Mrs HICKEY - 1998-10-07
Yesterday we saw an Academy Award winning performance from this Chief Minister. He pretended he was sorry for his statehood debacle and claimed he had taken the people’s verdict on the chin. But then he unleashed his parliamentary colleagues, who pathetically blamed Labor for the 53% ‘no’ vote. In the afternoon, I rang the Chief Minister hoping to set up talks where we could try to come to some cross-party agreement on the way ahead for statehood. The Chief Minister didn’t even bother to return my call.
Haven’t your actions shown that you are just putting on a show to protect your political hide, and you still haven’t learned a thing?
Mr COULTER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Short preambles to questions, I believe, are acceptable here. But if the Leader of the Opposition wants to make a ministerial statement, her General Business Day doesn’t start for a while yet.
Mr Stone: So what’s the question?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister! Leader of the Opposition, would you repeat just the question?
Mrs HICKEY: Haven’t your actions shown that you haven’t learned anything from this and that you are not prepared to look at this in a cross-party way for the resolution of statehood issues for the people of the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, how ungracious and how arrogant to tell members of the parliament what they can and can’t speak on! I mean, she has just risen to her feet and said that I unleashed my parliamentary colleagues. I didn’t unleash anyone. My parliamentary colleagues, within a democracy, within the Westminster system, are entitled to debate in an open and frank way.
Mrs Hickey: They couldn’t have listened to you very strongly. You told them it was all your fault.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition!
Mr STONE: If the Leader of the Opposition would stop interjecting, I might just be able to be heard by Territorians listening to the broadcast.
Madam Speaker, what arrogance for the Leader of the Opposition to come in here now and somehow try to define what people are allowed to say in this Chamber! People had a story that they wanted to tell yesterday. I didn’t launch any attack on the Labor Party, or on you. I felt very strongly about her and her role, and I watched her do her media performance yesterday, saying: ‘We’ve done nothing wrong. We’ve got nothing to apologise for. The ALP isn’t going to apologise’. Well, that is fine, that is her position. She is more pure than the driven snow when it comes to this issue, and that is the position she is getting out there and promoting.
Now, what she did not tell Territorians listening to this broadcast was that I wrote to her yesterday, and I asked her whether there was some way that we might be able to come to some …
Mrs Hickey: I phoned you.
Mr STONE: No, you let me finish! You don’t want people to hear this.
I sat down and I put pen to paper. In a spirit of bipartisanship, I wrote to you and said: ‘Okay, just for once let’s put it all to one side and try to come up with something that we can agree on’. I didn’t have a response to that letter.
Mrs Hickey: You had a phone call.
Mr STONE: I was sitting in the Chamber! How credible can you be if you say I was not prepared to walk across the Chamber in the interests of a bipartisan approach to statehood? What was wrong with you coming in here and saying: ‘Listen, I’ve been trying to find you. Let’s have a talk about what you’ve suggested’?
I have learned. I heard the message. The Labor Party has not. They are as arrogant as ever. They try to tell members what they are allowed to speak about. The Leader of the Opposition doesn’t even have the good grace to try to work towards a bipartisan approach we would be able to work on today.
Mrs Hickey: Yes I am. You rejected it.
Mr STONE: Let me read the letter.
Mrs Hickey: I thought we were going to do that.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, just stop interjecting.
Mr STONE:
Dear Mrs Hickey,
This morning I proposed a motion that I believe seeks to bring together all members of the Assembly supporting the principles with which we can move forward to statehood.
You also proposed a motion setting out one way forward. Unfortunately, your proposal sets out a predetermined process to be followed. Indeed, it proposes specific outcomes
of the process to be included in the constitution. To proceed with your motion in our view is to ignore the clear message of the Northern Territory public, that it distrusts
process determined by politicians alone and above all rejecting any predetermined outcomes.
Would you consider withdrawing your motion so we can ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: No! I am going to be heard on this. I am going to be heard on this ...
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr STONE: ... despite the constant interjections from the Leader of the Opposition and the member for Wanguri.
Would you consider withdrawing your motion so we can allow for full and frank consultation within the community before we agree on a process in the parliament?
I table the letter .
Mrs Hickey: You withdraw yours as well.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, you have been spoken to twice today already.
Mr STONE: Now, let me make this observation …
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition! Chief Minister, please resume your seat. Leader of the Opposition, I have spoken to you twice. You are continually interjecting. Now just cease and allow the Chief Minister to finish his answer.
Mr STONE: Madam Speaker, Territorians expect more of this parliament on this issue. They don’t want to hear about the CLP and the ALP scrapping over it. When I tried to set it up yesterday so that we could have a talk and come to some common agreement ...
Ms Martin: You wouldn’t answer the phone. You wouldn’t talk to us.
Mr STONE: Parliament sat until about 9 o’clock last night, and I was in the Chamber.
Haven’t your actions shown that you are just putting on a show to protect your political hide, and you still haven’t learned a thing?
Mr COULTER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Short preambles to questions, I believe, are acceptable here. But if the Leader of the Opposition wants to make a ministerial statement, her General Business Day doesn’t start for a while yet.
Mr Stone: So what’s the question?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister! Leader of the Opposition, would you repeat just the question?
Mrs HICKEY: Haven’t your actions shown that you haven’t learned anything from this and that you are not prepared to look at this in a cross-party way for the resolution of statehood issues for the people of the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, how ungracious and how arrogant to tell members of the parliament what they can and can’t speak on! I mean, she has just risen to her feet and said that I unleashed my parliamentary colleagues. I didn’t unleash anyone. My parliamentary colleagues, within a democracy, within the Westminster system, are entitled to debate in an open and frank way.
Mrs Hickey: They couldn’t have listened to you very strongly. You told them it was all your fault.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition!
Mr STONE: If the Leader of the Opposition would stop interjecting, I might just be able to be heard by Territorians listening to the broadcast.
Madam Speaker, what arrogance for the Leader of the Opposition to come in here now and somehow try to define what people are allowed to say in this Chamber! People had a story that they wanted to tell yesterday. I didn’t launch any attack on the Labor Party, or on you. I felt very strongly about her and her role, and I watched her do her media performance yesterday, saying: ‘We’ve done nothing wrong. We’ve got nothing to apologise for. The ALP isn’t going to apologise’. Well, that is fine, that is her position. She is more pure than the driven snow when it comes to this issue, and that is the position she is getting out there and promoting.
Now, what she did not tell Territorians listening to this broadcast was that I wrote to her yesterday, and I asked her whether there was some way that we might be able to come to some …
Mrs Hickey: I phoned you.
Mr STONE: No, you let me finish! You don’t want people to hear this.
I sat down and I put pen to paper. In a spirit of bipartisanship, I wrote to you and said: ‘Okay, just for once let’s put it all to one side and try to come up with something that we can agree on’. I didn’t have a response to that letter.
Mrs Hickey: You had a phone call.
Mr STONE: I was sitting in the Chamber! How credible can you be if you say I was not prepared to walk across the Chamber in the interests of a bipartisan approach to statehood? What was wrong with you coming in here and saying: ‘Listen, I’ve been trying to find you. Let’s have a talk about what you’ve suggested’?
I have learned. I heard the message. The Labor Party has not. They are as arrogant as ever. They try to tell members what they are allowed to speak about. The Leader of the Opposition doesn’t even have the good grace to try to work towards a bipartisan approach we would be able to work on today.
Mrs Hickey: Yes I am. You rejected it.
Mr STONE: Let me read the letter.
Mrs Hickey: I thought we were going to do that.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, just stop interjecting.
Mr STONE:
Dear Mrs Hickey,
This morning I proposed a motion that I believe seeks to bring together all members of the Assembly supporting the principles with which we can move forward to statehood.
You also proposed a motion setting out one way forward. Unfortunately, your proposal sets out a predetermined process to be followed. Indeed, it proposes specific outcomes
of the process to be included in the constitution. To proceed with your motion in our view is to ignore the clear message of the Northern Territory public, that it distrusts
process determined by politicians alone and above all rejecting any predetermined outcomes.
Would you consider withdrawing your motion so we can ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: No! I am going to be heard on this. I am going to be heard on this ...
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr STONE: ... despite the constant interjections from the Leader of the Opposition and the member for Wanguri.
Would you consider withdrawing your motion so we can allow for full and frank consultation within the community before we agree on a process in the parliament?
I table the letter .
Mrs Hickey: You withdraw yours as well.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, you have been spoken to twice today already.
Mr STONE: Now, let me make this observation …
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition! Chief Minister, please resume your seat. Leader of the Opposition, I have spoken to you twice. You are continually interjecting. Now just cease and allow the Chief Minister to finish his answer.
Mr STONE: Madam Speaker, Territorians expect more of this parliament on this issue. They don’t want to hear about the CLP and the ALP scrapping over it. When I tried to set it up yesterday so that we could have a talk and come to some common agreement ...
Ms Martin: You wouldn’t answer the phone. You wouldn’t talk to us.
Mr STONE: Parliament sat until about 9 o’clock last night, and I was in the Chamber.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016