EMPTINESS

THE NT IS IN DIRE STRAITS

The Northern Territory is Bankrupt

NTG is going In hand of the federal government asking for yet another financial bail-out because the present state of finances in the Northern Territory means the government is not sustainable. The Northern Territory government is expanding in order of $4 million a day more than it has in terms of revenue coming in. That is in order of $760,000,000 a year.

The Northern Territory government is broke. It cannot sustain itself. At present the Northern Territory government is borrowing money to pay salaries and entitlements out to people. It is also borrowing to pay the interest bill on previous borrowings. Yet it is still handing out grants to sporting, social and other organisations as if $100 bills were autumn leaves! Where is the sense of accountability and responsibility?

And why would the Chief Minister lie low on the subject for several days before leaving town on overseas holiday?

What For and Where to Now?

Treasurer Nicole Manison is going to Federal Treasurer Josh Fridenberg seeking additional funding as a bailout package.

This is not with standing additional monies that have been acquired by the local government from federal largesse during the past few months.

The Northern Territory government is so broke that it is capable of sustaining only 50% of the programs that has in place.

The Territory is a breadbasket case. In terms of our capacity to run our financial affairs, we have gone from princely management to a position of abject pauperism. We are in dire straits and no bailout will fix our long term profligate attitude. So much money is wasted without thought.

Only a return to management by Canberra will fix the mess in which we find ourselves.

DARWIN – ITS ‘CORE’ HAS COLLAPSED, ITS ‘SOUL’ IS EMPTY

CITY OF DARWIN DEMISE – IT’S ‘CORE’ HAS COLLAPSED AND IT’S ‘SOUL’ IS EMPTY

Fixing the CBD has been about plan saturation and what often turns out to be wasted money on half baked ideas for years and years and years. The mall has been modified in a ‘tinsel and glitter’ sense by modification after modification … at least four times. The CBD situation has been about wasted money and the place is getting worse and worse.

We have lived in Darwin for 31 years and before that elsewhere around the NT. In that time, the city has turned into a place of atmospheric decrepidness. I would no more take our grandchildren into the CBD, other than for medical appointments, than fly in the air.

But don’t fret! The older suburbs have suffered similar demise. The integrated housing policy has played a part in this, along with the city council paying scant attention to the appearance of street verges, most parks and the majority of public spaces. Of course, the itinerant invasion has not helped when it comes to public spaces and parks, but government at both local and territory level is unable, unwilling ore not wanting to do anything about alleviation and fixing the issues.

The city, suburbs, shopping centres, schools, commercial, industrial, retail businesses or areas helped by being broken into nights on end.

THERE IS MORE to this issue and the NT News regularly calls the problems out. We have lived in the same house in the same street since arriving in Darwin and the issues of itinerancy, vagrancy, integrated housing policies, run down public housing (three houses within a radius of 400 metres from where we live) are alive, ‘well’ and growing all around us in the Northern Suburbs. These issues are not seen or understood by most of our politicans, many of our aldermen , the majority of our senior public servants, nor our lawmakers. These people move into the new suburbs, into city apartments, down to Cullen Bay, Bayview, upmarket Larrakeyah and scattered, gated pockets of exclusive residential living.

From a ‘living’ point of view, they have no clues about life and living in the older suburbs – which were once comfortable and decent with well kept yards and street frontage. They have ‘escaped’ and the matters of which I speak confront them only when it comes to election time. And then I am convinced they visit into their electorates and briefly as possible and often with closed eyes of mind and awareness.

The city centre, immediate surrounds and suburbs have issues that no amount of capital works injection will fix.

A sad misnomer is the belief that tou will fix the city. It can’t and it won’t. The city and suburbs have to be places that appeal to long term people in a ‘I WANT to be here’ sense. Tourists – and fewer and fewer of them – flit into and out of Darwin and the Territory, often with tales of being bailed up by itinerants or robbed and often with stories of being bemused by vacant shops, little shopping and so on. Long term territory residents are regarded as second class citizens. It is the atmosphere of this place that is all wrong. It is the look and the appearance of this place that has gone to pot.

Too often visions look beyond and overlook reality. Big picture stuff does not hide the present issues confronting this place. Those issues COULD AND SHOULD be addressed, but decision makers and law creators are not game. It’s time for them all to read a copy of Frederick Wirt’s (circa 1992) paper, or to reflect upon his writing (of) ‘will the centre hold’.

DARWIN’S CBD – GHOSTING TAKING OVER

MORE CBD GHOSTING

Betts and Betts close.
Another Clothing shop shuts.
Now the Darwin Cinemas are going west.
(Patrons may be sick of the parking challenges and having to run the gauntlet of itinerants and inebriated persons in getting into the theatre. They may also be over wondering what condition their cars will be in when they emerge from the cinema.)
Wicking’s cartoon in the NTN News today sums it up well.

Apparently the cinema site and the Ducks Nuts next door (previously shut) may become ANOTHER hotel.
Like we NEED another hotel.

Planning boundless
CBD bankrupcy possible.

What a sad situation.