Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro hopes the NT receives funding for critical roads and major projects in the Federal budget

Transcript

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro hopes the NT receives funding for critical roads and major projects in the Federal budget · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: It is federal budget, well, Federal Budgets Day today and
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  Speaker 1: we've already had a bit of a taste of what
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  Speaker 1: we can expect in the Northern Territory infrastructure spending on
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  Speaker 1: roads and also middle arm additional UNI places as we've
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  Speaker 1: just heard. But will there be measures to ease the
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  Speaker 1: cost of living, Well, that's something that a lot of
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  Speaker 1: people are wondering as well. Now joining me on the
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  Speaker 1: line a little bit later than what we usually hear
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  Speaker 1: from her, it is the Opposition leader Leah Fanocchiaro. Good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you, Leah.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie and Jure your listeners and thank you. Yes,
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  Speaker 2: I've just landed in Manning Greta, so a little bit
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  Speaker 2: later than normal, but so all goodness.
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  Speaker 1: Oh no, we appreciate it. Thank you for still taking
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  Speaker 1: the time to have a chat with us this morning. Leah.
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  Speaker 1: What are you hoping to see in the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to the federal budget.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, we know there's been a lot of talk
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  Speaker 2: around the coalition government's promises being kept and so really
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  Speaker 2: the proof will have to be in the pudding. We
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  Speaker 2: want to see that significant road funding for the Marini Loop,
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  Speaker 2: for the Afpath way for the Tanami and a number
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  Speaker 2: of other really critical unsealed roads across the territory, because
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  Speaker 2: we know that roads bring not only economic opportunity and development,
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  Speaker 2: but also social opportunity. So we're really going to be
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  Speaker 2: focused on that roads funding, but we also want to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that Middle Arm is still powering ahead. And
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  Speaker 2: really whilst the federal government is saying that one point
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  Speaker 2: five billion is still on the table, we really then
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  Speaker 2: need the Files government to actually turn that into action.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it's fine to have the money, but we
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  Speaker 2: really then need that development to be fast tracked to
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  Speaker 2: ensure that we've got really solid development out in our harbor.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and look, I may be wrong, but I thought
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  Speaker 1: there'd also been some pushback from the Greens as well
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to that development at Middle Arm. Are
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  Speaker 1: you worried that that's going to stifle things or slow
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  Speaker 1: things down?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I am under a File's government because as we know,
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  Speaker 2: they very are left focused government and they succumb to
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  Speaker 2: the pressure that the Greens apply. Now, environmental protection is
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  Speaker 2: absolutely fundamental and important, but as we know, you can
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  Speaker 2: have development and protect the environment at the same time.
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  Speaker 2: The Greens are just opposed to the development of Middle
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  Speaker 2: Arm because they oppose growth and development. And if the
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  Speaker 2: Bars government becomes weak at the knees because of a
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  Speaker 2: bit of pressure from the Greens, then we're going to
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  Speaker 2: have serious problems. Our economy already is for the sixteenth
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  Speaker 2: quarter the worth performing economy in the nation. Middle Arm
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  Speaker 2: is not an option and certainly, Katie, under a CLP
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  Speaker 2: government I lead, that will be a fast track development.
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  Speaker 1: You know, looking at the State of the State report
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  Speaker 1: as we know it was released yesterday, you've been scathing
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  Speaker 1: of the government over the performance. You said yesterday that
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  Speaker 1: the results were four years of proof that labor couldn't
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  Speaker 1: manage the economy. What do you make of the government
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  Speaker 1: pointing to IMPECS as the reason that those numbers are
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  Speaker 1: skewed with this report? I mean, we know that impects
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  Speaker 1: when it got off the ground and when it was
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  Speaker 1: you know, like in the construction phase, et cetera, that
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  Speaker 1: it did have a big impact on the economy. What
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  Speaker 1: do you make though of the Chief Minister still referring
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  Speaker 1: to the IMPETS project with those numbers being skewed.
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  Speaker 2: I think it shows that Natasha Files is exactly the
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  Speaker 2: same as Michael Gunner. He used to take the concept
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  Speaker 2: State of the State's report written by economists and throw
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  Speaker 2: it in the bin, and now she is doing exactly
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  Speaker 2: the same. But what this government can't hike from is
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  Speaker 2: the fact that Deloitte Access to Economics is saying exactly
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  Speaker 2: the same thing, and that report is something that Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory Treasury used to model all of its data off.
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  Speaker 2: So this government has run out of places to hide
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  Speaker 2: when it comes to our economy. We know retail spendings down,
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  Speaker 2: construction equipment purchasing, and you just have to walk around
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  Speaker 2: the territory and talk to people, they will tell you
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  Speaker 2: they are hurting. And of course in six years this
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  Speaker 2: government hasn't been able to get any major projects happening.
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  Speaker 2: We've seen this massive decline in economic opportunity. So they
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  Speaker 2: can run and hide and pretend reports aren't important. But
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  Speaker 2: at the end of the day, people on the ground
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  Speaker 2: are the one with the lived experience, and here in
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  Speaker 2: the territory we have an abundance of opportunities. We just
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  Speaker 2: need the political will to get it done. And that's
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  Speaker 2: what's lacking on the labor side, is a lack of
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  Speaker 2: will to get our economy truly highly functioning, to create
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  Speaker 2: jobs for our kids and a really strong future for territory.
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  Speaker 1: Lea. The government want to grow the economy to a
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  Speaker 1: forty billion dollar economy by twenty thirty. Do you think
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  Speaker 1: that they're on their way to doing this? But you
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  Speaker 1: know what needs to happen from the colp's perspective.
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  Speaker 2: Look, that's a very ambitious target and you know, if
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  Speaker 2: past record is any proof of future record, then it
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  Speaker 2: shows this government is going to fail at achieving that.
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  Speaker 2: I mean we've only just seen the final Pepper inquiring
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  Speaker 2: recommendations hit the Parliament, so our onshore gas industry is
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  Speaker 2: years behind. Of course, we've got the significant pressure and
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  Speaker 2: pushback of developing middle arm, which is you know, who
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  Speaker 2: knows whether that's going to actually get up under a
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  Speaker 2: fast led government. There's some really fundament antal key issues.
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  Speaker 2: We've seen projects fall over like a luxury hotel and
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  Speaker 2: a number of other issues. So the confidence in them
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  Speaker 2: to be able to deliver is very low. But if
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  Speaker 2: I was Chief Minister Katie, I would be slashing approval
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  Speaker 2: time frames across government by fifty percent. Let's get private
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  Speaker 2: step to money out the door faster. Let's really be
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  Speaker 2: pushing and showing through our actions, not just our words
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  Speaker 2: that we are a good place to invest.
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  Speaker 1: Seas has said than done, do you reckon like slashing
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  Speaker 1: those approval times? But also I know that those who
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  Speaker 1: are concerned about the environment might be thinking, does that
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  Speaker 1: mean that the COLP is going to cut corners when
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  Speaker 1: it comes to looking after the environment.
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  Speaker 2: And that's a great question and the answer is absolutely not.
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  Speaker 2: You can put the right resources in the right spots
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  Speaker 2: to ensure that we're moving as efficiently and effectively as
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  Speaker 2: possible without cutting corners. We know as part of the
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  Speaker 2: Langoland reviewing to budget repair that there's excessive green, red
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  Speaker 2: and beige tape in the Northern Territory and cutting those
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  Speaker 2: approval time frame is as much she's cutting out the
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  Speaker 2: beige tape as anything else. So it's not about cutting corners.
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  Speaker 2: It's about recognizing that the private sector is what's going
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  Speaker 2: to get us out of our debt troubles and our
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  Speaker 2: economic troubles, and it's about ensuring our focus of the
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  Speaker 2: public sector working hand in hand with the private sector
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  Speaker 2: to deliver the aspirations that we all have for ourselves,
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  Speaker 2: for our kids, and of course for the territory as
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  Speaker 2: a whole. So it's about putting that focus and by
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  Speaker 2: reforming major projects, by having a territory coordinated to fast
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  Speaker 2: track and facilitate investment, I think we'll see some really
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  Speaker 2: special and immediate change in the territory under a CLP government.
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  Speaker 1: Lara, I just want to jump back for a moment
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  Speaker 1: to the federal budget. I know that there's a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people that are really quite concerned with the cost
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  Speaker 1: of living. We did just have Deborah Dinatali on the
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  Speaker 1: show a bit earlier this morning. From NT Costs. She's
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  Speaker 1: calling for welfare payments new start payments to go from
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  Speaker 1: forty eight dollars a day up to seventy dollars a day.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think that should happen?
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  Speaker 2: Well, look, men, not being part of the federal cabinet,
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  Speaker 2: I couldn't tell you what the books look like to
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  Speaker 2: be able to deliver that. But there's one thing I
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  Speaker 2: absolutely agree with Anti Costs on is that cost of
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  Speaker 2: living is crippling territorians. I mean, look at the price
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  Speaker 2: of fuel at the moment, and of course fuel is
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  Speaker 2: the pivotal point to every other piece of pain we
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  Speaker 2: pay for. It's it's upping our cost of fruit and
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  Speaker 2: vegetables it's upping our cost of goods and services. You know,
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  Speaker 2: there are businesses in the territory Katie, that are paying
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  Speaker 2: US forty two percent fuel surch hard on every pillet
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  Speaker 2: of goods delivered to their shop, and that either needs
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  Speaker 2: to be absorbed by that small business owner or passed
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  Speaker 2: on to their consumers, which means Territorians are not only
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  Speaker 2: paying more at the pump, but they're paying more at
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  Speaker 2: the shops. And so that's why we're so focused on
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  Speaker 2: trying to highlight that fuel prices are too high. Drive
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  Speaker 2: down the price of fuel by increasing competition and transparency.
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  Speaker 2: And we just wish the files government would get on
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  Speaker 2: board with us and that we could have a shared
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  Speaker 2: voice to fight this fuel christ you.
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  Speaker 1: Haven't had a huge amount of support from end in
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  Speaker 1: that space. I know that there has been some pushback,
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  Speaker 1: you know, saying that you know they're not one hundred
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  Speaker 1: percent or whether that would really make a difference. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: from your perspective with these petrol prices and with the
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  Speaker 1: course that we are seeing at the moment, do you
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  Speaker 1: genuinely think that it is going to see those petrol
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  Speaker 1: prices come down?
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  Speaker 2: I really do, Katie, this of cause came about from
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  Speaker 2: an a Triple C report back in twenty fifteen which
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  Speaker 2: said if you force that profit disclosure and if you
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  Speaker 2: create more transparency and put more pressure and fuel retailers,
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  Speaker 2: then prices you know, it's more likely to have that
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  Speaker 2: result of lower prices. And I think ultimately, you know
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  Speaker 2: you've got to do something. Doing nothing certainly will not
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  Speaker 2: get you a result. And we are working so hard
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  Speaker 2: to try and get government to see that if they
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  Speaker 2: started talking about fuel prices, retailers would respond. And you
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  Speaker 2: know it as well as as others. At times when
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  Speaker 2: there's a lot of pressure on the price of fuel,
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  Speaker 2: the price drops off. When governments take their foot off
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  Speaker 2: the pedal, then things creep back up. And at this
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  Speaker 2: point we are really genuinely in a cost of living crisis.
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  Speaker 2: And the last thing we need is more people to
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  Speaker 2: leave because they're sick of crime and then they can't
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  Speaker 2: afford to live here.
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  Speaker 1: Leah, before I let you go this morning, we know
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  Speaker 1: that yesterday the Chief Minister was on the show. She
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  Speaker 1: said that the government's now looking at two locations for
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  Speaker 1: youth near Alice Springs in an effort to get them
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  Speaker 1: off the street. It follows the mayor of Alice Springs
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  Speaker 1: calling for there to be a safe place for youth
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  Speaker 1: who are on the streets to go to at night.
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  Speaker 1: What do you make of the Chief Minister's comments yesterday
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  Speaker 1: that they have identified two locations that they're looking at,
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  Speaker 1: but they're also looking at the legislation to see whether
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  Speaker 1: it's possible to get the kids off the street and
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  Speaker 1: into a safe place.
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  Speaker 2: It's almost too little, too late. I mean the fact
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  Speaker 2: that over the last three weeks we've had this promise
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  Speaker 2: of an announcement, particularly for Alice Springs, only to have
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  Speaker 2: Kate Warden come on your show, Katie, and her announcement
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  Speaker 2: was that next week she would give an announcement, you know,
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  Speaker 2: a plan to make a plan. And now they've got
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  Speaker 2: the plan, they've put it out there. It's all just,
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  Speaker 2: you know, rehashing of something they produced in twenty nineteen.
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  Speaker 2: We've got the original document and when you compare the
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  Speaker 2: one from the other week and the one from twenty nineteen,
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  Speaker 2: it's almost the same. And now you've got the government
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  Speaker 2: on the hop because you've had the Mayor of Alice
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  Speaker 2: Springs come out and put pressure and say well, the
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  Speaker 2: reality is, you know, home for most of these kids
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  Speaker 2: is not safe and it just reinforces for us this
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  Speaker 2: message around territory families. This is a care and protection
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  Speaker 2: of children issue. Eight year olds are not born a criminal.
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  Speaker 2: Something is going on in their lives that is turning
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  Speaker 2: them to the streets, that is turning them to crime,
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  Speaker 2: and this is a care and protection of children issue
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  Speaker 2: that needs to be addressed. Territory families should not be
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  Speaker 2: responsible for youth justice, which is why we would remove it.
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  Speaker 2: And we also do not support the raising of the
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  Speaker 2: age of criminal responsibility to twelve because it is just
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  Speaker 2: further eroding consequences for offending. It will mean less crime stats,
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  Speaker 2: not less crime.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Leaf and Occhiara, we are going to have to
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  Speaker 1: leave it there. All appreciate your time. Thanks very much
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  Speaker 1: for having a chat with us. I hope that all
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  Speaker 1: is well in Madame Greta.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, it's looking fantastic. I can't wait to get on
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  Speaker 2: the ground and start chatting to people. We had a
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  Speaker 2: welcome to country earlier and now it's time to get
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  Speaker 2: amongst it, so it'll be a great day.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks Keen, good stuff. Thanks Lea