2012-11-27
Energex –
Ken Clarke’s Involvement
Ken Clarke’s Involvement
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Did you know Ken Clarke was on the Energex board, of which Shane Stone is chairman, when you took his advice to hurt and betray Territorians by hiking up power prices? Were you aware of this clear conflict of interest?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I do not quite understand the conflict of interest. Mr Clarke was an Under Treasurer under Clare Martin and was also an advisor in the previous Labor government. There is no conflict of interest because the Energex you have referred to is also a government-owned corporation. If he has a position on such a body he has no capacity or authority to be involved in the things you are alleging. Opposition Leader, what you will be unable to conceal for too long is your rank hypocrisy.
The Territory community can see quite plainly what is going on here. You are feeding on anxiety and concern within the community but feeding them with nothing of substance. The reality is, there has to be a fix to the terrible problem, the legacy you have left for Territorians, and time will judge who is providing real leadership here. It is certainly not you.
Power and Water Tariff Increases
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Before the election, the number 1 commitment in your contract with families was to lower the cost of living. You have torn up this commitment; you have hiked up bills by $2000, hiking up power and water unnecessarily causing hurt and pain to Territorians. Rethink this mean and unnecessary decision. Listen to Territorians, who are saying in their thousands - the families and businesses – you are hurting them too hard, you are fattening up the pig for sale to market.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. That is what they are saying, is it? They are the lines you are feeding them? You are providing no leadership whatsoever. You said it is unnecessary to increase the power and water tariffs and you know darn well it is necessary because you have accepted it yourself. Why will you not reveal to your colleagues and the Territory community as a whole that the Power and Water Corporation Board tried to prevail upon you to do the right thing to ensure you took responsibility for the long-term interests of the Northern Territory.
You pull your little stunt and ignore the reality that the greatest impact on Territory families’ budgets is the previous government’s failure to release land. We have the highest rents and mortgages in the country. You are focusing on something which is necessary, sadly, because of your mismanagement and lack of courage to do the right thing and your greater interest in protecting your own political hide and not doing the right thing in the best and long-term interests of the Northern Territory.
This is a real government which will make real decisions to secure the long-term future of the Northern Territory. The reality is that in your neglect of long-term planning and your self-indulgent response to real issues you did not plan properly you have hiked up the cost of rents and mortgages and it is necessary - and you know it – for us to fix the debt which will crush the Territory unless someone acts. Fortunately, there has been a change of government.
Fair Work Australia –
Pay Increases to NGOs
Pay Increases to NGOs
Mr STYLES to CHIEF MINISTER
Will you, in recognising the extremely important role non-government organisations contribute to the community, confirm the government will pass on substantial pay increases recently recommended by Fair Work Australia?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. This will annoy the opposition because it is not all bad news. That is what you would like to drum up and provide no leadership. This government is providing leadership. If there was ever an example of why my government has had to move quickly to clean up this incredible mess left by the previous Labor government, this is it.
There are few people who give back more to the community than – sadly, not the mob on the other side - those employed in the non-government organisations, including our carers, youth workers and social workers who all provide very important community services.
Madam Speaker, the term NGO encompasses the most amazing organisations ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker. How much will these people have to pay in power price hikes? Are you compensating them?
Mr Mills: That is not a point of order.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition, please be seated. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr MILLS: For example, Anglicare, Life Without Barriers, Australian Red Cross, St Vincent de Paul, Mission Australia - the list is very long. In recognition of this, the Territory government is committed to increasing funding to non-government organisations to cover its share of additional costs arising from Fair Work Australia’s equal remuneration order. This will involve an amount of $75m over the phase-in period, and $17.5m ongoing from the year 2020.
These are huge amounts of money, but the sector richly deserves it. Without the tough but responsible decisions my government is taking we would not have made these provisions; we would not be able to.
The recent power and water increases were not taken lightly or in isolation. They were taken in the context of a whole-of-government budget picture. These tough, but unpopular, power and water decisions will allow the government to properly fund essential services such as those deserved pay increases for the 150 NGOs operating in the Northern Territory rather than artificially propping up the fiscal position of the Power and Water Corporation. Shame on you!
This additional funding from the government-affected Territory NGOs will begin next month. Negotiations with the Commonwealth government regarding additional funding for programs funded through various national agreements are ongoing.
The Territory remains committed to good-faith negotiations with the Commonwealth to ensure total government funding to NGOs in the Territory is both adequate and timely. The methodology unpinning the Territory’s funding package is consistent with offers the Commonwealth is currently issuing to eligible service providers it funds directly.
Government’s Five-Point Plan
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
This is your election five-point plan. The first point says, ‘more money in Territorians pockets’. The last point says, ‘if we do not deliver, throw us out’. Do you still agree with your words that you should be thrown out of office?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her question. The tough but necessary decisions we are taking - I thank you for keeping that in front of you because time will bear it out.
More money in Territorian’s pockets - absolutely. We have been left with $750 000 every single day going to the banks to repay interest. We had to make necessary but tough decisions to ensure more of that money goes to benefit the Northern Territory, such as health, education or our community sector.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Mr MILLS: I bet this is not a point of order.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please be seated.
Ms LAWRIE: Health, Education and every agency has had power prices hiked up by your decision.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, please be seated. It is not a point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Mr MILLS: Madam Speaker, if this continues I do not believe we can operate because they are either legitimate points of order or they are not, and they are certainly not legitimate.
Ms Lawrie: You are trying to gag. It is a House of debate.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Please continue, Chief Minister.
Mr MILLS: No, you call it a point of order; it is no such thing.
The fact is these necessary, granted unpopular, but necessary - you know very well they are necessary - decisions we are taking are to ensure the money goes to the benefit of Territorians and not just servicing interest repayments of $750 000 every single day. You are solely responsible for this flow of money out of the Territory that is not benefitting the Territory. You have elevated debt to an unsustainable level. You know it for a fact, and Territorians can see this quite plainly. No matter what charade, what figures you conjure up, or what story you twist, they will see this in the long run. I do not believe they, essentially, trust you. They may be fed by the lines you are running because it is in their best interests; no one likes an unpopular or difficult decision. However, time will tell.
There will be more money because it will be going to servicing the long-term interests of the Northern Territory not the short-term political interests of the former government.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Regarding the order of the House, your predecessor was quite strident in policing frivolous points of order. Perhaps you may want to turn your attention to that as well.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, Leader of Government Business.
Power and Water Tariff Increases -
Effects on Childcare Costs
Effects on Childcare Costs
Ms LEE to TREASURER
Can you explain to the House why the government will not change the introduction date or the size of the power and water increases? Can you explain how the increases will affect childcare costs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her question. The former Treasurer, now the Leader of the Opposition, single-handedly destroyed the Power and Water Corporation, refusing to allow incremental increases which would have meant …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker, misleading the House! The Labor government, in 2009, increased tariffs for power and water and, incrementally, CPI every year thereafter. She is misleading the House.
Mrs LAMBLEY: I did not finish my sentence.
Madam SPEAKER: Deputy Chief Minister, please be seated.
Mr ELFERINK: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker, the member well knows if she wishes to make that allegation she must do so by way of substantive motion or withdraw the allegation.
Madam SPEAKER: That is correct. Withdraw the allegation, Leader of the Opposition.
Ms LAWRIE: I withdraw ‘misleading’. She is being dishonest.
Madam SPEAKER: ‘Dishonest’ is not acceptable either. Please withdraw.
Ms LAWRIE: Okay. She is not being fulsome with the truth.
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! You asked the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw. I have not heard her withdraw yet.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Deputy Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mrs LAMBLEY: Thank you, Madam Speaker. The former Treasurer, now Leader of the Opposition, failed to implement increases of tariffs over the time she was Treasurer …
Ms Lawrie: 2009 tariff adjustments.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Mrs LAMBLEY: Let me finish my sentence, Leader of the Opposition. You are being rude and deliberately distracting because you have a great deal to hide ...
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I ask you to direct the Treasurer to direct her comments through the Chair and not across the Chamber directly to members of the opposition.
Madam SPEAKER: Deputy Chief Minister, you have the call. Please direct your comments through the Chair.
Mrs LAMBLEY: Certainly. The introduction date and the size of the power and water increases were very difficult decisions for a new government. Just three months into government we had to make this enormous decision we knew would be politically unpopular, and very hurtful and harmful to every Northern Territory resident. Despite that, we knew it was a decision we had to make, and despite the campaign launched against us by the Northern Territory News, despite the bleating and the efforts of the opposition to milk it for what it is worth, this is a responsible and prudent decision.
The former government was told in many documents over many years it had to implement larger increases in tariffs than it did. The former government failed to do so, which is why we had to implement these dramatic increases in power, water and sewerage tariffs.
In relation to the …
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired.
Power and Water Tariff Increases
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
You have torn up your signed contract with Territorians. You knew the state of the Power and Water financials when you promised Territorians you would lower the cost of living. You raked over these financials in the estimates in June prior to the election. Why did you lie to Territorians?
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition please withdraw ‘lie to Territorians’.
Ms LAWRIE: I withdraw. Why did you betray Territorians when you raked over the full financials of Power and Water in June prior to the election? You knew it, so while you were promising you would lower the cost of living, you knew the financials of Power and Water and your mate, Ken Clarke, was already on your payroll - Ken Clarke who is on the board of Energex, and I am sure Energex, as a distributor, would dearly like to get hold of a retail and generator as well ...
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired.
ANSWER
There is a lot in that one.
A member: You are not as good as I thought you were, Delia.
Mr MILLS: No, not at all.
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. There was an enormous issue you were fully aware of which required a response. You know it, we know it, and most of your colleagues know it too. You acknowledged there were unsustainable debt levels with Power and Water Corporation. You went into some strange bookkeeping to offset …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! He is not telling the truth to the House.
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated. Chief Minister, you have the call. There is no point of order.
Mr MILLS: They were in letters with your name on them. They are true ...
Ms Lawrie: Yes, and you tabled it and it doesn’t say what you are saying.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MILLS: It says you knew very well there needed to be a massive increase and it was something you were going to attend to after the Territory election.
It is less than honest, less than courageous. You tried to squib through an election campaign and out would come the gory details. You, as the former Treasurer, knew more than anyone else - if you were across your brief - of the nature of the debt load facing the Territory. We made it very clear there was no attempt made by the former government to secure the long-term future of the Northern Territory. When you talk about the Power and Water Corporation you are focusing on one aspect of a much greater problem.
You seem to gloss over the fact rents are increasing a couple of hundred dollars, in some cases, per week. That does not cause you any particular concern. The only issue …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I ask the member for Fong Lim not to hold up placards during Question Time.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fong Lim, please be seated and put it down. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr MILLS: Madam Speaker, the real issue, if you are really concerned about Territorians - we are because we have to sort out a real mess and will do that, unpopular though it is in the short-term. Bear us out, we will turn this around! You have colleagues all around the country - even your own colleagues have looked into the Northern Territory and thought, ‘Well, now we have a real government with the courage to make the hard decisions’. We did not really have that before; we had a government skating on thin ice which has collapsed. The reality is now with us, and you have a real government which will face up to this. I wish you would face up to some of the facts. I wish …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance. The question was they knew the financials in June, they raked over them in estimates, why were they hiking up power prices after the election when they knew the financials back in June?
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Once again we have an extended point of order chewing into the minister’s opportunity to answer the question. The point of order must be relevant to the Standing Order and not expanded upon for judgment. I ask you to restrain those points of order.
Mr GUNNER: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition was making a point of relevance which was there ...
Mr ELFERINK: Then she went on a tirade about something else.
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Are we going to be fair on this? That was one part of the question. There was reference to Ken Clarke, reference to a whole range of issues about the contract. It was not that specific point. She is playing games with this parliament and misusing standing orders, Madam Speaker.
Power and Water Tariff Increases –
Labor’s Intention
Labor’s Intention
Mr KURRUPUWU to TREASURER
Can you confirm the Labor government’s intention was to increase power, water and sewerage charges following the election?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member of Arafura for his question. The Leader of the Opposition definitely intended to increase power, water and sewerage tariffs this financial year. We have evidence of it.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I pointed out previously that the CPI was my intention.
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated, there is no point of order.
Mrs LAMBLEY: The Leader of the Opposition said a few weeks ago that for the Power and Water Corporation to reach commercial sustainability we would have to increase the tariffs by 50%. That is proof she knew that in order to get the Power and Water Corporation out of the financial state and ruin this former government left it in there would be a 50% increase. She declared her hand at that point.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker. The Treasurer has it wrong. The media asked me for a calculation of what ‘commercial’ would mean.
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated, there is no point of order.
Mrs LAMBLEY: No one is interested in the Leader of the Opposition’s claims of misrepresentation. We heard it, the public heard it, and the media heard it and reported it as such: a 50% increase in tariffs. She is quickly back-peddling pretending she knew nothing about it and it was a different figure she gave.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! She is clearly wrong. I answered the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated, there is no point of order.
Mrs LAMBLEY: The Chairman of the Power and Water Corporation wrote to the Treasurer earlier this year and said if she did not make some amendments to the tariffs, as indicated last year, the financial sustainability of the corporation remained a significant challenge without significant revenue increases, cost reductions or deferral of capital investments. What did the former Treasurer do? What did the Leader of the Opposition do? Absolutely nothing apart from implement CPI increases. She was negligent in her duty as a portfolio minister and now she tries to maintain it is us, 13 weeks into government, who are to blame for the mess inherited from the former Labor government. She is misleading and negligent in her duty. Furthermore, the former Treasurer wrote to the Chairman of the Power and Water Corporation Board saying:
- The tariffs for retail electricity, water and sewerage are to be reviewed during 2012-13 on the basis of financial and commercial sustainability.
Just weeks ago, in order to reach commercial sustainability, a 50% increase in tariffs was required. She was misleading this parliament and the people of the Northern Territory. Shame on her!
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I know the Treasurer is hysterical, but ‘misleading’ has already been ruled out of order in this Question Time. She might want to withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: Deputy Chief Minister, please withdraw.
Mrs LAMBLEY: I gladly withdraw because you have a great deal to hide. I understand the embarrassment this must be to you.
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I ask that the Treasurer makes an unqualified withdrawal.
Madam SPEAKER: Please withdraw, Treasurer.
Mrs LAMBLEY: I withdraw.
Power and Water Tariff Increases –
Impact on Families
Impact on Families
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
What areas of expenditure should families cut back on to find an extra $2000 a year for their power and water bills which you made the decision to increase? You are likely to play the blame game, but the reality is you have the choice, you made the decision, and you are ignoring Territorians who are asking for increments. You like to blame everyone else but you are the Chief Minister and you make the decision, with your Treasurer, on the tariffs of power and water, no one else. Labor was following the CPI. We changed the tariffs in 2009. On one hand you say we did not do anything, ignoring the 2009 changes. On the other hand, you like to blame us for everything. How do you advise Territorians to save $2000 a year to pay for the hikes you decided to hurt them with?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her question. The first thing is recognising this is in the long-term interests of Territorians, and they are not being served well by the allegations and mischief you are playing with. You will possibly get some short-term political gain from this but, in the long term Territorians will see this for what it is.
This is a necessary, difficult decision and one we have not taken lightly. It is, in fact, as revealed, to a similar but lesser degree than the increases you were prepared to pass on without any accountability, recognition, or being truthful with the Territory community. It happened behind the scenes and, bang, it would pop out after the Territory election. Be that as it may, we have a problem and it requires a fix.
Accept full responsibility for the necessary but difficult ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Again, relevance. The question was how he advises Territorians to find $2000 a year to pay for the power price hikes?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr MILLS: There were a number of aspects to the question. I am dealing with the one I am prepared to take responsibility for and make a difficult decision on, notwithstanding how difficult it is for Territory families. Make no mistake about this; it is not an easy situation but a situation we are required to face for the long-term interests of the Northern Territory.
In regard to the capacity for families to respond to this, it will be difficult in some cases because this is not the only cost borne by families, though you would like it to be because it serves your political interests. The greater cost Territorians are bearing and we are going to deal with ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance. What advice does he have ...
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated. The Chief Minister is talking to the whole of your question. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr MILLS: It would be wrong to ignore the broader impost on Territory families with rents and mortgages as well. I can demonstrate that I understand this will be difficult for Territory families. One practical thing Territorians can do is assess their consumption of water and electricity. In the Northern Territory, we use way more water than any other jurisdiction. That is one thing I am sure Territorians will consider. We cannot shield this reality from Territorians, but we can adjust. Each of us, in our own way, will make that adjustment. That is one small measure.
There will be other measures outlined in the mini-budget because we will work with Territory families to face up to this reality and get through this.
Power and Water Corporation –
Financial Position
Financial Position
Ms FINOCCHIARO to TREASURER
You have just told Territorians the Leader of the Opposition and former Treasurer was told, by way of a letter from the Chairman of the Power and Water Corporation in April 2011, that:
- ... the Corporation is not financially sustainable ...
Can you confirm that the Power and Water Corporation Board members felt exposed and concerned about their legal position?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. Yes, the board members of the Power and Water Corporation felt extremely exposed. In the last sittings of parliament I tabled a letter from the former Treasurer, now Leader of the Opposition, to the chairman of the board, Ms Judith King, dated 28 April 2011.
In this letter she said:
- The 2011-12 SCI highlights that financial sustainability for the corporation remains a significant challenge and will require a combination of increased cost recovery from tariffs and Community Service Obligation (CSO) payments together with prudent and effective management of capital and operational expenditure.
Something we are yet to uncover from the former government. She then said:
- ... the Corporation may be considered as being in a financially unsustainable position and this may have implications for directors’ liability.
The board members were frightened, fearful, concerned and anxious about the position the former government had placed them in. The former government, the former portfolio minister for the Power and Water Corporation, placed these board members in a very serious high-risk situation through her mismanagement of the Power and Water Corporation over many years. One integral part of this equation was the need to increase the tariffs of electricity, sewerage and water at a rate which meant the corporation could achieve some level of sustainability, and that is where they failed.
The former Treasurer, who whines, bleats and tries to pretend it is our fault knows full well she had every opportunity to make this situation good. She had every opportunity to put Power and Water in a situation which was not draining the coffers ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Power and Water Tariff Increases – Affordability
Mr WOOD to CHIEF MINISTER
Do you believe the supply of water, electricity and sewerage is a fundamental human right? Is it, therefore, the government’s responsibility to ensure the provision of these services should be at a price people can afford? Do you believe the provision of power, water and sewerage should be based on the user-pays principle or full cost recovery regardless of how much that will cost the consumer?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the very interesting and philosophical question.
We have to, as a community, ensure there are adequate transactions to cover the costs of running a community in a society. There are measures in place to shield the full cost of delivering power, water and sewerage to vulnerable members of the community. There are community service obligations. These are the things a government does to ensure Territorians can be a part of this whole enterprise.
However, we are entrusted with resources - Commonwealth taxes which are paid by hard-working Territorians - and we should be able to live within a system which can support itself. This is not a profit-gaining business; this is having an efficient operation.
What happens in a world you describe is that we drift from our moorings and end up having little regard or appreciation for the true nature of debt. It comes back to us and it will not go away. When you are entrusted with the real responsibility of making decisions around how you use those resources, and if you use them in a short-term way as we have seen with the previous government, you end up with an increased debt load which will not go away. You had this fanciful notion you could artificially suppress the cost because Territorians believe it is, perhaps, a human right, but you end up hiding debt, and that debt will not go away. The former government leaves and the debt is there for someone to deal with.
In your circumstances, does debt magically go away because you do not want to respond to it? It will not. We have a responsibility to acquit ourselves in a sensible way to pass on adequate costs and ensure all Territorians can be a part of this grand enterprise.
Power and Water Tariff Increases – Replacement of Government
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
During the election campaign your then shadow Treasurer, the member for Port Darwin, with full knowledge of the Power and Water financials, said the government should be replaced because power bills have gone up by 10%. Do you agree with the member for Port Darwin that governments who put up power by 10% should be replaced?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is a little hard to take that selective quote as the whole story. There was, ‘Oh yes, he said it therefore answer it’. I will not take that specific response as the only one required because it was said in a context.
The context is we did not go to the marketplace and try to engender some kind of community action with the support of local media, go to the shopping centres with petitions and things like that. What we said was that for over 10 years we had a Labor administration which had the Power and Water Corporation receiving dividends for its operation as a government-owned corporation and pocketing those dividends, not investing them in the operation of the business. You harvested from the corporation and took it for yourselves.
That is where our point of attack was because you were irresponsible; you had no care for the proper running of the utilities of the Northern Territory and a greater care for your short-term political gain in harvesting money from Power and Water Corporation, nobbling it, shielding yourselves from unpopularity in the community by keeping power and water charges low. That was our real anger and concern, and a government acting in such a manner should be ashamed of itself.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance. Do you agree with the member for Port Darwin that governments that put up power by 10% should be replaced?
Mr MILLS: I have answered it.
Power and Water Tariff Increases –
Effect on Indigenous Essential Services
Effect on Indigenous Essential Services
Mr WOOD to TREASURER
If it is the case that the government requires the user to pay, then why did you say at the last sittings, in response to a question I asked about Indigenous Essential Services, that those communities would not be affected by any changes to tariff increases? Does that mean you are happy that your government subsidises the cost of providing human rights - power and water and sewerage - in those communities to the tune of $60m a year but does not apply that principle to the rest of the Territory? Could you explain why?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. The member for Nelson asked me a question about the Indigenous Essential Services CSOs. The question was would they change and my answer was no, the CSOs would not change and are not changing. The tariffs are still increasing and will affect Indigenous remote residents ...
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I could say it is misleading, but it is not accidental. The quote is:
- Those communities will not be affected by any increases in tariffs.
That is what you said at the last Assembly.
Mrs LAMBLEY: My recollection is somewhat different because I knew the CSOs would not be changing. Tariff increases affect everyone in the Northern Territory. They affect not only people in remote areas but pensioners and concession card holders. All residents, businesses and commercial enterprises will be affected by the increases in tariffs.
Power and Water Corporation –
Moody’s Rating
Moody’s Rating
Mrs PRICE to TREASURER
Can you advise the House about the reference made by the independent rating agency, Moody’s, to the Power and Water Corporation and its impact on the Northern Territory’s financial position?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. Moody’s assessment of the Northern Territory is critical to the financial prospects and future of all Territorians. Moody’s has been providing expertise in credit ratings for over 100 years and has being rating the Northern Territory government since 1997.
If I could explain for the benefit of the House, and in particular for the member for Karama, Moody’s Investors Service provides international financial research on bonds issued by commercial and government entities. The research determines what level of interest a government pays on its borrowings. In extreme cases, a bad Moody’s rating might mean a corporation or government would find it impossible to borrow money. In January this year, Moody’s gave a very simple message to the then Northern Territory Labor government: action was needed to fix the Power and Water Corporation. It was a very clear message, one the former Labor government did not comprehend, want to hear, or was unable to act upon despite being able to hear or comprehend.
Supporting an unprofitable power and water business has put a significant strain on the budget and the Territory’s debt position. This is the message Moody’s gave the former Northern Territory Labor government. Moody’s stated and I quote:
- ... a ramp up in capital spending and weakening in the Territory-owned Power and Water Company’s operations, in the context of slower revenue growth have led to the emergence of large deficits and an increase in the debt burden.
They were able to identify the state of the financial …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Moody’s rated the Territory AA-plus with a stable outlook.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition please be seated. There is no point of order.
Mrs LAMBLEY: Moody’s went further and forecast projections for the Northern Territory government if Power and Water were not allowed to return to a self-supporting operation. Those projections ominously forecast the debt burden would be pushed to 113% of government revenues by 2014-15: an unsustainable situation.
That message was given to the former Labor government and what did it do about it? Absolutely nothing! They sit in opposition, which is exactly where they should be, telling us how to run our affairs, how we should behave and what decisions we should not make in government.
They failed Madam Speaker, they mismanaged Power and Water Corporation and now we are looking …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Power and Water Tariff Increases - Affordability
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
In July when the Commonwealth’s carbon price increased power and water bills by $130 a year you said Territorians could not afford it. What has changed in five months which means they can now afford a $2000 a year increase?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we had a fundamental and philosophical objection to the carbon tax. The carbon tax, as a tax, contributes nothing and deals with nothing.
This necessary - you know it is necessary - increase in tariffs deals with something that is very real: our debt levels and the long-term sustainability of our utility. That is the very stark difference.
The carbon tax adds nothing and it should not be imposed because it contributes naught, whereas the tariff increases put our own utility, granted unpopular - it will be difficult for Territory families and other Australians having to face up to the increased cost of electricity - it deals with the long-term interests of the Northern Territory and time will bear this out. Territorians will know we have made a hard but necessary decision and it secures the future for the Northern Territory. Carbon tax does nothing.
East Arm Wharf Incinerator –
Closure
Closure
Mr HIGGINS to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE
Can you provide details of how the quarantine waste from our airport is handled to allow the operation of international flights? Is the minister aware of any issues which may prevent aircraft operating out of Darwin?
ANSWER
I thank the member for Daly for his question. I understand you are very interested in tourism in the Northern Territory. It is about time we started getting to some of the other questions when walking around with a bucket and broom trying to sweep up the Labor mess because around every corner is a Labor mess wherever we look. This is another important issue in relation to the Labor mess.
Those who are monitoring the media would be well aware of my decision to close the incinerator at East Arm port some weeks ago. The incinerator at East Arm port was an important infrastructure which processed and destroyed quarantine matter as it is a biosecurity hazard. Eighty percent of that matter is material off aircraft, 20% comes off cruise ships, and is generally the food leftovers on flights from overseas.
Those biosecurity measures saw the disposal of that waste through an incinerator at East Arm Wharf. I have a picture of the incinerator in case anyone has not seen it.
That incinerator was first commissioned as a temporary facility for a two-year period in 2006. In 2008, the then Labor government was advised it did not meet environmental standards and had to be replaced. It sought and received an exemption for two years to take it to 2010. In 2010, it was advised by what was, supposedly, the independent EPA the government supported, ‘You have to get rid of it’. In 2010, the same Labor government, the one which attracts all the Green preferences, Green support and puts its hand up as a great environmentalist with the dioxins and furans polluting the Port of Darwin through this incinerator, sought another exemption.
It did not care about the environment, it got another extension. In 2012, here I am as the Minister for Transport and for Infrastructure, in the job for six weeks, and the Chief Minister has moved to make the EPA fully independent. We have a new boss who writes to me saying, ‘Minister, I will let you know of a failure of Labor. It never had a proper environmentally-friendly operating incinerator at the wharf.’
I investigated it. I received some information on it …
Ms Lawrie interjecting.
Mr GILES: I hear the Opposition Leader harping on because she knows - she was the minister at one of those times, and the deputy was also the minister. They have environmental blood on their hands. Here I am, six weeks into the job, get the information and close it. They could not do the job in six years. It took me six weeks to shut the incinerator.
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I am wondering whether the minister will talk about the storm water issues the CLP created when it built the port.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, please be seated. Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is hard to understand what Whiskers is saying. It took me six weeks to solve a problem Labor had for six years: environmentally unsatisfactory solutions at our port. We now have a biosecurity problem - we do not have an answer for it at this point of time - which we are working on. You should be ashamed!
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Power and Water Corporation –
Disposal by CLP Government
Disposal by CLP Government
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Will you give an unequivocal undertaking not to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of the Power and Water Corporation?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we have no plans to sell the Power and Water Corporation.
East Arm Wharf Incinerator - Emissions
Mr HIGGINS to CHIEF MINISTER
In his previous answer, the Minister for Infrastructure stated the former Labor government may have ignored environmental advice relating to the quarantine incinerator emissions. Are you aware if the emissions from the quarantine incinerator facility at East Arm Wharf were dangerous to human health? Can you also advise how long this has been the case?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his important question which exposes the rank hypocrisy of the former Labor government. As the member for Braitling quite correctly stated, winning the support of those who have environmental sensitivities, this once great Labor Party apparently was happy to sacrifice in the interests of its short-term political interests.
The quarantine incinerator emissions demonstrate Labor’s poor regard for sound administration. Not only did they fail to act on advice, but they failed to safeguard the environment for the benefit of all Territorians. The incinerator burnt, among other materials, plastics, which has resulted in dioxin emissions. Any of our environmentalists - I am sure the member for Casuarina would be a full bottle on this, dioxins are a toxic substance and the accepted emission standard is 0.1 for a nanogram of toxic equivalence per cubic metre.
Test results from the East Arm incinerator over the years 2006 to 2012 range from 0.0043 nanograms of toxic equivalence per cubic metre right up to 3.1 of toxic equivalence per cubic metre. The most recent test result returned a reading of 0.71 nanograms of toxic equivalence per cubic metre. In other words, environmental test results show this incinerator needed to be shut down and a new environmentally acceptable and quarantine-improved facility and process be put in place.
As we found upon gaining office, Labor did neither and that is, frankly, an outrage. This 0.1 guideline relates to a concentration at the time of testing, not the total quantity discharged over time, nor does it relate to the ground-level concentration where impact may occur.
While I do not wish to raise the concerns of Territorians into possible environmental or health implications, I find it abhorrent that, even when presented with test results showing dioxin levels at times exceeded the guidelines, the previous government did nothing.
In contrast, since assuming office we have shut down that incinerator. My government will enter into discussions with all affected parties and we will soon have in place an environmentally sound long-term quarantine waste process which satisfies all requirements. Why? Because it is the right thing to do.
In addition, a full environmental audit will be conducted under the direction of the Environment Protection Authority on the land and water surrounding the incinerator site. In contrast to the previous Labor government, which was incapable of making the right decisions, my government will always make decisions in the best interests of Territorians.
Cost of Living Increases
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Before the election you said families were struggling with the cost of living and you promised to cut it. Let us consider a typical Territory family planning for 2012. They now cannot buy their own home after you axed the housing financial assistance schemes. They need to find an extra $2000 to pay for increased power and water bills. Their childcare costs have gone up $2000 per year due to the hike in power rates. Their rent has increased after council has ratcheted up rates because of the increase in power bills. Their grocery bill has gone up because businesses are passing on the cost of your power bill hikes. One parent has lost their income altogether because of your job cuts in the public service. The other parent’s income - why have you lied to Territorians …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Ms LAWRIE: … why did you lie to Territorians, going to the election saying ...
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, please be seated.
Mr ELFERINK: She knows she cannot do that unless it is by way of substantive motion. I now invite the substantive motion she is working her way up to.
Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016