Dear Editor,

I want to write a letter to all Territorians explaining why they should vote YES in the upcoming referendum, widely known as “The Voice”. This is not about individual, genuine and core beliefs of why they should vote yes or no, as these must be stood aside for now.

This is about what is best for the Territory and the people in it who already benefit from what is a glorious gravy train that will flow faster and thicker in the event of a successful Yes vote.

This is why you should vote Yes.

The Northern Territory already enjoys a wonderful inflow of cash from the Feds that flows like a Top End river in January. A very large majority of this cash coming into the NT is for Indigenous disadvantage. However, repetitive governments use this money for other reasons, primarily for political benefit.

Most of it ends up in Darwin, far from its intended purpose, and certainly not to address Indigenous disadvantage in regional communities. With the high rate of the Indigenous population in the NT, we can only assume that in the event of a successful Yes vote, more Indigenous influence on our federal politicians will lead to cash flowing at even greater rates than what we have today.

Just think, we could have another waterpark in the Northern Suburbs built 5km from the new Casuarina Swimming Pool, which is undergoing a $27M renovation, just 5km from Leanyer water park that is free to attend. We can do the same out in Palmerston with another water park in the new suburbs, only 5km from the Palmerston Swimming Pool, which is getting a $15M renovation and just 5km from the current water park. Maybe the new Palmy waterpark can be built by another developer who is a donor to the current party in government, just like the Palmerston swimming pool developer who was found to have engaged in “corrupt” behaviour while using $12M of taxpayer funds to develop a grandstand for his private business at a club where he was the chairman.

Or maybe we can have another $165M overpass on the Tiger for the hectic traffic that plagues the working population in the thriving metropolis of Darwin City. However, I do note that the day of these commuters always improves as they approach the city and drive on the recently beautified $38M entrance road that has a token rock acknowledging the people to whom the funds were meant to be directed.

The new CDU City Campus surely needs a few more floors because I know the Casuarina and Palmerston campuses have been grappling with atrocious overcrowding for the past decade at least. Although we must make sure we don’t fund any new lecturers or trainers at the expense of the new building.

Also, there is still some land left in the Marrara sporting area after every child in the Northern Suburbs seems to have been provided with their own world-class sporting facility. It would be remiss of us not to build an air-conditioned marbles arena that seats 5000 people and give it a token Indigenous name to show that we acknowledge the funds’ intended purpose.

The proposed $50M Northern Land Council’s building at Berrimah could have a museum built within it showcasing the journey its people have been on to reach the level of disadvantage they are at today, which has funded the beautiful building it is in. However, we mustn’t ignore what is happening in the community over the road.

The list goes on: we can build more bitumen roads to prawn farms that will never be built, another water bottling plant with vanishing investment, more police stations but no police, a third hospital even though we cannot staff the first and second ones, and more shadeless shade structures over roads to combat the heat as a substitute for trees that are free.

But voting YES is not just for those who want to see the Government fund new buildings and roads.

Our politicians will have more money to control and manipulate, be a bigger part of our economy, employ more of their family, and interfere more in your life. $5000 will no longer be the limit for hiring a living room-sized Christmas tree, and $93,000 will no longer be the limit for the Chief Minister and a staffer to travel to the USA for no reason.

We can have more public servants and executives to deliver the extra-funded programs, and, of course, the developers will need to build them a high rise to work in. Local businesses that focus on government contracts will flourish with work in Darwin and out in the regions. NGOs and their Darwin offices, while tiers of executives and managers, will need to swell to tackle “Indigenous disadvantage” and, well, other things too, of course.

Industry groups that ironically need government money to survive can cash up to support more Government initiatives, as Government stifles their members. Community groups and clubs can increase their government grant funding to record levels per capita in the developed world.

Now, it would be rational to think that a bulk of the Indigenous population will be voting Yes, however with the misguided perception that things will improve for them. Children will stop getting abused and neglected, domestic violence will decline, health and education will improve, and our government and public service will make decisions in their best interest. It is this misguided belief that will equate to all the Yes votes from Indigenous Territorians and those Territorians who really benefit, that we can expect a successful Yes vote here in the NT.

Territorians are not known for voting in a manner that is best for the Territory in the long run. We are mostly here for a short period of time, and we want as much in our pockets in the next election period as possible. So come referendum day, I encourage all Territorians to walk into the booth, grab your 2B pencil, stand well back from the ballot paper, extend your “handout” like you know a good Territorian can, push your core beliefs aside, and write YES.

– Owen Pike, Darwin

Owen Pike is a local businessman and owner of the NT Independent. The views expressed are his own.

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