2014-10-23
Political Donations – Inquiry
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Your cover up of the slush fund Foundation 51 shows you cannot be trusted. Leaked e-mails reveal former Chief Minister Terry Mills had a directorial role; leaked e-mails also reveal you effectively stepped into that role after you knifed him. Slush fund director Graeme Lewis has said he had many conversations with you about it, and a draft press release was run past you as well. Details are now emerging of you failing to declare a gift of a four-wheel drive car you used to campaign in 2012. If you have nothing to hide, and to clear your name, will you immediately establish an independent commission against corruption?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, no. The Opposition Leader’s smear campaign has started; this is an opposition without any policies, and the only thing they can do is smear again. You have done it two days in a row – come in, spinner, today. Next week, I assume you will run exactly the same questions as those from yesterday and the day before.
It is time the opposition developed a policy platform from which to debate important issues in the Northern Territory. We have moved to set up an inquiry by the independent former Auditor-General Mr Frank McGuiness to look at the political donations process in the Northern Territory. That is a good process, and will look at how we move forward into the future and how it has worked in the past.
I challenge the opposition to develop some policies and start to debate policy in this Chamber. I understand it is difficult because we have come into government and, in two years, reduced crime substantially, reduced debt and grown the economy.
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: concise. We support an independent commission against corruption, but does the Chief Minister? Do you agree with our policy to hold an independent commission against corruption?
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mrs Lambley: You had 11 years to set up an ICAC.
Mr GILES: I pick up on the interjection by the Minister for Health. She pointed out that you were in government for over 11 years. You have a slush fund called Harold Nelson Holdings, which you filter union money through. Where does the union money come from? I did not see you set up an ICAC when you were in government, when you had a slush fund filtering that union and property money. You took a government asset known as Stella Maris and tried to filter that through your slush fund Harold Nelson Holdings, so you could put money back into the Labor Party. I did not see you set up an ICAC then.
We will be the only government to hold an inquiry into political donations in the last 15 years. I have not looked beyond that. You should be saying it is good to hold an inquiry. You did not do it on your watch, but we will. It is the same way in which we take action on a range of things, such as driving down debt and crime and driving up the economy. You will not talk about those matters; you want to talk about things you were not brave enough to do when in government with your own slush fund. We will do your job again.
Virgin Australia – Flights to Alice Springs
Mrs FINOCCHIARO to CHIEF MINISTER
Can you advise the Assembly of today’s good news from Virgin Australia about its Territory flights?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, is it not good to hear a question about the Territory and Territorians? It is not about looking at ourselves in this Chamber, because when you look at democracy here – we have just reflected on those terrible events overnight in Ottawa – Territorians elect us to represent them and provide a better Territory for the future.
What we heard yesterday from Virgin Australia was the result of a lot of hard work by me, the Ministers for Transport and Tourism and the team on trying to have Virgin create a bigger footprint in the Northern Territory. Yesterday afternoon, while there was a suspension of standing orders debate going on, I left the Chamber and met with Mr John Borghetti, the CEO of Virgin Australia.; we made a handshake deal, and Virgin is now coming back to the Territory.
Last night at a cocktail party John Borghetti announced Virgin will be setting up, I believe for the first time ever, a flight between Darwin and Alice Springs, with opportunities thereinafter to expand and continue. These flights will commence towards the end of March, around the same time the new Virgin lounge will open in Darwin. It will mean tourism and business opportunities, and will allow residents of the Territory a greater level of connectivity between different parts of Australia and the Territory. It is a good opportunity. It means we have the opportunity to break the monopoly service by our good friend Qantas – we are not knocking Qantas because the NT in Qantas stands for Northern Territory – and bring in a competitive environment so Territorians have a greater level of choice. To create better pathways for the Star Alliance in competition with One World is a good outcome for us. It is not just about us going out, more importantly, it is about people coming in, because that presents business and tourism opportunities and means jobs for Territorians into the future.
Let us reflect on the last question from the opposition. The last question was about looking at us, navel gazing, playing the man and trying to attack people. The second question – our first question – by the member for Drysdale, who cares about jobs and the economy, was about Territorians. That is what people want us to talk about in this Chamber. That is what they expect of us in representation, and that is what we will do.
We will continue to drive down crime to the lowest level since the 1990s. We will continue to drive down Labor debt like never seen before and continue to grow our economy.
Virgin’s announcement yesterday from John Borghetti is a prime example of how we put our open-for-business hats on and brought Virgin back. I do not think they have been back since 2004 or 2005, nearly 10 years ...
Ms Lawrie: You had nothing to do with it, it was a commercial decision.
Mr GILES: It was not a commercial decision. I will come back to that interjection in a further question down the track on how you roll out money in rolled gold and do not deliver on your services.
John Borghetti from Virgin, minister Conlan, minister Styles and the team – congratulations. Getting Virgin back here with a bigger footprint is great news for the Territory. It will only get better into the future.
Terry Mills – Removal from Position
Mr McCARTHY to CHIEF MINISTER
My question is about a Territorian. Yesterday the member for Fong Lim stated in the House:
- The creation of Foundation 51 was Terry Mills’ idea.
Copies of leaked e-mails from Graeme Lewis show $200 000 of Foundation 51 slush funds were used for the CLP’s 2012 election campaign and not declared, as required by law.
You stated in this House yesterday that you had nothing to do with Terry Mills’ appointment. That was wrong. Your own media release from April stated:
- Chief Minister Adam Giles has appointed … Terry Mills as the Northern Territory Commissioner to Indonesia and ASEAN.
I seek leave to table that media release.
Leave granted.
Mr McCARTHY: Terry Mills was your appointment, Chief Minister. He is the architect of the CLP slush fund, Foundation 51. Will you now show integrity and stand him down from a $750 000 taxpayer-funded role in Indonesia?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, getting back to my point about talking about ourselves rather than the Territory, we have just had a reflection of that in your second question.
Let us get to the nub of some of the truth and inaccuracies in your question. No one is employed on a $750 000 contract. You know that, you just like to say it because you have an audience. You know specifically that is not true. We can clear that out.
You also know, as I said yesterday and the day before, my job is to employ the CEOs, and the CEOs employ the public servants. That is the employment process. Yesterday and the day before, I think the member for Fannie Bay asked me to directly sack an employee of government. That would break the law – the Public Sector Employment and Management Act. You are asking me, in a democratic environment, to break the law.
You did not only go after Terry Mills; you publicly attacked many other senior Territorians in public service environments, then, during General Business yesterday afternoon, you ran a debate about attacks on Territory workers. I seriously thought about speaking in that debate, because the only people attacking Territory public servants are in opposition, with the hit list you have on who to sack on day one. That is an appalling way to be in opposition.
I said before – quite incorrectly – that the opposition does not have a policy. Maybe it does; maybe its policy is to name and shame and attack and sack public servants one by one, but we will defend those public servants. Your attacks on Mr Gary Barnes and Mr John Coleman were despicable …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Terry Mills was your appointment. He is on a $750 000 taxpayer package.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order.
Mr GILES: Very good. Play the man, not the ball.
Ms Lawrie: Directorial role in the slush fund.
Ms Walker: Play the little boy.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please pause. Opposition members, I ask that you cease interjecting – all of you. I would like to hear the question and the answer.
Mr GILES: I have cleared up the $750 000 lie, but the point about …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! He just used ‘lie’. Unless he wants to do it by way of substantive motion he should withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: I did not hear the Chief Minister call anyone a liar, Opposition Leader.
Ms LAWRIE: He said he cleared up the lie, so he has …
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Not only do we have the Macquarie Dictionary and the Collins dictionary, we now have the Lawrie dictionary of specific words permitted to be used inside the Chamber of this parliament. I would like to know all the other words in that dictionary.
I understand Terry is not paid that much money. It is ridiculous for you to say that. Your attacks on individual public servants – Gary Barnes, John Coleman and everyone else you have named in this Chamber is a disgrace ...
Ms Lawrie: How much is he on?
Mr McCarthy: Show us an invoice then.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please pause. Opposition members, I asked you to cease interjecting. Member for Barkly and Opposition Leader, you are both on a warning. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: I want to make it clear to every employee of the Territory government watching this: your employment is being attacked and put under scrutiny by the opposition, but the Country Liberals government will stand up and protect you to the hilt. It is appalling what you have done this week, and we will stand up and fight. I will not take any of it.
Economic Policies of CLP Government – Business Response
Mr BARRETT to CHIEF MINISTER
I am sorry the students have left because we are about to raise ourselves out of the swill we have been discussing and talk about the Northern Territory again for a nice change.
Can you please outline some of the positive business and consumer news that has recently been released regarding the direction of the Northern Territory economy? In particular, what do recent surveys show about the way the Territory business community is responding to the economic policies of the Country Liberal government?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain, the parliamentary secretary for business, for the opportunity to talk about the Territory and talk the Territory up. It is good to get a question like that. I know the member for Blain had an opportunity to see the most recent CommSec State of the States report, a report that looks at eight key areas and measures the performance of all states. The Northern Territory might be one-seventeenth of Australia’s land mass, 1.3 million square kilometres, but we only have 250 000 people, and we are competing against big jurisdictions such as New South Wales with 4.5 million people and Victoria with around three million people. If you look at the measurements across the eight indexes you see the Territory is leading in five of them. We are leading in retail spending around the nation, construction activity, economic growth and the lowest level of unemployment. It is a fantastic outcome. The largest purchase of major capital equipment – five out of eight leading areas, and we are catching up in others.
One area we are not leading in is housing finance and housing construction. However, we have $130m in the budget to release 6500 blocks across the Northern Territory, across 15 locations, which will start to see more and more housing being rolled out. We are already starting to see downward price pressures on the cost of living in the Northern Territory. Our CPI is now measured at 2.7%; it was 3.9%. It is a fantastic outcome for Territorians to see cost of living pressures coming down.
We are starting to see it in fuel. Raine & Horne reported that we are starting to see it across the housing market. We have more land release, and there will be greater levels of unit and housing construction, not just in the big centres but also in smaller centres across the Territory. It is a great outcome.
Yesterday, we saw an increase in business confidence in the Territory’s small and medium business indexes. For the last quarter business confidence increased 33%. You hear that number in relation to the reduction in crime in the Northern Territory – going down 33% - which is fantastic, but now we see business confidence going up 33% to 50%; compare that to national business confidence figures of 28%. In the Territory they are not just confident about their business, they are confident about their government and getting on with jobs.
I can give you anecdotal evidence, but if you ran a ruler over Alice Springs businesses today, particularly the tourism ones, and told them about the Virgin announcement their confidence would be going up too. Confidence in Alice would be going up while crime is going down like big crocodile jaws. That is what would be happening in Central Australia right now.
Right across the Northern Territory, business confidence is going up, a sure sign the policies of this government are delivering on the outcomes Territorians want. That is why we got a mandate on 25 August 2012 to lead and make decisions for the growth of the economy and the protection of Territorians moving forward.
Political Donations – Inquiry and $1m Payment to Tiwi Land Council
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
In this House you stated:
- There was a motion for an inquiry, presented by the member for Nelson that passed through parliament. We are in discussions about that motion. We have had a couple of meetings and conversations, and we have another one on Thursday …
Today:
- … this week where we will be talking to the person who we propose to head up that inquiry.
That was on Tuesday, just two days ago, Chief Minister. Why the rush yesterday to cover up the CLP slush fund and scrap the inquiry? Was it to cover up questions, unanswered, about the Tiwi cash scandal? Where is the $1m paid to the Tiwi Land Council, and did your government provide a $2.8m bank guarantee?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, how to roll so much into one question – there are so many questions.
Ms Fyles: Hold an inquiry.
Mr GILES: The member for Nightcliff is screaming already; gee, that is good, three seconds in, well done.
Let me go through a few bouncing ball things, and I will explain the lot for you. We were to meet with the member for Nelson today to talk about the appointment of Frank McGuiness to the inquiry.
The member for Nelson was aware the current terms of reference were not palatable to government because of the expense. We estimated it would cost more than $80m, tens of millions of dollars, to run this inquiry reviewing every decision over the last 20 years. There has to be some reality about it.
Here we are trying to find $30m to go into Henbury School, and we get a proposal to put $80m, $90m or $100m into a review process of every decision.
Let us keep this in mind as well: a 20-year review into the process, as proposed – under electoral guidelines you only have to keep records for four years. Is that fair and reasonable? Should you be changing the terms of reference in that sense?
Anyone would say, yes, that is fair and reasonable. Is there the intent of looking at government and the political process? Absolutely. Did we want to negotiate how that would occur? Absolutely. If we were to change any part of that, would we have to suspend standing orders and make a change to the terms of reference of that inquiry, as proposed in the past? Absolutely. That is what we went to do yesterday. Before we did that, we put a proposal on revised terms of reference to the member for Nelson, but he did not accept it. We changed it through the suspension of standing orders and put forward our inquiry.
If the member for Nelson and others do not want to support that, we will do it ourselves anyway. We will look at the best process of how to move forward.
For the member for Nelson’s benefit, I offered to have the PAC fun it.
The member for Nelson’s advice, which I accepted, was that he did not want politicians being in charge of it. My response was to put it through the Department of the Chief Minister and have the former Attorney-General run the inquiry. I thought that was a pretty fair and reasonable offer; it was knocked back by you. You come in here playing the man, not the ball, again; we will proceed with it and try to improve the process.
It will cost us money, but it will not cost $80m, $90m, $100m, or whatever that was supposed to be. We will not review every decision of the last 20 years. That is ridiculous. We must look at how that can be done. There is a lot more that can be said on this.
Let me touch on one point; there are currently two reviews under way through the Northern Territory Electoral Commission and the AEC. Let me say something about the AEC. It is overseen by three federal commissioners, appointed by legislation, who have the same judicial powers as a judge. If you are questioning their integrity to run an investigation, you are barking up the wrong tree.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION
Political Donations – Inquiry
Political Donations – Inquiry
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
The nub of your answer, essentially, is that you were not okay with the 20-year time frame. Will you hold an inquiry into political donations in the Northern Territory for the last four years?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we have put forward what we will do. It was passed by a motion in this House yesterday.
Hopefully today I will have a meeting with the soon to be …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a direct question. Will you …
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister has time to reply, and I would like to listen to whatever the reply is. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: It is interesting. If that side of the Chamber wins a vote it is democracy, but if we win it is because we ram through the numbers. Yesterday, democracy prevailed; we changed a motion and have gone for a different model of inquiry. The inquiry will come up with some good ideas, and we are looking forward to hearing from – I am not sure if …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. With 27 seconds left, will you hold an inquiry into political donations over the last four years?
Madam SPEAKER: He has received your question, Opposition Leader. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: I am sure I already said no; we are happy with what we are doing in looking at how we can improve the process of political donations. You were in government for over 11 years; you did not look at yourselves or the process, you never set up an ICAC and you never ran an inquiry. I challenge you, like yesterday, to go outside and make your claims.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
McArthur River Mine - Environmental Safety
Mr KURRUPUWU to MINISTER for MINES and ENERGY
Later today the independent monitor of the McArthur River mine will publicly release its annual report. Can you please update the House on what your Department of Mines and Energy is doing to ensure safe environmental practices at the McArthur River site?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. The member for Arafura cares deeply about achieving the right balance between mining and the environment. He understands the importance of that process.
This government is getting on with business, and as a part of that we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously. Glencore’s zinc and lead operation at McArthur River is a mine not without its problems. The Department of Mines and Energy has been working with the operators of the McArthur River mine to ensure it addresses the environmental issues it faces, as well as the concerns of the local community.
Later today the independent monitor will release its 2013-14 audit report, focused on the environmental performance of the McArthur River mine. The appointment of the independent monitor is for the life of the mine, which was a condition of the October 2006 approval of MRM’s open cut expansion project.
The primary role of the independent monitor is to review and report on the environmental performance of the McArthur River mine by reviewing the activities of the mine operator. Each year the independent monitor briefs stakeholders on his report. In accordance with this the Borroloola community was the first to be briefed yesterday. Staff from my department were also there to take questions. Today in Darwin there will be further briefings for other stakeholders, prior to the report being released publicly.
The report raises a number of issues, some of which government has already begun investigating. At this stage it is too early to draw conclusions on information in the report, and further analysis is required. However, this government is determined to get to the bottom of any issues that may exist on the mine site.
The McArthur River mine has been a part of the Territory for over 20 years, and employs over 700 people, many from the Gulf region. It has poured millions of dollars into the local community and sources much of its supply needs from Territory businesses.
The mine is very important to the Gulf region, but this will not exempt operators from their environmental responsibilities. They have a duty to look after the environment they operate in, and this government will continue to investigate the situation as it progresses at McArthur River.
The Northern Territory government, through the Department of Mines and Energy, has been extremely responsive to issues at McArthur River. I have taken personal interest in operations there; I have visited the mine on a number of occasions to monitor the progress of dealing with some of the environmental issues there. If I remember the words of the former member for Casuarina about losing sleep over Mount Todd, this is also causing me to lose some sleep, because I recognise the importance of getting this right for the people of the Territory.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Political Donations Inquiry – Rescinding of Motion
Mr WOOD to CHIEF MINISTER
Yesterday, you had the Attorney-General do the dirty work of killing off the inquiry into political donations. The pathetic excuse for killing off the inquiry was that a 20-year backward look at donations would have made the inquiry unworkable. Where in the negotiations did we have a chance to seriously look at the concern?
Also, in today’s NT News it states that you tried to negotiate with me, but I dug my heels in.
I was booked in today for a meeting with you at 1 pm to discuss the inquiry. Is it not true that at 1 pm yesterday – by the way, that meeting has been cancelled – you sent Ron Kelly to my office with a letter giving me about 15 minutes to make up my mind about whether I approved your proposal?
Why did you deceive me into believing you would look into the inquiry? Could you blame me if I now thought the title CM did not stand for Chief Minister, but con man?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson, withdraw those last two words, please.
Mr WOOD: I withdraw.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we were talking to the member for Nelson in good faith negotiations. You knew we would not pursue an inquiry under the Inquiries Act and that we wanted a different process of doing that. Yesterday’s suspension of standing orders was all part of that process – setting the terms of reference on how that went forward with an opportunity for negotiation.
My chief of staff had a conversation with you about what terms of reference you would like to see. You said you would not and could not accept it and you would vote against it.
We tried to work together. In the end, we have created the inquiry ourselves anyway, but through a different process. We have to be mindful about the cost to Territorians of running this. A 20-year inquiry is completely unworkable ...
Mr Wood: You could have negotiated that.
Mr GILES: I can understand why you may be hurt, member for Nelson. Getting a win as an Independent is not easy. I was very keen, and we were keen as government, to work through an inquiry. We will still be holding an inquiry. If you would like to still be present at the meeting, you are more than welcome to come – I am not sure what time the meeting is on – and have a chat about how this might be rolled out.
It was good faith bargaining and negotiation. You spat the dummy and walked out, but I am happy. I do not say that in a needy way …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Wanguri, you are on a warning!
Mr GILES: If you would like to come to the meeting the offer is there ...
Mr Wood: It has been cancelled. I have now …
Mr GILES: I can change the meeting. There are many things I can do, not just bring Virgin back to the Territory, drive down crime, drive down Labor debt and drive up the economy. I can also rearrange a meeting.
Mr Wood: No, it is all right. I will not go to the meeting because it is not …
Mr GILES: If you do not want to participate, do not participate. You can have your dummy spit in the media. You are not the golden oracle, my friend. We are driving down crime, driving down debt and driving up the economy. If you cannot negotiate on terms of reference in a good faith environment, we will get on and do it.
I have answered the question. The 20 years was completely unworkable. It was not going to work in the interest of Territorians. From a cost point of view, we needed to identify a better way of doing that. If that did not meet the member for Nelson’s intentions, I am sorry. We were flexible, we were prepared to be more flexible, but you were not.
Public Assets Sale – Referendum
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
By your actions in parliament this week you have shown you cannot be trusted. Whether it is Foundation 51, the Tiwi cash scandal or public asset sales, which we now know have been on your agenda since March …
Mr GILES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Auditor-General provided a clean bill of health and an unqualified audit into the LDC’s operations this year. I do not think you should attack them.
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. Please start your question again, member for Fannie Bay.
Mr GUNNER: I have not reached my question yet. You have betrayed Territorians’ trust. These are arrogant actions. This is a government that has lost integrity. Territorians cannot trust you. Before the last election you never told Territorians you were selling public assets. You need to seek the support of Territorians before you sell their assets. Will you, before you sell any public assets, take it to a referendum?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, there was a referendum held on 25 August 2012 about who would govern the Northern Territory.
Government has to make hard decisions. Looking at the future of TIO, the port and other things is not easy. Many things across government are not easy, but we have to look at risk versus reward and the long-term benefit for the Northern Territory.
I said Cabinet has not considered TIO’s future in a final decision-making context. No papers have been drawn up yet. We are looking at what we can do to support TIO going forward. We note there is significant risk for TIO’s future. In the competitive environment it is in – 15 different insurance providers in the Territory, 15 providing cyclone cover, 14 providing flood cover – there is competitive advantage for national and international companies against TIO. We have to remove the shackles which limit it to only provide insurance in the Northern Territory and not spread the risk profile across the nation. If we do not do something TIO will not be there in the long run. We have to make a decision; we are assessing that now.
We are talking to Territorians, saying this is not a fire sale. We will not just pay off Labor debt. We know there is a $5.5bn Labor debt, but it is not about paying that. It is about how we reinvest any proceeds back into the community, whether that is community or economic infrastructure. Yes, the federal government said if we recycle government assets, it will put a 15% loading on any money that goes into economic infrastructure. I understand that. That is not what this decision is about; that is just another needle on the balance of the equation.
This is about how we protect TIO into the future and what we do with those proceeds. Do we put them into an infrastructure fund? How do we invest those proceeds in roads, bridges and telecommunications, as an example, to build the Territory’s economy going forward? How do we make sure there are jobs for Territorians going forward? It is an important decision this government will have to make about how we protect TIO’s brand as an institution, the way assessments are done, the timeliness of insurance payouts, how we protect people who work, for example, represented by the MTA, how we make sure local panel beaters get the job done, how we make sure inspectors are here, how we protect jobs and how we protect some of those important things such as cyclone and flood cover going forward.
It is a tough decision, but the referendum was held on …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Will he take that to an election?
Madam SPEAKER: No, it is not a point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: This is not an election commitment; it is a decision government has to make. We were elected to govern and make hard decisions for the Territory’s future. That includes how we support and protect TIO going forward, and how we support and protect Territorians and jobs. That is what it is about. Hard decisions are not easy. You have never been in a position to have to make one.
Cruise Ship Season - Commencement
Mrs FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for TOURISM
The cruise ship industry is very important to our local tourism industry. Many Palmerston residents run tourism businesses and businesses that benefit from the injection of cruise ship tourists. Can you please inform the House about the start of the cruise ship season today and how local tourism operators and businesses will benefit from what will be a big season?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is great to speak about the cruise ship industry. I thank the member for her question. The opposition probably will not like it; they do not like gardening competitions, fashion week, the Tiwis, Virgin being announced or the Masters Games. They do not like much at all. God help us, they will not like the start of the cruise ship season.
It is a welcome announcement. It is fantastic the cruise ship season is kicking off, a season and industry worth some $54m to our economy in the last financial year. It was great to see the Sun Princess arrive this morning. She is out there in all her glory, the first major cruise ship to arrive in Darwin this season. The Sun Princess has about 2000 passengers on board and some 700 crew, many of who will disembark today and enjoy some of the pre-booked tours of the Top End. The arrival of the Sun Princess signals the start of what is expected to be another bumper cruise ship season in the Top End, and it sets up another exciting 12 months.
The first week of March, which incidentally coincides with the other great announcement today of Virgin’s arrival back into the Centre, will be Darwin’s busiest cruise week season, with record passenger numbers and six cruise ships scheduled over the first five consecutive days, seeing 11 000 passengers in total just for March. The week will see four of the largest cruise ships sail into Australian waters, including the Queen Mary 2 and the Celebrity Solstice on 5 March. Current bookings for the coming season indicate that we will be greeting more than 40 000 cruise ship passengers into Darwin this Wet Season. It is huge, worth about $54m to the Northern Territory economy.
A major highlight next year will also be the Cruise Down Under conference which Darwin won the right to host, beating rival cities; a great coup for the Top End. We will have all our heavyweights here talking about the cruise industry from 2 to 4 September 2015. It is a golden opportunity to promote the Northern Territory and the Top End as a premier cruise destination.
Today, some of the trainee tour guides who completed the government’s free tour guide training workshop in August will ride along with some of the day tours with passengers from the Sun Princess, providing them with the next step to securing seasonal work in the industry. This is a great government initiative that has been taken up by a number of people, and they get their first crack at it today.
The Country Liberals government is fighting very hard for the tourism industry. We have set a 2020 plan to return the tourism industry to growth; that is a $2.2bn visitor economy by the year 2020. We have made some positive gains, there is a lot more to do, but unlike the Labor Party, the Northern Territory government is committed to the tourism industry.
We have invested an additional $16m in appropriation in the last two years, and we will continue to do so.
TIO – Northern Australia Inquiry Report
Mr McCARTHY to CHIEF MINISTER
The federal inquiry into the development of northern Australia has recommended that the Territory Insurance Office be expanded across northern Australia to address the insurance crisis experienced in other states. Nationals MP and head of the inquiry, Warren Entsch, has said the NT is the only place in northern Australia where insurance is consistently available and affordable.
He highlighted that homeowners in other parts of northern Australia face much higher house prices, and contents insurance up to $5000 more.
Why are you ignoring this report recommendation? Why are you ignoring its stark message? Are you translating that message to your Cabinet colleagues, and are you concerned that pushing up the sale of TIO risks massive hikes in insurance costs for Territory families?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the northern Australia report – we take advice on a range of things – has been commissioned by the joint select committee out of Canberra.
We also seek other advice on major occasions; we employed an economic development panel which included the former Labor Chief Minister, Paul Henderson. He presented a report which recommended selling TIO to help fund infrastructure in the Territory to grow jobs for the future.
We take a range of advice and we are looking at how we can support TIO. It is not a fire sale; we are looking at what we can do to protect TIO. We will continue to take advice, but thank you for bringing that to my attention.
Corruption – Allegations of
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Territorians have every right to mistrust your dodgy spin on public asset sales. You have shown by your actions this week on Foundation 51 that you have no compunction about covering up corruption, whether it is Foundation 51 …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 112 expressly forbids those sorts of epithets.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, can you state your question again, please.
Ms LAWRIE: You have shown by your actions this week on Foundation 51 that you have no compunction about covering up corruption, whether it is Foundation 51 or the dodgy $1m payment to the Tiwi Land Council …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 112(2).
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, as the question is directed at the Chief Minister in person, could you please refrain and reword your question such that it does not use that kind of language. Just ask the question.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Move Proposed Motion of Censure
Move Proposed Motion of Censure
Ms LAWRIE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent this House from censuring the Chief Minister for:
covering up the illegal activities of Foundation 51 by shutting down the inquiry moved by this parliament
lying to Territorians and the people of Casuarina about your real intentions to sell off TIO and privatise the port and Power and Water assets
covering up the dodgy $1m and bank guarantee deal with the Tiwi Land Council.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): That was much shorter than usual. We accept the censure motion. I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016