Ms MARTIN - 2000-08-09
Yesterday he criticised me on radio for my ‘selective use of statistics’ in quoting state final demand figures to demonstrate that the Territory is in recession. Even his own Treasury has, over many years, described state final demand as the best measure of onshore economic activity. Access Economics in today’s NT News has confirmed that the Territory is in a technical recession. Does he agree with Access Economics, or is this just a case of a so-called ‘smart southern expert’ getting the Territory situation wrong again?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, in reference to that radio interview yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition in her interview said that the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory was obsessed with finding out how she voted on the question of statehood. I simply say to the Leader of the Opposition that the fact that you voted no to statehood is of no real interest to me. That was your right as a citizen of the Northern Territory. The fact that you continually lie to Territorians and suggest that you voted yes is the issue, because your track record …
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker! That is an outrage.
Mr SPEAKER: Yes, the Chief Minister should not imply that the Leader of the Opposition has lied.
Mr BURKE: Mr Speaker, I find it hard to find another phrase.
Mr SPEAKER: Please withdraw the reference.
Mr BURKE: Her continual attempts to mislead Territorians throughout the length of her parliamentary career …
Mr SPEAKER: Chief Minister, would you please withdraw the reference?
Mr BURKE: I withdraw. Right throughout the length of her parliamentary career …
Ms MARTIN: A point of order, Mr Speaker! You asked the Chief Minister to withdraw it, and he keeps going on the same point.
Mr SPEAKER: Let us hear what he has to say. I don’t think he has stepped over the line as yet.
Mr BURKE: Mr Speaker, her continual track record of misleading Territorians can be demonstrated consistently right throughout her parliamentary career. In due course, when the election is called, that will be well and truly demonstrated to Territorians, not the least being the statement that nothing had changed at the Labor Party conference with regard to her stand on Jabiluka. A cursory glance at the motion that was put forward at that Labor conference would show very clearly that the stance of the Labor Party nationally on Jabiluka has changed profoundly. I just offer that as another example of how this person cannot be trusted in any way.
With regard to her comment about Access Economics, anyone who read the paper this morning would see that the spokesman for Access Economics quite clearly said ‘in a technical sense’. There is some responsibility on the part of the Leader of the Opposition in how she portrays - yes, that’s all right, I can see the graph - there is responsibility on the part of the opposition to portray the facts to Territorians. It is very easy in politics to trot out the doctored graph, to trot out …
Ms Martin: Doctored!
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: I am trying to be restrained here in the interest of this House, ensuring that this debate is seen quite seriously. It is very easy, as a politician, to jig the figures and get a news headline in order to get one particular point up on the government. But what I say to the Leader of the Opposition is that she has a great deal of responsibility to explain clearly what are the facts to Territorians. How she attacks me is one issue. What she demonstrates to the business community and to Territorians in terms of their confidence in the economy is another matter altogether.
If you wish to pursue the issue that the economy in the Northern Territory is a basket case, bring on the debate. But I can tell you something, if it leads to a lowering of public confidence by business people in the Northern Territory, a few other things will be brought on as well.
Yesterday was a classic example of the Leader of the Opposition misleading Territorians. Her statements were, in a gentlemanly way I would suggest, qualified by the Access Economics spokesman who said:
In a technical sense you could portray a recession. But you need to recognise the economy is pulling back from the artificial high associated with the impact of the East Timor crisis on the economy.
That is the difference between being a petty politician and some sort of a statesman, talking to Territorians in such a way that they feel they are getting the truth of the Territory situation. The Access Economics spokesman, Chris Richardson, said on Friday:
You do have to remember that things are definitely brighter in the Territory than they are in the rest of Australia.
The experts know that. Territorians know that. This person here will continually try, with her lies, to mislead Territorians and undermine that confidence. Now, I made the point …
Mr TOYNE: A point of order, Mr Speaker!
Mr SPEAKER: There is a point of order. The Chief Minister should withdraw that comment.
Mr BURKE: I withdraw. I made the point yesterday that the Leader of the Opposition tried to suggest that state final demand …
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr BURKE: Do you want to listen or don’t you? You asked the question. You asked for your question to be answered. I’m going to answer your question.
She made the point yesterday that state final demand was the indicator of how the Northern Territory and other jurisdictions are travelling in an economic sense. I simply point out to her that if you throw around economic terms, throw them around correctly so that everyone can understand. There is a thing called gross domestic product, and gross domestic product is the way the Australian economy is marked and graded nationally. Gross domestic product consists of the combination of all gross state products, which is called GSP. If you want an indicator of how a state or territory is travelling, you look at that state or territory’s GSP.
GSP is made up of a number of factors. State final demand is only one of those factors. Other factors include international trade in goods. But state final demand is not a factor in itself. It consists of final consumption expenditure, and it also consists of gross fixed capital formation, expenditure on major construction projects. If you look at the track record of the Northern Territory economy in the terms of GSP and you look at state final demand, you get undoubtedly a large injection of capital infrastructure funds, predominantly over a period of about 12 months, and then those funds cease.
One key to this simple question was a vessel called Northern Endeavour, partly constructed in Singapore and worked on also in the Timor Sea gasfields. It went over a year or more. ABS brought in the cost of the construction over a period of three or four quarters in the Northern Territory. It was a $1.3bn project. Also at the same time there was the East Timor situation, which in itself was a one-off injection of funds into the Northern Territory.
If you look at the Northern Territory economy over a period of years and measure GSP, you will see what ABS figures show and independent analysts say, that the Northern Territory economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in Australia. All I say is, if that is a recession the rest of Australia is bankrupt. That is the simple answer.
If you look at the negative growth that the Leader of the Opposition tries to say is a technical recession, any shadow treasurer, amateur or otherwise, should see that four quarters is the injection and withdrawal of funds caused by Northern Endeavour and the issue of the Timor crisis. To suggest that that therefore means that the Territory is in a recession is at the very least misleading Territorians and a sign of a totally irresponsible politician.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, in reference to that radio interview yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition in her interview said that the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory was obsessed with finding out how she voted on the question of statehood. I simply say to the Leader of the Opposition that the fact that you voted no to statehood is of no real interest to me. That was your right as a citizen of the Northern Territory. The fact that you continually lie to Territorians and suggest that you voted yes is the issue, because your track record …
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker! That is an outrage.
Mr SPEAKER: Yes, the Chief Minister should not imply that the Leader of the Opposition has lied.
Mr BURKE: Mr Speaker, I find it hard to find another phrase.
Mr SPEAKER: Please withdraw the reference.
Mr BURKE: Her continual attempts to mislead Territorians throughout the length of her parliamentary career …
Mr SPEAKER: Chief Minister, would you please withdraw the reference?
Mr BURKE: I withdraw. Right throughout the length of her parliamentary career …
Ms MARTIN: A point of order, Mr Speaker! You asked the Chief Minister to withdraw it, and he keeps going on the same point.
Mr SPEAKER: Let us hear what he has to say. I don’t think he has stepped over the line as yet.
Mr BURKE: Mr Speaker, her continual track record of misleading Territorians can be demonstrated consistently right throughout her parliamentary career. In due course, when the election is called, that will be well and truly demonstrated to Territorians, not the least being the statement that nothing had changed at the Labor Party conference with regard to her stand on Jabiluka. A cursory glance at the motion that was put forward at that Labor conference would show very clearly that the stance of the Labor Party nationally on Jabiluka has changed profoundly. I just offer that as another example of how this person cannot be trusted in any way.
With regard to her comment about Access Economics, anyone who read the paper this morning would see that the spokesman for Access Economics quite clearly said ‘in a technical sense’. There is some responsibility on the part of the Leader of the Opposition in how she portrays - yes, that’s all right, I can see the graph - there is responsibility on the part of the opposition to portray the facts to Territorians. It is very easy in politics to trot out the doctored graph, to trot out …
Ms Martin: Doctored!
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: I am trying to be restrained here in the interest of this House, ensuring that this debate is seen quite seriously. It is very easy, as a politician, to jig the figures and get a news headline in order to get one particular point up on the government. But what I say to the Leader of the Opposition is that she has a great deal of responsibility to explain clearly what are the facts to Territorians. How she attacks me is one issue. What she demonstrates to the business community and to Territorians in terms of their confidence in the economy is another matter altogether.
If you wish to pursue the issue that the economy in the Northern Territory is a basket case, bring on the debate. But I can tell you something, if it leads to a lowering of public confidence by business people in the Northern Territory, a few other things will be brought on as well.
Yesterday was a classic example of the Leader of the Opposition misleading Territorians. Her statements were, in a gentlemanly way I would suggest, qualified by the Access Economics spokesman who said:
In a technical sense you could portray a recession. But you need to recognise the economy is pulling back from the artificial high associated with the impact of the East Timor crisis on the economy.
That is the difference between being a petty politician and some sort of a statesman, talking to Territorians in such a way that they feel they are getting the truth of the Territory situation. The Access Economics spokesman, Chris Richardson, said on Friday:
You do have to remember that things are definitely brighter in the Territory than they are in the rest of Australia.
The experts know that. Territorians know that. This person here will continually try, with her lies, to mislead Territorians and undermine that confidence. Now, I made the point …
Mr TOYNE: A point of order, Mr Speaker!
Mr SPEAKER: There is a point of order. The Chief Minister should withdraw that comment.
Mr BURKE: I withdraw. I made the point yesterday that the Leader of the Opposition tried to suggest that state final demand …
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr BURKE: Do you want to listen or don’t you? You asked the question. You asked for your question to be answered. I’m going to answer your question.
She made the point yesterday that state final demand was the indicator of how the Northern Territory and other jurisdictions are travelling in an economic sense. I simply point out to her that if you throw around economic terms, throw them around correctly so that everyone can understand. There is a thing called gross domestic product, and gross domestic product is the way the Australian economy is marked and graded nationally. Gross domestic product consists of the combination of all gross state products, which is called GSP. If you want an indicator of how a state or territory is travelling, you look at that state or territory’s GSP.
GSP is made up of a number of factors. State final demand is only one of those factors. Other factors include international trade in goods. But state final demand is not a factor in itself. It consists of final consumption expenditure, and it also consists of gross fixed capital formation, expenditure on major construction projects. If you look at the track record of the Northern Territory economy in the terms of GSP and you look at state final demand, you get undoubtedly a large injection of capital infrastructure funds, predominantly over a period of about 12 months, and then those funds cease.
One key to this simple question was a vessel called Northern Endeavour, partly constructed in Singapore and worked on also in the Timor Sea gasfields. It went over a year or more. ABS brought in the cost of the construction over a period of three or four quarters in the Northern Territory. It was a $1.3bn project. Also at the same time there was the East Timor situation, which in itself was a one-off injection of funds into the Northern Territory.
If you look at the Northern Territory economy over a period of years and measure GSP, you will see what ABS figures show and independent analysts say, that the Northern Territory economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in Australia. All I say is, if that is a recession the rest of Australia is bankrupt. That is the simple answer.
If you look at the negative growth that the Leader of the Opposition tries to say is a technical recession, any shadow treasurer, amateur or otherwise, should see that four quarters is the injection and withdrawal of funds caused by Northern Endeavour and the issue of the Timor crisis. To suggest that that therefore means that the Territory is in a recession is at the very least misleading Territorians and a sign of a totally irresponsible politician.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016