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Katie Woolf spoke with Minister for Parks and Rangers Selena Uibo · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf thanks to Joyce Main, Darwin
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  Speaker 1: home z Own, Stuart Highway, Beerrmart.
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  Speaker 2: Joining us live on the line right now is the
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  Speaker 2: Minister for Parks and Rangers, Selena Rubo.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning, Good morning Katie, Good morning to your listeners.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Minister, we did just have a fairly in depth
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  Speaker 2: discussion then with Kay Densley from the CPSU. I believe
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  Speaker 2: that the Youth Detention Center does not fall under your portfolio.
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  Speaker 1: It actually falls under Kate Warden's, doesn't it.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, that's great, Kay, Yeah, all right.
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  Speaker 2: Well look I won't I won't go into that discussion
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  Speaker 2: at this point in time because we have got you
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  Speaker 2: on the show obviously to talk about our parks and
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  Speaker 2: talk about these fee increases, and we will follow up
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  Speaker 2: that don Dale situation separately. I want to ask you
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  Speaker 2: obviously these changes to the management of territory parks and reserves.
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  Speaker 2: They're being introduced the government says to protect and modernize
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  Speaker 2: as well as improved parks while bringing the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 2: in line with other jurisdictions. The changes obviously include the
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  Speaker 2: introduction of the online booking system, increase camping fees, as
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  Speaker 2: well as multi day walking fees for some trails. Minister,
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  Speaker 2: I know some out there listening will be quite concerned
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  Speaker 2: about this fee increase.
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  Speaker 1: Doesn't mean, though, that all of the money that.
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  Speaker 2: Is raised through these fee increases is going to go
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  Speaker 2: back into our parks.
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  Speaker 3: So Katie, yes, we will always spend more on our
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  Speaker 3: parks than what we receive on revenue. It's just the
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  Speaker 3: nature of being able to maintain and provide that as
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  Speaker 3: enjoyment for not just territories but all visitors to our parks.
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  Speaker 3: So that's an important thing to remember. We haven't seen
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  Speaker 3: increases in our park fees for over twenty years, so
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  Speaker 3: two decades worth. We know more people are using our parks,
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  Speaker 3: enjoying our parks, and we want to obviously encourage that
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  Speaker 3: making sure we have maintained safe and accessible parks and
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  Speaker 3: again for territories we love that lifestyle, that outdoor lifestyle,
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  Speaker 3: particularly to those visitors, and of course to improve tourism
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  Speaker 3: as we see things change through the global pandemic, which
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  Speaker 3: we know the last twelve months have been very difficult
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  Speaker 3: for many people. But the park's revenue will be going
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  Speaker 3: back into the park's budget to make sure that those
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  Speaker 3: areas that we love and enjoy and maintain that we're
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  Speaker 3: able to support the ongoing work of our park staff,
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  Speaker 3: both operational and our ranges who are out in the field,
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  Speaker 3: to be able to make sure that there is maintenance
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  Speaker 3: safety and that we are able to look at those
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  Speaker 3: opportunities to improve amenities and improve the opportunities for users
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  Speaker 3: of the parks for your.
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  Speaker 2: Territory, Minister, with that new or with the website where
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  Speaker 2: people are going to have to make those bookings, have
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  Speaker 2: you had to I'm assuming that there's going to have
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  Speaker 2: to be a new website or there's going to have
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  Speaker 2: to be work done on an existing one. Is there
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  Speaker 2: an outlay in terms of cost for that.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, So Katie, at the moment we have a future
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  Speaker 3: tender opportunity that is out and that's about the online
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  Speaker 3: booking system and having an introduced system. That is one
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  Speaker 3: system we've looked at other jurisdictions across the Astralia, particularly
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  Speaker 3: Western Australia. They have a lot of similar geography in
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  Speaker 3: the top end of WA to what we do here
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  Speaker 3: in the territory, So looking at making sure that we
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  Speaker 3: have the latest and greatest system, but also in the
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  Speaker 3: long run the savings that will be for our ranges
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  Speaker 3: not having to go out and actually do you know,
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  Speaker 3: face to face hand collection and the administrative burden that
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  Speaker 3: goes with that. So it is an area that we're
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  Speaker 3: looking to improve. And there is a future tender opportunity
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  Speaker 3: that's actually out at the moment and we're really hoping
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  Speaker 3: that we'll be able to get that tender out for
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  Speaker 3: this year to be able to improve that service.
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  Speaker 1: How much is that tender worse?
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  Speaker 3: It is a bracket tender CADI between two and four me.
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  Speaker 3: And again it's looking at what the inter excuse me,
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  Speaker 3: what the parts of the online booking system will need
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  Speaker 3: to incorporate, So looking at obviously the actual system itself
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  Speaker 3: and making sure that we've got the the software to
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  Speaker 3: be able to support it. We'll also be looking to
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  Speaker 3: get some data from that system, and then again securing
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  Speaker 3: our campsites and websites through the website to make sure
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  Speaker 3: that people are guaranteed a spot when they do travel
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  Speaker 3: often many kilometers to go to a place, and then
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  Speaker 3: also having some balance with our tourism operators that we
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  Speaker 3: know are able to use the beautiful parks as part
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  Speaker 3: of the business operations and being able to support.
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  Speaker 2: That process have we got any idea how many visitors
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  Speaker 2: we would need to have to our wonderful national parks
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  Speaker 2: to cover the costs of that website.
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  Speaker 3: So my understanding Katie, is to be an initial costings
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  Speaker 3: that would be I guess the larger upset upfront fee,
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  Speaker 3: and then that would be off that late in later
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  Speaker 3: years once the system is working, once people are using
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  Speaker 3: that system, and then there would be I guess a
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  Speaker 3: tail end down in terms of it would be the
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  Speaker 3: maintenance of that system rather than just getting the system
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  Speaker 3: and running.
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  Speaker 1: And that's okay.
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  Speaker 2: I guess what I'm getting at though, is in reality
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  Speaker 2: it's going to take quite some time by the sounds
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  Speaker 2: of it, you know, for the increases in these park fees,
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  Speaker 2: before any money actually goes back into the parks. It
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  Speaker 2: sounds as though it's going to in the first instance,
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  Speaker 2: need to go into you know, the initial investment to
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  Speaker 2: get things up and running.
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  Speaker 3: It will be to get things up and running, Katie.
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  Speaker 3: But what it will allow is our park ranges to
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  Speaker 3: be able to do the work that they do on
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  Speaker 3: country and on site, rather than the administrative burden of
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  Speaker 3: having to do the camping fees and getting face to
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  Speaker 3: face collections and cash in hand, so it all reduced
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  Speaker 3: that administrative burden so that our ranges can continue to
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  Speaker 3: preserve and maintain those beautiful parks that we all get
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  Speaker 3: to enjoy.
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  Speaker 2: Minister the Opposition leader Leofanocchiaro was on the show earlier
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  Speaker 2: today and she said, this is a knee jerk reaction
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  Speaker 2: to the government's debt. Is debt, what's driving this fee increase.
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  Speaker 3: Well, some of the areas for improvement, Katie did come
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  Speaker 3: out of the twenty nineteen Langlant Reports, so work that
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  Speaker 3: has been undertaken. As I mentioned, we always spend more
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  Speaker 3: on parks than what we make in parks in terms
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  Speaker 3: of revenue, So how we can better use our dollars
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  Speaker 3: for our parks to improve the visitor experience for everyone
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  Speaker 3: who do so us be for everyone who does use
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  Speaker 3: our beautiful parks, but also how can we be smarter
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  Speaker 3: with the administration and of course you know, what are
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  Speaker 3: the revenue opportunities to be able to put that money
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  Speaker 3: and invest back into our parks. We're one of the
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  Speaker 3: duris very few jurisdictions in the country that do have fees,
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  Speaker 3: so that's an area that we've looked at as an opportunity,
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  Speaker 3: but also for that investment and that ongoing investment into
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  Speaker 3: our parks to make sure they are safe, but again
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  Speaker 3: to improve that visitor experience for everybody.
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  Speaker 2: Minister, from your understanding, are our tourism set and tourism
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  Speaker 2: operators at this point in time, okay, with what's been announced, My.
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  Speaker 3: Understanding is yes, Katie, they have been. The Department of Environment,
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  Speaker 3: Parks and Water Security have been working closely with our
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  Speaker 3: tourism sector and our Tourism agency and led by Minister
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  Speaker 3: Natasha Files as the Tourism Minister. We've received some pretty
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  Speaker 3: positive feedback in regards to how we can be constructive
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  Speaker 3: with the implementation of the fee. So our tourism operators,
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  Speaker 3: obviously we know, have been through a very tough time
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  Speaker 3: in the last twelve months and some of the feedback
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  Speaker 3: in order to be able to support that regrowth in
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  Speaker 3: the tourism industry in the Northern Territory has been to
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  Speaker 3: look at implementing a delaying the implementation of the fees
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  Speaker 3: because some of the packages that have already been sold
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  Speaker 3: and confirmed with consumers may be affected. So it's looked
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  Speaker 3: at implementation of the seas being disferred for eighteen months
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  Speaker 3: and that's been direct feedback from our tourism sect there,
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  Speaker 3: so we working collaborative in that space.
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  Speaker 2: Katie, Okay, we will try and catch up with some
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  Speaker 2: from the tourism sector after ten o'clock. Minister, I do
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  Speaker 2: just want to ask you quickly. I know we're both
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  Speaker 2: pressed for time, but I've got a message here.
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  Speaker 1: It says Katie, it would be great.
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  Speaker 2: If you could ask Minister Rubo what the government plans
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  Speaker 2: to do to offer Finish River traditional owners a better
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  Speaker 2: deal for fishing access than the nlc's free access for
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  Speaker 2: two years was reportedly rejected by traditional owners last week. Also,
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  Speaker 2: this person says, despite all the rhetoric, all Aboriginal waters
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  Speaker 2: of the Finish River are closed and the free registration
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  Speaker 2: does not apply to these waters or any waters within
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  Speaker 2: the two hundred kilometers of Darwin. And this person says
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  Speaker 2: it is it's simply of little use to the majority
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  Speaker 2: of fishes in its current form. This person goes on
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  Speaker 2: to say that for background, last night, the Grude Island
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  Speaker 2: Fishing Club apparently had to cancel their one hundred person
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  Speaker 2: barrew comp because the access to Blue Mud Bay is
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  Speaker 2: closed and the comp would be unsafe. So Minister, I
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  Speaker 2: guess the essence of that question is what are the
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  Speaker 2: government planning to do to offer to you to offer
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  Speaker 2: Finish River traditional owners a better deal for phishing access.
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  Speaker 3: Although Ka those conversations are quite complex and they are
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  Speaker 3: with the traditional owners and the Northern Land Council, which
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  Speaker 3: has a statutory obligation under the Federal Act and the
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  Speaker 3: Abstual Land Rights Act to do the work that they
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  Speaker 3: do in regards to consultation. That's directly with Minister ken White,
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  Speaker 3: who is our Federal Minister for Indigenous Australian So that
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  Speaker 3: is complex work. If it's not something that the anti
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  Speaker 3: government comes in and sits in the middle of. That's
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  Speaker 3: actually a statutory body that does that work. Of course
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  Speaker 3: will support where possible, but there is a statutory obligation
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  Speaker 3: from the Northern Land Council to work with and represent
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  Speaker 3: and have those consultations with traditional owners, and particularly in
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  Speaker 3: that area we know, which has a high community interest
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  Speaker 3: from people who are outside the traditional owner group. So
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  Speaker 3: it's not something that is as simple why don't we
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  Speaker 3: do this or why don't you try that. There's actually
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  Speaker 3: lots of layers of complexity there.
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  Speaker 2: All right, Minister, we are going to have to leave
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  Speaker 2: it there. We've got a tough off to the news.
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  Speaker 2: I really appreciate you making the time to speak to
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  Speaker 2: us this morning.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you so much, Katie, thank you.
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  Speaker 2: That's the Minister for Parks and Ranges. There's Selena Rubo.
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  Speaker 2: I know I have more questions as well, but we've
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  Speaker 2: got to head off to the news.