that. The first one is around
the difficulty of getting health staff. That's an Australia wide,
worldwide issue. So following COVID, a large number of people
chose to retire and not continue to work or want
to work part time. So that's a really tough one
around making sure that you get the staff in our
hospital system. We've done a lot of work around that,

(36:19):
lots of incentives, will continue to have to do that
work to try to get more people taking up the
option of becoming of working in the health professions. So
it is about migration as well and making sure we
bring into Australia, bring into the Northern Territory more people
who want to work in the areas of health. We're
also building a new mental health facility at RDH that's

(36:40):
really important as well to make sure that we have
greater beds around for mental health patients. The other one
is also around age care. So in this last budget
there was twelve million dollars to look at a facility
that's attached or in that vicinity of Palmerstan Hospital. So
I think there's about eighty people in our eighty age
people are older people, which is sad that are in

(37:02):
our hospital system. So we've tried and we've put it
out and we've advertised, but we haven't had the take
up from any private businesses to establish an age care facility.
So we're doing the work. We're doing, We're giving the land,
we're doing the design work. We'll get to the stage
of builds so that we can get at some organization
n DO or somebody to come in to deliver age

(37:24):
care beds, which will then free up the hospital. But
we have also seen it's been a bad year for
a whole heap of flues and a range of illnesses.
We've seen that. So it is a really complex space
around hospitals, medical ambulance services. But this one will continue
to address.

Speaker 1 (37:42):
Leah, what will you do to ease the pressure on
the health system, Katie.

Speaker 2 (37:46):
I was doing ocking with Lori Zeo candidate Infanty Bay
yesterday and we met an older gentleman who had been
waiting two years just to have his cataracts removed. Now
that is totally unacceptable when you hear these stories every
single day. Our hard working health professionals are working in
the most volatile situation the territories ever had. Last year,

(38:07):
when we asked, the government was spending ten million dollars
a year on security in hospitals alone. This year it's
thirteen million. So something has to change. Our health professionals
don't want to work here and come here because they
are terrified to do that.

Speaker 1 (38:22):
Now.

Speaker 2 (38:22):
Until we address that issue, things can't get better. Code
yellows have only started in our hospital since twenty eighteen
under this labor government pre COVID, so all of the
excuses we here aren't stacking up. It's just not good enough.
What we need to be doing is making sure we
have healthier people. We need territories to be less sick.
This is where the failure to drive down alcohol harm

(38:44):
comes in because a lot of people taking up beds
are people who are chronically affected by alcohol or alcohol
fueled violence, taking up beds where they should be sick people.
That's why we're so focused on a dealing with the
root causes and dealing with the demand for alcohol. We
also have dozens of elderly people who deserve dignified age care.

(39:06):
They are in beds in hospital rather than living their
final years of life in dignity and appropriate age care facilities.
And we've just had promise after promise from a government
that hasn't delivered on anything to support those people. And
so crime does impact our ability to attract people, to
retain people. The assaults on frontline workers are horrendous. The

(39:27):
money going into security is unbelievable, and so we have
to provide a safe environment. The people who are in
hospital should be sick people and we need to be
getting people healthier, so by having more focus on prevention
i e. Getting people quicker and cheaper access at a
pharmacy before things escalate to their gp to the emergency ward.

Speaker 1 (39:48):
All right, we are going to take a quick break.
You are listening to Mix one ow four nine's three sixty.
It is the Leader's Debate. Well, you are listening to
the week that was and it is the Mix one
oh four nine Leaders Debate. If you have joined us
this morning, we have in the studio with us the
Chief Minister, Evil Laula and the Opposition leader Leofano Chiaro.
It is now time for some of our listener questions

(40:09):
you'll each have one minute to answer these. Now a
few of them are a bit more beefy but and complex,
but you will just have the minute to answer those.
No'll first go to a question from a Northern Territory mum,
and this one is directed to both of you. How
are you going to break the cycle for our vulnerable
kids and families When our middle and high schools aren't
equipped to support disengaged kids or kids with cognitive learning issues.

(40:33):
Territory families aren't equipped to support their growing case loads
NT mental health, don't have enough youth at inpatient beds.
There's no inpatient drug rehabilitation for youth in the Northern Territory.
We don't have the staff or programs to help kids
get better or rehabilitate them. I'm fighting to keep my
child alive. If I'm honest, I'm fighting to keep myself alive.

(40:56):
I'm so tired. I'm utterly broken. Most days I can't
work boo. Some days I can't function through the roller
coaster of addiction and mental health for our child. I
can't afford the airfares, let alone rehabilitation interstate. The Territory
is going through a crisis. Our family is living in
this crisis and I want the nightmare to end. How

(41:18):
will your government stop this vicious cycle for our vulnerable
youth and their families.

Speaker 2 (41:25):
Leah, Yeah, Look, it's really important. Early intervention is everything.
And certainly what I've seen when I'm out talking to
people is that it's just that it's all talk. The
infrastructure isn't actually there on any level, whether it's a
child with a drug addiction, a child that needs speech therapy.
You know, this idea of early intervention is just seemingly

(41:45):
something that's talked about and isn't being delivered. Part of
it for us is why we are taking youth justice
out of territory families. This government, for whatever reason, has
decided to lump territory families with a whole range of
other focus areas instead of the care and protection of
our children. That is what every territory and I speak
to wants their focus to be, and they need to

(42:07):
be beefed up to be able to deal with that,
to support families, to support young people. And so while
these issues, you know, are multi laid and there's several interfaces.
You've got mental health, you've got territory families, You've of
course got the schools at its call. We have to
as a community and as a government say well, if
we put the right of the child first, everything else

(42:28):
comes together.

Speaker 1 (42:29):
Leah, thank you, Eva, the same question for you.

Speaker 3 (42:31):
Yeah, this is one that I'm absolutely passionate about, Katie,
and you know my background in education around that. But
when Leah says she's taking youth justice out out of
territory families, she's talking about putting it into corrections. So
let's not be that's not a solution at all. One
of the good things is that a full funding of schools,
so a billion dollars into schools. That will provide additional

(42:53):
resources for schools to particularly look at this area around
well being and student well being, and that's one of
the out that the Northern Territory government will be measured
on through the investment from the federal government around well being,
that's one of the five areas that we'll have to
improve in. But I announced the other day fourteen well
being offices for secondary schools. So that's a first step

(43:14):
or another big step where they can support the counselors
that we have in schools. Our schools do have those
a larger wrap around services. Can they do better? Absolutely,
they can do better. But even when I worked in education,
I have been pushing all the way through more flexible
options for kids. And so we see the flexi learning
centers that we have in Alice Springs, Dar and Catherine.

(43:35):
But again it is one that I would continue to
work on.

Speaker 1 (43:38):
All Right, We've got a question now from Beck in Nightcliff.
Beck wants to know. She says she's got some serious
This one's for you, Eva, She's got some serious questions
about why the Middle Arm developments going ahead when there
are such serious concerns around the environment. What safeguards have
you got to ensure that this great place is not damaged.

Speaker 3 (43:58):
Of course, nobody wants our harbors be damaged. And you know,
I'm a born and bred territory and I have grandchildren here.
Nobody absolutely wants to see that. But there will be
and there is full environmental assessments that will happen at
Middle Arms. So there's been I think about two hundred
environmental assessments that have been underway already. So whether you

(44:19):
looking at all the issues that we have in the
harbor around that, but there will be the highest level
of environmental impact assessments that will be done at Middle
Arm over Archingly, and then the individual proponents that move
in there or that will then take up the office
to be there, they will also have to have environmental
impact assessments done, so there will be layers that will

(44:41):
monitor the environment to make sure that there isn't that
cumulative impact across Middle Arm. So I'm assured that the
thing that all the right things will be put in
place to make sure that our environment is protected in
that Middle Arm area. But it is a working harbor
as well. We know that about Darn Harbor.

Speaker 1 (45:00):
Leah, can you this one is a public housing question
for you. Can you please ask Lea what she's going
to do for Palmerston. I can't see anything in their plan.
And for the tenants that are now getting three strikes
and they're out, where are these people going to go?

Speaker 2 (45:16):
Well, what we've seen over the last couple of weeks
is riots, cars being lit on fire. One of the
biggest issues people raised with us on the doors is
the antisocial behavior in crime from public housing. So we
make no apologies for saying that people in public housing
should have been behaving by community standards. There should be
strong enforcement of the rules. If you are a tenant

(45:39):
in a private rental, that would be expected of you
because we have an eight year waitlist under labor on.
That weight list is vulnerable elderly people, vulnerable women and
children who desperately want a house. And so if we
can't support people through strength and tenantcy management to follow
the rules, and those people should be moved out of
that house and someone who really really need a roof

(46:00):
over their heads should have that opportunity. Now, this will
not only strengthen our ability to get through that weightless
and support people who need a home, but support safer
communities as well. And people are sick and tired of
being kept up all night long of what's going on
in some of our public housing.

Speaker 1 (46:18):
All right, we're fast running out of time, but a
quick one for both of you, will you expand school
based policing EVA.

Speaker 3 (46:26):
So let's not forget the CLP when they I think
they had three ministers that were cops. They're the ones
that actually got rid of school based policing. So we
got ourselves into this situation because the CLP got rid
of school based consciples. We have brought back school based
police officers, some of them are auxiliaries. They but again
they're doing an amazing job in our schools. I think

(46:48):
there's about fifteen across the Northern Territory, including in our
remote in some of our remote settings. But to me, yes,
we'll continue to monitor the police. School based police officers.
I'm always in you know, I'm always open to increasing
the numbers. But they are part of the equation. It
is around that that whole wrap around services that you
need in school. So whether it's a Clontaft or a

(47:09):
Star's Academy, whether it's our school nurses, our well being
officers that we've been putting in additional fourteen being officers,
school counselors. It isn't just a school based constable that
can address or work with the issues that we see
in our secondary schools. It's a whole program. It's a
whole group of people that can support young people.

Speaker 1 (47:28):
Leah, will you expand the school based constable program without question?

Speaker 2 (47:33):
Because our young people need to understand how important our
police are in our community. I think every listener will
agree with me that we are seeing a level of
disrespect towards our police that just wouldn't have happened a
generation or two ago. We need to have our police
in our schools so that young people can see the
leadership and the security that they provide. Have that safety

(47:55):
in our schools, but also build that trust and that
relation where young people understand to have respect for our police.
It's so important and this ties back into the first
listener question, Katie, and how important equally having school counselors
in schools are. We saw that horrific decision where Labor
moves school counselors of school campuses and into Mitchell Center

(48:18):
in Darwin, CBD. And so by having the important people
in young people's lives at the school where they need them,
when they need them, that's what changes lives. That's early intervention.
That's how we can have stronger schools, healthier kids and
better outcomes.

Speaker 1 (48:33):
All right, we're going to take a very quick break
before we get ready to come back and hear the
final statements from both of our leaders, both Leafanochi Airo
and Eva Laula. Well, if you've just joined us, you
have missed one heck of an hour We've got in
the studio with us this morning. The opposition leader Leah
finochi Airo and of course the Chief Minister Eva Laula.

(48:54):
It has been the Mix one oh four nine leaders debate,
and before we do wrap up for this morning, it
is an opportunity for both of you to provide those
final statements and Evil, we will go to you first.
Why should people vote for labor when you've had eight
years to make an impact and to some things are
not better?

Speaker 3 (49:14):
Thanks Katie, Well what you get with me as an
experienced and experienced leader. I have had held the difficult portfolios,
the portfolios of Treasurer, the portfolios of environment, all of
those portfolios, and I think we're looking to the future.
I'm very very optimistic about the future and I think
I'm the person that can deliver for the Northern Territory.
You've seen that when I was Infrastructure Minister. Eleven billion

(49:36):
dollars of infrastructure that's been delivered across the Northern Territory,
an onshore oil and gas industry that's gone from beginning
to delivery, and I've been able to deliver that. I've
been able to deliver the full funding for education in
the Northern Territory as well as six billion dollars for
housing in the Northern Territory. We have some great projects
I know we get criticized around projects, but if anybody

(49:58):
in the people who work in the industry understand just
how hard it is to get to FID around projects.
The ship lift is being delivered as we speak. That's
a really exciting that's a future maritime industry for the
Northern Territory. Middle Arm again provides, as I said, a
huge boost with twenty thousand jobs for the Northern Territory.
We've got a hydrogen industry that will kick off there Vopak.

(50:21):
Just recently we signed an MoU with Vopak around carbon capture,
use and storage as well at Middle Arm. Two really
exciting projects for the territory. We're going to have our
standalone Territory Homes Department, eleven four hundred homes, social and
affordable homes to be built across our regional and our
well across the Northern Territory. That's exciting as well for

(50:43):
the Northern Territory. We talk about a weight list for
housing that will provide a relief to all of that
four year old preschools another really exciting project for the
Northern Territory as well, being wonderful opportunities for families to
be able to have their kids having thirty hours of
pre preschool education. The gil Netting announcement, we're the first

(51:03):
ones that come out and say that would ban gilnets
in the Northern Territory. I'm very much focused on livability
in the territory as well. We know the territory is
a wonderful place to live. We all love being here
and that's why I'm the person that should be Chief
Minister Leah.

Speaker 1 (51:19):
Why should people have faith in you when the COLP
was a debarcle previously and voting for you could be
seen as taking a risk on what some might call
an inexperienced team.

Speaker 2 (51:29):
Look, Katie, I am so full of hope and optimism
for the future because the territory of today does not
have to be the territory of tomorrow. My team and
I are so focused on delivering a safer territory for
us and for our kids, on rebuilding our economy so
there's jobs and opportunities for the future, to increase our

(51:50):
livability and make sure that iconic territory lifestyle that we
live here for that we love so much is preserved
and protected. And to do that we have to do
things differently. Labor have been in power for nineteen of
the last twenty three years, and I just want listeners
to ask themselves, is life better today than it was
four years ago? Cost of living is through the roof

(52:13):
because our economy is going backwards. Our people, our friends,
our family, our loved ones are packing up and going.
And not just people who are never going to stay,
but people who've been here for generations have lost sight
that the territory can be better. But I'm telling every
single one of you listening out there, it can be better.
There is a way forward, and we know that our

(52:35):
plan and our team are the people to drive the territory.
This election, people have a critical choice to make. It
will literally change the forward direction of the territory forever.
We are at a turning point. Your vote is important.
When you place your vote from Monday for the next fortnight,
think about whether you can afford another four years of labor,

(52:57):
whether the territory can afford more of the same, whether
it's time to do things differently, a fresh new team
with the experience and real life government experience to change
the territory for the better. That's the proposition that people
are being faced with more of the same or a
future we can be proud of a place that we
can call home again, that is safe, welcoming and abundant

(53:20):
in opportunity. And we know that our plan can deliver
for territories and that our team are the people to
take the territory forward. So again, can you afford another
four years of labor?

Speaker 1 (53:33):
Well that concludes a mixed one oh four nine Leaders
to beata Eva Laula, thank you so very much for
your time this morning. Thank you, Katie and Leah Finocchio.
Thank you so much for your time this morning.

Speaker 2 (53:44):
Thank you. Take care everyone,