Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

ator CANAVAN () (): We should support the Northern Territory Safe Measures Bill 2023 because it's clear that the removal of alcohol restrictions was a massive, massive error and mistake over the past couple of years, and they should be reintroduced in full as per Senator Price's proposal here. We see today very clear evidence that alcohol restrictions do work and that the removal of them has been a factor leading to the complete breakdown of social order in Alice Springs over the past few months. It's been shocking to watch on our nation's TVs, to see our fellow Australians having to cower in their own homes and businesses and not being able to just go about their day on the streets because of a shocking loss of control of law and order in a major Australian town, the centre of Australia.

Alcohol restrictions, or at least some of them, have been reintroduced over the past month, and today the Daily Telegraph reports that data from Northern Territory police shows a substantial reduction in crime in just one month immediately after the reintroduction of the alcohol restrictions. I'll go through that article. There have been massive reductions in crime. There has been a 46 per cent reduction in unlawful entries—so a halving of unlawful entries—following the reintroduction of alcohol restrictions. There's been a 36 per cent reduction in 'youth disturbances' in Alice Springs, apparently, over the month of February, because of the introduction of alcohol restrictions. And—not as big a reduction, but perhaps a more personally touching reduction—there has been a 28 per cent reduction in alcohol contributing to domestic violence in Alice Springs. We should not forget that, when law and order does break down, it's not just those businesses and those people who are directly affected by crime. It's often those in the homes as well—it's the mums and wives and children of unruly criminals—who are subject to increasing amounts of violence, if we do not maintain law and order.

We've just got to focus on things that work. That's what we should do. There's a lot of talk about the Voice and the Statement from the Heart. It is heartless not to just simply focus on things that work. You may not like them. They may be a little heavy-handed, or seem heavy-handed, at times, but we have to focus on pragmatic ways of making people's lives better. Clearly, alcohol restrictions in the Northern Territory, in communities and in Alice Springs, are what is needed to make people's lives better in the Northern Territory.

It did not have to be this way. It's a failure of this parliament and certainly of the Northern Territory government, and of us all, if you like, because we were deaf to the Aboriginal voices that warned us against the removal of alcohol restrictions and the cashless debit card over the past couple of years. I'm not making a partisan point here. The former coalition government accepted the request of the Northern Territory government at the time to end the stronger futures legislation. Of course, the incoming Labor government removed the cashless debit card in mid last year as well.

Those changes were made despite the Aboriginal voices from Alice Springs warning that that shouldn't happen. We like to talk a lot in theory about establishing an Aboriginal voice in this town, but we do very little in practice to listen to the existing Aboriginal voices that are here, elected to this parliament. They're here—they're elected representatives. There are two members of parliament, across our chamber and the other chamber, from Alice Springs. Alice Springs is a town of 30,000 people, and an emblematic town of our nation—somewhere that really is the heart of our country. It's a town of 30,000 people and it has two representatives here in the federal parliament. It's up there with the most represented town in this parliament, of any in the country. It has a representative for each 15,000 individuals in Alice Springs, whereas most federal electorates are roughly 100,000 people and they might have the odd senator here or there. But Alice Springs has a federal member of parliament for every 15,000 people.

One of those two members of parliament from Alice Springs is Senator Price here, who is the mover of this bill, and I congratulate her for the work she's done to put this together as a very new senator. She's done excellent work. The other member of parliament from Alice Springs is Ms Marion Scrymgour. One is from the coalition side here, from the Country Liberal Party; the other is from the Labor party. Both of those members of parliament were warning about the removal of alcohol restrictions mid last year. Both of them were saying: 'This will be a tragedy. We should not do it. We need to pause, here. This is going to lead to increased crime, domestic violence and terrible outcomes for people.' Their voices were ignored—completely ignored. They were the Aboriginal voices of Alice Springs, and we didn't listen to them. We didn't listen to them.

Instead of rectifying that gross error that's led to terrible consequences, and now supporting this bill—supporting the Aboriginal voice in this parliament from Alice Springs—those on the other side are going to oppose this bill, and then have the temerity to say: 'No, no. We want a Voice to Parliament. We don't need to actually listen. We just want more voices, so we can ignore even more people from around the country.'

If we're serious about a Voice, we have to be serious about listening. We have to be serious about actually using our two ears in proportion to our one mouth and listening to those voices. They're already here from Alice Springs. We've got a mini voice from Alice Springs in this parliament, and they want alcohol restrictions reintroduced. So why aren't we supporting this bill? What is the Voice about? Is it just so people can speak and talk? Are we actually going to act on anything being said? We're not right now—well, we are now, I must say. As I said, I'm not being partisan. We've made a mistake by removing the Stronger Futures legislation, and the best thing to do in life when you make a mistake and you realise it is to turn your decisions around. That's what we've done here by listening to Senator Nampijinpa Price, who joined us as part of our team less than a year ago. She has convinced us that we need to have this back in. We're listening to her voice. We're listening to her community and reintroducing—or trying to reintroduce—the things that worked.

I do hear from people that we don't need to do this because the Northern Territory government has acted in the past month and reintroduced some alcohol restrictions—and I mentioned those earlier—and they're already having an enormously positive effect. Some say, 'Well, it's already done, so we don't need to do anything.' I disagree with that, because the Northern Territory government obviously hasn't got things right over the past few years. There is a risk that I'm very concerned about. Once the media heat and attention is turned away from this issue—as it will be, particularly if crime does reduce—I have no faith in Chief Minister Fyles. I have no faith at all that she will maintain the things that work. She was clearly a reluctant convert to the need for alcohol restrictions. Her press conference with the Prime Minister a few months ago looked like a hostage video. She clearly didn't want to be there in some dingy little room. They couldn't go out on the streets, of course, to do this press conference at the time. She did not give me any confidence that she has this under control or that she's the kind of strong-willed individual who will restore law and order for so many law-abiding citizens in Alice Springs.

As I said, we in this place should focus on what works, and clearly the Stronger Futures legislation, which was in place before it was removed at the request of the Northern Territory government, did work. It worked to keep at least some level of law and order within the Northern Territory communities. It's not the whole solution. There are a whole lot of other issues that need to be tackled, of course, to deal with Indigenous disadvantage. But clearly the removal of the Stronger Futures legislation was a massive error and, as I said before, when you make a mistake you should rectify it. You should realise that you've done it. You should eat some humble pie, put aside your pride, accept you've done the wrong thing and reintroduce it. That is what this legislation sensibly does here. It sensibly puts back in place a framework that did work and gives confidence to Northern Territory residents that they will have a safe place to reside in and a future.

Right now it's not so much whether there is a stronger future or a weaker future for Alice Springs and many other towns; it's a question of whether they have a future at all, because of the massive hit that their town has suffered because of this publicity. My fear right now is that, with these declining crime statistics, the attention of the nation will turn away from Alice Springs and that the people there who own homes and businesses and have built their lives in this wonderful town will be left to pick up the pieces with very little help from others. There is a huge issue now for the future of Alice Springs because its reputation has been tarnished. We have to recognise that. It's not the fault of the people of Alice Springs. If we want to hand out culpability, it's certainly the elected officials who must take the lion's share of that. I've had the wonderful opportunity to visit Alice Springs many times as Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, and it is a wonderful place. Its economy—or at least a big part of it—is very much contingent on tourism. It's a wonderful place. When the streets are actually under control, it's a beautiful place to visit. It has a lovely climate, and there are lots of things for people to explore in and around the Alice Springs region.

I read last month that Qantas has slashed flights to Alice Springs, almost certainly as a result of this publicity. Clearly, fewer Australians are deciding to go for a holiday to Alice Springs after what they have seen on TV. The reintroduction of alcohol restrictions is not immediately going to turn that knob back on, even with this good news today of declining crime. People's perceptions of Alice Springs and whether they should take a holiday in the Top End will be damaged for some time. It will take time for people to feel like it is safe and right to get back there.

One added reason why we need to put this framework back in place is to give people in Alice Springs and Central Australia confidence that there is a future and that there is now going to be the re-establishment of a legislative framework which doesn't allow us to fall back into the errors we clearly made over the past year. As I said, there's no doubt that the left-wing elements of the Northern Territory Labor Party that have seized control of their government, post the Michael Gunner government, don't want these things. They definitely do not want to put alcohol restrictions in, and they will look at any opportunity to not bring them back. If we do not put this framework in place, what confidence can people have in the Northern Territory that they will—in six months, 12 months or 18 months time—still have the kinds of measures in place required to guarantee law and order in their town and their community? We should get behind this legislation to give confidence to the people of Alice Springs.

Mistakes have made here in Canberra. I think more blame needs to go to the Labor government in Darwin, but we have a responsibility here too. Because of the culpability, there needs to be a level of reparation paid from this parliament and the Northern Territory parliament to the people of Alice Springs. This bill does part of that. It would be an act of good faith for the people of the Northern Territory to rectify some of our mistakes. But we also need to be there time and time again, over the coming years, to help them to invest in their town and their community and to rebuild that shattered confidence that has been caused by the complete breakdown in law and order.

It took the Prime Minister far too long to go to Alice Springs. He only went after he was effectively dragged there, kicking and screaming, by the Leader of the Opposition—away from the tennis in Melbourne. He didn't want to be there, either. He was Johnny Depp to Natasha Fyles's Amber Heard. There was a hostage video. They didn't want to be there. I know they don't want to be there, but they've got to go back. They have to keep turning up in the months ahead to give the people of Alice Springs their due and to give them confidence in their future. We should support this legislation to help in that regard, but this cannot be something we forget. We have to remember that people have been hurt in Central Australia. It's a great place in our country, and they should not be forgotten. I give credit to Senator Nampijinpa Price for making sure they're not through this bill.