Mr AH KIT - 1998-02-26
The member for Nightcliff has exposed the fact that the Statehood Convention is going off the rails. Is it a fact that the process has gone off the rails only since the Chief Minister seized the agenda a few months ago? Does the Chief Minister agree that he is threatening our chances for achieving proper statehood?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! I remind members of the opposition of standing order 114. This is the fourth question on the same topic. I will allow this question, but please read standing order 114 about repeating questions.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have been asked this question because it provides me with an opportunity to reflect on where we have come from and where we are heading, and the progress that has been made. A great deal of hard work has been done by many people on the whole issue and it has remained an elusive dream. That is not to take anything away from anybody who has ever made a contribution. If there is a father of Territory statehood, it is probably Jim Robertson, the first Minister for Constitutional Development, who continues to this day to have active involvement in constitutional matters.
Mr Bailey: He is on the committee, isn't he? But Steve Hatton is not.
Ms Martin: He travelled the Territory.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: Madam Speaker, I really want to get this answer out, but I will not do it with the constant interjections of the opposition.
Mr Bailey: You want the benefit of the radio ...
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Wanguri.
Mr STONE: Why don't you do what your leader just told you to do and shut up?
Mr Bailey: She didn't tell me to do that, Shane.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: The phase we are entering now is quite critical ...
Mr Bailey: To whether you get your
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agenda up or not.
Mr STONE: This is a critical phase in the development of statehood. We have come further in the last 2 years than we have at any stage before in the entire time in which we have striven to achieve this dream, and further than we ever thought that we would get in the time, because there has always been resistance in Canberra from both sides of politics.
Ms Martin: And now you are jeopardising it.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fannie Bay.
Mr STONE: For the first time, in John Howard, we have a Prime Minister who has given a commitment to statehood. He arrives here today. For the first time, all state Premiers have given a commitment to statehood. For the first time ...
Mr Bailey: For the first time, the member for Nightcliff has come out and bagged what you are doing. That is a precedent that we will not see followed very often in this Chamber.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Wanguri, you are on a warning. With the next outburst, you are out.
Mr STONE: For the first time, we have an agreement with the Commonwealth government to set up working parties to work through the transfer of powers. Therefore, I will not sit here and listen to members opposite trying to diminish the efforts of the government in bringing the Territory closer to the goal of becoming the seventh state of Australia.
Many people have contributed to the process that has brought us to that point. New people come. Parliamentary wings change. There are different players on the block. People have aspirations that they want to see through. In a democratic forum, who gets to be the representative of any particular group is entirely a matter for those people who elect the delegates.
Mr Bailey: There is no democracy in this process at all.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: I will pick up the interjection because it gives me an opportunity to repeat that 27 of the delegates are being elected to this convention.
It disappoints me that, over the last 12 months, we have seen emerge a concerted effort by the Labor Party to derail the statehood process - a concerted effort. They said the very same things when the issue of self-government was debated. It was the Labor Party that campaigned against self-government. Here we see attempts again to circumvent and to undermine the very process that has us knocking on the door, with a sympathetic Prime Minister and heads of government around Australia who are saying: 'Let us make Territory statehood the centrepiece of the centenary of federation'.
Territorians will recall Paul Keating, the former Labor Prime Minister, saying that the best way to see Darwin was from 30 000 ft in the air, on the way to Paris. That is what we had to deal with. At least, we now have a process. We have a Prime Minister and heads of government who are prepared to support us in our bid for statehood. I will not stand by and allow the Labor Party to derail the aspirations of Territorians.
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Madam SPEAKER: Order! I remind members of the opposition of standing order 114. This is the fourth question on the same topic. I will allow this question, but please read standing order 114 about repeating questions.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have been asked this question because it provides me with an opportunity to reflect on where we have come from and where we are heading, and the progress that has been made. A great deal of hard work has been done by many people on the whole issue and it has remained an elusive dream. That is not to take anything away from anybody who has ever made a contribution. If there is a father of Territory statehood, it is probably Jim Robertson, the first Minister for Constitutional Development, who continues to this day to have active involvement in constitutional matters.
Mr Bailey: He is on the committee, isn't he? But Steve Hatton is not.
Ms Martin: He travelled the Territory.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: Madam Speaker, I really want to get this answer out, but I will not do it with the constant interjections of the opposition.
Mr Bailey: You want the benefit of the radio ...
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Wanguri.
Mr STONE: Why don't you do what your leader just told you to do and shut up?
Mr Bailey: She didn't tell me to do that, Shane.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: The phase we are entering now is quite critical ...
Mr Bailey: To whether you get your
Page 8
agenda up or not.
Mr STONE: This is a critical phase in the development of statehood. We have come further in the last 2 years than we have at any stage before in the entire time in which we have striven to achieve this dream, and further than we ever thought that we would get in the time, because there has always been resistance in Canberra from both sides of politics.
Ms Martin: And now you are jeopardising it.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fannie Bay.
Mr STONE: For the first time, in John Howard, we have a Prime Minister who has given a commitment to statehood. He arrives here today. For the first time, all state Premiers have given a commitment to statehood. For the first time ...
Mr Bailey: For the first time, the member for Nightcliff has come out and bagged what you are doing. That is a precedent that we will not see followed very often in this Chamber.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Wanguri, you are on a warning. With the next outburst, you are out.
Mr STONE: For the first time, we have an agreement with the Commonwealth government to set up working parties to work through the transfer of powers. Therefore, I will not sit here and listen to members opposite trying to diminish the efforts of the government in bringing the Territory closer to the goal of becoming the seventh state of Australia.
Many people have contributed to the process that has brought us to that point. New people come. Parliamentary wings change. There are different players on the block. People have aspirations that they want to see through. In a democratic forum, who gets to be the representative of any particular group is entirely a matter for those people who elect the delegates.
Mr Bailey: There is no democracy in this process at all.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: I will pick up the interjection because it gives me an opportunity to repeat that 27 of the delegates are being elected to this convention.
It disappoints me that, over the last 12 months, we have seen emerge a concerted effort by the Labor Party to derail the statehood process - a concerted effort. They said the very same things when the issue of self-government was debated. It was the Labor Party that campaigned against self-government. Here we see attempts again to circumvent and to undermine the very process that has us knocking on the door, with a sympathetic Prime Minister and heads of government around Australia who are saying: 'Let us make Territory statehood the centrepiece of the centenary of federation'.
Territorians will recall Paul Keating, the former Labor Prime Minister, saying that the best way to see Darwin was from 30 000 ft in the air, on the way to Paris. That is what we had to deal with. At least, we now have a process. We have a Prime Minister and heads of government who are prepared to support us in our bid for statehood. I will not stand by and allow the Labor Party to derail the aspirations of Territorians.
Page 9
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016