Mrs HICKEY - 1998-08-13
Why does the Country Liberal Party government have Northern Territory government cheques raised in Sydney? Why doesn’t the Country Liberal Party government do business in the Territory by utilising financial institutions which are able and willing to provide cheque-raising services in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the Northern Territory government, as has been the case in many areas of its operation, has ventured out to find ways of doing things differently, better, more efficiently and more effectively than many other governments in this country.
Ours was the first government in this country to take on private bank services to do our banking. We took on private bank services 10 or 11 years ago. Nothing has changed in that time. On that occasion, what did the opposition do? It said: ‘Doom, failure, it will not work and this is going to be a terrible mess’. The opposition has not changed. It is still all doom and gloom. There is still no vision over there. There is still no enthusiasm, and no will to get out there – to do the job, and to make it work for Territorians.
The banking practice that has evolved over the years is a very effective one. Indeed, it has now been adopted by other governments. In relation to the provision of the services, Westpac Bank has now, through the process of becoming more efficient, outsourced the printing of its cheques. My office has been speaking to Westpac, as has Treasury, over the last few weeks in relation to that process. I will be going down to talk to Westpac in the near future about some of the banking services it they provides to us.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: I am sorry I woke the member for Arnhem. I should not speak so loudly. However, he is awake now. Jabba the Hutt is on the go.
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: The question in relation to the ...
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: They are working against a question asked by their boss. It was their boss who asked this question, and they are now interjecting and preventing the answer being provided. You have to ask yourself just how serious they are when their boss gets to her feet and asks a question and the other 6 –well, there is one missing because he was so nasty and rude in his behaviour that he had to be thrown out - the other 5 cannot control themselves ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: And you, motormouth, listen to you! Shut up and listen and let your boss get the answer to the question.
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, let the minister finish his answer, please.
Mr REED: Bank cheques are now issued. Their processing does not take as long as before. In overall terms, I think you will find that, once the system settles down, people who have provided goods or services to the Northern Territory Government will be paid efficiently. There have been a few little glitches in the transition period ...
Mrs Hickey: You told us this was all settled 10 years ago.
Mr REED: Isn’t it amazing? They ...
Mrs Hickey: That is when you started. You started 10 years ago, and now you are going to …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition.
Mr Coulter: And you didn’t know about it until today. That is another decade you are behind.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: There seem to be a lot of people who want to join in this discussion.
Mr REED: Doesn’t that tell you something, Madam Speaker? They are so in tune with what is happening across the Northern Territory, so in touch with the business sector, that it is has taken them 2 or 3 months to find out that the cheque system has changed, and it has taken them a decade to find out that we have gone to the private sector to conduct our banking, for the efficiencies that flow from it.
The system is working well. The people who provide goods and services now to the Northern Territory government receive bank cheques instead of cheques that took longer to clear. You will find that they will be better off through the process that has been introduced.
Mrs Hickey: When will they be better off?
Mr REED: When Syd takes over from you.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the Northern Territory government, as has been the case in many areas of its operation, has ventured out to find ways of doing things differently, better, more efficiently and more effectively than many other governments in this country.
Ours was the first government in this country to take on private bank services to do our banking. We took on private bank services 10 or 11 years ago. Nothing has changed in that time. On that occasion, what did the opposition do? It said: ‘Doom, failure, it will not work and this is going to be a terrible mess’. The opposition has not changed. It is still all doom and gloom. There is still no vision over there. There is still no enthusiasm, and no will to get out there – to do the job, and to make it work for Territorians.
The banking practice that has evolved over the years is a very effective one. Indeed, it has now been adopted by other governments. In relation to the provision of the services, Westpac Bank has now, through the process of becoming more efficient, outsourced the printing of its cheques. My office has been speaking to Westpac, as has Treasury, over the last few weeks in relation to that process. I will be going down to talk to Westpac in the near future about some of the banking services it they provides to us.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: I am sorry I woke the member for Arnhem. I should not speak so loudly. However, he is awake now. Jabba the Hutt is on the go.
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: The question in relation to the ...
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: They are working against a question asked by their boss. It was their boss who asked this question, and they are now interjecting and preventing the answer being provided. You have to ask yourself just how serious they are when their boss gets to her feet and asks a question and the other 6 –well, there is one missing because he was so nasty and rude in his behaviour that he had to be thrown out - the other 5 cannot control themselves ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: And you, motormouth, listen to you! Shut up and listen and let your boss get the answer to the question.
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, let the minister finish his answer, please.
Mr REED: Bank cheques are now issued. Their processing does not take as long as before. In overall terms, I think you will find that, once the system settles down, people who have provided goods or services to the Northern Territory Government will be paid efficiently. There have been a few little glitches in the transition period ...
Mrs Hickey: You told us this was all settled 10 years ago.
Mr REED: Isn’t it amazing? They ...
Mrs Hickey: That is when you started. You started 10 years ago, and now you are going to …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition.
Mr Coulter: And you didn’t know about it until today. That is another decade you are behind.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: There seem to be a lot of people who want to join in this discussion.
Mr REED: Doesn’t that tell you something, Madam Speaker? They are so in tune with what is happening across the Northern Territory, so in touch with the business sector, that it is has taken them 2 or 3 months to find out that the cheque system has changed, and it has taken them a decade to find out that we have gone to the private sector to conduct our banking, for the efficiencies that flow from it.
The system is working well. The people who provide goods and services now to the Northern Territory government receive bank cheques instead of cheques that took longer to clear. You will find that they will be better off through the process that has been introduced.
Mrs Hickey: When will they be better off?
Mr REED: When Syd takes over from you.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016