Mr RIOLI - 1998-08-20
One of the best fishing areas in the Top End is the Peron Islands. Radio calls for help from anglers who find themselves in trouble in this popular area go unanswered because there is no radio coverage there. Despite requests to the government for assistance, there has been a deafening silence on the vital issue of providing essential radio coverage. Why has Country Liberal Party government failed to act on this important marine safety issue?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, once again, unfortunately, this is a distortion of the facts by members opposite. It is one that does the situation no justice. These matters are, of course, a federal responsibility. Time and again, particularly during the 13 years of the federal Labor administration, the Northern Territory government has been forced to dip into its own Treasury coffers to pay for and update services that should have been legitimately provided by the federal authorities. That was the situation under Labor.
A few situations are being looked at, which we are more than happy to advise on. The fact is that, time and again, it has been the Territory government that has picked up the pieces when the federal government has failed us. That happened for 13 years under Labor. However, in the last 2 years, we have seen a remarkable turnaround from the federal authorities.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, I ask you to pause for a moment. I notice that the member for Arafura is trying desperately to hear the answer. He is having difficulty hearing because of the interjections from the members around him. Perhaps his own members could allow him to hear the answer.
Mr ADAMSON: It reflects an unsurprising lack of teamwork. Time and again, the member for Arafura asks a question only to have the answer taken over by his colleagues, and he is forced to sit there in silence.
The fact is that we have now a cooperative federal government that is willing to discuss these issues. Its track record has been established over the last 2 years. I welcome that track record because, quite frankly, it did not exist for the previous 13 years.
Mr Stirling: Do they have any dollars?
Mr ADAMSON: We have quite a few runs on the board. Hopefully, there will be more shortly. Of course, we have also the Regional Infrastructure Fund which is another step in the right direction by the current federal government. We will continue to discuss, at a federal level, matters that unfortunately we were unable to discuss with the federal government during the previous 13 years.
Members interjecting
Madam SPEAKER: Obviously, my comments to members of the opposition have had no effect whatsoever. I find your interjections to be too noisy today, and too frequent.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, once again, unfortunately, this is a distortion of the facts by members opposite. It is one that does the situation no justice. These matters are, of course, a federal responsibility. Time and again, particularly during the 13 years of the federal Labor administration, the Northern Territory government has been forced to dip into its own Treasury coffers to pay for and update services that should have been legitimately provided by the federal authorities. That was the situation under Labor.
A few situations are being looked at, which we are more than happy to advise on. The fact is that, time and again, it has been the Territory government that has picked up the pieces when the federal government has failed us. That happened for 13 years under Labor. However, in the last 2 years, we have seen a remarkable turnaround from the federal authorities.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, I ask you to pause for a moment. I notice that the member for Arafura is trying desperately to hear the answer. He is having difficulty hearing because of the interjections from the members around him. Perhaps his own members could allow him to hear the answer.
Mr ADAMSON: It reflects an unsurprising lack of teamwork. Time and again, the member for Arafura asks a question only to have the answer taken over by his colleagues, and he is forced to sit there in silence.
The fact is that we have now a cooperative federal government that is willing to discuss these issues. Its track record has been established over the last 2 years. I welcome that track record because, quite frankly, it did not exist for the previous 13 years.
Mr Stirling: Do they have any dollars?
Mr ADAMSON: We have quite a few runs on the board. Hopefully, there will be more shortly. Of course, we have also the Regional Infrastructure Fund which is another step in the right direction by the current federal government. We will continue to discuss, at a federal level, matters that unfortunately we were unable to discuss with the federal government during the previous 13 years.
Members interjecting
Madam SPEAKER: Obviously, my comments to members of the opposition have had no effect whatsoever. I find your interjections to be too noisy today, and too frequent.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016