Labor failure predicted.

Dear Sir,

Back in August 2001 when Labor came to power here in the Northern Territory I warned in these pages that the new government should be very careful how they run things if they were going to avoid becoming a clone of other failed Labor states such as New South Wales.

Whilst New South Wales is now a basket case thanks to the pathetically incompetent “stewardship” of the Carr/Iemma Government, it has become clear that the Martin/Henderson Government has in fact followed the same disastrous script as their southern Labor counterparts. Sadly the Northern Territory is of course well on its way to becoming a carbon copy of NSW.

As I predicted in 2001:

*Labor has increased the size of the already bloated bureaucracy (by around 3,000 – at an ANNUAL cost to the taxpayer of at least $300 Million.

*Labor have hired “Labor Mates” (failed public service types – some local and others from the southern states) to “run” their departments and utilities. The Health Department, The Education Department, Worksafe and PowerWater are just some examples.

*Labor has embarked on a program of unnecessary regulation in almost all areas of territory life. From the swimming pool fencing fiasco, the abolition of an open speed limit on our highways to “over-the top” building regulations designed to keep the “leech-like” union bosses on side – Labor has decided that Government and ONLY Government “knows” best!

*Labor has squandered the GST revenue on all of the above and a whole lot more, leaving us vulnerable to a complete melt-down like NSW.





Henderson and his advisors need to come to grips with the magnitude of the mess they have created and hire some REAL managers with proven track records in the REAL world to seriously overhaul all areas of government before it is too late.

They cannot continue to depend on the Inpex Gas Plant and other private sector developments to hide the extent of the financial and administrative catastrophe that this Northern Territory Labor Government has produced.

If the Henderson Government continues on the same course the NT will become another NSW, albeit with the bonus of massive gas expenditure.

Surely the writing is on the wall – hopefully some hard decisions will be made.

Dave Wane

12th October, 2008