Parliamentary record : Part I debates (27 February 1985)
Debates for 4th Assembly 1983 - 1987; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 4th Assembly 1983 - 1987
1985-02-27
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
English
Debates
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Darwin
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Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
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https://hdl.handle.net/10070/220570
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/698990
DEBATES - Wednesday 27 February 1985 outside of Australia. They have come from places like Greece and Timor. Certainly/', there is a high percentage of Aboriginal people. Their particular problems need to and have been addressed by this government. I am pleased to say that Darwin is one of the most successfully cosmopolitan cities in Australia. That goes for the electorate of Wagaman too. I am quite confident that the residents of Wagaman are entirely satisfied and integrated within their community. Mr Bell: The whole 2500 of them. Good on you,Fred. Mr FINCH: The whole 2610 of them. Mr Bell: I do apologise. Mr FINCH: In addition to our seniors and our migrant population, an area that concerns us all is youth. This was addressed by our new member for Jingili. We need to give our youth the opportunity to participate in this very healthy economic development and to participate in what I see to be a bright future for the Northern Territory. To achieve this, we need to do it both socially and educationally. On the educational basis, we need to continue to identify training areas. I understand that, thanks to Department of Education policies and the Industrial Training Commission, we are identifying areas where we need to train our young people, particularly through apprenticeships and through higher education at the Darwin Institute of Technology. One would hope that, before too much longe~, we will train them through a Northern Territory university. One of the objects of this government, as was indicated in the Administrator's address, is to continue on this path with a great deal of vigour. The new arrangements of the Department of Education and the ITC certainly address themselves to meeting that end. In regard to the social aspects, much of the concern of parents is how our youth can fruitfully use its leisure time, particularly through sport. We are all aware of the increasing success of our young people on the national scene. We could name dozens of young Territorians who have made their mark on the national scene in the last 12 months. But sport is not only about champions and this government has been helping to develop to the best of their abilities great numbers of young people through its various facilities. Facilities in my electorate include the Casuarina High School sporting facility. Every afternoon at the school,approximately 60 or 80 young people participate in 6 or 7 different sports. A great number of sporting competitions are held there. The Police and Citizens Youth Club holds its training programs there. Next Friday night, for those members who are interested in seeing how young people enjoy themselves, there is to be another Blue Light Disco. That Blue Light Disco is a well-controlled and organised program, sponsored and supported by off-duty policemen and the Lions Club in that area. At the last 3 discos they have held there, over 350 young people enjoyed themselves in a healthy and wellcontrolled environment. Other facilities in the area include the Fire Escape which is a drop-intype centre for young people run by the YMCA. I shall say no more about that because members from nearby electorates also participate in that program. Some of the residents of the Wagaman electorate attend the brand new Sanderson High School. Apart from being the most modern and exciting high school that one could expect to find in Australia, it has an extremely wellpresented recreational facility through its open area and gym. That will provide an extra outlet for young people to exercise their bodies as well as their minds after hours as well as in school hours. 65