Debates Day 2 - Wednesday 27 November 2002
Parliamentary Record 9
Debates for 9th Assembly 2001 - 2005; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 9th Assembly 2001 - 2005
2002-11-27
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 - Wednesday 27 November 2002 they owned? And if there is no sense of ownership over these assets, I am gravely concerned that this too will erode the sense of responsibility that the owner of the property, whoever that may be, will have in relation to those assets. And if the sense of responsibility is the same as its asset value figure, then there is a diabolical problem awaiting just around the comer for this government, and any other government which will be in the Northern Territory into the future. It is totally uncertain as to where those assets stand at law or even who owns them now. Who is taking responsibility for the power station at Alpurrurulam, or at Nyirripi, or at Maningrida? I do not know. I do not know if PowerWater says that they are their own, and if they are, what value they place on them. I flag that as a matter of concern. I see it as a matter of concern which is going to play itself out in the future, in a very ugly way, unless there is some sort of intervention to prevent the further degradation of services and the further breakdown in communication which will lead to a degradation of services in the bush. I also make my Christmas message tonight fairly brief. I thank the staff of the Legislative Assembly, as I do every year. They have put in a sterling effort. Sometimes I wonder why they put up with us, but they are unflappable in the face of the bear pit in here. I also wish to pass on my Christmas regards to each and every member of this Chamber. No, we do not always agree, but I still believe that the vast majority of us are in here for the right reasons, and that is the advancement of the people of the Northern Territory. I pass on my Christmas cheer to Mai and Jan Derby. Jan is my ever zealous electorate officer. She and her husband, Malcolm, moved to Alice Springs a couple of years ago. I picked Jan up almost by accident, and she has been an absolute boon to me, and Mai has been also a very helpful gentleman. I am grateful for the many hours that he has put in on my behalf, for no reward other than for the thrill of doing it, I suppose, or some other such madness. I also place on the record again, a happy and merry Christmas to my wife, a lady I love very much, and for some reason, has for another year chosen to stick it out with me. I asked her once why she married me and she said, Charity. I am not entirely sme if she was joking! She is an extraordinary lady and I consider myself blessed beyond words to be married to her, and to have her into my life and all the stuff that we have done over the years continues to be a reason I get out of bed in the morning. Once again, I place on the record a merry Christmas to her. M r MILLS (Blain): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I rise to make my contribution, which may, be my last contribution for this year. Firstly, to look back and then to look forward with expectation, when we survey the scene behind us and look at the way our paths have wound throughout the course of this year, and our fortunes, one way or another, have shone on us and given us some joy, and other times the opposite. We then look forward to see what lies ahead of us. These are, indeed, interesting times for the Northern Territory and its people - and the people are really what this is all about. We come to Christmas and we often consider things such as family and that base line issue of what we are getting for Christmas. As a local member and representative of a good portion of Palmerston, and a cross section of the Top End of the Northern Territorys population, I would hope that we would be receiving some of the things that Santa has promised to the good people. We are eagerly looking forward to these. We are anticipating the arrival of these gifts and, this being the second Christmas, we hope that these gifts will be deposited beneath the tree. An indoor recreation facility for Palmerston has been talked about under the previous government and $500 000 committed to the foundation infrastructure development. We wait for something more; the next stage of this. I hope that we do not have to wait for yet another Christmas. A home ground for the Palmerston Magpies, which have won two NTFL grand finals and seem to be doing quite well in the current round. Hopefully, we are not going past our second Christmas. Underneath the Christmas tree is no clear and concrete commitment to what this promise of a gift from Santa actually meant; that we would have a home ground facility. The commitment has been made and we eagerly sit around that tree waiting to see how this will manifest. A health precinct for Palmerston that delivers what the good people of Palmerston expected it would, that they would be able to go to a place in the evening where their health concerns would be met. Another expectation has been raised; we are sitting around the Christmas tree waiting for the announcement that there will actually be, in real terms, a new school for Rosebery to take the pressure off schools such as Bakewell and Woodroffe. That the students, staff and the parents of Bakewell School will have the promised four demountables and ablution block delivered to them in real terms, and that the female staff of the school will have an ablution block. With the increased population of the 3122