Transcript: Press conference announcing $10 million accommodation facility in Darwin
With: Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion, with Country Liberals Candidates; for Lingiari Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, for Solomon Kathy Ganley, for the NT Senate Sam McMahon.
EO&E
GANLEY:
I'm very excited to be here today, along with our deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Nigel Scullion, our Senator for the Northern Territory, along with my colleague Jacinta Price the candidate for Lingiari and Sam McMahon, our senate candidate. It's really exciting to be here at Larrakia Nation today, on Larrakia land, making an awesome announcement of a $10 million to Larrakia nation to work in consultation with Northern Land Council and Aboriginal Hostels to provide transitional accommodation to our Indigenous Territorians, who come to visit the Top End.
What I want to say most is though, that the reason this came about is lobbying the Deputy Prime Minister and Nigel Scullion was, I had a visit from person who is staying in accommodation opposite from me, and they were kicked out, and they were needy, and I phoned everywhere to find accommodation and there was no accommodation. So, it is essential that we can provide accommodation to Indigenous Territorians. This is their land, and they deserve to have accommodation on our land, whilst they're visiting the top end.
PRICE:
Well thank you, Kathy. Well, I'm incredibly proud to be part of a team that listens to the needs of Australians most marginalized. Those people belong to communities right across the Territory. Some of those people are also part of my family. I know that this works, accommodation like this works, because we have it in Alice Springs. So it's really wonderful to see that we can provide that with the Larrakia Nation, who I have to say, I'm incredibly proud of because they are doing a wonderful job for Indigenous people here in the Top End and. You know, to be part of this is just, it warms my heart and so, I want to thank Larrakia Nation for working in conjunction with Cathy and with Nigel, and with Michael, to bring about the opportunity for us to invest in this way.
MCMAHON:
Thank you, Jacinta and Kathy. Look, as the Senate candidate for the Northern Territory, I obviously take in both Lingiari and Solomon. Very impressed with the way this works in Alice Springs and looking forward to working with Jacinta on that and very glad that this is now happening in Darwin. As someone that's from Katherine and Alice Springs, I know how important it is to get people back to Country. A lot of times, people come into town, they have medical appointments, they have other meetings, and they get stuck there, and they just can't get back. So this is going to be vital to addressing that problem.
FEJO:
I wanted to say that this is a really good example of government listening to the needs of the people. Larrakia Nation are the traditional owners of the land that Darwin is built on and part of our responsibility, is caring, not only for our families, but caring for the people who live here, and the people who visit here. And this is going to be a game changer for us, because this will tie in nicely with our night patrol services and all the services that we run, including return to country, and it just makes every one of us here, staff, at Larrikia Nation extremely proud for this announcement.
MCCORMACK:
Look, great to be here with Jacinta and Kathy and Sam, with Nigel, second time I've caught up with Nigel this week, but particularly with Richard. Richard is the chairman of Larrikia Nation. The motto is living longer, living stronger, and that's what we want, and this 70 bed temporary accommodation facility, we'll find the right place for it, we'll do it in partnership with Larrikia. We'll find the right people to make sure that it continues to do the great service that it does. Along with the night patrol, because that's what Larrikia does. It has the best people, it has the best options, it has a future for the Larrikia people, but for all aboriginal people in the Top End and this is going to be so important for those people, in Lingiari, in Solomon, right throughout the Northern Territory.
People who come to Darwin, who are used to the same sort of facilities that they have in Alice Springs, but they might come to Darwin to visit relatives, they might come for an event, or they might come sadly, for a funeral. But whenever they come, if they can't return to country, and circumstances prevent them from doing so, they know, that there's a facility here, it's going to be in the future, thanks to this$10 million announcement today that can help them get backed to their loved ones. Help them to get back to their home, and it's going to provide a really good service along with the night patrol. And I commend those night patrol workers for going out and making sure that there is care, there is support and that there is a lot of love and compassion and friendship for those people who find themselves in circumstances that they didn't set out that morning to ah. And you know when people sometimes fall through the cracks. They need this bit of support, they need this bit of love and compassion shown to them, and this facility is going to do just that.
Nigel Scullion has been a wonderful Indigenous Affairs Minister and this comes sort of from a bit of an idea he had, but it's been developed by Cathy, by Jacinta and by Sam, but in partnership, in partnership, importantly, with the Larrikia Nation. They've developed it into a really good model. We'll find the right infrastructure, we'll find the right location for it. Darwin needs this, it's wanted it for years. We're supporting it with $10 million of Federal Government money. The CLP knows how important this is, and that's why I'm really pleased and proud to be standing alongside our lower house candidates, our upper house candidate, because they know, and not only do they know how important these sorts of things are, they're delivering, they're telling Canberra what's needed. They're hearing their people, they're hearing constituents right across the Top End and what they need, want, expect, demand and deserve, most of all and they're delivering, and that's what they'll do when they get to Canberra.
They will be just like Nigel has been for 17 years, 17 isn't it Nigel? 17 years. A voice for the Top End, a voice for the Northern Territory, someone who goes down there and makes a difference, makes a real difference for all the Territorians, because these sorts of initiatives, this sort of infrastructure is very, very important. Nigel, would you like to add your remarks?
SCULLION:
Well, no. But I would just like to acknowledge and thank Richard. This has been a, quite a bit of a trifecta. Aboriginal hostels, Larrikia Development Corporation and the Northern Land Council have come together. As you said I had a bit of an idea, well they kicked that out of the park and they've come up with their own idea and made it money anyway. They made it a lot, and that's the way the new relationship with Government, we don't do things to people, we work with organizations. Its just been a real delight to work with Larrikia Nation and I know we've all put a lot of work into this, but I also like to acknowledge all the night, all the patrols you can see in the back here, all the staff, they just do an absolutely cracking job. Well done. I'll leave it there.
MCCORMACK:
Any questions?
REPORTER:
Is the money just for construction or operational as well?
SCULLION:
No, there's, its broken into three tranches, there's $6 million for construction and that's taken off what it costs to construct the same level of amenity with 70 beds in Alice Springs. There is $2 million for the running for the facilities, that's interim funds for running the facility. It's a gated community facility so there's people there 24 hours a day, and there's an additional $2 million to run those essential services. It might be counselling service; it might be alcohol and drug service. So this is all new money, on top of those services delivered in Darwin, because these are on top of what people can usually cope with, and that's what the community of Larrikia has said, "we wouldn't support this unless we had additional services, because, you know, these people are in great need of those support services".
So this will be a one-stop shop, return to country program, and we've indicated that we are going to make that a debt to the commonwealth. So you can't undo it. So, that means people won't become indebted, by the Return to Country program. So, this is a part of very sophisticated, I think, answer by Larrkia Nation, and their partners to a very complicated problem. But a whole nation of people getting into circumstances in the long grass and not being able to get out, the self-medication, sometimes tragically, self-medication, which is quite evident sometimes, and we've always struggled for an answer to that. And the answer of course has come, and unsurprisingly its come from Larrikia Nation, who live and breathe this stuff, and again, congratulations for such a sophisticated outcome.
REPORTER:
When would you hope to have it built by?
SCULLION:
Well, it'll rock and roll straight away.
REPORTER:
So when would it be built by?
SCULLION:
Well, we're going to have to leave those details to Larrikia Nation, the Northern Land Council and the Aboriginal Hospitals. But to give a bit of an indication we wanted repurposing of 50 bed facility by Aboriginal Hostels in Tennant Creek and I wanted it done by Christmas last year and I think they were about three weeks over. So they would move very, very effectively, very efficiently. The most important thing is the location, and there's been an agreement between the Land Council and I know that Kathy has been very much involved in putting those partnerships together. Even as a candidate, and I'm very confident that they will decide about those parameters and this can be built very quickly and we all agree, its something that needs to be built yesterday.
REPORTER:
Is there already a location in mind?
SCULLION:
No, that's really a matter for the mob. I know that the land council and Larrikia Nation have already starting discussion.
MCCORMACK:
What would also happen with the build, the construction, with the refit, depending on the location and on the infrastructure that's required, it will mean jobs, it will mean jobs for the Northern Territory. It will mean jobs for aboriginal people, it will mean jobs for small businesses, for joinery, carpenters, you know this is the sort of delivery that the CLP does. This is the sort of delivery that I know I'm going to be able to expect in Jacinta, in Cathy and in Sam. Going forward, continuing that fine representation that Nigel Scullion has done, for many, many years, for the Northern Territory. So it's all about jobs, but it’s also about making sure that we've got the best available options for aboriginal people here in the Northern Territory.
REPORTER:
Deputy Prime Minister, do you have any concerns about a video shared by your candidate for Lingiari Jacinta Price, in which Dr. Wafa Sultan refers to Islam as primitive and barbaric?
MCCORMACK:
Well, what I know Jacinta Price does, is she stands up for people, she stands up for women, and I know she stands up for what she thinks is right and I stand by Jacinta. I know she's a fine representative, I know she means well in absolutely making sure that if somebody feels oppressed, if somebody feels as though everything is going against them, well she'll stand up because she's not frightened to say what she thinks, and that's the sort of person you would want in parliament.
You don't want shrinking violets in parliament, you want people who speak their mind, who say what they mean and mean what they say. That's the Jacinta Price I've come to know, that's the Jacinta Price I've come to really respect. I know she's going to be a fearless person for the Top End, in Canberra. That's what we want in Canberra, we don't want people who are just warming seats, we don't want people who are not going to say what they think. I want somebody like Jacinta Price, representing the Northern Territory in the house of representatives, somebody who is going to speak their mind and be sure of what she says.
REPORTER:
Jacinta Price, why did you share that particular video from Dr. Wafa Sultan in 2014?
PRICE:
I shared the opinion of a woman who, was a Muslim woman who was providing her opinion as to how she feels she's been treated within her own religion. I'm a woman that has stood up and talked about how I feel, about...I'm an aboriginal woman who stood up to talk about how I feel about the issues within my own culture. So does that make me racist as well? To talk about the issues within my own culture that I believe, you know, are oppressive toward aboriginal women. Is that such a crime to do that?
What concerns me more, is the fact that the ABC would turn this non story into a story in an attempt to paint me as an Islama-phobe. I mean, shame on the ABC for attempting to do that. First it was Adam Steer, who tried to say that my mother got involved in criminal activity as a minister, and I was, I asked him immediately to retract his comments and now Oliver Gordon, has come after me to attempt to paint me as an Islama-phobe, and I've yet to see what they've got for me next, but I'm ready for them. If that's the best they've got, bring it.
REPORTER:
The National Imams Council did say that, that particular video was, in their view Islama-phobic and demonizes all Muslims. What's your response to the National Imams Council?
PRICE:
Have they asked any women what they feel about it? Have they asked the woman who was in the video, who has in fact, meet with Julia Gillard, as well as a former Foreign Minister in our country, is Julia Gillard an Islama-phobe as well? You know, like seriously, let's be adult about this issue.
REPORTER:
And Jacinta, you've raised some concerns on Facebook about some intimidation, you say you've seen out on the campaign trail. The remote polling booths. What are those concerns and have you referred any to the Australian Electoral Commission?
PRICE:
Certainly, while I've been out on pooling booths, there have been a number of concerns and a number of issues that have been reported to the AEC. For example, Alison Anderson, a former MP here in the Territory, has been out working as a scrutineer and doing things like, calling out for 'how to vote' Labor cards, within the restricted area, to give to people, to voters, and she's handing out for Labor while she's out there as well. So that's one particular issue.
Yesterday, myself and my mother were being intimidated and harangued by a Labor man who was standing there handing out 'how to votes', on behalf of Labor. As well as this, you had voters coming in taking a 'how to vote' from a Labor person, then coming to myself, and then as they try to get to the door, this particular person would stand there and try to give them another 'how to vote' card, as well as standing within the restricted area. So there's several issues, but, we all know in the Territory that these issues, with Labor doing the wrong thing when it comes to polling, have been long happening. Now it's only because we've got social media, we've got someone who's outspoken like me, who's prepared to call it out, on the spot and that's what we're going to continue to do, because this is disgusting behaviour. We wondered why the bush has voted for Labor all these years, well this is why because Indigenous people have been bullied, they've been intimidated and I won't stand for it. This is a democracy, it's 2019, in Australia.
REPORTER:
Kathy Ganley yesterday during that debate, some people took issue with some terminology you used. I think someone asked you about solar power and you said they should stop taking drugs. Do you regret using that terminology?
GANLEY:
Let's put it into context here. I was at a debate, an invited debate, and people that attended that debate, paid to attend that debate, and the person that I called out is not an old woman, she's actually a very regular writer to the NT News and with whom I studied law. Put it in context. I stand by what I say. There is no way in Gods green earth that we can be fully, solar panel energy, going forward, not for a very long time. Even the Northern Territory government is saying 50% by 2030. It is just not possible. So I stand by what I say and yeah...
REPORTER:
Jacinta what would you urge Di Natale to do in relation to Senate Candidate for the Greens here in the Norther Territory?
PRICE:
I'd urge him to grow a backbone and understand racism when he sees it. If he's prepared to say that he wants to, you know, stop freedom of speech in others and cut out hate speech, well, this is a form of hate speech. So, why doesn't he stand by the principles that he supposedly has and stand down his candidates? And I mean he's, you know, he stands by him even though his justification behind it is that he finds that aboriginal people find me too outspoken and, you know, I'm told by people, I don't speak for everyone, well, that's true. Each individual speaks for themselves and perhaps the people that have elected them. This particular person hasn't been elected by anyone. He's candidate for the Greens, so who does he speak on behalf of? He speaks on behalf of himself in that matter and so, yes, Di Natale should grow a backbone and get rid of him.
REPORTER:
How offended were you by that particular comment?
PRICE:
Well, I was particularly offended but not only offended but sort of thinking "well, what an immature bloke, like, seriously?" I mean this is an old meme now and it's out there, people think they can throw the coconut slur at me all over the place because they don't have the ability to use whatever intelligence they've got to debate any issues that I discuss, you know. Perhaps if you came forward with an argument or debate, then yeah, you know, you might be up for it, but clearly he's not when he's just throwing around memes like that.