PM's visit poorly planned political stunt: Snowdon

4
1219

p1919warrensnowdon
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
 
Sir – Yesterday’s visit to the Alice by Prime Minister Turnbull was a poorly planned shameless political stunt.
 
While it is always good to have Prime Minister’s visit this wonderful place you’d reckon he would have come here with a clear purpose in mind. That is not what happened.
 
In a stumbling bumbling interview on ABC radio he showed how ill prepared and poorly briefed he was for his visit.
 
He ummed and aahed his way through the interview, but was unable to respond to simple questions, although he did make it clear that he was not prepared to support legislation that would give Territorians the right to make laws that other jurisdictions are able to.
 
He then visited a local preschool where he didn’t reveal the fact that the Turnbull Government has made no ongoing commitment to the funding of universal childcare beyond the 2018-19 financial year, affecting 1986 children and the loss of $2.49m in Lingiari alone.
 
Nor did he address the broader cuts to education funding for schools and universities and in particular the Territory’s Charles Darwin University.
 
While being apparently prepared to discuss the NT Land Rights Act he made no arrangement to meet with the Central Land Council, a Federal Government statutory body, to discuss their role and responsibilities in working for the interests of traditional owners in the southern half of the Territory.
 
Nor did he apparently see the need to meet with any other of the major Aboriginal organisations in the town, including Tangentyere Council who are responsible for the town camps in the Alice.
 
Most concerning was his failure to organise to meet with the town camp women who were unable to meet with the Prime Minister in Canberra despite having travelled there to discuss issues of family violence and the welfare of their children.
 
He did not address the ongoing concern of Aboriginal Territorians for a national representative body or voice.
 
There are many other issues which he has studiously avoided addressing while here including the ongoing failure of CDP and the issues of housing and other infrastructure for town camps and remote communities alike, and the issue of roads.
 
He also again refused to accept the need for the Commonwealth to stump up dollars to address the recommendations for the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the NT, a Royal Commission which Mr Turnbull was a partner to calling and funding.
 
Warren Snowdon
MHR for Lingiari
 
 
 

4 COMMENTS

  1. Turnbull was here for one day, he’s probably spent more time in Alice Springs this year than Snowdon!

  2. I did some digging around and it seems that Malcolms “two day” visit to Tennant Creek amounted to about 11 hours on the actual ground doing things with the people of Tennant Creek.
    He only showed because of the intense media pressure on him after that toddler got raped and for no other reason.
    Hell, he didn’t even show up when Darwin got wrecked by that cyclone at the start of the year.

  3. Warren literally lives here in Alice Springs WITH his daughters and partner. It’s common knowledge.

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