CLP candidate for Solomon Lisa Bayliss on why now is the time she’s running for politics
The CLP’s candidate for the upcoming federal election on her hopes for the Territory, what’s needed in Canberra, and why now is her time.
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When Country Liberal candidate Lisa Bayliss talks about her vision for the Northern Territory, it is Lia Finocchiaro, not Peter Dutton, who emerges front and centre.
After three decades working as a police officer and watching crime rates spiral, Mrs Bayliss said her focus would be supporting the Territory government to tackle law and order “in any way possible”.
Crime generally falls under the remit of state, not federal governments, however Mrs Bayliss said it remained the top issue raised by voters during her federal election campaign.
Hitching her wagon to Mrs Finocchiaro is also not a bad move politically, considering the massive swings towards the CLP in Darwin and Palmerston last year – the same voters Mrs Bayliss needs to win over to flip the seat after nine years of Labor.
It was the CLP’s win at the August NT election that sparked Mrs Bayliss’ decision to enter politics.
“I looked at these other people who’d made a decision to stand up and fight for the Territory,” she said.
“You could see the deterioration of our community – crime, domestic violence, youth crime, the economy was a disaster – it was just spiralling out of control, and there seemed to be no plan to fix it under the previous Labor government.
“I didn’t want to be in that group that just sits on the sidelines and complains.”
Mrs Bayliss said she gave her full support to the Chief Minister’s seven key federal government requests to tackle crime (a plan focused on Central Australia, not the Top End), which coalition leader Mr Dutton has also backed “in principle”.
The requests include changes to royalty payments, stricter welfare requirements, and an audit of federally funded programs.
“A lot of money has been spent, and the outcomes are not there,” Mrs Bayliss said.
“We talk about closing the gap, and that seems to be getting bigger. We’re not getting the results that we want to see, so we need to start thinking differently.
“I don’t know everything, but I do know a lot about the Territory and a lot about the issues, the root causes, and I think it’s a really good start to make sure we are working with the Territory government, to get what we need for the Territory done.”
Mr Dutton has also announced a national crime strategy, among other things including a trial national sex offenders disclosure scheme, and standardised knife crime laws.
Asked about her thoughts on the policy, Mrs Bayliss said she would need to see the details, but it was an example of why it was important to have someone who knew the Territory helping to develop policy.
“We do have an issue with edged weapons in the Territory for a variety of reasons,” she said.
“At the same time, we do a lot of fishing, we do a lot of camping, and it’s not uncommon for people to have, say, a pocket knife … being able to work through those things so we’re represented – that’s really important.”
Mrs Bayliss supported the coalition plan to establish royal commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities, rejecting the argument it would unfairly demonise Aboriginal people for an issue impacting both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities across the country.
“It’s not for Australian children, it’s for a demographic where there is ongoing concern,” she said.
“Everyone’s very nervous about calling out something if they whack the term racism within it, and I think that’s probably to the detriment of the most vulnerable.
“Let’s actually look and see if there’s an issue here, let’s call it out and look at solutions to try and fix it.”
Mrs Bayliss entered the NT Police Force aged 19, and worked in several roles over her three decade career, including in general duties, sex crimes, intelligence, with the Australian Federal Police and Border Force.
She was also senior vice president of the NT Police Association, and found a lot of similarities with politics in the role – fighting for members’ interests and making tough decisions – all on a volunteer basis.
“I’m a bit of a glutton for punishment, but I really do enjoy it, I do like to be involved, to help people,” Mrs Bayliss said.
Growing up, Mrs Bayliss saw the effort and sacrifice that went into being a politician first hand; her father Daryl Manzie was the CLP member for Sanderson from 1983 to 2001.
With her own sons now older – 11, 19 and 24 years old – she felt ready to take on the workload.
Something she learned from her dad, and her time with the NTPA, was to figure out your non-negotiables.
“For me, it means ‘Territory first’,” she said.
“We need to have proper representation in Canberra, but also to support the new CLP government … the Territory needs it.”
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