Mr STIRLING - 1999-04-22
The Chief Minister will recall that his senior political advisor, Paul Cowdy, authorised Country Liberal Party and Federal Liberal Party opinion pollster, Mark Textor, to be paid $740 per day by Territory taxpayers to conduct focus groups. I seek leave to table a copy of Textor’s contract book bearing Paul Cowdy’s signature.
Leave granted.
Mr STIRLING: This contract was brought to the former Chief Minister’s attention in this Assembly 6 months ago, when rejecting Labor’s call for an inquiry, the current Chief Minister claimed Mark Textor was a great Territorian and bloody good at his job. Can the Chief Minister assure Territorians that the work performed by Mark Textor was a legitimate use of taxpayers’ money and that he performed his duties in an honest and ethical manner?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I’ve said on many occasions that I was not around in those days. I can only go on the information that has been available to this House and the debate that has ensued with regards to those allegations. There’s nothing to suggest in that debate that Mr Mark Textor did other than work on directions that he was given and conduct information that he believed was legitimate at the time.
With regards to the Andrew Coward allegations, remember that it is not only Mark Textor who has been targeted with these allegations, but also other reputable pollsters such as Sweeney and Associates for information they collected on behalf of government and other directions from Andrew Coward in 1989, and Newspoll in 1992-93.
So, when we talk about this besmirching of the character of Mark Textor, and we know the reason Labor pursues Mark Textor - its because he’s so good at his job and that’s the real aim in this whole exercise - but if they want to sweep Mark Textor up into these allegations, in fairness they should include and besmirch the reputations of agencies such as Newspoll.
The reality is, as I’ve said on many occasions, this man, Andrew Coward, acted alone. The previous Chief Minister didn’t like him and the minute he got a chance to, he sacked him and that was a good decision.
Since that time, we have seen the actions of an embittered man trying to hoist the government and trying to suggest this government was somehow involved in actions which we all know he did as a single operative and is now trying to suggest was under some sort of direction from government. There is no information to suggest that. It’s not an issue I intend pursuing. I’ve said that I intend to move forward, we’re looking at the development of the Northern Territory in the 21st century. If the Labor Party opposite want to sit back 7 to 10 years ago and figure that’s the way that good government should be conducted well and good.
I know what this side is doing and that is looking to achieve greater development and jobs for Territorians.
Leave granted.
Mr STIRLING: This contract was brought to the former Chief Minister’s attention in this Assembly 6 months ago, when rejecting Labor’s call for an inquiry, the current Chief Minister claimed Mark Textor was a great Territorian and bloody good at his job. Can the Chief Minister assure Territorians that the work performed by Mark Textor was a legitimate use of taxpayers’ money and that he performed his duties in an honest and ethical manner?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I’ve said on many occasions that I was not around in those days. I can only go on the information that has been available to this House and the debate that has ensued with regards to those allegations. There’s nothing to suggest in that debate that Mr Mark Textor did other than work on directions that he was given and conduct information that he believed was legitimate at the time.
With regards to the Andrew Coward allegations, remember that it is not only Mark Textor who has been targeted with these allegations, but also other reputable pollsters such as Sweeney and Associates for information they collected on behalf of government and other directions from Andrew Coward in 1989, and Newspoll in 1992-93.
So, when we talk about this besmirching of the character of Mark Textor, and we know the reason Labor pursues Mark Textor - its because he’s so good at his job and that’s the real aim in this whole exercise - but if they want to sweep Mark Textor up into these allegations, in fairness they should include and besmirch the reputations of agencies such as Newspoll.
The reality is, as I’ve said on many occasions, this man, Andrew Coward, acted alone. The previous Chief Minister didn’t like him and the minute he got a chance to, he sacked him and that was a good decision.
Since that time, we have seen the actions of an embittered man trying to hoist the government and trying to suggest this government was somehow involved in actions which we all know he did as a single operative and is now trying to suggest was under some sort of direction from government. There is no information to suggest that. It’s not an issue I intend pursuing. I’ve said that I intend to move forward, we’re looking at the development of the Northern Territory in the 21st century. If the Labor Party opposite want to sit back 7 to 10 years ago and figure that’s the way that good government should be conducted well and good.
I know what this side is doing and that is looking to achieve greater development and jobs for Territorians.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016