Records 1991

In 1990, Government noted the NT University’s Master Plan and endorsed cost-sharing arrangements with the Commonwealth. The purpose of this Submission was to inform Government of the revised building program and of government funding. Master Plan staging details and costings are attached, along with a list of Commonwealth infrastructure projects for Australian Universities funded between 1991 and 1993.

Government approved funding for site works, which would commence after receipt of approvals for town planning, environmental, traffic, services, etc.

The Submission discusses funding for the Centre for the Aboriginal and Islander Studies building, Student Amenities building, stage 1 of the Library, a major Lecture Theatre, and an Administration building.

Read the Cabinet decision:  Submission No. 5750 / Decision No. 6705 of 22 January 1991 PDF (17.9 MB)

In 1991, Government approved funding for a Military History Heritage Sites and Trails Program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin in 1992.

A photographic map of proposed military heritage sites from Darwin to Alice Springs is attached, along with works proposed.

The Submission also indicates sites with visible relics from the only war fought on Australian soil; sites which extend from Alice Springs to Nhulunbuy. The majority of sites are within 7km of the Stuart Highway and accessible by conventional vehicles for 99% of the year. It also provides the locations of a selection of relics, including munition stores, trenches, and gun emplacements near old airstrips.

Read the Cabinet decision:  Submission No. 5800 / Decision No. 6773 of 9 April 1991 PDF (5.9 MB)

Government approved a package of home assistance schemes aimed at assisting low and middle income groups to attain home ownership. As described in the strategy document, ‘Housing for the 90’s’, the goal of increasing home ownership in the Northern Territory is complementary to that of reducing the proportions of public rental stock and the transfer of Housing Commission dwellings to private ownership.

The HomeNorth Loan Portfolio is a package of home assistance schemes comprising of:

1. HomeNorth Easy Start – a first mortgage scheme for first home buyers with family incomes ranging between $300 and $600 per week.
2. HomeNorth Extra Start – a second mortgage assistance scheme to assist those with family incomes ranging between $601 and $900 per week.
3. HomeNorth Sales – a low interest vendor financing scheme to assist tenants of Housing Commission dwellings to purchase the home they occupy.

The schemes are subject to assessments of family income to ensure the eligibility under the Commonwealth State Housing Agreements and the Home Purchase Assistance Account. Details of income levels, interest rates and repayments are attached to the Submission.

Read the Cabinet decision:  Submission No. 5863 / Decision No. 6850 of 28 May 1991 (relates to Decisions 6851and 6858) PDF (8.6 MB)

Consistent with the road safety policy to reduce the Northern Territory’s road fatality and injury levels, Government approved amendments to traffic legislation to ban riding in the open load space of vehicles from 1 January 1994, and the requirement for drivers of vehicles to have a zero blood-alcohol level when carrying passengers in the open load space.

These amendments followed the high number of deaths of persons killed while riding unrestrained in the open load space of vehicles between 1978 and 1990, the statistics of which are contained in the Submission.

The Submission includes the cost to the community for spinal injuries, and discusses a road safety research study undertaken by the United Kingdom, which examined back of trucks accidents in Papua New Guinea and the effectiveness of roll cages.

The Submission also approved amendment to motor vehicle legislation to give the Registrar of Motor Vehicles the power to approve modification of vehicles used in remote communities to provide protection for passengers travelling in an open load space in the event of a roll-over. This provision was required for vehicles in remote communities where conventional transport was not a practical proposition due to poor local road conditions. Remote communities were given two years to modify vehicles.

An education and publicity program by the Road Safety Council was also approved.

Read the Cabinet decision:  Submission No. 5902 / Decision No. 6902 of 4 July 1991 PDF (5.3 MB)

The role of a district centre is to provide commercial, industry, recreational and community uses to cater for those attracted to the locality as a place to live or visit.

The purpose of this Submission was to note the scale and location of a district centre to serve a Berry Springs catchment population estimated at 14,000. This estimate was derived from the population horizon of one million contained in the Darwin Regional Land Use Structure Plan 1990, of which 10% were expected to reside in rural residential circumstances. In March 1991, the population of the Berry Springs catchment was estimated at between 800 and 900 persons.

Attached to the Submission is the ‘Berry Springs District Centre – Progress Report’. The report includes an evaluation of two other site options, development phases, design principles including commercial and retail services, tourist accommodation, a junior high school site, residential lot sizes and use of septic tanks, infrastructure considerations including possible adverse impacts of run-off and effluent on the Berry Springs Nature Park and Territory Wildlife Park, and strategies to minimise the impact of stormwater drainage on the District Centre and Berry Creek.

Government noted the information in the Report.

Read the Cabinet decision:  Submission No. 5905 / Decision No. 6909 of 11 July 1991 PDF (13.9 MB)

The purpose of this Submission was to approve the drafting of a Public Sector Employment and Management bill incorporating principles relating to the delineation of the functions, responsibilities and accountability of both Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and the Public Service Commissioner, simplification of human resource management procedures, and increased staff mobility across the Public Sector.

The need for new legislation arose when it was identified that separate employment arrangements for the public service, the teaching service, and the Power and Water Authority posed barriers to Government’s capacity to deploy and manage staff, as circumstances demand. The new legislation provided the opportunity for flexible management structures to be introduced and deficiencies identified by CEOs to be addressed.

In the Decision, Government approved the drafting of a bill that will apply to all public sector employees, and will include objectives relating to personnel and management practices, ethical values and the conduct of employees. It also replaced the Office of the Public Service Commissioner with the Office of a Commissioner for Public Employment whose functions, as the statutory employer, will be concerned with issues of corporate principles and policies rather than with departmental operational matters.

Further detail is available in the Submission.

Read the Cabinet decision:  Submission No. 5950 / Decision No. 6965 of 16 August 1991 PDF (3.3 MB)

The purpose of this Submission was to note the Report of the Working Party on Equal Opportunity legislation, and to consider the grounds and areas for equal opportunity legislation.

Australian States started developing equal opportunity or anti-discrimination legislation in 1977.

In 1990, the Territory Government approved the drafting of equal opportunity legislation that reflect the preferences of the Territory community, and would support the policy statements of previous Ministers and Chief Ministers: "... that each person has the right to be treated with dignity and to make decisions unrestricted by assumptions based on prejudice".

A comparative table is attached, showing the grounds of discrimination applicable in other Australian State and Commonwealth Governments.

700 copies of a community discussion paper were distributed to seek public comment on the grounds of discrimination, and on areas for prohibition of discrimination. 30 written submissions were received, which indicated wide community support for the proposed grounds for discrimination.

The Submission discusses the community’s position on grounds for discrimination including age, sexuality, sexual harassment, and impairment or disability. It also discusses additional grounds for discrimination identified by the Working Party but not included in the discussion paper.

Also attached is a summary of case studies on actual complaints handed by the Western Australian, South Australian and Commonwealth Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Read the Cabinet decision:  Submission No. 6018 / Decision No. 7064 of 15 October 1991 PDF (14.9 MB)