Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Hansard source

The answer to your question is that these extraordinary powers are there to cope with an extraordinary situation in the Northern Territory. With regard to the circumstances that were there prior to the intervention, the Northern Territory government failed to provide law and order. Perhaps that was a circumstance of their legislation. We are not sure of this, but we suspect it was probably more resource driven and that there was no mischief about it as it happened for a long time over different governments. These extraordinary powers are necessary to deal with an extraordinary situation. In terms of the capacity for the minister to exclude a particular person, it is recognised that there may be somebody who should be expelled from the community—for example, a recidivist smuggler or a paedophile. It may seem inconsistent with our moves in respect of the permit system but the permit system is too broad a footprint and with it come a lot of disincentives for business and for tourism. I am sure you will cross-examine me about all those issues when we get to them but this is simply a power that is provided to the minister to exercise over a particular person. Fundamentally, these powers that are provided to the minister are there to protect the children. That is what we are about. So the purpose of the power of the minister to exclude a particular person is to ensure that children are further protected by not having that person in the community.