Mr ELFERINK - 1999-02-18
The Leader of the Opposition yesterday claimed that the proportion of young Territorians who are long-term unemployed was 40% and growing. Has the Treasurer been able to ascertain where those figures came from?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it is interesting to reflect on what the Leader of the Opposition told this House and Territorians on Tuesday. She said that day was the start of a new era of politics for Labor in the Northern Territory, and further that, as leader ‘I publicly nail my colours to the mast’.
She went on to say that she would ‘lead’ and that it is time that we had a ‘fair and accurate debate’. Indeed it is, because the figures that she put forward in relation to unemployment were that the unemployment rate for 15 to 19-year olds in the Territory in 1997 was 16%. She said that the proportion of young people who were long term unemployed was over 40% and this problem was still growing. What I would like the Leader of the Opposition to tell Territorians is where she got those figures from, because they don’t comply, in fact they conflict with the ABS and ILO-based definitions and standards which the rest of the country works with. Not the Northern Territory Treasury’s figures, not the CLP figures, but the nationally adhered to standards linked to an international definition and standard by which these figures are assessed.
We have heard the rhetoric from the Leader of the Opposition, we have heard that it is a new period and that: ‘It is time we had a fair and accurate debate’. What she has to do is tell us - are her figures a fraud or are her figures not a fraud? Because they do not abide with the ABS statistics, they don’t abide with the ILO standards and definitions, and if she is going to stand in this House and try to tell members and Territorians what the facts are according to Labor, she has to back that up with the source of those figures and how she has interpreted them to her political advantage.
Ms Martin: You confirmed them.
Mr REED: I confirmed nothing. What I am putting to the Leader of the Opposition, to answer her interjection, is for her to come up with the goods, tell us where she sourced her figures, why they don’t comply with ABS and ILO standards and definitions, and why she is trying to mislead Territorians into believing that things are worse than they actually are, when in fact we have the lowest unemployment, the highest population growth and the strongest economic growth in the country. These are things we should be proud of, rather than something that the Leader of the Opposition should be trying to camouflage and misrepresent.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it is interesting to reflect on what the Leader of the Opposition told this House and Territorians on Tuesday. She said that day was the start of a new era of politics for Labor in the Northern Territory, and further that, as leader ‘I publicly nail my colours to the mast’.
She went on to say that she would ‘lead’ and that it is time that we had a ‘fair and accurate debate’. Indeed it is, because the figures that she put forward in relation to unemployment were that the unemployment rate for 15 to 19-year olds in the Territory in 1997 was 16%. She said that the proportion of young people who were long term unemployed was over 40% and this problem was still growing. What I would like the Leader of the Opposition to tell Territorians is where she got those figures from, because they don’t comply, in fact they conflict with the ABS and ILO-based definitions and standards which the rest of the country works with. Not the Northern Territory Treasury’s figures, not the CLP figures, but the nationally adhered to standards linked to an international definition and standard by which these figures are assessed.
We have heard the rhetoric from the Leader of the Opposition, we have heard that it is a new period and that: ‘It is time we had a fair and accurate debate’. What she has to do is tell us - are her figures a fraud or are her figures not a fraud? Because they do not abide with the ABS statistics, they don’t abide with the ILO standards and definitions, and if she is going to stand in this House and try to tell members and Territorians what the facts are according to Labor, she has to back that up with the source of those figures and how she has interpreted them to her political advantage.
Ms Martin: You confirmed them.
Mr REED: I confirmed nothing. What I am putting to the Leader of the Opposition, to answer her interjection, is for her to come up with the goods, tell us where she sourced her figures, why they don’t comply with ABS and ILO standards and definitions, and why she is trying to mislead Territorians into believing that things are worse than they actually are, when in fact we have the lowest unemployment, the highest population growth and the strongest economic growth in the country. These are things we should be proud of, rather than something that the Leader of the Opposition should be trying to camouflage and misrepresent.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016