Mr HATTON - 2000-03-02
The Australian journalist, and I do use this word ‘journalist’ loosely, in what I regard as one of the silliest, most nonsensical, misinformed, misquoting articles I’ve read for many a long year - the journalist’s name is Asa Wahlquist - has called for the Northern Territory to be handed back to South Australia.
What is the Chief Minister’s response to this attack on Territorians?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this article reprinted in today’s NT News appeared originally in The Australian and is an example of the level of loathing that is occurring in some newspapers around Australia as a result of the debate on mandatory sentencing.
We should be very clear as to the genesis of this problem. The genesis was the young boy’s death, a youth suicide, at the Don Dale Detention Centre. The genesis was when the member for Nhulunbuy within 12 hours came out, closely followed by his odd Labor leader, and blamed mandatory sentencing and this Northern Territory government for that juvenile’s death.
That then reverberated nationally, and reverberated internationally. The hysteria that’s been whipped up by the Labor Party in the Northern Territory initially...
Ms Martin: Didn’t your mother tell you to take responsibility for what you do?
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: I’ll just answer that interjection. The Leader of the Opposition has just said, if I didn’t mishear her, that I was unprepared to take blame, to take responsibility for what happened. She’s now saying that I am unwilling to take responsibility for what happened. I ask listeners and Territorians to bear in mind the defence that the Labor Party, both Clare Martin and Syd Stirling, have run very hard – that is the fact that they have never accused me of having blood on my hands. They have never accused me of having blood on my hands, and your leader now, in this Chamber, has just made that accusation.
Let’s be very clear as to where this started. This started in the Northern Territory. This started as an assault on Territorians because they are so stupid that they vote for a government that happens to enact policy that they support. The Labor leader and the deputy Labor leader started this campaign blaming the mandatory sentencing laws for that boy’s death. It was picked up by TheAustralian newspaper initially, and then the 7.30 Report and others. She was quickly backed up by her messiah, Labor leader Kim Beazley, calling Territorians ‘yobbos’ because they were so stupid that for 23 to 25 years they have voted for a CLP government. He was so concerned about the yobbo nature of Territorians that he was going to run off to the United Nations. He had no faith in the Territory government, he had no faith in the federal government, and he was going to the United Nations to see if they could do something about these yobbos in the Northern Territory called Territorians. That is the genesis of where this mandatory sentencing argument came from. That is the genesis of these sorts of articles that have now gone from attacking Northern Territory mandatory sentencing laws to attacking Territorians as a whole.
You read in that article things about the Northern Territory government playing the race card in elections. Where does that sort of stuff come from?
I will tell you where it comes from. It comes from the fact that the Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Territory says, ‘Territorians live in a racist, oppressive regime’. What she is saying to Territorians is that the Northern Territory is a closed, racist society. The societies you should live in are like Tasmania, South Australia, or Victoria. What the Leader of the Opposition is saying is: ‘Territorians, you are racist. You are racist because you vote for this government. You like oppressive regimes. You are like South Africa’. That’s what’s she’s saying.
I’ll tell you what the 11 March by-election will be on. Saturday’s by-election on 11 March is not about local issues in Port Darwin. Unfortunately, for the people of Port Darwin it goes wider than that. I notice that the Labor Party is saying: ‘Send the CLP a message’ Well, the voters of Port Darwin have got a big message to send because it is not only a message that is in support of all Territorians, but it’s a message that has to reverberate right throughout the Northern Territory. It’s a message that has to reverberate right throughout Australia. It’s a message that has to reverberate in the bloody halls of Geneva. It says:
We Territorians won the Territory for ourselves, we Territorians do not live in a racist, oppressive regime, and we Territorians will be free to make the laws that we want in the Northern Territory. And reporters such as you, yobbos like the Evatt Foundation [if that’s not Labor, I’m not here] people like Beazley, Clare Martin, Syd Stirling, back in your box, shut up, because we Territorians will think and do for ourselves in the Northern Territory.
Ms MARTIN: A point of order, Mr Speaker!
Mr SPEAKER: You are right, there is a point of order. The Chief Minister should refer to members opposite by their electorate.
What is the Chief Minister’s response to this attack on Territorians?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this article reprinted in today’s NT News appeared originally in The Australian and is an example of the level of loathing that is occurring in some newspapers around Australia as a result of the debate on mandatory sentencing.
We should be very clear as to the genesis of this problem. The genesis was the young boy’s death, a youth suicide, at the Don Dale Detention Centre. The genesis was when the member for Nhulunbuy within 12 hours came out, closely followed by his odd Labor leader, and blamed mandatory sentencing and this Northern Territory government for that juvenile’s death.
That then reverberated nationally, and reverberated internationally. The hysteria that’s been whipped up by the Labor Party in the Northern Territory initially...
Ms Martin: Didn’t your mother tell you to take responsibility for what you do?
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: I’ll just answer that interjection. The Leader of the Opposition has just said, if I didn’t mishear her, that I was unprepared to take blame, to take responsibility for what happened. She’s now saying that I am unwilling to take responsibility for what happened. I ask listeners and Territorians to bear in mind the defence that the Labor Party, both Clare Martin and Syd Stirling, have run very hard – that is the fact that they have never accused me of having blood on my hands. They have never accused me of having blood on my hands, and your leader now, in this Chamber, has just made that accusation.
Let’s be very clear as to where this started. This started in the Northern Territory. This started as an assault on Territorians because they are so stupid that they vote for a government that happens to enact policy that they support. The Labor leader and the deputy Labor leader started this campaign blaming the mandatory sentencing laws for that boy’s death. It was picked up by TheAustralian newspaper initially, and then the 7.30 Report and others. She was quickly backed up by her messiah, Labor leader Kim Beazley, calling Territorians ‘yobbos’ because they were so stupid that for 23 to 25 years they have voted for a CLP government. He was so concerned about the yobbo nature of Territorians that he was going to run off to the United Nations. He had no faith in the Territory government, he had no faith in the federal government, and he was going to the United Nations to see if they could do something about these yobbos in the Northern Territory called Territorians. That is the genesis of where this mandatory sentencing argument came from. That is the genesis of these sorts of articles that have now gone from attacking Northern Territory mandatory sentencing laws to attacking Territorians as a whole.
You read in that article things about the Northern Territory government playing the race card in elections. Where does that sort of stuff come from?
I will tell you where it comes from. It comes from the fact that the Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Territory says, ‘Territorians live in a racist, oppressive regime’. What she is saying to Territorians is that the Northern Territory is a closed, racist society. The societies you should live in are like Tasmania, South Australia, or Victoria. What the Leader of the Opposition is saying is: ‘Territorians, you are racist. You are racist because you vote for this government. You like oppressive regimes. You are like South Africa’. That’s what’s she’s saying.
I’ll tell you what the 11 March by-election will be on. Saturday’s by-election on 11 March is not about local issues in Port Darwin. Unfortunately, for the people of Port Darwin it goes wider than that. I notice that the Labor Party is saying: ‘Send the CLP a message’ Well, the voters of Port Darwin have got a big message to send because it is not only a message that is in support of all Territorians, but it’s a message that has to reverberate right throughout the Northern Territory. It’s a message that has to reverberate right throughout Australia. It’s a message that has to reverberate in the bloody halls of Geneva. It says:
We Territorians won the Territory for ourselves, we Territorians do not live in a racist, oppressive regime, and we Territorians will be free to make the laws that we want in the Northern Territory. And reporters such as you, yobbos like the Evatt Foundation [if that’s not Labor, I’m not here] people like Beazley, Clare Martin, Syd Stirling, back in your box, shut up, because we Territorians will think and do for ourselves in the Northern Territory.
Ms MARTIN: A point of order, Mr Speaker!
Mr SPEAKER: You are right, there is a point of order. The Chief Minister should refer to members opposite by their electorate.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016