Debates Day 3 - Thursday 1 May 2003
Parliamentary Record 11
Debates for 9th Assembly 2001 - 2005; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 9th Assembly 2001 - 2005
2003-05-01
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
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Debates
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Darwin
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Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
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DEBATES - Thursday 1 May 2003 Araluen - what did she say here? She was talking about the shoulder season: He expects that they will come up in the stinking heat o f Alice Springs. From the member for Araluen we have had the stinking people, the stinking heat. I ask the member for Araluen to start talking up tourism in Central Australia up a bit more instead of being so negative. On a happier note, the Ghan is a bright light on the horizon, with the completion of the Alice to Darwin railway. I believe that many Ghan travellers will take the opportunity to break their journey and visit the many attractions of the region. It is proving a very important and desirable product for many international tourists. That development, together with the recent announcement from Virgin Blue that they will commence flights in to Alice Springs, is very important as a feeder service for travellers on the eastern seaboard. The member for Araluen had a cute little gimmick in here the other day; she had a toy plane that she waved around. You have your toy; we have the real thing so ... A member inteijecting. Dr BURNS: Yes. The member for Greatorex was trying to say that the federal government did this, and the federal government got Virgin Blue into Alice Springs. If you believe everything that the member for Greatorex said in his speech, the CLP makes the sun rise every morning. But the world is a bit wider than that. One thing that was very interesting was that, on the day that Virgin Blue announced that they were coming to Alice Springs on a daily basis with day time flights making an extra 1000 seats a week, there was a press release that went out from the member for Araluen. I have been scrabbling around trying to get a copy of this press release. Member for Araluen, you need to give it to me because it has just evaporated. There is something on the CLP web site, but it does not seem to be the same press release that went out on that day that I heard about. I will make an observation here, member for Araluen: you missed all the signs. Ms Carney: Really? Dr BURNS: You did. You should have read the signs that the deputy CEO of Virgin Blue was coming to Darwin, and that there was intense negotiation between NT Airports and Virgin Blue ... Ms Carney: We talked about that. Dr BURNS: Basically,, you missed the sign, and you sent this press release out. Really, you just need to back off the rhetoric and the anger, and try to read what is going on around you. You can stick with the model planes if you like, but I would advise you to get out into the big game. I have taken a bit of time clearing up some of the misconceptions that have been put about by the opposition about tourism, because it is very important. One of my other portfolio areas is Environment and Heritage and, as everyone knows, we released a discussion paper on Strategy for Greenhouse Action in the Territory. The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre and the Arid Lands Environment Centre are to be congratulated for their Cool Communities program, which this government has contributed to, because it encourages the use of greenhouse friendly hardware in the home, establishes behavioral change, and establishes a range of rebates for solar hot water systems. The Renewable Energy Rebate Program is soon to have a significant effect in Central Australian communities. Rebate funding of $3.425m has been recommended for Hermannsburg, Lajamanu and Yuendumu solar power projects. These projects will save over 380 000 litres of diesel fuel and 1000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. Heritage: I spoke this morning in my report about what we put on the register in Central Australia recently - the Araluen Homestead precinct and the Catholic Church precinct, and the appointment of a senior full-time heritage officer in Alice Springs. That is very important. The pastoral industry is very important and significant in Central Australia, directly contributing more than $100m to the economy with significant multiplier effects. There are a significant number of the NT herd in the Alice Springs and Barkly areas, and indigenous people own significant land in this pastoral estate. As primary industries minister, I am very committed to trying to get pastoral land with indigenous ownership back into production. That is a priority, it is very important economically. I am also pleased to advise that the Centralian Land Management Association has recently been successful in securing Commonwealth funding to develop a pilot environmental management system with the support of the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment. This is all about delivering business and environmental outcomes for the industry in the region. About 15 pastoral enterprises have nominated to participate in this very important project. 3977