GRAB BYTES  JULY 2024

Territory Day

How wonderful it is that we, as Territorians, can reflect on how far we have come since the mantle of self-government—in some ways at least—was settled upon us. May the day allow us to consider the many things we can celebrate and ponder the challenges our Territory still co nfronts?

Election Promises on the credit card

Whichever party wins the election in 53 days, one thing is for sure: Fulfilling those election promises – which ARE kept – will be on the Government’s credit card. Borrowings will take us ever further into debt. With interest payments already a significant drain on the NT treasury, the idea of “short-term gain for long-term financial pain” will come into sharper focus than ever before. When it comes to debt, how long can the government keep kicking the can down the road before the vast amount we owe turns around to bite the territory hard?

Focus on fishing for the young

The time and attention given to promoting and elevating the importance of recreational fishing in the NT confirm this to be one of the most significant territory pastimes. Engaging young people in this healthy outdoor occupation – with the evening meal, a promise at the end of the activity – could focus our youth away from occupying their time with technological gadgets, replacing these devices with handheld fishing rods.

Luke Gosling and ALDI

Mr Gosling is a politician with the best interests of those in his electorate, and indeed the interests of all Territorians, to heart. One can only hope his entreaties to ALDI will not be brushed aside. We certainly need the retail competition ALDI would infuse into our retail market.

Buffel Grass adding to tourist woes

This is yet another obstacle to tourism in the NT’s southern region. Vast distances, fuel and accommodation costs, and the ever-present threat of ill-treatment at the hands of those who would harm people and property add to the challenges faced by tourists.

Rio to gift solar to Nhulunbuy

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This is good news, as it confirms how much Rio does for Nhulunbuy regarding pastoral care. The company is not there for mining alone but happily supports the community, comprised of employees and others. Rio’s gift of the town solar energy guarantees demonstrates that it is a company that considers people, products, and profit.

A crocodile took another person

Sadly, deaths by crocodiles will rise unless and until culling sense and sensibility prevail.

Rosebery businesses go down

It is always sad when businesses go flat and become unprofitable when expenses outweigh takings. Unfortunately, that is so often how things go in the NT—and, indeed, around the rest of Australia.

Leader’s debate on housing

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I am looking forward to the Eva Lawler/Lia Finnochario debate and hope to follow the event on the radio or by other means. This election, now only 51 days away—with pre-polling and mobile booth voting starting much sooner than August 24—will be a tight contest. As someone who has voted in every election since self-government, I find it hard to predict an outcome.

100 apartments for Todd Street in  Alice Springs 

The construction of these 100 apartments in the centre of Alice Springs will provide accommodation, possibly for both the short—and long-term markets. I hope that those interested and involved in the project, from construction to occupation, will be spared the antisocial behaviour and threat to property and person that sadly occurs in the town.

Darwin’s changing face

The changing face of Darwin is turning the city I remember from the 1980s and 1990s into a place that is almost foreign to me. The development, trends and direction in which the town is heading may be inspiring for Generation Z people, but for an old baby boomer like me, it becomes less appealing with time.

Youth crime

The ALP (Government) and CLP (Opposition) have beautiful ideas, plans and pending policies about how crime, particularly youth crime, will be managed after the August 24 election. Significantly, neither party has plans for crime curtailment that include the parents and adults responsible for the upbringing of their offspring. It astounds me that for the past two decades, the response to crime by young people—often as young as seven or eight—has NOT included parents and responsible adults as part of the issue. My vote will go to a party that provides for them in the context of accountability and responsibility. 

Lawler is a good chief

Chief Minister Lawler is leading a government that is becoming increasingly credible and reassuring to Territorians. She and her ministers have regenerated confidence in our government. Ms Lawler is the right Chief Minister in the right place – our Territory – at the right time – 48 days from our election.

Justice Charlesworth, Barossa and Beetaloo

Thank goodness Justice Charlesworth adjudicated this issue with sense and sensibility. Our territory, and indeed Australia, is being held captive by extremists with viewpoints that hinder, harass, and thwart economic development. When our essential services—electricity and gas—plunge into darkness and cold, they will be among the first to express distress at the lack of creature comforts. 

SANTOS does excellent, good

The SANTOS focus on Aboriginal employment is far-sighted and enlightening. The company is keen to recognise and support Indigenous Australians by providing jobs and training. Let us not forget the significant royalties and monetary benefits from this company’s initiatives.

Power generation alternatives

We need a mix of nuclear power —in the future—and gas—right now—with gas crucial to our needs until nuclear-generated power grows into the mix. Australian authorities are foolish to suggest that wind, solar, and hydro generation can provide all we need. That kind of thinking belongs in Fairyland.

Defence issues

Given the defence focus on Darwin and the Top End, I want to feel safe and secure from foreign interference. But far from feeling any ‘fortress mentality’, a sense of vulnerability prevails. Defence has a shortfall of 5,000 personnel. We have submarines and warships in permanent dry dock. We have no missiles or drones, and current operations are spread so thinly that our vulnerability is exposed.  We need a defence force ready for action, not perpetually in the planning stage.

Edith Falls handicapped  access

The idea is for as many people as possible to have access to all our national parks. May that continue to be the way forward, with minimal interference.

Buffel grass is needed for cattle

Buffel grass may hinder tourism in the NT’s southern region. However, pastoralists’ need for viable feed for their livestock must be considered. Is there no way to establish a symbiotic relationship so that the access needs of tourists and the need for feed for our vast cattle herds can be accommodated?

Oval bollarding to prevent destructive hooning

My first experience with ovals being wrecked by wanton hoons goes back to my time as Principal of Leanyer School. Following the illegal ‘excursions,’ we had onto the oval – belonging to the school council and nor government – was – reluctantly – to look at fencing.  These attacks are all too frequent, with the number of incidents increasing with the passing of years. It is another manifestation of the government and authorities being forever on the reactive back foot regarding crime curtailment. 

Alice Springs Curfew for 72 hours 

Commissioner Murphy has done what was necessary at this time. The more I read and hear about Alice Springs, the more it seems that the place has been ‘reclaimed’ by first people—who do as they like, when, where, and how they want, with little worry about consequences and outcomes. 

Dealing with developmental issues

I wish we had a Territory with some predictability about trends, directions and our future. I want that development to be steady and not simply spiked with intensity just before elections before slumbering back into post-election inertia. And I wish that the NT, judiciary and police had the money to deal with crime head-on rather than pussyfooting around with processes designed to appease loud groups who want us to believe everything on the social behaviour front is hunky-dory.

Middle Arm – make haste slowly

What is happening at Middle Arm, in terms of its embryonic development, reminds me of how the Trade Development Zone between Berrimah and the East Arm Port was so slow to establish in the 1980s. But perseverance prevailed, and that area is now a significant and vibrant industrial hub. Middle Arm will require the same considered development.

Alice on the ropes

Alice Springs is being held to ransom in a way that must scare the life out of many of the town’s 25,000 residents who fear for their cars, homes and personal safety night after night. I once liked and visited Alice, where I found peace and solitude between the 1970s and 2008. No more! The town has become a war zone.

Tourism faces big challenges

A few people here and there speak glowingly of their times spent touring the Territory, and that is a good thing. However, alternative destinations are a significant drawcard because social issues are less confronted, and dollars buy more goods and services. Territory tourism faces a ‘come from behind’ challenge.

Walks to open up Rivers Region

How excellent will the expanding walks program be? It will allow locals and tourists to feast their eyes on the beautiful geographic and topographical features that are so much a part of our territory’s rich diversity.

More brawls in Alice Springs

Those involved in these brawls and those concerned with theft, stealing cars, house breaks, and assault on innocent persons who come from out of Alice Springs should be barred from the town and be required to seek police clearance if they need to go into Alice for medical reasons. They are turning the place into a no-go zone.

Stomping on authority OK, as ‘we’ were here first

Police force members, paramedics, hospital staff, emergency services personnel and others supporting the community cannot become collateral damage and ‘throw-away’ statistics in the fight against crime and the preservation of law and order.  Too many people who commit vile acts of aggression against those providing human services are excused for the repulsiveness of their actions. Many, young and old, lash out at authorities because they own the land, with the rest of us being ‘Johnny come later’ persons. That is inherent in attitudes and behaviours so often apparent within the NT.

Burgeoning public service

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The Education Department offers an excellent example of public service growth. When the NT Government took control of education in 1979, it was created with two divisions – school branch and school support/professional development services.  These days, the Education Department has six or seven divisions, and at times, I wonder what it is for! Organisational growth needs to be for a purpose; organisations that grow too large need branches to support growth within, with only peripheral benefits to schools and students. What grows is the bureaucracy.

CDU and overseas students

Only 17% of Charles Darwin University students are from overseas. The rest are students from within Australia and the NT. As a past student and part-time staff member, I wish the University Management Board would focus more on the needs of domestic students and less on trying to attract students from overseas – who are sought for the money they inject into the CDU budget as a high-priority.

Night sky memory

My very favourite night-sky memory is of the Russian Satellite ‘Sputnik’ passing overhead in the remote fastnesses of WA’s outback, with the view enhanced by the inky blackness of the night sky.

Tourism support

Ironically, the NT Government must keep finding funds to help offset the costs of tourists coming to the territory. Underwriting cheap airfares – with a $16 million ‘aviation attraction’ grant to enable the offering of more affordable fares, along with $2 million in ‘tourist support’ by subsidising costs of tours for visitors, is money out of the Territory taxpayer’s pocket that should not have to be offered. Let the NT sell itself to potential visitors on its merits.

Richardson Park cannot be re-created

Richardson Park, as it used to be, had a rich history and will always be a landmark in the minds and memories of those who enjoyed its facilities before it was allowed to decay, falling into rack and ruin. This revamped facility might be a sports ground with associated – albeit limited – amenities, but it can in no way be the proud facility it used to be in past times. It is another example of Darwin’s history that was left to die. In its ‘resurrection’, the park is simply that – another park!

Agribusiness promises post-August 24

One can only hope that visionary statements about future prosperity and development translate into positive actions and outcomes after the August 24 election.  If that happens, it will be a change, for after past elections, 90% of promises have been quickly ditched.

Swimming for all children

Regardless of which party is in government, swimming instruction should be a compulsory and fully funded program for all children. The sports voucher program offers partial funding for parents, but the costs of instruction and bus travel from school to the pool significantly add to the total costs of swimming instruction. All children should have the opportunity to become competent and confident swimmers.

Sense and sensibility should always prevail when balancing economic and environmental priorities.

Upgrading East Arm

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In several ways, the privatisation of  Darwin Port has brought economic blessings and growth opportunities to the NT.  I used to worry because of the Chinese connection with privatising the wharf, but that no longer concerns the government or our defence department. The upgrade of East Arm will significantly benefit our commercial and industrial base. The thought of “making hay while the sun shines” comes to mind.

Mining rare earths

 I am so glad we have bountiful supplies of critical minerals waiting for extraction in the NT.  It would be wonderful if we could add value to these minerals by refining raw materials and, in time, possibly manufacturing goods in which they are used.  May the NT become ever more self-resourceful.

Construction of wind-resistant building materials

Every advance that can be made in countering environmental threats and disastrous weather events is a step toward securing increased safety and security for those living in vulnerable areas. Knowing the progress on wind-withstanding building and construction materials is good.

Mitchell Street machete wielder

The threat to limb and life in the NT grows louder and becomes more pronounced daily. The reduction of these horrible happenings is not for want of effort on the part of our police – who are desperately overburdened with the requirements of crime management. The crime tsunami overwhelming the NT has to do – in an increasing number of cases – with slack parenting and a weak,  limp-wristed judicial system hell-bent on forgiveness and the offering of multiple chances to offenders to mend their ways and get good.

Longer preschool hours for four-year-old children

Children are getting born, and within weeks, many are in long-term daycare. Then, they graduate from full-time to part-time care when preschool opportunities become a reality. After preschool is finished, they are back in care until collected by parents for a time at home. During primary school, children go into before-school and after-school care at the end of the school day. During pre-school and school holidays, vacation holiday care programs look after children.  More time in care and school than with parents at home seems to be children’s never-ending present and future.

Lawler/Finnochario Debate

I am looking forward to the debate on the way forward in the NT from these two powerfully positive leaders. Regarding the NT post-August 24, I find it hard to get a handle on how I should vote. Hopefully, this debate will help in coming to a decision – it will be the most crucial exchange of viewpoints pre-election.

Sinning youth and calls for ‘understanding’ their situations

Youthful criminals are already treated with the greatest of lenience by our judicial system, creating a perception that they are absolved from the wrongs they do and the often devastating impact of their actions on people and property.  The weakest link in the chain that couples the components of youth, parental responsibility, police/authority response, and the judicial system is the justice system, which has the excess application of forgiveness policies and the extension of bail without end to offenders as its primary policy. 

Shrinking population  dilemma 

Government and authorities keep looking at the NT population issue through promotions and inducements to outsiders to come and make our territory their own. More frequently, less and less intention is paid to meeting the needs of long-term Territorians who have spent years and decades helping the NT consolidate and grow. This ‘neglect’ – perceived or actual – coupled with the increased crime and lawlessness now impacting the territory community’s social and economic fabric, forcing people to up stakes and go elsewhere.

Lawler and Finnachario debate

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It is always good to be able to share as listeners in the debate between key political leaders in the days leading to an election. Thanks to the NT News for live-streaming the debate, which allowed many Territoerians access to the discussion.

CDU Medical School

The CDU Medical School will extend essential training and research in a domain provided in the NT by Flinders University. With two universities involved in this vital field, collaboration and cooperation should positively support ongoing development in both training and research.

People’s Choice Alice Springs Closing

The People’s Choice Credit Union has operated under various names for decades. I joined in the very early 1980s and, over the years, have appreciated the way it has served our community in both urban and regional centres. Sadly, branches have been closing, and ATMs have been removed to a point where People’s Choice is much diminished from how it used to operate. Services within the remaining branches have been reduced. Closing Alice Springs because of safety and security issues is another loss. If the closure involves crime and threats to staff, I suspect that the remaining branches will also be under the microscope of possible closure – and in the not-too-distant future.

It goes down across the world

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This massive outage and the inability of businesses and people to function without recourse to IT should be a wake-up call to us all – but I doubt that most people will ever remember this worldwide dislocation a week from now. Our massive dependence on technology comes at the risk of people not having the skills or the money to function alternatively if technological supports are lost.

NT road deaths

Sadly, 39 people have been killed on our roads during 2024, compared with seven deaths in the same period – January to July – in 2023. However, between July and December 2023, another 24 people parked on territory roads, bringing the total to 31.  The worry is the number of people killed in the 12 months of July/August 2023 to this point of time in 2024.  Sixty-three people have perished in these twelve months, and that is highly alarming. What has gone wrong?

NT Election looms

Just 34 days before our NT election,  I am becoming more excited and apprehensive by the day. As a very old man, I believe this could be close to the last NT election in which I will have the privilege to vote. I hope the outcomes will bring economic furtherance, social cohesion and enhanced well-being to the Territory.

Alice Springs Town Council overlooks casual vacancy

It is easy to understand how the Alice Springs Town Council overlooked the protocols of replacing a councillor retiring mid-term for personal reasons. With so much crime and community unrest dominating Alice Springs night after night, followed by daily cleaning up after the mess from the night before, this oversight was to be expected.

Overseas workers for servile but necessary tasks

Throughout the NT and Australia, governments must bring in overseas persons to do the work Australian citizens often can’t or won’t do. The reluctance to dirty one’s hands with every day and servile tasks is an attitudinal affliction that attaches too easily to too many people. 

The administration and management of land councils and organisations connected with Aboriginal people go back years and decades. Organisations have come and gone, been reconstituted, and disbanded so often that it is impossible to recall them all. Suffice it to say that rarely, if ever, are meaningful inquiries undertaken, while misappropriations are swept under the carpet.

Emergency clinics in remote areas

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One can but hope these clinics – indeed necessary – proceed beyond the establishment stage to include staffing and overall management needs. They could overcome the issue of people travelling to EDs in Darwin, Palmerston and regional hospitals. However, facilities provided in remote areas are often only partially used at best because of staffing and resource shortfalls.

Budget stringencies

What I find interesting is that in some cases, priority expenditure on alcohol, cigarettes, social drugs, entertainment and gambling is not diminished. Many people who carefully manage their budgets ARE doing it hard. Others in the same boat continue to waste money in these other pursuits.

Local government – Councils – failing

Before taking up elected positions on Councils –  and even the NT Legislative Assembly – incumbents should be given compulsory training in organisations’ operations. Too often, processes and procedures are overlooked, with people filling power positions being poorly equipped to manage their responsibilities. Hence, things can go wrong.

Toughen laws on crime, particularly youth crime

Before every election, for as long as I can remember, both the major parties – whether in government or opposition – have made significant promises about controlling and managing crime, particularly youth crime. The day after the election, the elected government shelves the promises, bowing to pressure from interest groups not to act in any way other than softening existing laws. Whichever party finds itself in opposition continues to hound and berate the new government to make a change. If and when elected to government, the vociferousness while in opposition is suddenly muted, with the ‘new’ opposition finding a voice on the issues they are conveniently ignored while in government. Every four years, the cycle is repeated. And one who has lived with this issue for the past three decades should not be cynical!

Cattlemen and women owed

It seems that this settlement, in fiscal terms, will continue to drag on for years and years – as it has already. Maybe the federal government hopes this court-adjudicated compensation will become lost in the annals of time, that those entitled will have passed on, or something else will distract and keep the issue on the back burner forever.  Now, if it were TAX owed by these cattlemen and women – THAT would be an entirely different matter regarding government alacrity!

New sports facilities for Alice Springs

One can only hope that the refurbished and reconstructed facilities, which will benefit Alice Springs, are preserved from wanton damage and acts of vandalism. 

EV vehicles in the NT

We must recognise and appreciate the limitations of EV vehicles. Hiccups will be in place for a time, but challenges will sort out; we will come to bless the impact of EV vehicles on territory travel.

Recreational fishing the way forward

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We must look after our recreational anglers. There are 60,000 in the NT, with the number increasing significantly yearly. This makes fishing the number one recreational pursuit in the Territory. The government is wise in nurturing and developing this activity.

Graduating police

One can but hope these graduates and others who have finished training this year can make a difference. The ‘rough and ready’ of Katherine and Alice Springs will test their mettle. (It was only recently that four off-duty police, including newbies, were assaulted in Alice Springs.) May these graduates make a difference and develop to become happy and satisfied with their careers – but I worry that criminal circumstances in the NT will be against this outcome.

Sports clubs getting millions

Sports organisations suck money out of governments like a thirst gap. No matter how much they get, they want more—gone are the days of self-help and reliance on club initiative. These days, it’s hands out, wanting more and 

Out goes ‘The Quarter’

It is a shame that so much work that went into recent -2016 developments in the Quarter has to be undone because of anti-social behaviour and bizarre conduct by some who delight in ruining things for others. But as for a micro-brewery – should that be a priority? I hope the Planning Commission has a really good look at this proposal.

Karama and Malak crime headquarters

The Karama and Malak areas of the late 1980s through to the mid-1990s used to be quiet, serene and relatively safe suburbs. Come 2024, both have turned into ghettos along with the growth of a fortress mentality that leads to formidable security installations – and still, crime continues to escalate. Crime is ripping our Territory apart. I doubt either party – if in government – will be able to resolve what they have created by forgiving and ‘understanding’ criminal motivation.

DV on the increase

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Domestic violence and crime belong in the same camp because both are about criminal behaviour. DV and crime are receiving ever more money and are being budgeted to try and curb their manifestation. It is not working – the frequency of both, especially DV, is on the increase.  There has to be more than awareness rallies; will the government have the mental steel to invoke anti-DV practices that work?

Crime prevention – the truth of what will change post-election

We are now 26 days from the NT election. Both the Labor Government and CLP Opposition are saturating the Territory with written and verbal promises that significant attention will be given to alleviating Territorians from the scourge of crime post-August 24. Root causes, boot camps, truancy officers to ensure school attendance, holding parents accountable, the continued resurrection of the School-Based Constable program – the promises are dropping thick and fast.  Sadly, based on post-election results, there will be little action, and we will all continue living in a crime-riddled Territory.

60 DV cases a night

Sixty DV callouts a night – that is just a massive impost on our police and others associated with trying to contain this vile behaviour. Indeed, DV perpetrators HAVE to be dealt with the severest of penalties if the domestic violence epidemic is to be slowed. At the moment, it seems rates of DV abuse are growing exponentially.

New Department of Housing mooted

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Sixty DV callouts a night – that is just a massive impost on our police and others associated with trying to contain this vile behaviour. Indeed, DV perpetrators HAVE to be dealt with the severest of penalties if the domestic violence epidemic is to be slowed. At the moment, it seems rates of DV abuse are growing exponentially.

VAD Committee Report

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I am so happy that the VAD Committee has recommended practical and logical ways in which the entitlement to end one’s life if passed through the Assembly, will work. When the law is passed, it will be a total relief to me, a 78-year-old man. With  euthanasia  not being an option available to me, should I need to access the option, I have been left feeling very insecure and vulnerable.