HERSEY LOVES A DISTRACTION WHILE SCHOOLS GO BACKWARDS

Thursday, 16 July 2026 The Finocchiaro CLP Government cannot leave health workers treating patients in a building affected by mould. Health workers at Casuarina Plaza are reportedly being asked to clean mould from medical and therapy equipment, including items used by children, with cleaning spray but without masks or proper protective equipment. They should be caring for patients, not cleaning mould and worrying about what it means for their own health. A safe workplace is a basic duty of care, and the Finocchiaro CLP Government is failing to provide one. Health Minister Steve Edgington needs to move staff and services out of Casuarina Plaza, arrange an independent assessment and make the findings public. He also needs to explain how long the Government has known about the mould and why taxpayers are still paying to lease the building. This is yet another example of the CLP Government not prioritising health for Territorians.

Tuesday, 14 July 2026 The Finocchiaro CLP Government’s decision to close Yilli Housing’s short-stay accommodation at Batten Road in just 90 days has been made with no clear plan for thousands of Territorians who rely on it each year. These are families travelling in from remote communities for medical treatment and to access other essential services who will now be left without accommodation when they come to Darwin. Yilli Housing says 25 staff will also lose their jobs as a result of this short-sighted decision, with Mission Australia staff and long-term tenants at the site also expected to be affected. Robyn Cahill’s priorities are completely backwards; her first responsibility should be making sure vulnerable Territorians have somewhere safe to stay, not closing the accommodation they rely on with no alternative in place. In the same week Robyn Cahill announced another homelessness advisory group, she is overseeing the closure of one of Darwin’s largest accommodation providers for people who desperately need support. The CLP should not make this snap decision which will leave Territory families, workers and already stretched services to carry the consequences.  The CLP need to put this closure on hold and keep Yilli operating until every Territorian and family impacted has a safe place to live and the support they need.

Tuesday, 14 July 2026 The Finocchiaro CLP Government’s decision to close Yilli Housing’s short-stay accommodation at Batten Road in just 90 days has been made with no clear plan for thousands of Territorians who rely on it each year. These are families travelling in from remote communities for medical treatment and to access other essential services who will now be left without accommodation when they come to Darwin. Yilli Housing says 25 staff will also lose their jobs as a result of this short-sighted decision, with Mission Australia staff and long-term tenants at the site also expected to be affected. Robyn Cahill’s priorities are completely backwards; her first responsibility should be making sure vulnerable Territorians have somewhere safe to stay, not closing the accommodation they rely on with no alternative in place. In the same week Robyn Cahill announced another homelessness advisory group, she is overseeing the closure of one of Darwin’s largest accommodation providers for people who desperately need support. The CLP should not make this snap decision which will leave Territory families, workers and already stretched services to carry the consequences.  The CLP need to put this closure on hold and keep Yilli operating until every Territorian and family impacted has a safe place to live and the support they need.

Tuesday, 16 June 2026 Today in Estimates, it was revealed that the CLP Government has so far invested $33 million into its truancy program, while school attendance continues to go backwards. Minister for Education Jo Hersey admitted there was no evidence that the truancy program was working, despite the Government continuing to fund it in this year’s Budget, and confirmed there is no plan to undertake an evaluation. Other key points from today: School attendance rates continue to drop across every region of the Territory. Students with additional needs are missing out on crucial in-classroom support, with only 44 support positions across the entire Territory. The Government has no plan to increase safety in schools for students and teachers, beyond enforcing an existing mobile phone ban. While the CLP wastes money and time on a failed truancy program and policing the national anthem, teachers and students aren’t getting the support they need and attendance continues to worsen. What is clear is that this is an Education Minister with the wrong priorities and the wrong approach to getting Territory kids back to school and making sure they have the support they need when they get there.

Tuesday, 16 June 2026 The integrity of the CLP’s Lobbyist Register is under a serious cloud, with revelations that a high-profile lobbyist was given a platform at a taxpayer-funded event despite his name not appearing on the register. Former federal Liberal Treasurer Joe Hockey was a headline speaker at the taxpayer-funded NT Investment Summit last year. His lobbying firm, Bondi Partners, is listed on the NT Lobbyist Register, but Mr Hockey himself is not listed as a lobbyist. The CLP can’t have it both ways. They can’t claim to have a transparent and functioning lobbyist register, then wave away concerns about an unlisted lobbyist rubbing shoulders with ministers and senior officials at a taxpayer-funded event. This is a disgraceful sidestep of their own Lobbyist Register. Every CLP Government minister needs to disclose who met with Mr Hockey in Darwin, whether those meetings were formal or informal, and whether their own Lobbyist Register Code of Conduct may have been breached. They also need to disclose if Mr Hockey met with ministerial staff, the Territory Coordinator, departmental officials or any other government representative, and whether Territory projects were discussed. The CLP’s version of a Lobbyist Register was always a flimsy attempt at transparency, but this shows just how meaningless it really is.

Tuesday, 16 June 2026 Tonight, in Estimates, Minister for Children and Families Robyn Cahill provided data that showed children and families are not getting the support they need early enough. Key facts: The Government’s $6.6 million Circuit Breaker program has resulted in only 42 referrals to safe places. Only 24 referrals have been made to domestic violence services. The majority of funding is still going to the tertiary end of the system, rather than prevention and early support. Intensive therapeutic out of home care costs $750,000 per bed per year, the same as a median house price. Child protection caseworkers remain under enormous pressure, with high caseloads and a 25 per cent vacancy rate. Around 90% of investigations are taking longer than six weeks. The Minister could not say what new specialist domestic violence programs would be funded, including in regions like Big Rivers. Could not say how many women and children are turned away from DFSV crisis accommodation. When pushed for other key child protection data, the Minister said the systems either do not capture it or could not provide it. Legislative change alone will not fix these pressures. If the CLP are serious about protecting children and supporting families, they need to invest in more frontline workers, stronger domestic violence services, better family support, and real early intervention and prevention. Children, families and frontline workers deserve a child protection system that is properly funded, properly supported and focused on keeping children safe.

Monday, 15 June 2026 Today’s Estimates hearing laid bare the Finocchiaro CLP Government’s failure to invest in critical social and affordable housing. In the middle of a housing crisis, it is clear that addressing housing shortages is not a priority for the CLP Government, with multiple ministers unable to provide a clear plan for delivery. Key facts from today: Almost 5,500 Territorians are waiting for social housing. Only around 150 additional social homes are being delivered over the next year. Total social housing stock has gone backwards in the past year. Fewer homes are being built under the Remote Housing Agreement. Ministers could not say how many new houses will be built on town camps. From social housing to remote housing and town camps, the pattern is the same. Delivery is going backwards, and the funding is not there.

Tuesday, 15 June 2026 Today in Estimates, Health Minister Steve Edgington ruled out a new hospital because there are only two and a half years until the next election and it could not be built before then. That means the Finocchiaro CLP Government is making decisions about critical health infrastructure based on the election cycle, not the needs of Territorians.  On the day-to-day pressures in the health system, Steve Edgington took question after question on notice and did not know: How many ambulance calls were not responded to How often ambulances were unavailable for immediate response in Tennant Creek, Katherine, Darwin, Palmerston or Alice Springs How many elective surgeries have been delayed or postponed because of Code Yellow The cost of transferring patient’s interstate, despite confirming 2,975 patients were transferred How many remote community clinics can provide x-rays The regional breakdown of elective surgery waiting lists across the reporting period The same lack of answers continued when Steve Edgington was asked about planning for a future hospital. He could not explain why Chris Hosking needed a new taxpayer-funded role to do work that should be led by the health system. He also would not say how much money has been allocated in the Budget for master planning work. If Steve Edgington cannot answer basic questions about the health system he runs, and cannot explain the plan for what comes next, Territorians are entitled to ask whether he is up to the job.

Thursday, 11 June 2026 Five key things to know from today’s Estimates hearing with Corrections Minister Gerard Maley. First, the Finocchiaro CLP Government could not point to one rehabilitation program that was achieving an outcome. Second, Gerard Maley could not provide any recidivism data for young people in youth justice. Third, Commissioner Matthew Varley confirmed hundreds of people are being released from the corrections system and dropped at the Palmerston bus stop unsupported. Fourth, the Government has spent $1.24 million transferring young people from Alice Springs to Darwin Youth Justice Centre. Fifth, $13.84 million has been spent on G4S private correction security, while prisoners continue to slip through their fingers. The CLP talks about rehabilitation, but today showed they cannot track outcomes, cannot explain the support people get when they leave custody, and cannot prove this money is making the community safer.