Alice Springs news
Alice Springs news; NewspaperNT
2008-07-24
This publication contains may contain links to external sites. These external sites may no longer be active.
This publication contains many links to external sites. These external sites may no longer be active.
English
Community newspspers; Australia, Central; Alice Springs (N.T.); Newspapers
Erwin Chlanda
Alice Springs
v. 15 issue 25
application/pdf
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
Erwin Chlanda
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/232757
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/661377
Public service blossoms but business is stagnant T o u r i s t s m a y b e p u z z l e d b y g r o g a n d p o r n o s i g n s F R O M P A G E 1. fo l lowing a request f rom the N T to the Federal G o v ernment. T h e l iquor prohibit ion w o u l d be in line w i th cur rent C o m m o n w e a l t h meas ures to control alcohol and pornography on Abor ig ina l land, under the N T E m e r gency Response A c t . T h e r e are a l r e a d y a number o f these blue signs, in the West .Macs , on L a r a pinta and Namatj ira D r i v e s , near some o f T h e Centre 's pr ime tourist attractions. T h e signs say people m a y be fined m o r e than $1100 (first of fence, $2200 for the second) w h o "br ing , possess, consume, supply, sell or control 1 iq uor beyond this point wi thout a l iquor permit or l icence". O n e sign is on the road to G l e n H e l e n , between the turn-offs to Ormis ton G o r g e and E l l e r y B ighole . Head o f the N T Parks Serv ice i a T h e Centre , A n d rew Br idges , says it ap pears these signs relate to three areas w i t h i n the park that are already A b o r i g i nal land. H e says it is not yet clear what w i l l happen about l iquor contro l , nor where A b o r i g i n a l l i v ing areas w i l l be set up. M r Br idges says there are provis ions fo r l iv ing ar eas i n the parks deal between the N T G o v e r n m e n t and the Central L a n d C o u n c i l , but these w i l l be considered w h e n parks management plans are d r a w n up. T h e signs say: "It is not an offence to direct ly trans port unopened liquor though a Prescribed A r e a provided y o u can clearly demonstrate y o u r destination is outside the Prescribed A r e a " . H o w e v e r , there are no signs indicating where these Prescri bed Areas end - leav ing park visi tors uncertain about where they are al lowed to "crack a coldie". M r Br idges says N T Parks and W i l d l i f e M in is ter L e n K i e l y has writ ten to C o m m o n w e a l t h Min is ter for Indigenous A f f a i r s , Jenny M a c k l i n , asking for the parks to be exempted f r o m the l iquor bans. Nei ther M r K i e l y nor M s Mack l in responded to requests for comment. M r G r i g g says T o u r ism Central Austra l ia "has questioned the boldness of the word ing and in some cases, the p lacement o f these signs and feel that the N O A L C O H O L / N O P O R N O G R A P H Y w o r d ing, although appropriate, could leave some t rave l lers a little bewi ldered as to what type of region they are entering. " T o u r i s m Central A u s tral ia f u l l y supports the n u m b e r o f in i t ia t ives to stop alcohol and pornog raphy and is w o r k i n g w i th the appropriate agencies to ensure the right information is available for where and w h e n y o u can, and cannot consume an alcoholic drink whi lst y o u are en joy ing the spectacularCentral Aust ra l ian reg ion . " R i n g i n g the 1800 number on the signs - "24 hours / 7 days" - isn't any help. T h e A l i c e N e w s rang on M o n d a y , and this is the ensuing exchange. A n s w e r i n g m a c h i n e : " Y o u w i l l be transferred to a customer service off icer." Music for three minutes and t w o seconds. " H e l l o , this is N i k k i . H o w may I help y o u ? " " I ' m m a k i n g enqui r ies about the blue l iquor and pornography signs on roads in the national parks. A r e y o u familiar w i th these signs?" " N o . I am in a call centre in N S W . I w o n d e r i f I should put y o u through to y o u r local Centrel ink off ice?" " I a m i n A l i c e Spr ings." Music for three minutes and 19 seconds, after w h i c h N i k k i explains Centrel ink isn't the right authori ty , but someone w o u l d call me. A b o u t half an hour lat er F iona Harr is , f r o m the emergency response team in D a r w i n , r ings. H o w m a n y signs are there in the 13 national parks in the Centre? H o w come they mark the beginning and not the end o f Abor ig ina l areas? W i l l all parks be de clared dry w h e n they are transferred to A b o r i g i n a l ownership? She' l l let us k n o w , M s Harr is says. She hadn't before dead line o f this edit ion, "some 20 hours after her f i rst contact. A l i c e S p r i n g s PUBLIC MEETING Alice Springs Town Council invites residents to attend a public meet ing on Thursday 31st July at 6 .00pm in the Andy McNeil l Room, at the Civic Centre on Todd St. T h e purpose of the meet ing is to d iscuss the resident ia l BMX track in M a y n a r d Park, s i tuated on the corner of Head St and Lackman Tee. T h e A S T C is p r o p o s i n g to demol ish the ex is t ing track due to unsafe cond i t ions , and instal l a di f ferent s ty le of track. For more in fo rmat ion contact D i rector Techn ica l Serv ices G r e g B u x t o n on 08 8950 0517 R e x M o o n e y Chie f E x e c u t r :. Phone: (08)8950 0500 Email:astc@astc.nt.gov.au Web:www.alicesprings.nt.gov.au... F R O M P A G E 1. administration (not includ ing the health and educa tion sectors) heads the list o f the t o w n ' s top seven " indust r ies" , contr ibut ing $ 143.2m to the gross re gional product ( G R P ) o f $ 1478m, rough ly 10%. T h e top seven all up contribute 52%. T o u r i s m , p o p u l a r l y thought o f as the t o w n ' s top industry, is not report ed on as an industry at all. Bus inesses opera t ing in that sphere are allocated into a range o f categories, w i t h accommodat ion and food services the most ob vious one. I t 's put at e lev enth spot in terms o f G R P ($66.03m) It is the fifth largest employer but showing no signs o f g r o w t h , w i t h 1060 jobs in 1996; 1178 in 2001; 1005 in 2006. It is in the public sec tor that e m p l o y m e n t is g r o w i n g , w h i l e most other sectors are stagnating or in decline. E m p l o y m e n t in "public administration and safety" went f r o m 1343 in the 1996 Census, to 1634 in 2001, then to 1975 in 2006 - an increase o f 632 jobs in 10 years. T h e profile was intend ed to be a " starting point fo r d iscuss ions b e t w e e n the c o m m u n i t y and the government about the fu ture development o f A l i c e Spr ings". A business survey was conducted last N o v e m b e r , w i t h 380 businesses out o f the 600. targeted tak ing part. T h e r e w a s a lso s i x months ' wor th of data co l lation, sourced main ly f rom the Austra l ian Bureau of Statistics and the Austra l ian T a x Of f ice , and analysis. T h e w o r k revealed that also in the top seven " indus tries" and separate to " g o v ernment administration" are t w o m o r e public serv ice heavywe igh ts , health and c o m m u n i t y serv ices , and education. Health is in the number three spot , c o n t r i b u t i n g $ 120.79m to G R P , wh i le education, is in the number s i x s p o t , c o n t r i b u t i n g $85.72m. "Heal th care and social assistance" is the number t w o employer but jobs in the ' sector have stagnated: 1630 in 1996,1645 in 2001, and 1638 in 2006. Educat ion is the fourth largest employer , and has e x p e r i e n c e d s o m e j o b s g r o w t h : 1026 in 1996, 1208 in 2001, 1236 in 2006 - an increase o f 210 in 10 years. A l m o s t all other e m ployment areas show de creases between 1996 and 2006, w i th the except ion of "professional, scientific and technical serv ices" , wh ich went f r o m 744 in 1996, d o w n .to 609 in 2001, then up to 872 in 2006. T h e r e t a i l t rade is ninth in terms o f its G R P ($71.94m) and the th i rd largest employer , but stag nating in terms o f jobs : 1370 in 1996, up to 1454 in 2001, but back d o w n to 1367 in 2006. T h e number t w o indus try is property and business services, w i th 444businesses contributing $132.35m to the G R P ; number four is construction ($ 120.59m, 378 businesses); number five is mining ($91.27m); number seven is manufac turing ($78.04m, 60 busi nesses). S E R V I C E S T h e p r o f i l e c o u n t e d 1821 businesses i n . ' A l i c e Springs, w i th 1071 (58%) of these non-employ ing . These aren't all subbies in the building trade, w i th a ute and a mobi le phone. T h e top f i v e include personal and othersefviceSi retail, transport and storage, finance and insurance, as w e l l as construct ion. A n o t h e r 4 1 4 ( 2 3 % ) a r e micro businesses, w i th one to five employees. T h e r e are 267 smal l businesses ( f ive to 20 em ployees) , making up 15% of total; 66 medium businesses (20 to 200 employees) , 4% of total; and just three large businesses, w i t h more than 200 employees. T h e . r e t a i l t rade has many more miero.businesses than any other sector, f o l lowed b y accommodat ion and food services. T h e spread for small businesses is similar, w i t h construction also anotable presence. T h e r e ' is m o r e o f a spread across sectors for medium businesses, though retail is still ahead. O v e r a l l , 69% o f busi nesses surveyed were lo cal ly o w n e d ; 7% were I n digenous; 60% had been operat ing fo r m o r e than 10 years. - . T w o main categories o f turn-over were identified: 24% turned over between $1000 and $250,000; and another 24% turned over between $2m and $20m. F r o m N o v e m b e r 2006 to N o v e m b e r 2007, 61% of businesses reported an increase in , value o f -sales and in the size o f their w o r k force; 44 per cent increased their profitabil ity. A n d for 2008, the survey . found that 74% expect ed an increase in the value o f sales; 57% an increase in the size of their w o r k f o r c e ; 61%-an increase in profit abil i ty. Employers value Guides' training Grumbles about grants F R O M P A G E 9. about g i r l y secrets w i t h Ihe b o y s a r o u n d , " said C o n n o r . " Y o u can o p e n yourse l f up lo the other girls and they can understand," said Shelby. M r s R ide said exper i ence w i th G i r l Guides helps girls get w o r k . " E m p l o y e r s often re cruit girls w h o have been in guiding because of the skills they have learned. " F o r e x a m p l e , the Q u e e n ' s G u i l d A w a r d that takes several years to achieve, is impress ive lo business people because they understand i f a y o u n g gir l can achieve this, then they are w o r t h h i r i n g , " she said. W i t h the technological revolut ion changing Ihe in terests of young gir ls , t w o computers have been made available at the Guide hall . Shelby and C o n n o r said they agree that technology is having a strong influence on their l ives but they w o u l d still prefer G i r l Guides over Facebook. " W e l l , I 'd go to G i r l s Guides and then g o on Fa cebook and tell e v e r y o n e about it!" C o n n o r said. " J o i n , it's so much fun! E v e n if y o u don' t become a leader y o u can still heip out and volunteer ," Shelby said. [ L a u r a P a c k h a m is a t h i r d y e a r j o u r n a l i s m student d o i n g w o r k e x p e r ience at the A l i c e S p r i n g s N e w s . l F R O M P A G E 5. over cheques. Labor spent four and a half times its allocation; the C L P on ly one and a half t imes. T h e other question y o u might ask yourse l f is w h y , year after year , the N T gets "disabi l i ty" funding whi le tilings obv ious ly aren't get ting any better. To ta l per capita expend iture f r o m grants in N S W in 2002/03 was $4810. In the T e r r i t o r y it was almost three times that, $12,089. T h e T e r r i t o r y consist ently fails to spend the vast amounts o f money on fixing the "disabil i t ies" for w h i c h it gets the extra cash. T h e w inner , year after year, is our massive public se rv ice : " G e n e r a l Publ ic Serv ices" in the N T cost $1107 per head o f popu lation. T h a t ' s six and a half times as much as in N S W ($169). _ E v e n the N T Counc i l of Social Serv ice - hardly a right w i n g think tank - is calling on the government to m o v e beyond the plentiful rev iews and enquiries and actually do something. O n e wonders what L a bor, w h i c h pr ior to the 2001 shouted f r o m the rooftops " w e are ready for g o v e r n ment", was doing during a quarter of a century in op posit ion. I f they had any idea o f what was going o n , w h y the need for the countless reports and enquiries? A s - t h e disabilities c o n tinue a lot o f Terr i tor ians are left in pain. Andouradministra l ions w i l l continue lo Be the butt o f jokes around the nation. Labor or C L P . E n d o f story: T h e more things change, the more they slay the same. Contracted to provide free hearing services to eligible clients of the Australian Government Hearing Services Program (conditions apply) Private Clients & Self Funded Retirees are our Specialty. Hearing Tests & Hearing Aid Fittings for Workers Compensat ion Clients. Free Hearing Aid Trials. ALICE SPRINGS The Bath Street Family Medical Centre 6 9 Bath Street Alice Springs *V">\ i f ! - ! i ^ v i r M ^ H C o n s u l t i n g a t o v e l r 70 C l i n i c s <?. www.digitalhearing.corjri.au I mailto:astc@astc.nt.gov.au http://www.alicesprings.nt.gov.au http://www.digitalhearing.corjri.au