The Northern Territory government’s ability to deliver on a number of significant initiatives, including domestic violence projects and statehood, is “in doubt”, an inadvertently published internal report from the department of the chief minister has revealed.
The 20-page internal update shows an apparent lack of confidence within the Department of Chief Minister in the delivery of initiatives including Indigenous policies and much-lauded economic projects, just two months out from the NT election.
Staffing levels and structure are frequently cited issues, and a lack of “critical, analytical thinkers” is among reasons given for “problematic” outlooks for three areas of policy development and coordination outcomes.
The Council of Australian Governments initiative to reduce violence against women and their children is among those listed where the department’s confidence that the project will be delivered is listed as “in doubt”.
The department warned the initiative was at risk due to not having the right structure, people or resources. It also noted problems with the integration of existing strategies and a national framework.
“Coag initiatives will largely require additional resources or a redirection of resources which is a key issue for the NT,” it said. “Risk is a matter of scope of implementation – NT can deliver to the level of resources available.”
The NT budget, delivered at the end of May, allocated $6.77m to support domestic violence prevention initiatives as part of the domestic and family violence reduction strategy.
Recommendations put forward to Coag in April by the prime minister’s advisory panel to reduce violence against women were supported in principle and will now be considered by jurisdictions in creating their action plans this year.
The DCM document also revealed a “lack of staff capacity/capability is a challenge,” in the delivery of the Coag national Indigenous economic framework, which seeks to improve social outcomes and includes key Close the Gap targets.
However, it was expected “momentum will increase” when the project plan is accepted by other Australian jurisdictions.
Progress on the Northern Territory’s push for statehood has “stalled both domestically and in the negotiations with the Commonwealth, which has indicated it does not support the statehood bid,” it said.
The document noted the chief minister “appears to be taking a low-key approach to statehood at the moment”, but when it was put to Giles during estimates on Wednesday, he maintained the 2018 bid for statehood remained on track.
Other projects spruiked by the NT government, including the northern gas pipeline, a luxury hotel development, an international boarding school, a $1.5bn prawn farm, and the Ord River irrigation expansion, are also in doubt, as are a number of LNG projects, including expansions of the Ichthys project and development of a Mt Isa to Tennant Creek railway.
The document, obtained by Guardian Australia, was purportedly made available on the intranet of the chief minister’s department , which is accessible by people from other sides of parliament.
It provides updates for April and May 2016 to the department’s board of management and “has never been designed for external distribution,” DCM’s head of communications Jo Brosnan, told Guardian Australia.
Brosnan said the risk rating system – including colour-coding and the terms “successful delivery in doubt” – was standard terminology and not designed to be understood by a broader audience.
“This is not a description tailored to the projects in the document ... It is standard terminology in the risk profile which is selected according to the complexity of the project. That’s why almost all major projects are amber – that is always their risk profile.”
Brosnan said the risk rating meant that progress was on track but there was a relatively medium risk of success “due to the inherent complexity/environmental factors of the initiative.”
Of the 113 initiatives listed, 33 are considered “in doubt” or “problematic”, but Guardian Australia understands there is internal frustration with the wording, which they believe makes it look worse than it is. Another 24 are listed as “highly likely” for successful delivery, including native title framework education, population policy, and economic development on the Tiwi Islands.
A departmental head told the hearings the document was simply to flag concerns.
“This document proves the CLP can’t be trusted when they say their government is ‘on track’,” the NT opposition leader, Michael Gunner, said.
“In fact, the document reveals that just two months out of an election many of the CLP’s projects and initiatives are in complete and utter chaos, much like their government.”
The document shows numerous examples that what Adam Giles and the CLP say publicly is often at odds with the reality. It’s little wonder that Territorians don’t trust this CLP government.”
.jpg?w=600)
