Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Senator Malarndirri McCarthy hopes the Territory Rights bill will pass through parliament before the end of the year

Transcript

NT Senator Malarndirri McCarthy hopes the Territory Rights bill will pass through parliament before the end of the year · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: As we know, the Senate is currently considering removing a
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  Speaker 1: federal veto that prevents the Act and the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: from debating euthanasia laws. Yesterday in the Senate, a Victorian
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  Speaker 1: senator who voted against Territorians being able to legislate for
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  Speaker 1: euthanasia four years ago says her father's death has changed
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  Speaker 1: her mind on the practice now. Jane Hume had previously
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  Speaker 1: opposed giving the Act and the Northern Territory the right
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  Speaker 1: to legalize euthanasia, but yesterday she said that the passing
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  Speaker 1: of her father under a sister dying laws had changed
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  Speaker 1: her mind. Now joining me on the line to give
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  Speaker 1: us an update on where the situation's at with this
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  Speaker 1: legislation is the Senator for the Northern Territory, Melanderie McCarthy.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Senator.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie, and good morning to all your listener.
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  Speaker 3: Now, Melandari.
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  Speaker 1: Yesterday we heard from senators around the nation speaking about
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  Speaker 1: this legislation.
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  Speaker 3: And the impact that it could have. From all accounts,
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  Speaker 3: it sounds as though it was a pretty raw debuate.
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  Speaker 2: Look, this discussion has been exactly that, Kate, in terms
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  Speaker 2: of the last sittings and this one that senators are
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  Speaker 2: getting up and speaking from their personal points of view
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  Speaker 2: in terms of territory rights. I've certainly encouraged senators to
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  Speaker 2: just support the fact that the people of the Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory and the Act should never feel less Australian than
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  Speaker 2: all the others in the states, in the respective states
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  Speaker 2: that they represent, and to please support the Territory Rights Bill.
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  Speaker 1: Now I understand, like you've just touched on, you did
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  Speaker 1: stand to argue that territory and should not be denied
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  Speaker 1: rights that are given to other Australians. What has sort
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  Speaker 1: of been I guess you know the discussion and the
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  Speaker 1: viewpoints of senators from around the nation. Do you think
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  Speaker 1: that this is going to get across the line?
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  Speaker 2: I have a lot of hope this time around, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: I think that there are more senators who've had experiences
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  Speaker 2: since the previous debate, which was more than almost four
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  Speaker 2: years ago in terms of David Lyinhelm and then of
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  Speaker 2: course Sam McMahon had tried to bring it on as well.
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  Speaker 2: So since then people have excuse me, senators have sort
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  Speaker 2: of started to change their minds. More have come our way.
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  Speaker 2: A few others are still unsure. I am hopeful though
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  Speaker 2: that by the time we do get to vote on
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  Speaker 2: this bill, which obviously won't be this time because we've
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  Speaker 2: now concluded for this session, but hopefully in October or
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  Speaker 2: November the latest, but definitely before the end of the year.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, So what is the process now?
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  Speaker 2: The process now really is that everyone has gone back
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  Speaker 2: or is going back to where their respective areas. Parliament
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  Speaker 2: has concluded, and we'll be back for the budget sittings
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  Speaker 2: towards the end of October, and budget will come that
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  Speaker 2: week of Parliament and then we go into Senate estimates.
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  Speaker 2: So I expect that we possibly won't go to a
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  Speaker 2: vote until November.
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  Speaker 1: Right, because I know that Senator Penny Wong had said
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  Speaker 1: that she really did want this to happen before Christmas.
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  Speaker 3: Are you confident that it will?
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  Speaker 2: Oh? Yes, I have no doubt that we will definitely
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  Speaker 2: want to put this to a vote before we end
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  Speaker 2: parliamentary settings at the end of the year.
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  Speaker 1: And Melan deary, I know that you said that obviously,
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  Speaker 1: you know this sort of doesn't come down to people's
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  Speaker 1: personal views. I know that a lot of people did
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  Speaker 1: stand up in Parliament sort of talk about their personal views.
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  Speaker 1: But from your perspective as our Senator for the Northern.
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  Speaker 3: Territory, why should this get across the line.
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  Speaker 2: Look, I've been a passionate advocate for territory rights on
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  Speaker 2: every level. I think that the Northern Territory deserves an
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  Speaker 2: equal status and that you know, I do want to
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  Speaker 2: see us become a state. I do think that we
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  Speaker 2: need to mature and grow, and we are doing that
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  Speaker 2: and we carry the rest of the country in so
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  Speaker 2: many respects with what we have here, whether it's the
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  Speaker 2: live catile export industry, whether it's our fishing industry, and
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  Speaker 2: certainly our resources industry. We pull our weight and we
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  Speaker 2: certainly showed that through COVID when we're also able to
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  Speaker 2: through our ozmat team show on a medical level how
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  Speaker 2: we can do it here in the Northern Territory and
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  Speaker 2: we have the expertise. So I want to see that
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  Speaker 2: equality there for us on every level. And this is
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  Speaker 2: why this is important to me. I'd like to just
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  Speaker 2: also express so Okatie, I stood up and spoke personally too.
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  Speaker 2: You know, twenty five years ago when it came through
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  Speaker 2: in the Northern Territory Parliament. You know that the bills
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  Speaker 2: that I you know, I'm not personally supportive of voluntary
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  Speaker 2: sister dying. I feel from a cultural perspective and a
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  Speaker 2: personal perspective that that's you know, that's an issue that
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  Speaker 2: I personally cannot agree with, but I don't ever want
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  Speaker 2: to see the Northern Territory people stopped from debating and
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  Speaker 2: making a decision of the their own And that's why
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  Speaker 2: I'm supporting this bill.
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  Speaker 1: I think that's a really important point to make. And
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  Speaker 1: I know that there will be people listening this morning
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  Speaker 1: that don't necessarily agree with voluntary assisted dying, and everybody
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  Speaker 1: has their own reasons behind whether they do or do not.
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  Speaker 1: But in my opinion, just as you've said, you know,
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  Speaker 1: this is about Territorians being able to make that decision
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  Speaker 1: for themselves exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And I stood up in the Parliament and said, you know,
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  Speaker 2: if this bill gets across and we do have the
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  Speaker 2: right to debate this in the Northern Territory and the
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  Speaker 2: Act Parliament, and I'll probably be one of the first
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  Speaker 2: people that will be knocking on the doors of politicians
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  Speaker 2: in the NT and saying, you know, I'd like you
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  Speaker 2: to vote against it if you bring it into the parliament.
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  Speaker 2: So you know, and that's democracy, that's Westminster system of democracy,
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  Speaker 2: which I think is absolutely wonderful that we can make
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  Speaker 2: our decisions and vote on these things, but the Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory again is unable to and I will fight fiercely
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  Speaker 2: for the people of the Northern Territory to have that right.
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  Speaker 1: So before I let you go this morning, I know
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  Speaker 1: that you are pressed for time, but I do want
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  Speaker 1: to ask. We know that thousands of Australians are going
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  Speaker 1: to begin moving off the controversial cash List debit card
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  Speaker 1: from next week after amended legislation to abolish the card
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  Speaker 1: pass the Senate throughout this week.
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  Speaker 3: Now, Senator, how quickly.
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  Speaker 1: Will people come off the card here in the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory or are they coming off that card in the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: Well, in the Northern Territory we have over twenty two
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  Speaker 2: thousand people on the Basics card, which is a separate card,
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  Speaker 2: and in terms of the Cashist debit card, we have
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  Speaker 2: around four thousand people on that card and they certainly
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  Speaker 2: have the option to go off it if they choose,
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  Speaker 2: or if they don't, they can certainly have assistance with
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  Speaker 2: social services to work out financial planning and what they'd
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  Speaker 2: like to do going forward. I guess our point of
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  Speaker 2: the Cashi's Debit Card, Katie, was to not have it
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  Speaker 2: a compulsory decision where people were pulsorily made to go
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  Speaker 2: on to income management. That's a little bit different with
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  Speaker 2: the Basics Card, of course, and I think what we
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  Speaker 2: do now is two things. Is we've obviously got to
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  Speaker 2: reach out to those people who are on the Basics
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  Speaker 2: Card and that's around over seventeen thousand across Australia to
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  Speaker 2: let them know what their process is. That's what we
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  Speaker 2: have to do immediately, and what I have to do,
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  Speaker 2: and certainly you know the representatives of the territory have
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  Speaker 2: to do, is inform the people on the Basics Card
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  Speaker 2: that at some point we want to have a conversation
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  Speaker 2: with them about how they feel with their particular card
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  Speaker 2: and how they see the future. That has never been
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  Speaker 2: done for the time I've been in the Senate in
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  Speaker 2: the last six years, and I would like to see
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  Speaker 2: that now that the families of the Northern Territory have
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  Speaker 2: an opportunity to express what they want to see happen
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  Speaker 2: with the Basics Card.
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  Speaker 1: Do you have any concerns about these changes and what
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  Speaker 1: they might mean for vulnerable Territori and so I guess
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  Speaker 1: you know, to some they would argue that the whole
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  Speaker 1: reason that this scheme was put in place was to
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  Speaker 1: make sure that you know, people weren't being bullied, I guess,
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  Speaker 1: to have their money taken off them, or that money
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  Speaker 1: wasn't being wasted on things like alcohol and gambling.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I'm certainly very aware of it and have been
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  Speaker 2: sent even the introduction of the Basics card in two
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  Speaker 2: thousand and seven within the intervention. But the problem here, Katie,
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  Speaker 2: is that the previous government had the opportunity to provide
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  Speaker 2: support around drug and alcohol, around homelessness, around family violence.
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  Speaker 2: They had nearly fifty million dollars to support and have
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  Speaker 2: wrap around services, which they failed to do and as
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  Speaker 2: a result, they made a flawed card even worse. And
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  Speaker 2: we had no choice because this particular legislation around the
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  Speaker 2: cash's debit card was sun setting on the thirty first
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  Speaker 2: of December and there was no plan going forward. And
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  Speaker 2: so we've moved to go forward with our policy that
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  Speaker 2: we took to the election, and that was to remove
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  Speaker 2: anything around the compulsory nature of the cash debit card.
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  Speaker 2: We will then proceed to work on the basics card.
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  Speaker 1: Now, I know that the top end Women's Legal Services
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  Speaker 1: told the ABC this morning that there needs to be
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  Speaker 1: more consultation about what comes next. Is this something that
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  Speaker 1: the government is focused on here making sure that those
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  Speaker 1: meetings and that those consultations do take place.
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  Speaker 2: Look, the top end Legal Service, Women's Legal Service, is
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  Speaker 2: absolutely correct, and all those stakeholders have already begun to
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  Speaker 2: ring my office. I'm very conscious of the fact that
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  Speaker 2: we need to communicate this messaging and I certainly encourage
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  Speaker 2: people to contact my office and also Marin Scrimdur and
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  Speaker 2: Loop Gosling, because we want to make sure that people
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  Speaker 2: are aware of what the next steps are.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Melan Dearie McCarthy, the Senator for the Northern Territory,
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  Speaker 1: the Labor Party's Senator for the Northern Territory. I appreciate
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  Speaker 1: your time this morning. Thanks so much for speaking with us.
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  Speaker 2: You're no words guy, do you thank you