2013-12-05
Five-Point Plan – Progress
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Your government took office with a five-point plan promising to reduce debt and crime, strengthen the economy, plan and be accountable. Instead, you have sacked hundreds of public servants, including teachers. Our debt is increasing by about $1bn a year and you stand by as a Territory town is effectively decimated. Alcohol-related crime is escalating with tragic results, and you strike secret deals with a select few. Under your watch the Territory is going backwards. You have done the exact opposite of what you promised. The cost of living is up, wages are down, and we hear today that jobs might be lost from the Government Printing Office. Your five-point plan is in tatters. How did you get it so wrong in such a short time?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am glad the Opposition Leader read out the five-point plan because we were ticking them off as you went through them. The cost of living is coming down. The biggest driver of the cost of living is the price of housing in the Northern Territory. When we came into government there was huge lack of housing in the Northern Territory. Through the good work of people such as the Minister for Lands, Planning and the Environment, the Minister for Housing and the former Minister for Housing, and through the roll-out of changes we are making, we are starting to see a significant amount of new housing in the Northern Territory which is driving down cost of living pressures. We are starting to meet the supply and demand equation.
Recently we heard the announcement about the next stage of Zuccoli. We heard the other day about the Real Housing for Growth initiatives in Tennant Creek, the member for Barkly’s electorate. Prices, I believe, are around $221. Is that right, Minister for Housing?
Mr Conlan: Right.
Mr GILES: We are implementing some fantastic initiatives in the Northern Territory.
You spoke about driving crime down. Look at the property crime figures and see the change there. Look at our actions to try to reduce domestic violence in the Northern Territory. I have explained that those numbers will keep rising as we address 100% of cases, not 25%. You talked about alcohol - mandatory alcohol rehabilitation. The economy – look what the Minister for Mines and Energy is doing, particularly around our new mining opportunities. There are 400 people working at Western Desert Resources. We have restarted the live cattle trade. Come in, spinner! You were the nodding dogs who stood by Julia Gillard, the former Prime Minister, with Paul Henderson, saying, ‘Oh yes, cancel the live cattle trade’. We have it back up and running again. Record numbers of live cattle are going through our port. You have really led with your chin on this. Every box is being ticked. It will take a long time to fix eleven-and-a-half years of Labor government failure.
We are working our darnedest to try to support Gove moving into the future. The former member for Casuarina, the architect of the lease with Rio Tinto on the site in East Arnhem Land, takes no responsibility. Blame the government. You were the architect, member for Casuarina, and your chief spin doctor, the member for Nhulunbuy, does not want to be a part of any solution.
Do not worry; we have big shoulders on this side. We will clean up your mess. We continue to clean up your mess every day. You walk in here with barbs and poke us; however, we will keep fighting to make sure we do what is right for the Territory, and to get the Territory back on track.
Government’s Achievements This Year
Mr HIGGINS to CHIEF MINISTER
As the 2013 parliamentary year draws to a close, could you remind the House about some of the government’s extensive achievements over the last 12 months.
ANSWER
Oh, great question, member for Daly!
Madam Speaker, it is a pity Question Time does not go for five hours. We will be here all day with this. I have just gone through a few of our great initiatives.
Territory growth state product increased by 5.6% in 2012-13, the highest growth rate of any jurisdiction in Australia. Small to medium businesses now consider the Northern Territory government to be the most supportive government of all jurisdictions in the nation. In the year to September, engineering construction activity increased in the Territory by 73.8% to $4bn, once again, the highest level on record.
Regional economic growth – this week I signed, along with the member for Arafura, an MOU with the Tiwi Islands to work on developing investment opportunities there, once again, cleaning up Labor mess from eleven-and-a-half years.
We have made significant inroads towards re-engaging with our Asian trading partners, capped off by a great visit to Japan, Vietnam and China by me and my colleagues who have been travelling extensively to try to boost things.
We are making a huge dent in the housing shortfall left by Labor. In August and September this year there were 159 residential building approvals, the highest monthly totals since - you will have to work this out; I know my colleagues over here will - April 1999. I ask you, who was in government in 1999? The Country Liberals! We have the highest monthly totals on record since the last time the CLP was in government.
More than 70 parcels of Crown land have been identified for release for industrial, commercial and residential purposes over the next five years.
In the year to December, property crime in Darwin was the lowest since …
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Does the Chief Minister consider pulling the rug from under the people of Gove and halving the community’s 1100 jobs – 1100 jobs – an achievement?
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down. It is not a point of order!
Mr GILES: It is very tough when you can only buy sour grapes from the fruit shop.
I say that again: in the year to September, property crime in Darwin was at its lowest since 1999-2000. I ask again, who was in power in 1999-2000? The Country Liberals!
There is a bit of a theme here. It is like the pyramids of debt shown by the Minister for Infrastructure. The debt pyramid grows when Labor is in and comes down when the CLP is in. Crime is up when Labor is in, down when the CLP is in. Housing shortfall is up when Labor is in, down when the CLP is in. Do not worry; we will clean up your mess. It is a big responsibility, but we have broad shoulders.
NT Budget
Mr McCARTHY to CHIEF MINISTER
You took office claiming you would cut Territory debt, but the 2012-13 accounts show debt is rising by $1bn a year under the CLP. You claim Labor debt was $5.5bn, yet the Auditor-General’s February report shows it at $1.8bn. Your 2012-13 accounts also show that you have ripped an extra $55m out of the pockets of Territorians through your rampant revenue raising, and $32m in power price hikes. You have snatched $67m from Territory businesses in additional tax and charges, but you then went on a spending spree of $84m. You are quite happy to stand in this House and tell us about it. What have we got to show for it? Give us three minutes and talk about the $84m spending spree after you removed $55m from Territory families, $32m in power and water price hikes and $67m from Territory businesses.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I look forward to my report being tabled later tonight which will explain the full extent of Territory finances. One of the interesting things when you talk about rising debt levels, and the deficit position we are in, is what we inherited when we came in.
I will give you an example that springs to mind: the 70 staff in the Department of Children and Families who were not funded when we came in - a legacy payment. We came in and there was no funding for the ongoing wages of 70 staff in one agency. ‘Oh, right, we have to cover that.’ You talk about the debt levels. What is the number one thing coming onto our books this financial year to increase debt levels? The prison. What is the exact figure?
Mr Elferink: $623m.
Mr GILES: That is $623m coming onto our books this year, which we will inherit, thanks to Labor. This is another piece of the pie, another piece of the mess we will have to clean up. If anyone - I know you are now the shadow treasurer because the former shadow treasurer - now Leader of the Opposition – was so embarrassed about her $5.5bn debt that she had to off-load the portfolio as quickly as she could. Forward estimates, shadow treasurer, decree what is expected in the future - $5.5bn worth of debt.
It is our job on this side to scale back those debt levels. We must reduce the deficit so we can start paying back the debt. It is very difficult for us to get into a position where we can start paying that debt back.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was, you went on an $84m spending spree in the last financial year. What have we got to show for it?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, sit down, it is not a point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: I have answered it.
Darwin Port Business
Ms ANDERSON to CHIEF MINISTER
Could you update the Assembly on any potential new customers on the horizon for Darwin’s port?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Namatjira for her question. On this side, we want to make sure things are happening in all corners of the Northern Territory. We spoke about Western Desert Resources, in the member for Arnhem’s electorate, we know about the MOU with the Tiwi Islands. We have things going on all over the place. I have been intent on ensuring we get things happening in central Australia. It is a challenge which is ramping up, particularly in the mining and tourism sectors, because there are challenges from when you were in government. I will get to the point of the answer.
It is very good to see the potential around Rum Jungle Resources in Central Australia, in the member for Namatjira’s electorate. Rum Jungle Resources has signed a heads of agreement with Darwin Port Corporation to use its export facilities for two potential projects under development in Central Australia. This is great news for the port and an important step towards getting Rum Jungle Resources’ two minerals projects up and running.
The member for Namatjira is highly excited about this and had a briefing just the other day. Rum Jungle Resources has two potential fertiliser mineral projects in Central Australia. The Ammaroo phosphate project, 230 km northeast of Alice Springs, is undergoing a pre-feasibility study, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2014. A pre-feasibility study on the Karinga Creek potash project, 220 km southwest of Alice Springs, will begin in the first quarter of 2014.
If these projects come to fruition they will create much needed jobs in Central Australia, in regional and remote areas, and they will boost the economy over the years ahead. The heads of agreement with Rum Jungle Resources will allow the company to use land and infrastructure at East Arm port, as well as construct and operate the necessary supporting infrastructure to export product from Darwin. It is great to see our busy port signing another potential new customer. It is more proof that the Territory is open for business. We look forward to working with Rum Jungle Resources as it moves through its normal feasibility process.
This heads of agreement tops a fantastic year for the port. I am sure the Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries will be interested to hear this. In 2013, it is expected the Territory will have exported more than 367 000 head of livestock. That is an anticipated record year for Darwin port. We should all put our hands together for the Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries who has done a fantastic job in reigniting the live cattle trade which the nine members of the Labor Party completely oppose. They were happy to be nodding dogs with Julia Gillard and not support live cattle. We stand up for business in the Northern Territory, for Territorians, and for growth for the Territory’s future.
Alcohol – Sale of Takeaway to Drunks
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
Alcohol abuse and violence are at crisis levels. Local businesses and residents are very clear: the problem is worse since the Banned Drinker Register was scrapped. Yesterday I met with the transit centre operators. They said the supply of takeaway alcohol to problem drunks is out of control since the Banned Drinker Register was scrapped. You say your policies around alcohol are working in a fantastic way.
You promised to cut crime by 10% a year, every year. Instead, violent assault is up by 11%. You have broken your promises and your alcohol policies are tragic failures. Yesterday you said no to an inquiry into alcohol violence. All the experts say if you are serious about tackling grog-fuelled violence you have to tackle supply of alcohol to problem drunks. When will you get serious and tackle supply of takeaway alcohol to problem drunks?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the 10% crime reduction target is interesting. It is a very tough target to meet; however, unlike Labor, we set a target and are trying to achieve a performance outcome. Let me talk about the figures I mentioned in parliament last sittings when I spoke about a 58% reduction in property crime in Palmerston. I am sure the Palmerston members are happy to see property crime go down by 58%. Property crime in Darwin – I just spoke about it – is the lowest on record in the year to September since the CLP was last in government in 2000. It is crazy to ask that question.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. We know you do not answer questions. It is about violent crime increasing. There is a serious problem with takeaway grog; business operators are saying it. Will you address it at all?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, it is not a point of order. You do not give statements in a point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: You made a point about an inquiry. Let us talk about violent crime and alcohol. When you were in government you were only attacking 25% of the alcohol-fuelled violent crime problem. We are now tackling 100% of the problem and those numbers will keep going up. The difference is you were running inquiries on 25% of alcohol-related domestic violence cases, and we are running inquiries through the police on 100% of cases. Those case numbers will keep going up and the statistics will go up.
If you look at the numbers and type of incidents you will see our alcohol policies are working. We are tackling the problem and sending a clear message that women should not be abused and beaten. We take it seriously.
We had more than 100 in the first quarter referred to mandatory alcohol treatment. Changing people’s lives is a positive effect and we stand by it.
Donations to Government from Liquor Industry
Mr WOOD to CHIEF MINISTER
Over the last few months you and your Minister for Alcohol Policy have said a number of things which indicate you are on very good terms with the liquor industry in the Northern Territory. There have been comments about our drinking culture being a core social value, and comments in the NT News on 13 November about taking advice from the AHA in relation to APOs. There was also a comment by the Minister for Alcohol Policy:
- Of course the industry is very important to the Territory. It’s part of the economic fabric of the Territory. It’s been fantastic working with the AHA …
Could you please say whether the CLP, or any CLP members of parliament, receive or have received any donations, including at the last election, from the liquor industry, directly or indirectly, from the AHA licensed premises or any alcohol companies? Do you think it appropriate for political parties to accept financial support from the tobacco and alcohol industries?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. I have never received a donation. If you want to check the financial returns for the party, access the electoral website.
Stella Maris
Mr HIGGINS to CHIEF MINISTER
It has been revealed in the media today that the Secretary of Unions NT, Matthew Gardiner, who is also the President of the Territory Labor Party, had, in 2009, approached the Labor government’s then Planning minister, Delia Lawrie, about developing the Stella Maris site for commercial gain. Can you please confirm what nett financial gain Territorians could expect from this slimy deal, promoted by the Opposition Leader, to gift away a $3m publicly-owned asset for two decades to her union mates?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. He does not like the smell of this dodgy deal.
All members in this Chamber are elected to look after the interests of Territorians, to protect and preserve publicly-owned assets through robust and transparent processes. One would expect, after two weeks of continuing revelations about this stinky arrangement, that someone on the opposition’s side, including the architect of the deal - the Opposition Leader - would have had the guts and gumption to explain the benefits to Territorians of this deal.
How has it benefited Territorians in a monetary sense? Territorians will not receive one penny - nada, zilch, zero. Not one cent from this public asset for 20 years. The Opposition Leader has never explained to Territorians why this is such a good deal.
That is not all. Territorian taxpayers already invested more than $300 000 into improvements for this property during the period this slimy deal was being conducted between the Leader of the Opposition and the President of the Labor Party. If that is not bad enough, Territorians are also supposed to believe that this is such an outrageously honest and good arrangement that they were going to give up $150 000 per year of rent, the equivalent of up to $3m in revenue, over the life of this secret deal. Has she ever explained why this is such a great return to Territorians on their public assets? Why has she not explained what is in this letter written by Unions NT Secretary in 2009 to Treasurer, Delia Lawrie? I quote:
- The overarching concept is to set up a business division run along commercial lines and operating under the auspices of Unions NT as a not-for-profit organisation ...
Mr McCarthy: Mate, you have no idea.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, cease interjecting!
Mr GILES: We did not see a media release on this fantastic financial deal for Territorians from the former Treasurer, the very person charged with looking after the public purse …
Mr McCarthy interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly! Chief Minister, please pause. Member for Barkly, I asked you to cease interjecting. You are on a warning!
Mr GILES: Now we know there were benefits far beyond this, not for Territorians, though. The unions plan to relocate from their current Wood Street premises to Stella Maris and redevelop, for profit, the CBD building they currently own with the Labor Party. While the Labor Party was expected to benefit from this redevelopment proposal, how were Territorians expected to financially benefit?
This was a dirty, dodgy, smelly deal. It is time to come clean. What other crooked things has the Leader of the Opposition done?
You have two choices, Leader of the Opposition: stand up and explain why this smelly deal was good for Territorians or resign as Opposition Leader.
Economic Development in Regions
Mr VOWLES to MINISTER for COMMUNITY SERVICES referred to CHIEF MINISTER
Your government came to power promising to create jobs and economic development in our regions, but you are failing. Thousands of jobs will be lost in our regions: in Nhulunbuy, as your government stands by and does nothing, and in communities as Indigenous education and health worker jobs are cut. Your government has given water rights away to its mates while leaving nothing for traditional owners. Your government said it would progress the Ord scheme, but all you are doing is moving to sack the AAPA Board. You still have no Indigenous economic development policy, despite submissions having closed in July. How can you defend your complete lack of action on Indigenous economic development, and how did you get the promise to grow a three-hub economy so wrong?
ANSWER
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, that question, while it was asked of the Minister for Community Services, is to do with a whole-of-government approach and I will answer it.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a question for the Minister for Community Services. It directly relates to her portfolios.
Madam SPEAKER: Stop! That is a misuse of standing orders. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: You asked a question about Indigenous economic development. I have said this answer before. Go to the administrative orders and see who has portfolio responsibility for Indigenous economic development.
Mr GILES: You ask a question about education and jobs. You did not ask one thing about the Minister for Community Services’ portfolio.
A member: What about AAPA?
Mr GILES: You mentioned AAPA, but you never asked a question about it. You need to design your questions properly. You come here, big noting, asking a question to do with something where we are taking a whole-of-government approach and you cannot even ask it of the appropriate minister. We have stood in this Chamber every day for the last two weeks talking about economic development.
We were just talking about the live cattle trade, primary industry …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. You have not answered the question. Why do you not have an Indigenous economic development policy, when submissions closed in July?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: That was not the question. We were just talking about live cattle and mining in regional areas. We were talking about Rum Jungle and what can be done there, the MOU with the Tiwi islands, the change in local government in the Daly region. We are making fantastic efforts in the bush. This is the most supportive government ever for regional and remote communities and for driving jobs and growth in the bush.
There is a clear distinction between the two parties – the nine members of Labor and the 16 members of the Country Liberals. That mob stands for welfare; this mob stands for economic development and jobs growth. Nine versus sixteen.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. There are eight members of Labor and one independent. If the Chief Minister could respect that, please.
Madam SPEAKER: That is the second time you have misused Standing Order 113. You are on a warning. I suggest you study your standing orders further. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: I have answered the question.
Stella Maris
Ms FINOCCHIARO to the CHIEF MINISTER
Territorians, including the good people of Drysdale, want to know the truth about the dodgy Stella Maris deal. The Opposition Leader has yet to disclose or explain why the secret deal entered into by her former Labor Cabinet with Unions NT on the last day of the Labor government before the 2012 election …
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 114: repeating questions.
Mr ELFERINK: Speaking to the standing order, the question had not yet been asked, it is not capable of being adjudicated on.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Drysdale has not finished the question yet. Member for Drysdale, you have the call.
Ms FINOCCHIARO: … is in the interest of Territorians. What major concerns does the current government have around this dodgy arrangement?
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question is now finished. The standing order is 114: repeating questions.
Mr ELFERINK: Speaking to the point of order, the questions are substantially different.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. If it was a problem, it should have already been raised this week and last week. Chief Minister, you have the call.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is obvious these dodgy and crooked arrangements to benefit the Labor Party and its union mates have been a long time cooking and have involved a few central characters, with the lead role starring none other than the Opposition Leader. She had plenty of opportunity over the past fortnight of sittings to explain herself to the House and the public over this smelly deal. Media first started posing questions to her two weeks ago about this crooked arrangement, the majority of which have remained unanswered …
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 255. I ask the Chief Minister to table the document he is reading from as well as the letter I wrote to him.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, is it a document you can table or is it a confidential document?
Mr GILES: It is a confidential document. It has my personal notes on it and I am reading from it. If you want it tabled – you will find that you distributed it to the media yourself. Last week, on Tuesday, when this stinky mess first surfaced in the media under the headline ‘Labor gave building rent free to unions’, the Opposition Leader again failed Territorians by keeping silent. In fact, the NT News editorial that day stated the obvious: queries must be addressed. What did the Opposition Leader do? Last week, on Wednesday, when it was again in the NT News under the headline, ‘Stink over Stella Deal’, what did she do? Again, she stayed silent. Last Thursday, this smelly deal was again mentioned, front and centre, under the headline, ‘A Nice Little Earner’. For who? Territorians, or Labor and its union mates?
Surely she could not have missed the headline, ‘Labor’s Murky Site Deal’ on page three of the NT News last Saturday where she was named as being instrumental in pushing the lease through Cabinet. Her only response was to plead dumb. Yesterday, the headline was direct in its condemnation of the Opposition Leader and her former Labor Cabinet’s role in this dirty deal when it stated, ‘Labor Caught Out on the Stella Maris Site’. Again, silence from the Opposition Leader. Today in the NT News is the headline, ‘Union Boss Denies Links,’ all about the person who is President of the Labor Party, the director of the Labor slush company and the Unions NT secretary justifying the former Labor government granting this smelly deal.
Again, we have heard nothing from the Opposition Leader about why she pushed this dirty deal. She has not responded to numerous media opportunities. She has never issued a media release to explain herself, and despite two weeks of adjournment debates and opportunities in this House - she knows, under Standing Order 57, she could have obtained leave at any time in the last two weeks to provide a personal response and explanation of this matter - there has only been silence. The only time the Opposition Leader spoke about this was last Friday on radio when she belittled the grubby affair and called it a storm in a teacup.
The media editorial from when this stinky deal was first exposed was correct when it stated this saga should be the subject of an independent inquiry.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Move Motion Forthwith
Move Motion Forthwith
Mr GILES (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would allow me to move a motion that this parliament resolves, pursuant to section 4A of the Inquiries Act, to appoint a person to inquire into and report to the Administrator on the following matter:
With respect to the proposed grant of a lease over Lot 5260 Town of Darwin known as Stella Maris (the site) the inquiry will:
1. investigate and identify the circumstances of the purported decision of the then Minister for Lands to grant a lease over the site to Unions NT on or about 3 August 2012
2. review the public policy and public accountability considerations involved in making the purported decision to grant a lease of the site to Unions NT without putting the matter out to expressions of interest or public tender
3. assess the performance of relevant persons, including the responsible minister at the time, in carrying out their obligations under the regulatory regime and ensuring the proper accountability processes were applied in the tenure management of the site
4. review the adequacy and effectiveness of the regulatory regime in ensuring transparency, good governance and community input into the process of leasing or granting Crown Land
5. consider and comment on the provision and accessibility of relevant information to affected stakeholders and the public in relation to the proposal and purported decision to grant the site to Unions NT
6. make recommendations to the Minister for Lands, Planning and the Environment on any measures that might help to ensure transparency, good governance and community input into the process of leasing or granting Crown Land, with particular reference to the purported decision to grant the site to Unions NT
7. consider, assess and make recommendations in relation to any other matter the inquiry considers relevant to the matter.
Ms LAWRIE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, it is very disappointing that the Chief Minister is cutting Question Time by half an hour.
We knew you were going with an inquiry. Daryl Manzie said as much to Chris Burns, you have been flagging it and your Attorney-General flagged it a fortnight ago. You have been on this pathway of an inquiry and that has been no surprise to anyone. What is deeply disappointing is you do not have the decency to let democracy occur and allow an hour of Question Time. The opposition does not get much time to directly ask questions of the government and hold you to account. This is the last Question Time of the sittings and you do not even have the decency to allow it to occur.
You can move this motion at any time; you could have moved it before Question Time. If it was so dire as to require a motion to suspend standing orders to bring on an inquiry into Stella Maris, you could have done it before Question Time, moved the motion, dealt with the motion, and then had an hour of Question Time. No, you do not have that basic common decency, Chief Minister. It is deeply disappointing. We never have an issue debating the motions you put forward.
You are the government, you have the weight of numbers, you will bring the motions in and debates will occur. That is the reality. We will not stop it; we cannot stop it. We will not stop the inquiry; we cannot stop it. If you were fair dinkum about Stella Maris you would have referred it to the Auditor-General 14 months ago. He is the appropriate authority. The Auditor-General inquires into these matters. That is his purview. No, you will not do that because you want it under your terms. The inquiry, who heads the inquiry and the timing of the inquiry will all be under your terms.
This is a disgusting misuse of power, but you know what? We are up for it. We will proceed with it because we have done nothing wrong. You do not accept it because of the way you think. You do not accept it because of the way you behave. That is not how we behave.
The issues Territorians want to hear debated here today are very grave and very serious. Today, people are literally facing the worst Christmas of their lives because there are about 1100 people losing their jobs. That is direct jobs. That does not including the 1000-odd indirect jobs that will go, Chief Minister, under your watch and inaction, because you are rolling over to Rio Tinto on the curtailment and the time frame. In addition, we know that next week about 120 teachers and 150 support staff will lose their jobs. We say about …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Digression.
Madam SPEAKER: No, there is a reasonable amount of latitude for the Opposition Leader. Opposition Leader, you have the call.
Ms LAWRIE: We say ‘about’ because your Education minister, under your leadership, will not be accountable and will not table the numbers of allocations that have gone to every school in the Territory. That is your style, is it not?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, can you please pause. Members for Nhulunbuy and Port Darwin, cease dialogue across the Chamber, please. Chief Minister, what is your point of order?
Mr GILES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Digression from subject. The debate is about the suspension of standing orders to allow a motion on Stella Maris. It is not about education. I am happy to have a debate on the suspension of standing orders, but education and everything else we can debate separately.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, Chief Minister.
Ms LAWRIE: Speaking to the point of order, it is about suspending standing orders in Question Time. Question Time would give us the opportunity to raise these genuine matters of public importance to Territorians. Our Question Time included questions on education and Nhulunbuy. All the matters I am raising now were coming your way in Question Time, so this is your timing, Chief Minister. It is your hand, your actions. You chose to suspend standing orders in Question Time, of course we will raise, in debate, on the motion to suspend standing orders in Question Time, the genuine issues confronting Territorians that would have been asked of the government in Question Time. That is why I am raising them on this motion to suspend standing orders.
I remind you, Chief Minister, that you were not elected. You are there because you knifed your colleague, the member for Blain. You did it in the most ghastly manner while he was on a trade mission to Japan. It has had an impact on our diplomatic relationship; you admitted as much in one of your subsequent media grabs. Your actions from that point in time, whilst that was despicable, have been appalling.
The inquiry you want to call on will be held because you have the numbers and can misuse your power through weight and want of numbers. You will choose who conducts the inquiry, the timing of the inquiry and the terms of reference. You could have done this by the stroke of a pen. As Chief Minister, you have that power. But, that does not suit you, because this is about the theatre of muckraking in this Chamber. That is your style. Anyone watching Question Time today did not see a statesman or a Chief Minister who dealt with the substantive issues facing the Northern Territory; they saw the wild political rants we get from you all the time. That is your style.
Our style has always been to deal with substantive issues in the Northern Territory, to get on with doing the job and ensure we do it with decency and integrity, and in such a way that Territorians have the outcomes they need in their lives so they can feel safe and can operate in an environment of wellbeing, and go about their lives not being under a layer of fear and loathing, which is what goes on across business, the public service and, now, in this Chamber.
Of course I do not respond to your ridiculous accusations and muckraking. Who would? It is ridiculous. Have I spoken to the media? Absolutely. Media questions me; I answer. You are saying, ‘You did not answer this, you did not answer that’. There is not a single question I have not responded to. Who has been following it? Is it such a scandal that it has been gripping our TV news, our radio? No, it has been the subject of a series of Northern Territory News articles by one reporter. Is it filling the pages of the Letters to the Editor, the text messages or the talk back shows? No, Territorians say it is a heritage site, intrinsically linked to the unions and is to be protected.
They do not have an issue with that. You have an issue with that because you have an issue with unions. All we have heard for the past year from you is this bizarre union bashing that takes you back to the dark ages. It is weird. That is your style, though, Chief Minister.
You cannot even have the decency to let us have a last Question Time. Does that sit okay on your shoulders? Do you feel comfortable about that? Last sittings you shut down Question Time over questioning about a plan to massively hike up the network charges in Power and Water, which first you denied and then you were physically shown the documentation from Power and Water, which was a submission to the Utilities Commission. Last sittings, when you shut down Question Time you must have realised it was a big mistake. There were references to it being a mistake in the media. But here you are, not having learnt from that mistake, doing it all over again.
The problem is that your mistakes are starting to really bring down the Territory in a very real sense. I have the privilege and opportunity, as Opposition Leader, to meet with people from a variety of backgrounds. Businesses are saying to me, ‘Does this man realise what he is doing to the Territory’s sovereign risk in the way he behaves, he operates, and in the language he uses with multinationals?’ Small businesses are saying to me, ‘We cannot even get a hearing from this government, we cannot even get in the door,’ because it has a small circle of mates, and that is it. If you are not in the inner circle, you are really not in.
At the Property Council, a question was put to you about the 25% reduction in consultancies in that industry. You dismissed it; you did not accept the question. I sat at a table with consultants and they talked to me about the numbers of staff who had been shed and about significant Territory firms that had been downsizing under your watch. However, you would have us believe it is all fabulous out there; it is a gang-buster 5.6% economic growth economy. Chief Minister, it is there because of the Ichthys project. The Ichthys project is there because the Labor government went after something and delivered it.
The housing being built now, the building approvals, are on land released by the Labor government. At Zuccoli - Labor, absolute fact. Talk to the developers. Brierty – you are standing next to Peter McBain. He got Bellamack, he is going after Zuccoli. It is a fantastic thing, but it is land we funded and delivered.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This is a motion to suspend standing orders to proceed with a motion to develop an inquiry. This submission by the member opposite is way off anything to do with what we are debating. She is digressing from the topic.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, Leader of Government Business. Opposition Leader, if you could keep to the motion, which is the suspension of standing orders.
Ms LAWRIE: As I pointed out, this is to suspend Question Time, and we would have asked questions about your planning for land release in Question Time. Those are questions that cannot be answered because of your decision to shut down Question Time. This is the second time you have done it. It is unbelievable. There is no history of shutting down Question Time like this in the Territory. You are rewriting the way our democratic processes operate in the Northern Territory.
Let us look at the inquiries that occur in the Northern Territory. We have done some research because we knew you would do this; it is no surprise to us. It is a disappointment. We thought, ‘How could they, as they have not even referred it to the Auditor-General,’ who is surely the person you would refer this to. They have sat on it for 14 months …
Mr Giles: Not when it looks like corruption.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: Withdraw.
Mr Giles: No, we are in a debate about suspending standing orders.
Ms LAWRIE: No, we have not suspended standing orders, you ought to withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please withdraw, it is still the motion.
Mr GILES: I withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you. Opposition Leader.
Ms LAWRIE: You are rewriting the democratic processes in the Northern Territory, and it is not a good thing because it is a misuse of power. The inquiries that have occurred in the Northern Territory have been into child protection: The Little Children are Sacred and the Growing them strong, together reports. There was also an inquiry into the removal of a magistrate by Justice Nader. These were serious matters that pertained to the Territory and the outcomes for Territorians.
This, if you are concerned about it, is something that would be referred to an Auditor-General. This is not an inquiry subject. The Auditor-General is more than capable of inquiring into the Stella Maris Crown lease, which is not sold, by the way. They cannot sell that land; they cannot derive the commercial benefits you are claiming. It was a 10-year Crown lease. It is extraordinary that you are going down this line, but perhaps understandable because you are so desperate.
You have lost the confidence of the Northern Territory community. You have lost the confidence of a significant number of your members. You have lost the confidence of a significant number of the members of the CLP. It has been an extraordinary journey for me to witness, in opposition, how incompetent, chaotic and dysfunctional a government can be. It was pretty bad under the member for Blain. People were not happy under the member for Blain, but it became disastrous under you. You took it to depths the Territory has not seen. When people who are CLP to their boot heels stop me in the street – because I am a local, I grew up here; it is partly why I care so much about heritage, but that does not matter – and say to me, ‘You have to get rid of these guys, they are bad for the Territory,’ you have serious problems.
I know you have serious problems. You will not stay Chief Minister, but in the meantime you misuse your power. It is the misuse of power I have a real issue with. First, the suspension of standing orders to cut into Question Time, and second, the misuse of the power to call on the inquiry.
You will, you can, and we will go through it, but it will be the worst mistake of your political career.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Madam Speaker, you have just heard the censure motion planned by the members opposite, for which they were going to suspend today’s Question Time.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. There was no censure motion planned by us today.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, that is not a point of order.
Mr ELFERINK: Madam Speaker, of course they were planning to run a censure motion. Let us think about the theatre of what we have been seeing and the questions asked. This scatter gun approach targeting the Chief Minister - all ready to target the Chief Minister to take us into the Christmas period. This argument, ‘Oh, no, suspending Question Time, very naughty’. They have done it twice in the last two weeks, if memory serves me, and they do it nearly every time this House meets. How many times have we heard from the members opposite, ‘Madam, Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent this House censuring the government’. That is a suspension of Question Time and it often occurs 10 or 15 minutes before the end of Question Time.
What they are annoyed about is that they had a plan today. All of a sudden, they are desperate to run out this speech, and you have just heard it. Let us be mindful of the drapes of indignation they drag over themselves about the suspension of Question Time when they, by far, are the most regular suspenders of Question Time in this House. We have done it once and they are screaming indignation from the heavens. They do it every time they move a censure motion. It just does not wash.
The second component of this is that I welcome the fact the Leader of the Opposition welcomes this inquiry. It will bring into sharp relief what has occurred in this tawdry and nasty little deal.
We are expected to believe all is sweetness in light when on the last day of the Labor government’s ability to do it, the Planning minister walked to Unions NT with a letter saying, ‘Here, give us your $450 filing fee so we can nail down a deal on the Stella Maris site, which is where we want you to move to’. They can move in there for community purposes, say the members opposite. Community purposes? They are commercial purposes. The union’s own plans describe commercial enterprises on the site, including coffee shops and those types of things. They will get that site rent free. What will they do with that site? They will make money on it. Moreover, they will vacate the site at 38 Wood Street and move into this new site they have been granted, which is worth $3m. It is worth $150 000 per year in rent for the full length of the deal which, by the way, is not 10 years, it is 10 plus 10.
This is the plan from the members opposite. They are going to get the unions into a joint rent free, then redevelop - you can read this in the union’s business plan – 38 Wood Street. Who owns 38 Wood Street? It is owned by Unions NT. What was the name of the biz company? Harry Nelson Proprietary Limited, or something like that? Who owns Harry Nelson? The Northern Territory Labor Party.
The site they got Unions NT to move out of to travel down to Stella Maris, which they get for free and has already been done up at the cost of the taxpayer to the tune of $350 000, is then vacated so they can redevelop the site which the Labor Party would be the direct beneficiary of. This Leader of the Opposition, who was the Treasurer at the time, and the Planning minister, as far back as 2009 when this whole deal was being nobbled together, are complaining about abuse of process in this House.
We are not complaining about abuse of process in this House, we are complaining about abuse of process in office. If that is not worth an inquiry, what is?
I ask honourable members to turn their minds to Operation Cyrus. Mr Obeid was investigated under Operation Cyrus for the single crime of failing to disclose a personal interest and a family interest. That is the investigation in this space. It is front page news in Sydney and has been repeatedly because of the allegations of abuse of office directed at Mr Obeid.
We are concerned about this. I said on day one when I walked into this House that I would look at these types of issues. I am concerned about where the roads of investigation are leading us. There have already been a number of prosecutions for issues we have looked into. A culture that has the capacity to see the types of things we have found further down the system starts at the top. What is that culture? An indifferent culture, because this mob opposite is prepared, it would appear, to use their power to advance themselves and the cause of the unions financially, at the expense of the Northern Territory taxpayer.
We heard the howls of indignation over a few thousand-dollar issues, which are being investigated, but nothing when we are talking about a multimillion dollar rip-off by the Labor Party and its union mates. We have no compunction about using Question Time to hold not only government, but parliamentarians to account.
You have to remember, this is our Question Time, it is not just your Question Time. We should all be held to account to the people of the Northern Territory, and the Leader of the Opposition must be held to account for her conduct in this matter.
Madam Speaker, we, on this side of the House, support the suspension of standing orders so this motion can be brought forward and this inquiry can be established.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Madam Speaker, as the previous Minister for Lands, Planning and the Environment who took a community land grant application for a Crown lease to Cabinet, I speak on the suspension of standing orders. It is quite a notable position in this debate to speak after the CLP solicitor with L plates - in work experience. He may choose to participate in this legal inquiry pro bono to save the Territory taxpayer.
The member for Port Darwin tells us, ‘It is the government’s Question Time,’ but the government does not want to take questions. In the lobby today, going into the last Question Time of the year with a new team, all together, the question was put, ‘What do you think the government will do today in Question Time?’ The Leader of the Opposition provided the answer from her experience and said, ‘In the last Question Time of the year, after 12 months of governance in the Northern Territory, the CLP will roll out questions to show Territorians all the great things they have done. They will go through a litany of achievements one by one, and each minister will get their turn. There will be ministers jostling for positions up the ladder to tell their great story.’
However, here we have the Chief Minister shut it down within 30 minutes. He wants to shut down Question Time. What has does he have to hide? My question is, do the members of the CLP really know what this leadership team is doing? Do you know what the letter I sent says? Does your Caucus professionally develop you on the nature of what you put your hands up to do? I doubt it. I believe your leadership team is insular, insecure and consistently careless with the truth.
Let me show you one paragraph of the letter I wrote to the Chief Minister about an inquiry:
- My colleagues and I would welcome the opportunity to put the matters we have set out above before an independent inquiry and then to test, in that inquiry, your and your government’s integrity, not just in relation to the treatment of this site, but generally in relation to various other land development proposals which your government appears to be promoting at the moment.
That is just one paragraph. Did any of those members of the CLP see it? I doubt it, because it they have an insular leadership team which is bluffing its way through.
The Chief Minister denied the member for Stuart the opportunity to answer a question. I interjected across the Chamber and said, ‘Come on, Bess, have a crack’. I was in that position, knowing full well when I came into this Chamber as a minister I would be brutally attacked by the CLP – personal attacks, nasty attacks, jeers, jibes and laughter. It went on and on. I do not think we have ever done that to a new minister on your side. We have asked a legitimate question. The minister had the opportunity to respond, but the Chief Minister shut it down. He took charge of the situation. He did not want anybody talking about his business, because it is his business. He does not share anything with you guys. You do not know what is going on over here, yet you put your hand up for this dirty political game.
Let us rewind the clock and go back to the start of these parliamentary sittings. Did the CLP come in with a litany of achievements. I am sorry, no, that was a bit difficult to achieve. Were they coming in with their heads held high? No, they were coming in to finish the year, to get in and out, and the Chief Minister got them out. He took the opportunity to clear the decks quickly, because it was getting a bit hot.
Then the member for Port Darwin wanted to pull the stunt about a censure. He knows how censures work. Censures are about watching the clock. For those members of the CLP who do not know how to work censures, you watch the clock. You want to get all your questions in before you censure. With Madam Speaker deciding on who gets the questions, and having an Independent member, it is always a very precise strategy because you want to get your questions out. The member for Nhulunbuy summed it up with Nostradamus over there with X-ray vision – Superman. Superman over there suggested he can see what is on my desk.
We had a list of questions; I had number two and number eight. I wanted number nine, but we decided to swap eight and nine because we wanted the Territory to hear the proper story - the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That is what I will say at any inquiry, and that is why I wrote to you, Chief Minister, and said, ‘Bring it on. If you want to spend a lot of Territory cash on this, bring it on.’ But we expected it to be done with statesman-like diplomacy. We expected the Chief Minister to deliver the summons to me, to write me the letter and to say, ‘Listen, member for Barkly, you are on the stand’. I would welcome that and tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Instead, we see a dodgy CLP deal, a stunt. We see the closure of Question Time for the second time. Members opposite, if you are being professionally developed at all, have a close look at your Chief Minister because you will see the beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. The last time he pulled this stunt you overruled him. You took him out and stood up for the great democracy that started with the Punic Wars, the great lessons I have learnt from the member for Port Darwin ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Punic Wars were between Carthage and Rome. They had nothing to do with democracy.
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down, it is not a point of order. Member for Barkly.
Mr McCARTHY: Madam Speaker, what a great opportunity for the member for Port Darwin to get the spotlight back on himself. He does not like to share the stage, nor does this leadership team of the CLP. They do not like sharing the stage, and that is a disgrace. You have a professional responsibility to develop all members, but you play these crazy leadership games to the detriment of the Northern Territory, as the Leader of the Opposition pointed out.
We call for a statesmanlike Chief Minister. We call for a leader to represent us globally as well as nationally, but this stunt is all about newspapers and televisions. It is all about deflection. It is all about, ‘We have so much to hide because there are no good news stories to tell. As a matter of fact, there is nothing to tell.’ Thirty minutes was time to tell, but nothing. If you want to bring on the inquiry, then bring it on.
I hope to see you in your robes, member for Port Darwin. I hope it is done pro bono because you can save the Territory lots of money.
One of my questions was about Tennant Creek, Chief Minister. I had a question about your office and staff in Tennant Creek and our rising crime statistics with domestic violence, sexual assault and assault against the person. Yes, I know our police and how hard they work. I know our government supported the same strategy, but what is the catalyst? It is the police burdened with the crime after the grog is sold. Got it? Nobody wants to listen, and on this side these under-professionally developed members, these new members who do not get that full picture, put their hands up and say, ‘Your Banned Drinker Register’.
They have no idea about the Enough is Enough policy. They have no idea that the CLP, in its haste to fulfil an election promise, scrapped the income quarantining and now is back at the table with the feds trying to get it all sorted out legally. That was a gift.
What they do not know is that the publicans in Tennant Creek realise they still have those machines they can switch on if the government is willing to provide a real measure to deal with supply. Nobody wants to talk about that. The members opposite get their one-liners from a leadership team that is insecure, insular and consistently careless with the truth.
Today we are in parliament debating another political stunt by the CLP. We took on local government on behalf of Territorians, and we took on alcohol protection orders on behalf of Territorians. I told the good people of Barkly - it is a Barkly story - it never rains but it pours. We had no legislation and, suddenly, we have 16 bills on the Notice Paper. I gave them a synopsis of those bills. I said, ‘This is what I do, this is why you pay me. Good people of Barkly, we will tick these ones, but these three are dodgy.’ There were three big ones where we have and taken you on. We will continue to hold you to account. That is our job. The people of Barkly understand, but where are the bills? ‘No, we have this stunt. I know, we will get the member for Barkly,’ and all your nasty jibes. Bring it on, big fella, because we are all up for it. I can face any inquiry because I tell the truth. I do not know how many on that side do. I know all the new members do, but I am seriously worried about the leadership team, because not only do they not tell the truth to the new members, they are not being honest with Territorians.
We are waiting for the Treasurer’s statements. I have been working hard to try to learn. Member for Port Darwin, I learnt lots from you as the opposition spokesperson. That is my job, that is why people pay me. Treasurer, I have many questions, and the Leader of the Opposition has been working with me and skilling me up in a new portfolio area.
The bottom line is, where is the debate on the TAFR? Where is the Treasurer’s mid-year report? It is Thursday. The Treasurer has been too busy with the Chief Minister, doing dirty little deals that relate to newspapers and television, and trying to bring the member for Barkly down. That was their ambition for the two weeks. They have this story. What do all the other CLP members do? They nod their heads. I wonder if they are even really there.
I continually challenge those members in this House, and I tell people openly that is the school teacher in me. I am a bit cheeky now. I do not stand and face the Speaker all the time, I turn and lecture the new members of the CLP. That is my strategy, and I know the member for Port Darwin does not like it. These two here do not have a clue what is going on because they are so busy in the bunker plotting and scheming. If you are in a political party where you spend more time watching your back than watching out for Territorians, it is a sad state of affairs. I think Territorians have woken up to that.
Ms Lawrie: They are sick of it.
Mr McCarthy: Yes, they are sick of it. The member of Karama talks about being a local – absolutely! The rule in Tennant Creek is you have to live there for 25 years before you can call yourself a local. Guess what? I am now a local and people in the CLP talk to me. When I go to business houses and functions in Darwin, people talk to me. Guess what? They are not talking about us; they are all talking about you.
Question Time provides an opportunity to let them hear the story. You guys had 60 minutes, or your share of 60 minutes, to tell that good story. However, you took your share - let us say 30 minutes - and threw it in the bin because you do not want to tell a story. You want to play out your dirty little scenario with your grubby little words and minds. As I said, show the members my letter. Let them read my letter, and talk to the members about how censures work. Prepare your team to for the last Question Time in 2013, and let us get out the story of what we have done. We pre-empted that with our first question. Tell us about it! All we saw was a silver suit who wants to be in Canberra behave like it was parliamentary Question Time in the big House down there.
Territorians are sick of it. Territorians want to know the truth. They talk about ‘their’ government. We talk about ‘our’ government and ‘our’ parliament. But no, it is too difficult because the CLP was born to rule. That was a totally ironic yesterday with the founding fathers in the House, because they believe they were born to rule, but this government is really letting them down. This government would be seriously criticised by the founding fathers of the CLP. Guess what? People in the community are talking to them too.
You want to try this on. You want to reduce your opportunity to tell your founding fathers and the Territory what a wonderful year 2013 has been. The Treasurer cannot wait to bring the TAFR debate back on and table the Treasurer’s mid-year report so we can start to forensically interrogate those numbers. I talked to the Treasurer, crossing the floor in a division yesterday, and said, ‘I am looking forward to interrogating the statements in estimates next year’. We are talking 15 months, and next year there will be some serious clear air to see where the CLP economic settings and policy have taken us. That is only half time; I am really looking forward to three-quarter time. I remember Paul Henderson used to say, in AFL talk, ‘That is the premiership winning quarter’. I do not get much about AFL, but when I talk to guys on our team, I line them up as fullbacks, second rows and front row forwards and talk about hit-ups. It is all in the interests of telling the truth, and it is our job to hold this government to account. We will continue to hold this government to account. This debate is about the suspension of Question Time - a trick gone wrong which has further reduced your credibility with Territorians, and a stunt that will cost the Territory a great deal of money. We will participate fully, as I said in my letter.
It is about time all members of the CLP started to participate; they really need to start asking questions about policy and politics. I encourage initial workshops on policy, because those policies are hurting people in the bush.
We heard a minister rubbish NAAJA. There is no call for that, and the member for Port Darwin would understand how important NAAJA is in the judicial system, dealing with some of the most disadvantaged people in the country. He should be professionally developing CLP members as to why it is not a good thing to rubbish NAAJA. You can do that diplomatically and sensitively, you do not have to offend your colleagues. It should be done before those ridiculous comments are made and in a sense of true professionalism, not this rabble that is continually focused on its personal ambitions. I speak about the leadership team. What a sad and sorry case it is when there is more energy spent on internal divisions and infighting than there is on building this great Territory.
The Treasurer releases his statements on the economy, and we celebrate that because, guess what? It was the Labor blueprint that set it up. We knew that would happen and we had a fiscal step-out strategy to complement that. However, as the member for Daly says, ‘We got thumped in the bush, and were banished to the other side,’ so you guys got to put your blueprint down – slash and burn and sack and be consistently careless with the truth to the public sector. We will see where that gets you. We will see where those policy settings take us because that is what estimates is about.
We saw many changes in estimates in 2013. Will we see more changes? We have seen the TAFR but we have not been able to participate in the debate. We have not seen the Treasurer’s mid-year report. My prediction is the CLP will make further changes to estimates, in the interests of Territorians! It will be about saving money, because the member for Port Darwin is totally focused, as probably a suitable Treasurer on that side, on saving money. He knows how to save money; he knows how the books work. He constantly reminds us on this side that it is about saving money. But now he is crowing about an inquiry which will cost the Territory taxpayer hundreds of thousands.
I am not sure how much it will cost, but the member for Port Darwin will be able to professionally develop you. He knows about the industry; he knows about the cash register that starts running as soon as you engage the legal fraternity. He will see me in a newly dry cleaned suit, and he will see me stand and tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, we are talking about the suspension of standing orders, which has cut into Question Time. I enjoy Question Time. It is an important part of the parliamentary process. As the member for Port Darwin said, it is about holding the government to account and, he would argue, holding the opposition to account.
I argue that the government does not take it seriously. I asked a serious question about whether the CLP receives donations from the alcohol industry and got a one-liner. They did not answer the question at all, so that is how much they care about being transparent. There were two parts to that question and they were not answered.
It is an important part of our process. I get annoyed when I am cut off by censure motions but, generally, they are at about 10.50 am. I am always trying to sneak the last question in before that happens, but to have half of Question Time wiped out is irresponsible, especially as we have an Inquiries Act. If the government wants to go down the path of an inquiry, it only has to use the act which says:
- (1) The Minister may, from time to time, appoint a Board of Inquiry or any person to inquire into, and report to the Minister on, any matter in relation to the Territory which is specified in the instrument of appointment.
It goes on.
- Where the Legislative Assembly passes a resolution …
- … that a Board of Inquiry or a person be appointed to inquire into and report to the Administrator on a matter which is specified in the resolution and which relates to the Territory, the Administrator shall appoint a Board of Inquiry or a person to inquire into and report on that matter.
We have the ability to do this without cutting standing orders. This, to some extent, is a stunt because you know the media will be here, with pen and paper, waiting for something, because some days it is boring. You only have to look at the front page of the NT News today. I sometimes feel ashamed to be in the Territory. I digress. You brought it forward halfway through Question Time and there was no necessity to do it.
I do not mind the government investigating this, but I am annoyed that yesterday we were discussing why we will not have elections in local government, to avoid the minister having power to sack councillors. We were told, ‘The Labor Party has put us into $5.5bn of debt and we cannot afford the democratic processes of election’. Yet what do they do? ‘We are going to have an inquiry.’ How much does an inquiry cost? We have a Parliamentary Accounts Committee that can look at this matter. It has it within its powers, and it can be done in-house and openly. As mentioned, you also have the Auditor-General. Why, unless you are trying to grandstand? Why, when you say you are in debt and cannot afford the democratically correct processes in changing the council system? Where do you find the money for the inquiry?
I am not against you investigating this issue. I do not know much about this. If it clears the air and saves us having six questions in the last fortnight or more in Question Time, repeating the same question, and clears the air about the facts of this case, I am happy to listen to what the investigation finds.
However, there is a smell that says, ‘This will bring the publicity in’. You think you will look like the squeaky clean government. If you are, will you also be squeaky clean to the public? The member for Port Darwin said, ‘This is about taxpayers’ money and how it is or is not being spent’. Will the government also tell the public about the deal you are setting up between the Tiwi Land Council and the government? Will you be open and transparent about that, just as you want the Stella Maris issue to be upfront and open? The feeling I get about that issue is that something smells as well. I hope the government comes clean on the deal, who receives the money, where it is coming from, and if the Territory taxpayer will get a return on the money proposed for some big development on the Tiwi Islands.
It is very well to say something has gone wrong in relation to a land deal the previous government set up with the unions. Fair enough, if you believe there is something wrong and taxpayers have not received money they should have, then when you look at other questions, be as open and transparent.
I had a question today about land which I wanted to ask the Minister for Lands, Planning and the Environment. The Chief Minister might also have commented. We have a company called Blaxland Property Development which has, I understand, been visiting the rural area looking for large parcels of land. I know for sure, because I have the word from someone who knows, that they have already signed a contract to develop some rural land, subject to approval from the government. They are willing to pay big bikkies for the land. They want to chop it up into small parcels of land which are well under the rural area minimum size.
I am simply asking - not to you necessarily, minister, the question was broad - have there been negotiations with people in the CLP? Has there been a knock on the door saying, ‘Minister, before we spend all this money, would you give us a bit of a wink and a nod? If we went ahead with this proposal would we get approval?’
Mr McCarthy: Is that at Noonamah?
Mr WOOD: No, as far as I know there could be up to 25 parcels of land. If the government says it needs an inquiry into this issue - I support an investigation, but I do not think we need to waste money going through a public inquiry as under the act. We have the procedures to do it in an open, transparent and public way through the PAC. That is set up to do it. It is a bipartisan committee and can hear all the details. It can ask the Auditor-General to come in. It can ask the Surveyor-General, because I presume there will be issues about leases, titles and those sorts of things. It can ask all of those people, under its own powers, to investigate the issue thoroughly.
If you want to do that, that is fine, but be aware there are some other issues which need a bit of fresh air around them so we know what the government is doing in relation to them. Some of them are big issues and relate to a large amount of money. My gripe is not that you want to investigate what happened. That fine, but you could have done this as a motion outside of Question Time. By doing it in Question Time, you exemplify what I saw today: a government which is what I call the smooth operator of politics with very little underneath. It wants to look good but, when you ask a few questions that are a little deep, it struggles. That is disappointing.
I heard it yesterday in the debate. When I asked some fundamental, philosophical questions about democracy in local government, I was laughed at. I was not trying to destroy the government having the option of making changes in local government, but I said the foundations of what you are doing are wrong. I was laughed at. There was no answer, I was just dismissed as being - there were all sorts of things said yesterday, such as, ‘What are you trying to set up, a chook commission or something?’ when I asked for a select committee. Some of it is trivial and puerile. I do not mind people disagreeing with me. I do not mind people saying, ‘This is the reason we do not agree with you,’ but when you go off half-cocked about those sorts of issues, I wonder where the depth of debate in this House is.
All I saw in Question Time today - we talked about the cost of living. The simple fact is we pay 18 a litre more for fuel than Perth does. Nobody seems to come up with an answer on how we can reduce that. That is one of the major reasons we have a high cost of living. There is nothing done about that. When you ask the question, there is no real answer.
Madam Speaker, I do not support the suspension of standing orders. As I said, I am happy if there is an investigation. The government could have done this through a normal motion in parliament. We could have finished our Question Time, which would have been nice on the last day before Christmas. However, sometimes peace and goodwill to all men does not happen in this House.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, we are talking to the suspension of standing orders which cut Question Time in half. We heard from the self-described junior legal water boy about the suspension of standing orders. We heard from the members for Barkly, Nelson, and Karama. As the junior legal water boy used to do, when you are going to censure, you squeeze every question you can out of Question Time. You go at about 10.50 am, 10.55 am. You want to get every question out. You ask serious questions about serious issues, and you censure on serious subjects.
The CLP wants to launch a million dollar-inquiry into a not-for-profit organisation and a heritage building. If the CLP was serious and not political about it, it would have referred it to the Auditor-General, who is an independent statutory officer whose job it is to look at public finances. They would have done this months ago if they were serious, and not political, about it. There are existing means, through independent statutory officers and existing committees of this parliament, to investigate matters of public finance.
If the CLP was serious about this issue and not political about it, there are many ways they could have handled this a lot less politically than they are. This is all about grubby politics and they have cut Question Time short because they do not want to be asked questions about issues which matter to Territorians about violence, loss of teachers – they laughed at nurses – the 1100 jobs lost in Nhulunbuy. It is the last day of sittings before Christmas, and there are concerns Territorians have with the cost of living going up, jobs lost and services cut, and what do we do? We have a grubby motion about a $1m inquiry, which is not a serious way of tackling this issue. It is a completely political way of tackling this issue. There exists, through the Auditor-General, the Public Accounts Committee and the Ombudsman, many ways we could handle this issue in a genuine way. But no, we have a political approach to this issue by the CLP. This is grubby; they cut Question Time short by half. We should have been allowed, on the last day of sittings, to be able to ask questions about serious, genuine issues. The CLP should come back later today and put on half-an-hour of Question Time. We should be able to ask our questions later today.
We do not agree with the suspension of standing orders. The Leader of the Opposition and the deputy leader have said they are happy to debate the motion and the government could have brought this motion on at any time today. We have said we will debate this motion, but you sought to suspend standing orders and cut Question Time halfway through. It is a disgrace and we should be allowed to have half-an-hour of Question time later today.
The CLP is being political. They chose not to handle this issue many months ago through existing, independent methods and through things which are a lot cheaper than what they are planning.
Madam SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to.
The Assembly divided.
- Ayes 13 Noes 9
Ms Anderson Ms Fyles
Mr Chandler Mr Gunner
Mr Conlan Ms Lawrie
Mr Elferink Mr McCarthy
Ms Finocchiaro Ms Manison
Mr Giles Mr Vatskalis
Mr Higgins Mr Vowles
Mr Kurrupuwu Ms Walker
Mrs Lambley Mr Wood
Ms Lee
Mr Mills
Mrs Price
Mr Styles
Motion agreed to.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016