Mr ELFERINK - 1999-08-17
Last week the Chief Minister highlighted the Labor leader’s actions to scuttle the Northern Territory government’s new, workable native title scheme. Can the Treasurer detail the implications for the Territory economy and job creation of the Labor leader’s use of the federal parliament to override the Territory’s new native title laws?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this is a very important issue. It is one which the opposition can use to demonstrate a tangible interest and concern - and, indeed, the ability - to achieve something for the Territory economy, to allow hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in the Territory economy to take place.
I speak in terms, of course, of the comments that the Chief Minister made last week in relation to the obstruction in the Senate by the Australian Labor Party of the Northern Territory’s native title legislation, and the inaction of the Leader of the Opposition and other members opposite in relation to that. I implore them to take some action.
If you really want to do something to help the Territory economy, get on to Senator Bolkus and the Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley, and ask them to allow our legislation to pass through the Senate. Ask them to allow a process whereby native title claims over pastoral leases can be permitted to proceed under the legislation that this parliament debated and passed with the support of members opposite. If you supported the legislation, why don’t you then have the commitment to put pressure, on behalf of Territorians, on your federal colleagues, to enable it to pass through the Senate?
It was the Labor Party and only the Labor Party in the Senate that obstructed this. On the last day of the sittings when this was before the Senate, the Labor Party moved in the dying hours of that session to obstruct the Territory legislation’s passage through the Senate. As a consequence, we’ve seen $90m-worth of exploration delayed over native title, just in the mining industry alone.
More than 800 mining titles are affected by native title. Exploration spending has dropped from $95m to $60m a year. And if there’s no exploration in the mining industry, there are no future mines. You are sending our mining industry down the gurgler by your inaction. Don’t get up and complain that there’s a lack of economic activity and development in the Northern Territory when you won’t even maintain support for the legislation that you did, in fact, support in this House. You won’t get on to your Labor colleagues to pressure them.
Millions of dollars’ worth of horticultural development across the Territory is on hold because of native title and the obstruction of our legislation in the Senate. It is simply down to the Labor Party vetoing our laws in the Senate. Labor is costing us jobs and development.
The Territory government and the land councils have been working together very closely on this and I commend the land councils for their cooperation in this regard. It’s all right for you - and now the chuckling starts - but the truth is the Labor Party wants to see Aboriginal people remain as mendicants because as mendicants they can control them, they can threaten them, they can get them concerned come election time. That way they’re under the Labor Party’s control. Well, there are Aboriginal people whose projects are held up by the native title legislation not going through the Senate. Their developments for the benefit of Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory are unable to proceed because of Labor’s inaction and obstructionism.
Let us have a look at some of the delayed projects: Two intensive developments for growing table grapes in central Australia, capable of producing $35m-worth of product; more intensive use of land on the Sturt Plateau for more efficient animal production; the Katherine/Daly agricultural project which would create land for mixed farming from existing pastoral leases and produce dry-land cropping worth $22m and $69m-worth of cattle production in a year; seven tourism-related projects including fishing safari camps, new roadhouses, extensions to existing roadhouses, caravan parks and camping grounds. We’re growing tourist activity and the tourism industry in the Northern Territory, but they are being constrained by their inability to access pastoral lease lands. That constraint is being placed on them by the Labor Party’s inaction.
In addition, there are millions of dollars’ worth of associated infrastructure. The income that would flow from these developments doesn’t include the jobs and the activity that would be generated through the construction of roads and the provision of other services. There would, of course, be substantial work for contractors.
So if you want to do something for Territorians, if you want to create a few jobs, if you want to stop obstructing activity and development, then you can actually do something. Pick up the phone, call Beazley ...
Mr AH KIT: A point of order, Mr Speaker! It’s not right for the Treasurer to get up and filibuster about the Labor Party being the problem. The Treasurer and the Chief Minister are in government. They stuffed it up. As I see it, they stuffed it up. Nobody is responsible but themselves.
Mr SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Neither is it appropriate for members of the opposition to get up and filibuster on points of order.
Mr REED: Mr Speaker, I will gladly pick up the point made by the member for Arnhem, that it is the government’s fault and we’re in government and we should be fixing it. We did fix it! We in this House passed legislation that removed the obstruction to these projects going ahead. The legislation was not supported only on the government benches. It was actually supported by the Labor members opposite.
However, since then, since their unanimous support for that legislation, they have changed their mind. It’s another example of the School of Deceit. Say one thing in this House, but go out there and tell Territorians that it’s the government that needs to act.
Well, the government acted. The government put legislation in place and your party is stopping that legislation from passing through the Senate. The Leader of the Opposition should go out and tell Territorians why she hasn’t pressured the Leader of the Opposition in the federal parliament and why she hasn’t told Bolkus to get out of Territory affairs and let our legislation pass.
Have you told them that you supported the legislation, or are you being deceitful there as well? Are you keeping it quiet that you unanimously supported this legislation that you are now allowing your Labor colleagues to hold up, delaying $150m-worth of production from agricultural activity?
You may sit there and laugh and take it all as a joke, thinking people out there aren’t aware of how mirthfully you are approaching this matter. It is very serious. You are stopping jobs. For the benefit of those people listening to the broadcast, the Leader of the Opposition while we discuss this very serious issue has been sitting here chuckling, chatting with her friends, having a few laughs about it. Her actions clearly demonstrate that she doesn’t care anything about development in the Territory. She doesn’t care about creating jobs. If she did, she’d have phoned the Leader of the Opposition in the federal parliament and said: ‘Get out of the Territory’s way. We want to do things’. But she hasn’t the gumption to do so.
Mr SPEAKER: I draw members’ attention to the fact that we’ve had two questions from either side in 25 minutes. I think answers generally could be kept a little shorter.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this is a very important issue. It is one which the opposition can use to demonstrate a tangible interest and concern - and, indeed, the ability - to achieve something for the Territory economy, to allow hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in the Territory economy to take place.
I speak in terms, of course, of the comments that the Chief Minister made last week in relation to the obstruction in the Senate by the Australian Labor Party of the Northern Territory’s native title legislation, and the inaction of the Leader of the Opposition and other members opposite in relation to that. I implore them to take some action.
If you really want to do something to help the Territory economy, get on to Senator Bolkus and the Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley, and ask them to allow our legislation to pass through the Senate. Ask them to allow a process whereby native title claims over pastoral leases can be permitted to proceed under the legislation that this parliament debated and passed with the support of members opposite. If you supported the legislation, why don’t you then have the commitment to put pressure, on behalf of Territorians, on your federal colleagues, to enable it to pass through the Senate?
It was the Labor Party and only the Labor Party in the Senate that obstructed this. On the last day of the sittings when this was before the Senate, the Labor Party moved in the dying hours of that session to obstruct the Territory legislation’s passage through the Senate. As a consequence, we’ve seen $90m-worth of exploration delayed over native title, just in the mining industry alone.
More than 800 mining titles are affected by native title. Exploration spending has dropped from $95m to $60m a year. And if there’s no exploration in the mining industry, there are no future mines. You are sending our mining industry down the gurgler by your inaction. Don’t get up and complain that there’s a lack of economic activity and development in the Northern Territory when you won’t even maintain support for the legislation that you did, in fact, support in this House. You won’t get on to your Labor colleagues to pressure them.
Millions of dollars’ worth of horticultural development across the Territory is on hold because of native title and the obstruction of our legislation in the Senate. It is simply down to the Labor Party vetoing our laws in the Senate. Labor is costing us jobs and development.
The Territory government and the land councils have been working together very closely on this and I commend the land councils for their cooperation in this regard. It’s all right for you - and now the chuckling starts - but the truth is the Labor Party wants to see Aboriginal people remain as mendicants because as mendicants they can control them, they can threaten them, they can get them concerned come election time. That way they’re under the Labor Party’s control. Well, there are Aboriginal people whose projects are held up by the native title legislation not going through the Senate. Their developments for the benefit of Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory are unable to proceed because of Labor’s inaction and obstructionism.
Let us have a look at some of the delayed projects: Two intensive developments for growing table grapes in central Australia, capable of producing $35m-worth of product; more intensive use of land on the Sturt Plateau for more efficient animal production; the Katherine/Daly agricultural project which would create land for mixed farming from existing pastoral leases and produce dry-land cropping worth $22m and $69m-worth of cattle production in a year; seven tourism-related projects including fishing safari camps, new roadhouses, extensions to existing roadhouses, caravan parks and camping grounds. We’re growing tourist activity and the tourism industry in the Northern Territory, but they are being constrained by their inability to access pastoral lease lands. That constraint is being placed on them by the Labor Party’s inaction.
In addition, there are millions of dollars’ worth of associated infrastructure. The income that would flow from these developments doesn’t include the jobs and the activity that would be generated through the construction of roads and the provision of other services. There would, of course, be substantial work for contractors.
So if you want to do something for Territorians, if you want to create a few jobs, if you want to stop obstructing activity and development, then you can actually do something. Pick up the phone, call Beazley ...
Mr AH KIT: A point of order, Mr Speaker! It’s not right for the Treasurer to get up and filibuster about the Labor Party being the problem. The Treasurer and the Chief Minister are in government. They stuffed it up. As I see it, they stuffed it up. Nobody is responsible but themselves.
Mr SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Neither is it appropriate for members of the opposition to get up and filibuster on points of order.
Mr REED: Mr Speaker, I will gladly pick up the point made by the member for Arnhem, that it is the government’s fault and we’re in government and we should be fixing it. We did fix it! We in this House passed legislation that removed the obstruction to these projects going ahead. The legislation was not supported only on the government benches. It was actually supported by the Labor members opposite.
However, since then, since their unanimous support for that legislation, they have changed their mind. It’s another example of the School of Deceit. Say one thing in this House, but go out there and tell Territorians that it’s the government that needs to act.
Well, the government acted. The government put legislation in place and your party is stopping that legislation from passing through the Senate. The Leader of the Opposition should go out and tell Territorians why she hasn’t pressured the Leader of the Opposition in the federal parliament and why she hasn’t told Bolkus to get out of Territory affairs and let our legislation pass.
Have you told them that you supported the legislation, or are you being deceitful there as well? Are you keeping it quiet that you unanimously supported this legislation that you are now allowing your Labor colleagues to hold up, delaying $150m-worth of production from agricultural activity?
You may sit there and laugh and take it all as a joke, thinking people out there aren’t aware of how mirthfully you are approaching this matter. It is very serious. You are stopping jobs. For the benefit of those people listening to the broadcast, the Leader of the Opposition while we discuss this very serious issue has been sitting here chuckling, chatting with her friends, having a few laughs about it. Her actions clearly demonstrate that she doesn’t care anything about development in the Territory. She doesn’t care about creating jobs. If she did, she’d have phoned the Leader of the Opposition in the federal parliament and said: ‘Get out of the Territory’s way. We want to do things’. But she hasn’t the gumption to do so.
Mr SPEAKER: I draw members’ attention to the fact that we’ve had two questions from either side in 25 minutes. I think answers generally could be kept a little shorter.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016