Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Opposition Leader Lia Finochiarro had a lot of goodies from the CLP in her budget reply speech, and says it will be paid for with responsible budget management if they get in next election

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Opposition Leader Lia Finochiarro had a lot of goodies from the CLP in her budget reply speech, and says it will be paid for with responsible budget management if they get in next election · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: But in some breaking news, we know that the territory opposition,
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  Speaker 1: the COLP, is calling on a bipartisan approach to combat
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  Speaker 1: the territories escalating crime crisis and address what they say
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  Speaker 1: catastrophic concerns with the Northern Territory Police. So the Opposition
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  Speaker 1: leader Leophanolciaro is saying that she wants to find solutions
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  Speaker 1: and that they want to sit down with Labor members
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  Speaker 1: and the independents to form a select parliamentary committee to
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  Speaker 1: specifically look at a number of different areas or a
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  Speaker 1: number of different issues in this space. The Opposition leader
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  Speaker 1: Leothanol Ciaro joins me on the line right now.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Leah, Good morning Katie and to listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Leah, we had a similar call from the Member
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  Speaker 1: for our LU and Robin Lamley the last sittings, I
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  Speaker 1: believe it was, but it was just specifically for Alice
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  Speaker 1: Springs for a select committee into the issues that we've
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  Speaker 1: got with crime in Alice Springs, not so much the
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  Speaker 1: police force as well, and it was well and truly
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  Speaker 1: knocked on the head by the government. Do you think
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  Speaker 1: that we're going to see the government agree to a
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  Speaker 1: select committee across the board in the territory on these issues.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I certainly hope so, and yes, Robin Lanley made
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  Speaker 2: that attempt last Stings for Alice Springs, we as well
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  Speaker 2: about a year ago, trying to create a select committee
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  Speaker 2: to specifically look at our terrible rates of attrition and
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  Speaker 2: why police are leaving the force in the numbers that
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  Speaker 2: they are today. At ten o'clock so would be business
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  Speaker 2: first up in Parliament, we're calling on a select committee,
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  Speaker 2: so a committee made up of Opposition members, Labor members
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  Speaker 2: and independent members to look at crime right across the territory,
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  Speaker 2: to look at police health and well being, which is
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  Speaker 2: something that's critically important. It will look at high rates
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  Speaker 2: of attrition, it will look at increasing efficiencies for police.
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  Speaker 2: So for example, right now, the Dahalan Watchhouse is not
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  Speaker 2: operational because they can't staff it and so all police
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  Speaker 2: are having to take people they arrest out to Palmerston Watchhouse,
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  Speaker 2: which is obviously in an inefficient use of time and
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  Speaker 2: something born out of the fact that we don't have
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  Speaker 2: enough police. So plenty of things that we want this
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  Speaker 2: to cover, and we wanted to really really solutions focused.
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  Speaker 2: So we're calling on the government to allow this debate
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  Speaker 2: to happen and support this select committee so that we
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  Speaker 2: can get to get to work on starting to have
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  Speaker 2: public inquiries, taking submissions from the community, from police, from
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  Speaker 2: whoever is invested in this, to make sure that we
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  Speaker 2: start moving in a different direction because crime and police
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  Speaker 2: attrition can't keep going like this.
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  Speaker 1: I reckon this needs to happen. I one hundred percent
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  Speaker 1: think that this needs to happen. A parliamentary select committee
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  Speaker 1: to look into this lea just to make this real,
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  Speaker 1: you know, like just to sort of really break this
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  Speaker 1: down from an operational perspective. If a select committee, if
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  Speaker 1: they do agree to this, you know, what will it
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  Speaker 1: mean in terms of that focus? How many hours? How
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  Speaker 1: many people are on these committees? How does it operate?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, great question. So usually, but it's not limited to
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  Speaker 2: I haven't specified that in my referrals. So we could
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  Speaker 2: decide as a parliament but usually it's too opposition members,
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  Speaker 2: two government members and one independent member. I'm not fussed
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  Speaker 2: about the composition at all. If government want to have
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  Speaker 2: three and have the majority, or if they want to
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  Speaker 2: be more independents, I'm not bothered. But what happens then
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  Speaker 2: is we then become basically a subcommittee is a subcommittee
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  Speaker 2: of the Parliament and there is a sort of budget
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  Speaker 2: allocation staffing to help put that together. We meet, we
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  Speaker 2: determine the terms of reference, which already would be what
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  Speaker 2: I've set out in my motion, and then we would
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  Speaker 2: put an ad in the paper. We would start calling
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  Speaker 2: for submissions for people. We would have public hearings. We
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  Speaker 2: would move around the territory and speak to in a
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  Speaker 2: public way, so that territories could you turn on their TV,
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  Speaker 2: you know, go onto the internet, turn it on and
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  Speaker 2: watch have input. We would gather all of that evidence
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  Speaker 2: from all of the sectors, whether it's NGO, police, the community, victims,
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  Speaker 2: criminals themselves, police who've left the force, police who are
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  Speaker 2: thinking about leaving. It's all highly confidential, and move through
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  Speaker 2: that process. We would then sit down and deliberate for
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  Speaker 2: as many hours as it took this go for you know,
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  Speaker 2: a couple of months, because for six months for example,
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  Speaker 2: and then we would provide a detailed report to Parliament
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  Speaker 2: of analyzing what we'd learned and what we think the
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  Speaker 2: steps are that need to be taken going forward, that
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  Speaker 2: were debated in Parliament with everyone and go from there.
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  Speaker 1: Leah, last time round, when Robin Lamley had done this
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  Speaker 1: just a short time ago. I know the government's response
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  Speaker 1: was that they are getting on with the job. We
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  Speaker 1: need to you know, we don't need to keep talking
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  Speaker 1: about it. We need to get on with the job.
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  Speaker 3: What is you know?
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  Speaker 1: Do you what are you going to say today? If
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  Speaker 1: essentially that's the response again.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think it just shows that Nicole Manison is
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  Speaker 2: not up for the top job, which is what she's
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  Speaker 2: busy spending her time doing, instead of caring about police,
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  Speaker 2: which is her ministerial portfolio. I mean, she has been
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  Speaker 2: the Police Minister for a number of years, the Deputy
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  Speaker 2: Chief Minister for the entire time of this failed Labor government,
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  Speaker 2: where crime has just grown from add to worse every
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  Speaker 2: single month, and so she has a lot of questions
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  Speaker 2: to answer. She can't simply just ignore the community who
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  Speaker 2: are outraged by the levels of crime and anti social behavior,
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  Speaker 2: their heart broken for our police who need greater support.
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  Speaker 2: We need to slow down these attrition rates because we
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  Speaker 2: cannot produce police as fast as they're leaving. And even
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  Speaker 2: this promise of an extra six million dollars in the
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  Speaker 2: budget is not going to turn around the copp as
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  Speaker 2: we need in the time that we need them in.
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  Speaker 2: So you know this, really, this decision really sits at
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  Speaker 2: the feet of our acting Chief minis in Icle Madison,
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  Speaker 2: and if she thinks she's ready to be the top dog,
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  Speaker 2: then she's seriously got to start caring about the issues
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  Speaker 2: that everyone else cares about, and that's crime and our police.
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  Speaker 1: Well, look, we're going to keep it close on it.
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  Speaker 1: Please keep in contact with us and let us know
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  Speaker 1: what happens. At ten am this morning, Leah, I know
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  Speaker 1: you are pressed for time, but I want to ask
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  Speaker 1: about the budget. No doubt the budget's been overshadowed, of
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  Speaker 1: course by this leadership situation within the Labor Party right now,
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  Speaker 1: and I'll get to that towards the But Leah, we
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  Speaker 1: do know that you obviously delivered your budget reply speech yesterday.
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  Speaker 1: There were some real sweetness in there. The abolishing of
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  Speaker 1: payroll tax, changes to the solar feed in tariff, and
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  Speaker 1: you said that you wouldn't freeze the public service wages.
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  Speaker 1: That's something you and I have spoken about on the
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  Speaker 1: show before, Leah. Abolishing the payroll tax and changes to
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  Speaker 1: the solar feed in tariff as well as are the
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  Speaker 1: public service wages.
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  Speaker 3: How are you going to afford all of this.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we're not going to do what labor do, and
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  Speaker 2: that's build twelve million dollar grandstands and give thirty five
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  Speaker 2: million dollars to use criminals to reward them for victimizing territory.
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  Speaker 2: And so basically we have a positive plan going for
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  Speaker 2: We want to build the territory up, not drag it
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  Speaker 2: down like labor has with crime and dysfunctional economy. So
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  Speaker 2: with the solar announcement, we made very exciting doubling the
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  Speaker 2: battery subsidies, doubling the feed in tariff during peak time.
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  Speaker 2: That twelve million dollars we've allocated is the twelve million
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  Speaker 2: dollars that labor have stripped from territorians by splashing the
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  Speaker 2: feed in tariff. So there's no new money needed there.
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  Speaker 2: We're just reinvesting that money back into the system to
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  Speaker 2: reward territorians who have put solar on their rooftops by
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  Speaker 2: hopefully getting them off the grid and they can say
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  Speaker 2: goodbye to power bills. That's our plan is no more
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  Speaker 2: power bills. It's great grid stability and a greener future
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  Speaker 2: for our kids. So that's where that money is coming from. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: in respect to payroll tax, that is a you know,
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  Speaker 2: a decent chunk of revenue to the territory. But I
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  Speaker 2: guess it needs to be looked at. What is the
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  Speaker 2: cost now? Payroll tax, for those who don't know, is
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  Speaker 2: a tax every time your boss employs someone in the
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  Speaker 2: business you work in, they have to pay for the
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  Speaker 2: joy of having you work for them, which not just
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  Speaker 2: pay you. You know, it's not just your Salary's an
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  Speaker 2: actual tax to the government for employing. Now, for many
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  Speaker 2: small businesses, that's actually a disincentive for them to employ
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  Speaker 2: people because they'd rather just work a bit harder than
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  Speaker 2: put another person on. So it's a tax on jobs.
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  Speaker 2: So we want to do a massive review into payroll tax.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, Labour's budget actually increases payroll tax, which is horrific.
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  Speaker 2: We'd love to see the end of payroll tax, and
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  Speaker 2: we will find a way to do it, Katie. But
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  Speaker 2: if we grow our economy, get mining projects going, all
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  Speaker 2: of these other wonderful things, we have middle arm on
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  Speaker 2: your gas, you know, unlike Labour's budget which predicts mining taxes,
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  Speaker 2: mining royalties to decline and nothing from on your gas.
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  Speaker 2: We want to turn all of that around. Let's start
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  Speaker 2: making the territory a great place to invest. We'll have
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  Speaker 2: more money in our coffers, We'll be able to reduce
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  Speaker 2: our debt, create more jobs and give people greater opportunity.
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  Speaker 1: Leah, the government says that you'll cut budgets and sack
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  Speaker 1: public servants. In the past, this has happened underseorp governments.
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  Speaker 3: Is the reality here that you will have to do that?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely not. It's ludicrous. And actually what is so ridiculous
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  Speaker 2: about what they're saying is that under Labour's plan to
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  Speaker 2: somehow miraculously get back in black in a couple of
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  Speaker 2: years time, are they going to have to cut If
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  Speaker 2: you looked at today's figures, they'd have to cut a
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  Speaker 2: billion dollars from our budget. So the question is what
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  Speaker 2: is Labour going to cut to get to this fictitious
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  Speaker 2: balanced budget in a couple of years time. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: it's just ludicrous what they're doing, and they're punishing people
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  Speaker 2: already what we're seeing. They might not call it a cut,
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  Speaker 2: but when you splash feed in tariffs for mums and
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  Speaker 2: dads and people who've spent tens of thousands of dollars
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  Speaker 2: putting the solo on their roof, when you give public
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  Speaker 2: service a four year pay freeze that is cut by
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  Speaker 2: another name. And so unlike Labor who punish everyone else
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  Speaker 2: for its mistakes, we are not going to punish Ratarians
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  Speaker 2: for Labour's mistakes or our mistakes. We all owe them
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  Speaker 2: and we will build a plan for the future.
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  Speaker 1: I've got a question here from one of our listeners,
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  Speaker 1: and look, it is something that I've asked you before,
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  Speaker 1: so if we can keep it pretty quick. There's one
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  Speaker 1: that says, ask Lea what her policy is on crime?
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  Speaker 1: What will the COLP do differently? I know I've asked
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  Speaker 1: you this question before, but it's one from our listeners.
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  Speaker 2: Yes. Absolutely, So the first thing I do is make
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  Speaker 2: police my portfolio as Chief Minister. We would make breach
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  Speaker 2: of bow condition and offense, introduce it presumption against baal
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  Speaker 2: for repeat offenders. We would create Sentence to a Skill,
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  Speaker 2: which is like a skills training boot camp for higher
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  Speaker 2: teenage you know older teenage use offenders before they hit
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  Speaker 2: the big house. We'd bring back sentence to a Job,
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  Speaker 2: which is a program within our correctional facilities. For adult offenders,
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  Speaker 2: we would put youth justice, take it out of territory families,
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  Speaker 2: stick it back in corrections and most importantly, as a
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  Speaker 2: fundamental principle at the top, we would put the rights
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  Speaker 2: of territorians to be safe above the rights of criminals.
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  Speaker 2: Criminals have more rights than the average territory in just
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  Speaker 2: going about living their life, and that is absolutely wrong
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  Speaker 2: and will not happen under a government I lead.
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  Speaker 3: Now, Leah.
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  Speaker 1: The acting Chief Minister Nicole Madison had a crack at
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  Speaker 1: you yesterday saying that your comments around the Chief Minister
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  Speaker 1: were his resignation were quite undignified. Take a listen, frankly
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  Speaker 1: undignified and some parts were particularly low. I mean, in
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  Speaker 1: politics we can go so far, but I thought there
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  Speaker 1: are a few wents there that simply were not required
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  Speaker 1: and really set a new lover. Did you go too
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  Speaker 1: far having a crack about him his child being in
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  Speaker 1: the photo opportunity the day before?
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  Speaker 2: I don't think so, Katie. I think when you have
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  Speaker 2: a one week old baby, you should not be using
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  Speaker 2: it in a prop for your budget speech. I mean
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  Speaker 2: it's just he sat there with a young child who's unimmunized.
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  Speaker 2: COVID's free flowing through our community and he thought that
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  Speaker 2: was a great way to get a front page in
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  Speaker 2: the newspaper. Well, that's his decision, But ultimately he was
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  Speaker 2: still Chief Minister at the time and he's accountable for
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  Speaker 2: the things he does. And my point I was making
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  Speaker 2: was not actually that. My point was the irony of
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  Speaker 2: him using the baby as a prop is that it's
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  Speaker 2: that poor baby who is going to be the one
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  Speaker 2: paying off the debt legacy he leaves behind is our
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  Speaker 2: kids who are going to suffer. So I was using
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  Speaker 2: it as a metaphor for our children who will suffer
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  Speaker 2: under this nine point five billion dollar debt.
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  Speaker 3: Was it a step too far?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I guess that's up to your listeners, Katie. They
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  Speaker 2: can make their own decision. I think ultimately he's the
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  Speaker 2: one who put the child in the public spotlight, which
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  Speaker 2: makes him fair game for that decision.
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  Speaker 1: Leah. Finally this morning, we will hopefully know tomorrow if
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  Speaker 1: all goes well, who's going to be the next Chief Finister.
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  Speaker 3: Who do you reckon is going to take the top role?
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  Speaker 2: Well, what I know is this is the same team
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  Speaker 2: that Michael Gunner led, so it's just shuffling the deck chairs.
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  Speaker 2: And Nicole Manison, if she takes out that top job,
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  Speaker 2: she is the filed Police Minister on Crime and Police attrician.
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  Speaker 2: She is the failed treasurer who got sacked from her
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  Speaker 2: job because she blew our budget to smithereens. She's the
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  Speaker 2: treasurer who in one year took our debt from one
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  Speaker 2: point eight billion dollars when the COLP was last in
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  Speaker 2: power to five point seven billion dollars, and then the
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  Speaker 2: year after that told everyone it might get as bad
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  Speaker 2: as thirty five billion dollars. I mean, it's just extraordinary.
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  Speaker 2: She has been his deputy for the entire time they've
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  Speaker 2: been in government. She's as complicit in all of the
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  Speaker 2: stuff ups as he is. And so this is a rebadge,
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  Speaker 2: rebranded model. I've been saying. You know, you can change
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  Speaker 2: the tire on a car, but you can't call it
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  Speaker 2: a new car. It's just a new tire.
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  Speaker 3: Well leaf and occhiarra. You are fired up this morning.
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  Speaker 3: It's going to be an interesting day in parliament.
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  Speaker 1: We'll keep in contact with you if we got you
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  Speaker 1: on the show tomorrow for the week that was, or
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  Speaker 1: have we got someone else.
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  Speaker 2: You might do I car Rember, that's all right, We'll
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  Speaker 2: wait
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  Speaker 3: And see good on your leah, and thanks for your time.