“I am generally upbeat about the Government’s performance over the last two years and the need to rein in the large inherited deficit,” says Neil McLeod, the vice-chairman of the Alice Springs Chamber of Commerce, in a comment on two years of CLP government.
He says this needed to be done before the government could “embark on spending on capital works and service / supply contracts”.
Mr McLeod said: “In particular, the Giles government must be given credit for the work done in promoting the Territory to potential investors as part of the Northern Australia Development Plan.
“In fact Adam managed to get Alice Springs included in the plan and it is the only place south of the Tropic of Capricorn that is included.
“Regarding the police presence at takeaway liquor outlets, this has resulted in a reduction in antisocial behaviour and the police have advised that the resources used in individual police officers being stationed at outlets has proven to be less than the resources used in the past to deal with the consequences.
“In addition, the reduction in the use of other resources e.g. accident and emergency at the hospital, must also be viewed as a positive.”
IMAGE from the Office of Northern Australia website.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
The freedom of the press still furnishes that check upon government which no constitution has ever been able to provide – Chicago Tribune.
Try and get police to attend a break and enter or a rock throwing or a bashing during bottle shop opening hours, Mr McLeod. I know from experience it won’t happen. Because the police are standing outside bottle shops.
And I’m sure I read somewhere, maybe the Alice News, that it costs more than $3 million a year to station police outside bottle shops. Given this policy requires more police resources, not less, how on earth can this be a saving to the public purse?
And while Adam Giles used the excuse of making Alice Springs part of his mythical northern development to justify a very expensive private jet back from Vietnam last year, tell me where in the NT Government’s submission to the Select Committee on Northern Development are there any plans for the future of Alice Springs?