Leader of the Opposition Selena Uibo Answers Questions from Young Territorians

Once a Labor Party Minister, and now the opposition leader after Labor’s landslide election loss, Selena Uibo bears the huge responsibility of rebuilding the Territory Labor Party to regain the trust of Territorians, while holding the Government accountable. But with recent controversies around political integrity, and concerns about the effectiveness of the Labor opposition, how has she repositioned her leadership and the Party, and what is her message for the disillusioned young people? The Student Spotlight sat down with Selena Uibo to find out.

Q: Let’s start by addressing the recent controversy involving you misusing a taxpayer-funded chauffeur service. You have already apologised and promised to pay the funds back, but considering that we already had two former Territory Labor leaders under investigation for issues with political integrity, does this reveal a systemic problem within the Party?

A:  I don’t believe that a problem exists in the Labor Party, but I do think that the structures and processes that guide us as Members of the Parliament here in the Northern Territory. Whether we have a position within the government, a position such as mine as the Leader of the Opposition, a position such as the Speaker, or indeed if we’re backbenchers here in the Northern Territory Parliament, that there has to be those guidelines. Now, when any of those guidelines or rules are broken, there are mechanisms and processes for that. In my case, with the misuse of the white car, there had been some blurred lines that I believe that are unacceptable to Territorians using the White Car to and from work to personal appointments, and I have reviewed that. I want to be very different in my leadership style. I also want to take accountability, if I’ve made a mistake and be open and honest with Territorians about that mistake and show Territorians I’m serious about continuing to lead my team so it can the government to account.

Q: Moving on to another subject, when you were first elected the Leader of the Opposition, you said you will make sure that the Labor Opposition is effective in holding the Government to account, more than a year later since the election, how well would you say you have done your job?

A: I’m a big believer in the learning journey as a former educator, so it has been a huge learning curve. Now in opposition, the 12 months has been a huge learning opportunity, but not without its challenges. To be able to hold 17 government members to account on the CLP side, by a team of four Labor opposition members is a huge challenge. The benefit is all four of our members have been in Parliament before, so we do understand the processes of Parliament. One of the big challenges with keeping a large government to account is being able to see the relationship with the media… I think there’s always a saving grace period straight after an election where the new government gets quite a bit of leniency from the media to be able to get themselves in order, and I think that period has now started to fade with 12 months in.. and that the media is now also starting to ask the similar questions that we’ve been asking of the government for the last 12 months around accountability, openness, and transparency… But there’s definitely a lot of pressure now on the government that’s not just coming from us.

Q: In the past year under the new CLP Government, we’ve seen the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility and many changes to the youth justice system that sparked outcry from youth service providers and advocates. Are we seeing a Government that is more hostile towards young people?

A: I think the disappointing thing is everyone loves to celebrate the success of young people and then there’s a demonisation of young people as well. And that unfortunately has become the heavy narrative of this current CLP government. There’s A shining light for some of our high achievers who are young, which is fantastic and there should always be that. But there’s also a middle ground of young people who are being left out of the conversation. I think there’s a real danger there of isolating young people, or the only narrative young people we may hear from the government in the media will be negative. I think that’s a huge huge opportunity that’s lost.

Q: As a politician with a background in youth advocacy, how can the youth stay resilient at a time when it is harder than ever to be heard?

A: I think I get asked that quite a bit, particularly in different ways when people are outraged or when they’re feeling powerless or voiceless in doing anything against it. My first response is always that I have great support around me with my family, with my friends and my staff. They’re phenomenal, and that keeps me going on those days when I may feel that I am not being heard or don’t have any voice. In a place like the Northern Territory Parliament, every single word that we say gets recorded in the hansard of the Parliament. Being able to use that opportunity to continue to advocate for or against something is so important and it’s such an honour and privilege to do… Whether the government acts on it or not. I can’t promise anything about that.