ESTIMATES COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS – 17 JUNE 2010
Mr CONLAN: That is true. Every airstrip in the country has wildlife access.
Mr CONLAN: Well it is true. Every airstrip in the country has wildlife access – cows, buffalo, camels
and …
Mr VATSKALIS: True, but not in the …
Ms SCRYMGOUR: Those had a lot of communities that did not have sealed airstrips where
aeromedical never used to land. That is true.
Mr WOOD: They landed on the Daly.
Mr CHAIRMAN: The call is with the shadow minister.
Mr CONLAN: The question was that what advice has the Defence department provided you with the
number of wallabies that are …
Mr VATSKALIS: They continue the cull. I know they continue to cull. Robyn, have you
any additional
advice?
Ms CAHILL: Robyn Cahill, Director Systems Performance. Just recently, we had indication from Pearl
that they would be willing to reconsider landing at Katherine, so we consulted with Defence as to their
view as to the numbers. Their concern was they were unable to ascertain the numbers due to the late
Wet and the inability to actually clear the area. They were concerned that, once
the burn occurred, the
numbers would be significant. So, we took that into consideration as to what we would do.
We have indicated to Pearl we are willing to do a case-by-case review and, if they feel the risk of not
landing there is greater than the risk of landing there, we can actually allow that to happen in
Katherine. In terms of other airstrips, there have been occasions in other airstrips where they have not
been able to land because of wallaby numbers, and they do an assessment prior to
landing at each of
the remote strips. Somebody goes and checks and clears.
Mr VATSKALIS: We also have the helicopter, which is available for night flies to Katherine and from
Katherine.
Mr CONLAN: Yes. But, just to make that point that there are airstrips around. Every airstrip is subject
to wildlife. Sydney airport has major bird hazards, for example. So, it is not …
Mr VATSKALIS: As Darwin has. The problem with the wallabies in Katherine is the type of aircraft we
use, which actually is a small aeroplane.
Mr CONLAN: Well, they are not that small. We are not talking about a 172, for example. It is a
Beechcraft or – what do we have?
Mr VATSKALIS: Yes, but hitting a wallaby during take off and losing a wheel could be a disaster,
really.
Mr CONLAN: Yes, there is no doubt about it. But, the onus should be resting on the pilot, and the
government should be encouraging the contractor to land ...
Mr VATSKALIS: The safety of the pilot and the passengers comes first.
Mr CONLAN: Yes, that is right. Okay. So, after the burn - and I believe there will be a cull after the
ESTIMATES COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS – 17 JUNE 2010
burn, say in August, September - they will assess the numbers. My information it is about 400 or so.
Then, take up discussion with Pearl from there - is that how it is going to work?
Mr VATSKALIS: Well, with the new provider.
Mr CONLAN: I believe there are
a couple of other questions, but I will, of course ...
Mr CHAIRMAN: Member for Nelson, 2.1? We are going to lunch in 12 minutes.
Mr WOOD: Okay. First of all, a general question about RDH, and it is in regard to maintenance. I
visited the hospital recently, and the one thing that hit me straight away - and I was going there,
unfortunately, to see a relation who was dying - was the state of the car park at RDH is this. For a
hospital that should pride itself on cleanliness inside, the outside was a disgrace. That is a photo I
took a week later from when
I first visited, and the whole of the car park looks like that. Oncology does
not, the palliative care does not, but the car park radiate.
The other thing I noticed, minister, because I was there for quite a while just looking - external
windows are very dirty. I was going to ask as well, is there an external maintenance program? When
was it last done in relation to cleaning the windows? I know it is a
difficult building; I am not that silly, I
have had a look at the building and it is not an easy building to maintain from the outside. Is there a
maintenance contractor who mows the grass and picks up all the rubbish?
Mr VATSKALIS: I know it is a very difficult building to maintain, that you cannot stand up on the snow
sills and clean the windows. I will let Ms Liz Stackhouse, the General Manager of the Royal Darwin
Hospital, respond to that.
Ms STACKHOUSE: Thank you, minister. Liz Stackhouse, General Manager of Royal Darwin
Hospital. Over the weekend and during this week, the external contractor has been
in to clean all the
windows. We only do it in the Dry because it is too difficult in the Wet ...
Mr WOOD: You saw my camera coming along.
Ms STACKHOUSE: Yes, annual program. That is currently being done and we are about halfway
through that. We do have two members of staff who are groundsmen, who mow the lawns and
remove the litter. It is a very big campus, so they move around the campus. I know the helicopter pad
was mowed last week.
Mr WOOD: But this was rubbish, minister, this is rubbish, it should not be there, and it is also the first
contact for a
lot of people, even though this is one of the worst car parks to find a place in.
Mr VATSKALIS: That is true.
Mr WOOD: I am not going to ask you about car parking spaces, but this is the first contact a lot of
people have, and they see it straight away, and for me it is disappointing.
Ms STACKHOUSE: Yes, for me it is disappointing that Territorians litter and do not actually use the
rubbish tins that are throughout the campus, but we do have a rolling program of removing
the waste,
including collecting the litter. So, hopefully, next time you are back, that will not be there.
Mr WOOD: And the grass will be …
Ms STACKHOUSE: Well, it is difficult actually, you know, between the car parks, to take the mowers.
Mr WOOD: I realise that.