Northern Territory Parliament looks at trespass laws

On the same day the NT Government announced controversial justice reforms, it has promised to put victims first with some new funding and legislative changes. Find out what’s on the agenda.

On the same day a suite of controversial justice reforms was announced, the NT Government has promised to put victims first under legislative and funding changes.

Amendments to the Trespass Act have been earmarked, while an extra $2m will go towards Territory-wide support group, Victims of Crime.

The government will also ramp up efforts to support business owners seeking co-funded security improvements to their premises.

The announcements came as the government tabled bills to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12, and repeal mandatory sentencing on charges of assault and breaches of domestic violence orders.

Changes to the Trespass Act will see the government remove a second chance warning for offenders who breach a trespass order.

Instead, they will be fined $3,080, while further breaches could result in imprisonment.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has announced some immediate solutions to assist victims of crime, as well as changes to the Trespass Act. Picture: Floss Adams.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the changes offered Territorians immediate action.

“The (Trespass) act as it presently is, someone has to be served with the trespass (order) from the owner of the premises,” Ms Fyles said.

“We will be making changes to that act so that it can be served by someone that is perhaps leasing the building or a security officer.

“So sometimes you might have a shopping centre situation where security guards work to keep those businesses safe and to deter anti-social behaviour.

“We’ll make those changes so that the trespass act is more agile.

“We want to stop the crime and anti-social behaviour before it happens.

“But when it does happen, we want victims of crime to have the resources to best support our community.

“We are listening to victims and the community and making improvements right across the Territory.”

The announcement takes Victims of Crime’s annual funding from $1.25m to $3.25m.

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro has also failed to garner the government’s support, for the fourth time in parliament, to instate a select committee on pressing policing issues.

The committee would involve two MLAs each from Labor and CLP, as well as two independent members.

“A select committee is just one way, but it’s a tried and tested model,” Ms Finocchiaro said in parliament on Thursday.

“It provides an opportunity for some political swords put aside it provides an opportunity for bipartisanship.”

The call comes in response to the results of a damning police survey that found more than 79 per cent of respondents did not have confidence in Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker.

Almost four in five officers in a police survey said they do not have confidence in NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Furthermore, 92 per cent said there were not enough police in the Territory, and 79 per cent said morale was low or very low within the ranks.

At the time of the report’s release, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles threw her support behind the embattled Commissioner.

“What they forget is that every time they vote us down, every time they vote this inquiry down, they are not voting down me or the CLP, they are voting down and turning their backs on our police,” Ms Finocchiaro said.

“This is about our frontline workers, the men and women that we ask every single day to pull on that blue uniform, say goodbye to their friends and family and walk literally in front of harm’s way.

“We are counting on them in our most greatest time of need, in our most vulnerable time.

“We all owe them. We owe them to do something in response to this survey.”

The CLP has also hit out at the government’s move to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12.

Crime dominates parliament as Worden pelted with criticisms

Criticisms on how the government is handling crime is front and centre as the pollies sit for parliament this week.

All eight questions raised by Opposition members on Tuesday were towards Sanderson MLA and Police Minister Kate Worden, which probed issues of the spithood ban on children, Police Auxiliary Liquor Inspectors (PALIs), recent reports of assaults on public transport and other incidents of violent crime.

“We know that crime will never be zero so you can keep running in here with individual cases,” Ms Worden said to members sitting opposite.

Minister Police, Fire and Emergency Services Kate Worden has been hit with a string of demanding questions on crime in October parliament sittings. Picture: Amanda Parkinson

“Tackling crime is an especially difficult task – if it was easy it would have been fixed a long time ago and it has challenged every government in the Northern Territory.

“Hard work is hard and we are prepared to tackle the underlying issues that drive crime. “There are multitudes of them.”

The comments came just hours before Darwin police apprehended a group of boys believed to have stolen alcohol, cash and other goods totalling $1600 in value, as well as a car.

After a string of damning questions from her party, Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro then moved a motion to censure Ms Worden for “her failure to support police, tackle crime and keep our community safe.”

It was quickly shut down by the majority Labor government.

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says there is no more pressing issue in the community than the crime and police crisis. Picture: Floss Adams

“Everywhere we go and everyone we talk to, it’s the same thing – crime is killing the Northern Territory,” Ms Finocchiaro said.

“But we have a Labor government refusing to admit there is a crime crisis, despite the community experiencing it on a daily basis.

“The Labor Police Minister says there are enough police, despite the community knowing that’s not the case. Some of her own colleagues disagree with her.

“And now the Fyles government won’t even let the Opposition and independents hold them to account on their failures.”

The CLP also raised crime and anti-social behaviour as a matter of public importance, which saw the government debate the issue for two hours inside parliament well into Tuesday evening.

Parliament continues to sit on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Tuesday, OPCAT legislation allowing torture watchdogs unfettered access to custody settings passed parliament with bipartisan support.

[e-mail]

Originally published as Northern Territory Parliament looks at trespass laws