Dr LIM - 2000-06-14
The Leader of the Opposition continues to carp about how the Northern Territory government looks after the budget, yet she shows no idea on how to manage her own. The Labor leader was quoted in today’s NT News as saying she would maintain the Territory’s fuel subsidy and implement the computers-in-schools program announced in the budget. Can the Treasurer inform members of the impact on public service jobs of the additional $7m required to fund both items?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, clearly the member for Greatorex has a little more understanding of fiscal responsibility than the Leader of the Opposition, who from time to time comes out of the bunker, sits on the fence, finds out that it gets a bit uncomfortable and goes back into the bunker.
The Leader of the Opposition has now set the meter running in regard to the way that she would spend money on behalf of Territorians. And it would be absolutely no different from Mrs Kirner, Burke in WA and your good friend in South Australia, the former premiers and treasurers down there who sent their jurisdictions broke.
The old fence-sitter, the Leader of the Opposition, does not have the ability to determine her priorities and decide what they would not do. So her obvious response to that is that they would do everything. They would just continue spending money regardless of the consequences are. Yesterday we had a very good example of this when they ...
Mr Toyne interjecting.
Mr REED: Dr Who! Would Dr Who just be a little bit quiet?
This shadow treasurer who espouses sound fiscal policies, who has said that the budget that was delivered in this House but a month ago, was increasing debt too much, has not told us, of course, where she would cut back expenditure, what she would not do.
We will be debating the appropriation next week, but the Leader of the Opposition has already spent another $7m! She is $7m in the red in a month and the budget hasn’t been passed yet! In her comments to the NT News as recorded in today’s edition she was not impressed that money raised by abolishing the fuel subsidy would be transferred into boosting IT resources in schools. But she didn’t have the gumption to say: ‘We won’t do it. We won’t put IT in schools. We won’t place computers before the students’. She said: ‘It’s not a matter of either a fuel subsidy or IT in schools. It’s a matter of providing both’. I table this for the record because it is the first $7m on the meter.
She is complaining about an increase in debt but she has already spent an extra $7m. Her level of debt has gone up $7m and the budget hasn’t been passed yet. That is a clear demonstration of a lack of leadership, an inability to set priorities. If you’re going to spent another $7m ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: Mr Speaker, I am speaking directly to you. It is rather unfortunate that people listening have to listen to my shouting. I would rather speak in low, dulcet tones.
The position is that the Leader of the Opposition does not have any leadership capacities, she does not have an ability to determine priorities, and she does not have an ability to say no. The only ability that she has is to just keep spending money. Every time there is a demand, or something that she thinks should be done, she digs into this bucket of imaginary money just as former Labor premiers and treasurers did in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. We have heard about their debt levels today. Some of those...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: The mouth is working again. You probably haven’t noticed your mouth is open again. This happens automatically to her. She just goes into free fall. She does not even know she is talking.
From the point of view of her inability to set priorities, by today’s comments in the NT News she has already got the meter running.
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: The mouth is on again, is it? There is a fish called ‘mouth almighty’ and I think there might be some relationship.
Ms Martin: Have you been watching videos, Mike?
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Burke: That’s right. Show your true colours. Show Territorians what you are really like!
Mr SPEAKER: Order, Chief Minister!
Mr REED: When lacking substance, but I digress.
There is a very clear difference between the way that finances would be managed if the Leader of the Opposition and her colleagues were in government and the way they are being managed responsibly on this side of the House on behalf of Territorians. The fact that there is ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: The mouth’s working again.
The fact that the Queensland government has decided to abandon the very complicated administrative process that has applied since the High Court ruling that the states and territories could not raise revenue from levies on fuel and alcohol is, I think, a clear indication of the need to get rid of that process. We took the same decision. They have taken a little longer than us, but they have done it for largely the same reasons.
They have also redirected that amount of funding from the petrol subsidy to another area of government. We have done the same thing. The area of government is different. We have decided to invest in the future. We believe it is a good investment. We believe that Territorians will understand that injecting $7m a year ongoing into schools to provide IT and computers for kids so that they can become efficient and able to take up jobs after they leave school, or go on to further studies, is an excellent investment in our future and our kids. We look forward to that $7m doing a power of good in our schools and acting for the benefit of Territorians.
On the other hand, if the Leader of the Opposition were to tell us where she would save the $7m elsewhere, I suspect you would find that she would have to sack teachers. So we would have bought the computers but we would have no teachers in the schools to provide instruction in that area. She has to take something off the ledger if she is going to put something on it.
She is already an extra $7m in debt. We will keep the meter running. Despite her protestations of sound fiscal policy, even before the budget is passed we have seen her increase debt levels by $7m.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, clearly the member for Greatorex has a little more understanding of fiscal responsibility than the Leader of the Opposition, who from time to time comes out of the bunker, sits on the fence, finds out that it gets a bit uncomfortable and goes back into the bunker.
The Leader of the Opposition has now set the meter running in regard to the way that she would spend money on behalf of Territorians. And it would be absolutely no different from Mrs Kirner, Burke in WA and your good friend in South Australia, the former premiers and treasurers down there who sent their jurisdictions broke.
The old fence-sitter, the Leader of the Opposition, does not have the ability to determine her priorities and decide what they would not do. So her obvious response to that is that they would do everything. They would just continue spending money regardless of the consequences are. Yesterday we had a very good example of this when they ...
Mr Toyne interjecting.
Mr REED: Dr Who! Would Dr Who just be a little bit quiet?
This shadow treasurer who espouses sound fiscal policies, who has said that the budget that was delivered in this House but a month ago, was increasing debt too much, has not told us, of course, where she would cut back expenditure, what she would not do.
We will be debating the appropriation next week, but the Leader of the Opposition has already spent another $7m! She is $7m in the red in a month and the budget hasn’t been passed yet! In her comments to the NT News as recorded in today’s edition she was not impressed that money raised by abolishing the fuel subsidy would be transferred into boosting IT resources in schools. But she didn’t have the gumption to say: ‘We won’t do it. We won’t put IT in schools. We won’t place computers before the students’. She said: ‘It’s not a matter of either a fuel subsidy or IT in schools. It’s a matter of providing both’. I table this for the record because it is the first $7m on the meter.
She is complaining about an increase in debt but she has already spent an extra $7m. Her level of debt has gone up $7m and the budget hasn’t been passed yet. That is a clear demonstration of a lack of leadership, an inability to set priorities. If you’re going to spent another $7m ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: Mr Speaker, I am speaking directly to you. It is rather unfortunate that people listening have to listen to my shouting. I would rather speak in low, dulcet tones.
The position is that the Leader of the Opposition does not have any leadership capacities, she does not have an ability to determine priorities, and she does not have an ability to say no. The only ability that she has is to just keep spending money. Every time there is a demand, or something that she thinks should be done, she digs into this bucket of imaginary money just as former Labor premiers and treasurers did in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. We have heard about their debt levels today. Some of those...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: The mouth is working again. You probably haven’t noticed your mouth is open again. This happens automatically to her. She just goes into free fall. She does not even know she is talking.
From the point of view of her inability to set priorities, by today’s comments in the NT News she has already got the meter running.
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: The mouth is on again, is it? There is a fish called ‘mouth almighty’ and I think there might be some relationship.
Ms Martin: Have you been watching videos, Mike?
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Burke: That’s right. Show your true colours. Show Territorians what you are really like!
Mr SPEAKER: Order, Chief Minister!
Mr REED: When lacking substance, but I digress.
There is a very clear difference between the way that finances would be managed if the Leader of the Opposition and her colleagues were in government and the way they are being managed responsibly on this side of the House on behalf of Territorians. The fact that there is ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: The mouth’s working again.
The fact that the Queensland government has decided to abandon the very complicated administrative process that has applied since the High Court ruling that the states and territories could not raise revenue from levies on fuel and alcohol is, I think, a clear indication of the need to get rid of that process. We took the same decision. They have taken a little longer than us, but they have done it for largely the same reasons.
They have also redirected that amount of funding from the petrol subsidy to another area of government. We have done the same thing. The area of government is different. We have decided to invest in the future. We believe it is a good investment. We believe that Territorians will understand that injecting $7m a year ongoing into schools to provide IT and computers for kids so that they can become efficient and able to take up jobs after they leave school, or go on to further studies, is an excellent investment in our future and our kids. We look forward to that $7m doing a power of good in our schools and acting for the benefit of Territorians.
On the other hand, if the Leader of the Opposition were to tell us where she would save the $7m elsewhere, I suspect you would find that she would have to sack teachers. So we would have bought the computers but we would have no teachers in the schools to provide instruction in that area. She has to take something off the ledger if she is going to put something on it.
She is already an extra $7m in debt. We will keep the meter running. Despite her protestations of sound fiscal policy, even before the budget is passed we have seen her increase debt levels by $7m.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016