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Labor repeats CLP's mistakes by ignoring Central Australia, says Independent

Wednesday, 23 Nov 2016 14:45:45 | Rick Hind

Looking down from Anzac Hill across the Alice Springs downtown area. (ABC News: Neda Vanovac)

The Northern Territory's Labor Government is repeating the mistakes of the Country Liberal Party (CLP) by shelving infrastructure projects in Central Australia in favour of Darwin, an independent MLA has warned.

Central Australians had gotten used to being ignored by Labor when it ruled from 2001 to 2012, former CLP deputy leader turned Independent Robyn Lambley told Parliament.

Ms Lambley said she was shocked Cabinet decided to defer eight infrastructure projects in Central Australia so soon after the August election — including an $11.5 million upgrade to the Maryvale Road south of Alice Springs, and $11 million in storm rectification works for the Central Australian Health Service.

"Being a little naive I would have expected a little more than three months to see this happening — under the CLP government we would have received more infrastructure funding," Ms Lambley said.

She said $27 million worth of projects had been shelved so the Government could instead fund a $10 million netball stadium in Darwin, and a $12 million carpark at the Royal Darwin Hospital

A driver collects her ticket at the Royal Darwin Hospital's car park. Photo: Ms Lambley says Labor was putting Darwin projects ahead of Central Australians. (ABC News: Tristan Hooft)

"All you're doing it for is to get votes to keep your seats in Darwin, it doesn't make any sense and it's at the direct expense of people in Central Australia," she said.Claims TTT

Taxpayer 'eternally' foots bill

When she was CLP health minister, Ms Lambley presided over the first unpopular attempt to introduce paid parking at the Royal Darwin Hospital.

On Wednesday, she said was stunned by Labor's decision to provide free undercover parking, and questioned the new Cabinet's business acumen.

"None of you know how to run a business, and this is a classic example," she said.

"The only jurisdiction in Australia that builds a free multi-storey carpark and charges nothing for it, and charges the NT taxpayer eternally for it.

"What we have here is a Government unlike any government in the world in the last ten years, it is going to provide a multi-storey carpark and charge nothing for it."

"I'll take the criticism as it comes of the mistakes I made when I was health minister — it proved to be a reasonably dysfunctional [parking] system that we put in place," she admitted.

But Ms Lambley said the paid parking funded 300 additional carparks, extra signage lighting, and security cameras.

Labor forgetting about the bush

Ms Lambley warned Labor's Members for Namatjira and Stuart, Chansey Paech and Scott McConnell, not to take their remote constituents for granted by putting on hold upgrades to major roads in their electorates, such as $11.5 million for the Maryvale Road and $9.5 million for the Roper Highway.

NT politician Robyn Lambley Photo: NT Independent MLA Robyn Lambley. (ABC News: Barry Doyle)

"Where's your commitment to the bush? You're sounding like the CLP, that's where we went wrong. You forget about the bush and guess what? You lose government in four years' time, guys," she said.

During the CLP's single term in power between 2012 and August this year, when it lost in a landslide to Labor, Central Australia's parliamentary representation went from four Country Liberals MLAs to three Labor MLAs and one Independent.

Ms Lambley said that backlash not reflected in the new Government's spending priorities.

"Three new members of parliament from the Labor Party and they didn't have enough pull within their Caucus, within their Cabinet, to make sure at least infrastructure expenditure was sustained," she said.

We're going backwards."

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