NT parliament: Spitter punishment proposed, harsher fines for dodgy builders
There are now harsher punishments for dodgy builders. SEE WHAT.
Politics
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LEGISLATION has been introduced to include spitting as a statutory aggravation in the assault of police and frontline workers.
Police Minister Kate Worden presented amendments and additions in the Criminal Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 in parliament sittings on Thursday. The Bill features the proposition if a police officer or emergency worker suffers harm and the assault includes spitting, the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment. Ms Worden said the amendment was necessary given the severe implications on a victim as a result of a spitting incident.
“The increase in penalty reflects the objective seriousness of such offending the importance of deterrence in matters such as the and the important role played by our police officers and emergency workers,” she said. The Bill will be debated in the next sittings.
Parliament passed the Building Amendment Bill 2022, which includes harsher penalties for builders.
Practitioners found guilty of professional misconduct will face a maximum penalty of $25,920 for individuals and $129,600 for businesses.
The Bill also gives the Building Practitioners Board greater scope to conduct an inquiry into the work or conduct of a building practitioner.
Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics Minister Eva Lawler said the changes brought greater certainty to builders.
“One act of professional misconduct by a practitioner is one too many. This is why we have made these positive changes,” she said.
Push to pause flowing ‘rivers of grog’
PRESSURE is mounting on the NT government to temporarily reintroduce alcohol bans until further consultation on grog in communities is done.
On July 17, alcohol was legally allowed to flow into previously dry communities for the first time in 15 years after the Commonwealth’s Stronger Futures Bill expired.
Araluen MLA Robyn Lambley will move a motion in parliament on Wednesday to pause the lifting of bans until “extensive and meaningful consultation is undertaken” with stakeholders, and to provide an ‘opt-out’ instead of ‘opt-in’ approach to bans.
It comes a day after Ms Lambley accused the Fyles government for downplaying the role of alcohol in domestic, sexual and family violence.
“The NT government must recognise the indisputable evidence that alcohol and gambling are the two greatest contributing factors to the unacceptable and worsening rates of poverty, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, homelessness, chronic disease and escalating crime and social disorder in the Northern Territory,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles was repeatedly asked on Tuesday whether she would amend the Associations and Liquor Amendment Bill 2022 to an ‘opt-out’ rather than ‘opt-in’ approach.
She remained firm but stated alcohol was a legal commodity and Territorians should be able to decide whether or not they allowed grog into communities.
Communities were given an option to extend the dry community status for two years, with ban declared for the Bagot, Bulman, Jodetluk, Knuckey Lagoon Indigenous Village, Palmerston Indigenous Village, Railway Dam, and Weemol areas.
Despite this option, the government was criticises for not allowing further consultation with stakeholders.
Congress, Aboriginal Medical Services Alliances, NAAJA, Aboriginal Housing NT and PAAC all called for more time before the policies expired.
In May, Congress chief executive officer Donna Ah Chee warned that “the ‘rivers of grog’ will once again flow through our communities”.
Major report tabled
THE long-awaited Treaty Commission Final Report 2022 has been tabled.
In parliament on Tuesday, Treaty and Local Decision Making Minister Selena Uibo was proud to present the report and said it represented a historic moment for Territorians.
“Treaty is a fresh approach that will benefit all Territorians,” she said.
“Treaty-making represents a true opportunity to address the root causes of broader social challenges that stem from intergenerational trauma, such as crime, domestic violence and substance abuse and misuse, by enabling more meaningful community influence and control over what happens in Aboriginal communities across the Territory.
“Treaty is looked at as a key tool to improve quality of life for Aboriginal Territorians. Treaty also provides the best hope for the whole community in terms of reconciliation and better outcomes across the whole population. Treaty is, at its very heart, simply the right thing to do.”
The report details how the NT government can establish a ‘Territory Wide Agreement’ by June 2025. It also details the need for First Nations’ people to make subsequent treaties that reflect their own needs for “self-determination”.
Ms Uibo said in the coming months, the NT government would meet with land councils, local governments, Aboriginal organisations and corporations and the broader community on how to best progress implementation.
She thanked the efforts of acting Treaty Commissioner Tony McAvoy SC, deputy Commissioner Ursula Raymond and former commissioner Mick Dodson. She added Mr McAvoy would move into a consulting advising role.
Landmark signing for community
THE Daly River community of Nauiyu has become the eighth area to sign a Local Decision Making Agreement.
On Tuesday, members of the Green River Aboriginal Corporation (GRAC) met with the NT government to sign the agreement, in partnership with the National Indigenous Australians Agency and the Catholic Diocese of Darwin.
The agreement will empower GRAC, Traditional Owners and locals, with the NT government, to take charge of community housing, economic development opportunities, future land use and improve community health and wellbeing.
GRAC chair Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann AM was proud to sign the agreement and said it was critical for authorities to listen to the people of Nauiyu.
“This is exactly the support our community needs to progress Aboriginal leadership and secure the future of Nauiyu for generations to come,” she said.
Local Decision Making Minister Selena Uibo said the agreement would build upon existing partnerships with GRAC such as the delivery of housing in the region.
Girl kept in ‘solitary confinement’ for 48 hours at police watchhouse
A young girl’s treatment in a Top End adult police facility has been compared to a stint in ‘Guantanamo Bay’, as legal experts call for a critical after hours service to be restored.
Dire fencing warning after NT toddler’s tragic death
WARNING: DISTRESSING. A safety expert has warned that the very same fence that resulted in the death of a 22-month old toddler in a Territory childcare centre could be found in most Australian backyards.