It has been less than 48 hours since the Country Liberal Party’s landslide election win became clear, but the tone of the Northern Territory’s new government has already been set.
Incoming chief minister Lia Finocchiaro, addressing the media at parliament on Monday, said her “number one priority” was community safety.
“Steps must be taken to address that immediately,” she said.
Those steps have included drafting a suite of law reform legislation ahead of the next parliament sittings, which is slated to be in mid-to-late October.
Ms Finocchiaro on Monday said “Declan’s Law”, which will include a presumption against bail on “serious violent offenders” and other bail reforms, would be ready to introduce in week one of the new parliament.
The CLP has also promised to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 10, and give police greater powers around wanding and dealing with public drinking at the first parliament sittings.
In another signal to the new government’s steadfast commitment to overturning crime, Ms Finocchiaro met with Police Commissioner Michael Murphy on Sunday and NT Police Association (NTPA) president Nathan Finn on Monday.
She said the meetings outlined “the important steps that must be taken to restore community safety to all Territorians”.
“This election has been an opportunity for all Territorians to show very clearly that they are focused on having a safe place to live, work and invest,” Ms Finocchiaro said.
“They want our police to be supported, they want our police to have better powers and they want to feel safe when they’re in their homes, going to work, and are out and about in our community.
“I made it very clear to both the NTPA president and the police commissioner that our police have my full support.”
The new leader also met with Ken Davies, the head of the Chief Minister and Cabinet Department, pledging to bring the public service “on this journey of change”.
“There is much work to do, and the days and weeks ahead will be very busy — but our priorities are very clear,” she said.
When asked if she had spoken to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese since the CLP’s resounding election win on Saturday, Ms Finocchiaro said she had not yet “had the chance”.
But the NT’s new leader said there was “no question we have a huge agenda for the federal government”.
“The territory isn’t getting its fair share … there [are] infrastructure deficits that need to be addressed,” she said.
The new cabinet is expected to be announced in the coming days, with deputy CLP leader Gerard Maley poised to pick up major portfolios such as alcohol policy, defence industries and infrastructure.
Ms Finocchiaro has promised to take on the police minister role, in line with her commitment to back the force and retain officers.
holding the shadow portfolio during opposition, while Katherine MLA Jo Hersey is likely to pick up the education ministry among others.
But with some experienced new members in the team, the make-up of the front bench remains to be seen.
Robyn Cahill or Jinson Charls, the incoming members for Port Darwin and Sanderson, are each well placed to become health minister, with both bringing decades of health experience to the parliament chambers.
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