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Katie Woolf spoke with Shadow Minster for Small Business Marie-Clare Boothby · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Maurray Clair Boothbeat joins me on the line right now.
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  Speaker 1: She is, of course a member for Brennan and the
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  Speaker 1: opposition spokesperson for small business. Good morning, Mary Clare.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and good morning listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time. I might just start
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  Speaker 1: off with the Comsept State of the State report. It's
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  Speaker 1: been released and it shows that once again the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory is the worst performing economy in the country, the
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  Speaker 1: Chief Minister has said to us this morning. He's also
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  Speaker 1: told the paper that the report's deeply flawed. It compares
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory economy against its ten year average, including
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  Speaker 1: the IMPEX construction boom, and the report belongs in the
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  Speaker 1: recycling bin. Mariy Claire, do you think that the times
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  Speaker 1: come for us to start ignoring the COMCEPT reports or
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  Speaker 1: do you think that it's a ridiculous claim from the
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  Speaker 1: Chief Minister.
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  Speaker 2: We should absolutely not be ignoring these sorts of reports.
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  Speaker 2: This is a report that is done quarterly by financial
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  Speaker 2: experts who analyze the data right around the country. And
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  Speaker 2: what we believe in Territorians believe is that the government
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  Speaker 2: should be focused on the economy and working out way
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  Speaker 2: that we can get that moving again for territories, rather
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  Speaker 2: than continuing to criticize, especially a report of this type
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  Speaker 2: of standing.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, the fact is we still have deep concerns
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to the economy. The population isn't growing
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  Speaker 1: as much as we'd like, and a lot of businesses
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  Speaker 1: are doing it really tough and will be hit even
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  Speaker 1: harder when the job keeper extension ends. Now we know
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  Speaker 1: that the Territory Economic Reconstruction Report was obviously delivered, and
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  Speaker 1: that report was delivered at the end of last year.
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  Speaker 1: How do you think that we should be measuring the
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  Speaker 1: success of the role out of the Turk's recommendations and
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  Speaker 1: you know, sort of taking that into account how the
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  Speaker 1: economy's performing well.
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  Speaker 2: One of the things that the Economic Reconstruction Committee reports
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  Speaker 2: said was that if we don't do things differently in
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  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory, then we're going to go from an
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  Speaker 2: eight billion dollar debt to a sixteen billion dollar debt.
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  Speaker 2: So it's really important that the government works with the
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  Speaker 2: stakeholders around the Northern Territory who are in the different
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  Speaker 2: sectors to ensure that they are doing everything they can
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  Speaker 2: listening to the people that know how the economy works,
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  Speaker 2: to make sure that we can implement the recommendations that
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  Speaker 2: are in that report. And so far all we're seeing
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  Speaker 2: is spin and blaming of different reports that have come
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  Speaker 2: out rather than looking at what we can actually do
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  Speaker 2: to shift the dial.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, the Chief Minister reckons that they're looking at
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  Speaker 1: other reports, like one which was obviously put together by Deloitte.
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  Speaker 1: You know, however you look at it. I suppose for me,
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  Speaker 1: the big concern or the big issue that we've got
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  Speaker 1: is we all know that certain things aren't working, or
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  Speaker 1: we all know that we've had some issues with the economy.
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  Speaker 1: But I want to make sure that whatever changes we
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  Speaker 1: actually make, and if there is money spent that's taxpayers dollars,
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  Speaker 1: that we've got benchmarks to actually see whether those changes
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  Speaker 1: are working and whether the money that's being invested is working.
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  Speaker 1: And how we can, you know, make sure that the
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  Speaker 1: economy actually grows.
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  Speaker 2: One of the best ways that we can measure that
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  Speaker 2: is if we speak to business owners who have been
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  Speaker 2: in the territory for a long time. They will tell
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  Speaker 2: you they know exactly what goes from their business, and
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  Speaker 2: they'll tell you whether things are looking good or not
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  Speaker 2: looking good. And of course when they are experiencing some
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  Speaker 2: of the highs of the economy. Then of course that
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  Speaker 2: attracts more people to the territory so that they can
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  Speaker 2: then set up their businesses, which is what we need
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  Speaker 2: to get it moving. It helps population, it helps jobs.
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  Speaker 2: So I would be encouraging the government to speak to
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  Speaker 2: territorians a lot of territories right across the territory to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that you understand exactly what is happening on
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  Speaker 2: the ground for small business owners.
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  Speaker 1: Now we know once again the population is obviously concerned.
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  Speaker 1: The government has announced it it's going to have five
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  Speaker 1: key work sectors targeted in a new campaign to attract
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  Speaker 1: skilled workers to the Northern Territory. This campaign targets skilled
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  Speaker 1: and semi skilled workers in the nation's big three markets
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  Speaker 1: i e. Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand as well.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think this is going to work?
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  Speaker 2: Well, we all remember the Boundless Possible campaign and how
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  Speaker 2: that was going to bring a lot of people to
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  Speaker 2: the territory. What I want to find out from this
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  Speaker 2: government is will they again use an interstate company to
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  Speaker 2: do all the marketing of that. We don't know that
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  Speaker 2: Territorians can't be sure whether they can trust that another
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  Speaker 2: marketing campaign is going to work because the last one didn't.
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  Speaker 2: It ended after twelve months. So yeah, I would definitely
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  Speaker 2: be wanting to find out how this is going to happen.
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  Speaker 2: Where's the detail? It certainly seems to be an information
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  Speaker 2: that just gets thrown out there and then forgotten about
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  Speaker 2: in weeks to come.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it is a very good point, and I think
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  Speaker 1: that point you mad about whether they're going to engage
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  Speaker 1: then an interstate company or how exactly it's all going
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  Speaker 1: to work. It's one which we're all wondering about, but
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  Speaker 1: once again, you know, wondering how those benchmarks are going
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  Speaker 1: to be set to actually determine whether it does work.
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  Speaker 2: That's right, And you know, if we're encouraging people to
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  Speaker 2: come to the Northern Territory, we need to get our
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  Speaker 2: crime under control. I mean, small businesses are affected all
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  Speaker 2: the time. And I heard you're asking the Chief Minister
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  Speaker 2: about our crime and what was being done about it,
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  Speaker 2: And to be honest, all I heard was spin And
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  Speaker 2: I'll give you an example of that. I mean he
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  Speaker 2: mentioned that there are going to be more consequences and
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  Speaker 2: they're adding to the list and there's these bush camps
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  Speaker 2: that are out there, whereas only last month in estimates,
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  Speaker 2: we asked the government how many youths were sentenced to
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  Speaker 2: a boot camp and just on Friday we got the
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  Speaker 2: information back and the exact answer, and I'll quote yes,
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  Speaker 2: says data cannot accurately be provided for this question. So
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  Speaker 2: if we don't even know how many youths are being
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  Speaker 2: sentenced to boot camps, how can we know where those
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  Speaker 2: boot camps are, how they're operating, and what the results
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  Speaker 2: are going to be.
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  Speaker 1: That is a bloody good question and a point which
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  Speaker 1: is certainly not lost on me. I did point out
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  Speaker 1: to the Chief Minister as well. In twenty seventeen he
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  Speaker 1: had said to the media that eighteen million dollars was
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  Speaker 1: going to be spent per annum so each year on
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  Speaker 1: this space. So trying to really get a curb on
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  Speaker 1: the issues that we've had with youth crime, but we
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  Speaker 1: need to make sure that the data is there to
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  Speaker 1: support that money being invested and make sure that that
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  Speaker 1: money which is being invested is going into the right
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  Speaker 1: things to try and stop this issue.
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  Speaker 2: That's right, and every time any of the ministers across
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  Speaker 2: any of the departments are asked about these issues, all
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  Speaker 2: they do is handball it to another minister, And so
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  Speaker 2: we can't get any clear data, We can't get any
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  Speaker 2: straightforward answers. All we hear is spin and all we
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  Speaker 2: hear is yet it's working. It's working. But if you
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  Speaker 2: speak to people in the community and the business owners,
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  Speaker 2: all they see is crime happening time after time, you know,
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  Speaker 2: five times, ten times, it just happens over and over.
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  Speaker 2: And for them to say that bail is not an issue.
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  Speaker 2: And I heard the chief ministers say that this morning again.
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  Speaker 2: In estimates, we asked how many youths were arrested for
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  Speaker 2: new offending while on bail last financial year and the
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  Speaker 2: answer was fifty percent. So fifty percent were arrested who
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  Speaker 2: already had offenses against their name.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, but fifty percent of what tumar is clar do
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  Speaker 1: we know?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, it does say that there were six hundred
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  Speaker 2: and sixty seven youths arrested and that three hundred and
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  Speaker 2: twenty nine were arrests of the youths who were not
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  Speaker 2: on bail, which means that the rest of them were
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  Speaker 2: on bail. So saying fifty percent of youths that were
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  Speaker 2: arrested we're on bail, that's not showing any kind of
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  Speaker 2: comfort for business owners in the community say that bail's
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  Speaker 2: on an issue. Of course, bail's an issue needs to
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  Speaker 2: be looked at well.
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  Speaker 1: And I did specifically ask the Chief Minister whether he
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  Speaker 1: thinks those bail laws need to be strengthened with the
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  Speaker 1: presumption against bail for repeat offenders and those arrested while
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  Speaker 1: already on bail. He said, no, you obviously don't agree
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  Speaker 1: with that.
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  Speaker 2: That's right. They absolutely need to be looked at. If
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  Speaker 2: you've got a fifty percent problem, then those things need
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  Speaker 2: to be readdressed well.
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  Speaker 1: Mary Clare boothbye, We are going to have to wrap up.
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  Speaker 1: We've got a very full morning. I really appreciate your
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  Speaker 1: time this morning. Thanks so much for coming on the show.
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  Speaker 2: You're welcome, Katie, Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: Mary Claire boothby there. She is, of course, the Member
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  Speaker 1: for Brennan and the opposition spokesperson for Small Business