CLP reveals 2024 Daly candidate in budget reply speech

Lia Finocchiaro says community safety would be front and centre in her government’s budget as she revealed an early candidate for the 2024 election.

NT Treasurer Eva Lawler handed down her first budget on Tuesday. Picture: Annabel Bowles

The Opposition Leader has used her budget reply speech to call out the government’s “failures” in dealing with crime.

CLP leader Lia Finocchiaro said in Wednesday’s parliament sittings Treasurer Eva Lawler’s first budget “needed to be a community safety budget".

“There was no flagship announcement on police resourcing or strengthening our laws,” Ms Finocchiaro said.

“There was no flagship announcement around community safety.

“It is not something they fight for and they have again shown through their actions that they put the rights of offenders above the rights for our community to be safe.”

Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro says Territorians’ calls for the Fyles government to take action against violent crime were falling on deaf ears. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Ms Finocchiaro also said the Territory economy was going backwards.

“This year, we’re further than ever away from Labor’s $40 billion economy by 2040,” she said

“Net debt has grown from a huge $8.2bn in 2022-23 to a diabolical estimate of $10bn in 2024-25.

“That is almost $60,000 in debt for every working Territorian.”

A CLP government would also establish an ‘approvals fast-track task force’ to slash red tape, Ms Finocchiaro said, as well as an office of the Territory co-ordinator to facilitate investment.

Namatjira MLA Bill Yan was also named the party’s treasurer, if successful in next year’s election.

The CLP has announced Kris Civitarese, who now lives in Berry Springs, will contest the seat of Daly again in next year’s election. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Ms Finocchiaro announced Kris Civitarese would be the party’s candidate for Daly.

The CLP and Mr Civitarese lost the seat to Labor’s Dheran Young by about 400 primary votes in the 2021 by-election.

On Tuesday, the Territory government spruiked its new budget as one “for all Territorians”, striking a balance between economic and social factors.

Treasurer Eva Lawler said the 2023 budget “meets our vision of growing the Territory economy” while lifting up those in need.

“It reduces cost of living pressures for Territorians while making historic investments in justice reform and the prevention of domestic, family and sexual violence,” she said.

Treasurer Eva Lawler has spruiked her budget as one that has something for all Territorians. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“We’re investing $65m over 2022-23 to 2025-26 to progress the Aboriginal Justice Agreement initiatives, including community courts, community based sentencing and reducing prison remand numbers.

“We want to rehabilitate offenders and get them into jobs, training and education, not back in prison.”

But the CLP opposition took aim at what it said was a lack of new money for police and other measures to tackle crime, describing the budget as “lacklustre”, and one that fails to address the Territory’s “number one concern.”

“We cannot have a strong economy while law and order is out of control and this has clearly been fundamentally lost on the Labor Treasurer and Chief Minister yet again,” Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said.

“You cannot walk into any cafe or family home in the Territory where crime isn’t a topic of conversation and yet crime only rated a mention once in the Treasurer’s speech.”

Ms Finocchiaro said additional spending on police was marginal, while operating expenses for police and corrections were set to drop by $5m compared to the previous year.

However the budget papers show $7.7m for anti-social behaviour reduction initiatives in the Top End.

Only $4.8m has been allocated to those efforts in Alice Springs, with the regional town expected to benefit from about $298m in federal funding.

“In their own fact sheet Labor highlights that they want to further abolish mandatory sentencing and have more people out on bail,” Ms Finocchiaro said.

“Again the Labor Party has made it clear they are completely guided by their ideology and will not do what is necessary to strengthen the law and protect the community.”

The budget delivery speech in Tuesday’s parliamentary sittings also cast doubt over the government’s goal to reach a $40bn economy by 2030.

Ms Lawler said growth was “heavily influenced” by the timing of big ticket projects like the Santos Barossa gas project, despite that project being held up by ongoing court challenges.

“Our economic forecasts do not factor in the significant portfolio of private sector projects that have not yet reached a final investment decision,” she said.

“These projects and investment opportunities represent a substantial upside for the Territory’s economic development and … further support the Territory government’s target of a $40bn economy by 2030.”