If you’re going to say ‘no’ to an idea, not offer constructive criticism or offer an alternative suggestion, take your comment elsewhere
The Territory will never progress and become a contending capital city if we don’t create an environment where ideas can flourish … writes RAPHAELLA SAROUKOS
Opinion
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THE internet is a wonderful place where new, innovative and life-changing ideas can blossom and grow. It’s also a place where ideas go to die, thanks to a group of naysayers who in reality represent a minority of the population.
In April, I asked Sunday Territorian readers and the wider community what their ‘big ideas’ were to transform the Territory’s economy, tourism industry and to boost the population.
It’s an understatement to say I was surprised at the responses I received.
Most of the 196 responses were detailed, well-thought, referenced examples, had links, and included multiple ideas.
I was thrilled to present their thoughts to the public this week, from water parks to legalising marijuana and turning to Singapore for inspiration, and most comments were encouraging.
But surprise, surprise. I was met with a minority of comments that, while few in number, were the loudest.
“No.”
“Great ideas but who’s paying for this?”
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In the same breath, these are also the people who whine about how the economy isn’t going anywhere, how our tourism industry is dead, and how people are fleeing to move interstate.
Most of these naysayers don’t seem to stop to consider why these suggestions were made.
If they did, they would know prior to Covid-19 Singapore had a record 19.11 million international tourists visit the city-state according to Singapore’s Department of Statistics, who spent more than $5.64 billion SGD ($5.5 billion AUD).
Despite the devastation by Covid-19 to Singapore’s tourism numbers, which have been on the rise since 2015, the tropical city still managed to attract 2.7 million international visitors in 2020.
If we turn to the widely popular suggestion of legalising cannabis, anyone who stopped to do a quick search would find last year Canada had a 120 per cent increase in sales compared to 2019, according to Forbes.
This was an astonishing jump from $1.2 billion CAD ($1.28 billion AUD) to $2.6 billion CAD ($2.78 billion AUD), largely driven by increased brick-and-mortar retail access, an expansion of online and click-and-collect offerings, and pricing more competitive with the illicit market.
And when it comes to water parks, we only need to take a brief tour around the world to grasp their popularity. The Theme Index and Museum Index 2019 report showed Wet’N’ Wild on the Gold Coast had a visitation of 1.12 million. China’s Chimelong Water Park was the most visited in the world with 3.01 million visitors, followed by 2.4 million people to Typhoon Lagoon at Disney World in Florida, US.
If we say no upfront, an idea is killed before it gets any chance.
We’re also discouraging people from putting forward more creative, economy-boosting ideas.
And just because the Territory government might be in financial strife, doesn’t mean we can’t look elsewhere for funds.
Earlier this year, when I put forward a proposal to bring The Ghan closer to Darwin, the federal government said it would consider “any funding proposal for the Adelaide-Darwin rail corridor through the budget processes”.
That’s not a ‘no’. That’s potential for something big, and that can be applied to all of the ideas suggested by Territorians.
If you’re going to say ‘no’ to an idea, not offer constructive criticism or offer an alternative suggestion, take your comment elsewhere.
The Territory will never progress and become a contending capital city if we don’t create an environment where ideas can flourish.
Raphaella Saroukos is a reporter at the NT News.
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