Nova Peris (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to discuss a matter of public interest for all the people of the Northern Territory. Last night's budget will not only hurt all Australians but it is particularly savage to the Northern Territory. The budget breaks so many promises that were made to Territorians only eight months ago. I will start with a brief snapshot of just some of the promises that have been broken since the Abbott government was elected. I will then drill down into just how much some of the broken promises will hurt.

Before the election, Tony Abbott and Natasha Griggs, the member for Solomon, promised to cut the cost of living. Since the election, the cost of living has increased in the Northern Territory—at the fastest rate in the country. This budget hikes it up even more, with a GP tax and a fuel tax. Before the election, they promised to start construction of the new Palmerston hospital with a year. It has now been put off until after the next election, three years away. Before the election, they promised to accelerate construction of Tiger Brennan Drive, which was committed to by Labor in the budget last year. This budget breaks that promise. Before the election, Natasha Griggs promised to save the RAAF houses in Darwin. After the election, she announced that she won't be saving the RAAF houses. Before the election, they promised no cuts to health and education. After the election, they are ripping $80 billion out of health and education. Before the election, Tony Abbott promised to be the prime minister for Aboriginal Australians. After the election, he is slashing Indigenous affairs by half a billion dollars. Before the election, Tony Abbott promised to be the prime minister for infrastructure and developing Northern Australia. All this budget does is re-announce a series of road projects that were in last year's budget. There is nothing new for developing Northern Australia.

That is a pretty comprehensive list of promises broken—just in the first budget. A broken promise to cut the cost of living is particularly painful for Territorians: Territorians have seen this all before. In 2012, the CLP ran TV ads during the Northern Territory election, promising to cut the cost of living. They then put the power prices up. Then, in 2013, Natasha Griggs ran TV ads saying that she would cost cut the cost of living—and then straightaway, she and her government have put the price of petrol up.

In the Northern Territory, petrol prices are already high; on average 22 cents a litre more than in the rest of Australia. People down south complain of petrol prices being around $1.50 a litre. In many places in the Northern Territory, we pay over two dollars a litre. Territorians are very reliant on the car, and we travel such huge distances. There is limited public transport in the cities, and almost none outside them. Fuelling up in the Territory already hurts so many family budgets: with petrol tax increasing twice a year, many families will be pushed over the edge. And of course, we are so reliant on freight in the Territory—increasing the cost of petrol will increase the cost of everything. How on earth can putting up the price of petrol possibly cut the cost of living? Whenever Territorians fill up at the bowser, they will be reminded of the promise by Natasha Griggs to cut the cost of living. While the government says the money from this new tax will go to roads, there is no guarantee that a single cent will come to any new Territory projects. All we have heard so far is re-announcements.

The GP tax is another hit on the cost of living. In the Territory, we already have less bulk-billing than the rest of the country, so our healthcare costs are already higher than everywhere else. The GP tax will make it worse. Seven dollars on every visit, plus—with prescriptions going up—more if you need medicine. Every Territorian needs access to a car and access to a doctor—so the costs are going up for everyone. There are many more attacks in this budget on the hip pockets of Territory families. The schoolkids bonus is gone. The changes to family tax benefits mean that a Territory family could be up to $5,000 worse off a year. And what about raising the age of the pension to 70? This will hurt our senior Territorians. And too bad if you are an Indigenous man in the Territory—your life expectancy is 61. And how can we possibly force a bricklayer to keep working outside, through the heat and humidity of the wet season, until they are 70? It is just disgraceful. These are hits that many Territorians simply cannot afford. The simple fact is that in the television ads where Natasha Griggs said she would cut the cost of living, she was not telling Territorians the truth.

The quality of the healthcare you receive should not depend on your income. When a child is sick, you should be able to think about nothing more than the welfare of your child. But families are now going to have to think about the cost. That is terrible. The GP tax is going to put more pressure on our hospitals, which are already bursting at the seams. People who cannot afford the new tax will have no choice but to go to hospital. Before the election, it was promised that construction of the Palmerston hospital would start within a year. This budget breaks that promise. As I said before, construction won't even start until after the next federal election. The Commonwealth promised $110 million for the hospital, but there is only $40 million committed in this budget. There is not even an expected completion date. The Palmerston hospital is clearly years and years away.

Natasha Griggs promised that the duplication of Tiger Brennan Drive would be accelerated. The budget formally breaks that promise; it has not been accelerated at all. In his speech last night, Joe Hockey outlined road projects in every state—but none in the Northern Territory.

Education outcomes in the territory are lower than in the rest of Australia, and health outcomes are lower than in the rest of Australia—so the $80 billion worth of cuts to education and health will hurt the Territory more than anywhere else. Territorians were promised that there would be no cuts to health and education. Passing on the responsibility for hospitals and schools to the Northern Territory government will terrify Territorians. Cost shifting health and education problems to the states and territories is particularly harsh on the Northern Territory: our needs are bigger, and our revenue base is smaller.

It was a double whammy yesterday when the CLP government in the Territory also handed down their budget. They also made cuts to both health and education. Yesterday was a very dark day for children of the Northern Territory. Yesterday was a very dark day for the health of Territorians.

As the jurisdiction with the highest proportion of Aboriginal people, we in the Northern Territory will be hurt more than anywhere else by the cuts to Indigenous affairs. Tony Abbott promised to be the prime minister for Aboriginal people—well, he was not telling us the truth. You cannot—I repeat, you cannot—cut half a billion dollars from Indigenous affairs without cutting vital frontline services. Every aspect is being hit—education, health, legal services, art programs, Indigenous radio stations, employment programs, and more. Following investments by the previous Labor Commonwealth and Northern Territory governments, the Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction currently meeting the Closing the Gap targets. I fear that that will be compromised. It is an awful thought, but I fear that this budget will mean that Aboriginal people's life expectancies will not improve. It is shocking, and I hope I am wrong.

So far, the self-professed Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs has given the green light to racism and bigotry, and the red light to Indigenous programs. And what about the cuts to local government? They will hurt the Territory, particularly in the bush, where regional councils already have limited capacity to raise their own revenue, and already face such unmet needs. 2013 was the most violent year in the history of the Northern Territory, and the majority of the victims were women. Domestic violence increased in the Northern Territory by 22 per cent last year. An Aboriginal woman is 80 times—I repeat, 80 times—more likely to be admitted to hospital, as a result of assault, than any other Territorian. This government has blatantly ignored this shocking statistic. Cutting legal services for family violence prevention is a national disgrace. This government is tolerating the unbelievable and unacceptable violence that women in the Territory suffer.

The cuts to tertiary education will hurt the Territory. One of the best achievements of the previous Labor government was the establishment of the medical school at Charles Darwin University. We face a huge doctor shortage in the Territory, and developing our own home-grown doctors is the best way to address it. This facility should be expanded, not cut. But that is what this government has announced, a cut of $100,000 a year for the next four years. This budget breaks so many promises. It is a budget of deceit. It hurts so many families. This budget breaches the trust of the people of the Northern Territory.