Mr BAILEY - 1998-12-03
I refer him to his outrageous comments of yesterday where he said: ‘Mark Textor is one of the most brilliant market researchers and pollsters in this country. He is one of the best in the world’.
Chief Minister, now that you have had 24 hours to read Mr Textor’s apology and the documents outlining that he has paid significant damages to one of his push-polling victims, will you add to your description that Mark Textor is one of the most unethical pollsters in the world? Will you cease the utter nonsense that Mark Textor and the Country Liberal Party have not implemented the despicable push-polling tactic in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, let me make it very clear that I have never participated in push-polling, I have never condoned push-polling, and I have no knowledge of push-polling in the Northern Territory.
Mr Bailey: Untrue.
Mr STONE: You can continue to interject ‘untrue’, but the problem for you is that if you want to make the allegation, you must produce evidence, because we live in a country ...
Mr Bailey: Have the inquiry.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: ... where, if you want to make those sort of allegations, then you have actually have to put up some evidence up.
Now he says: ‘Have the inquiry’. Here he has parliament, and absolute parliamentary privilege.
Mr Bailey: But no access to documents. They’re all locked away in your little files.
Mr STONE: I take that as an admission that they have nothing to offer. They can come out of the gutter like the grubs they are, hurl any sort of allegation they want across this Chamber, and do it with impunity in the safety of parliament. All you get from the Labor Party over almost 20 years is: ‘Let’s have an inquiry’. Look at the number of inquiries that we have had, the money that has been wasted! Do these people have a single constructive idea.
Now look the simple test for the Labor Party. Let’s pop that out to the public. The very simple test for the Labor Party was the allegations made by the member for Nhulunbuy. He said he had evidence of secret videotaping.
Mr Stirling: Yes.
Mr STONE: He is shaking. He is still saying ‘yes’. You don’t need to get into anyone’s filing cabinet. You don’t need anyone’s papers. Show us your video. What have you got? You have had you could do was produce a letter that said ‘viewing facilities available’. And the interjection from the Leader of Government Business was: ‘Yes, chairs’.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, resume your seat. I note that government members haven’t been interjecting wildly this morning. But, members of the opposition, you’ve been really over the top. We have had the discussion. Just let’s hear the Chief Minister’s answer.
Mr STONE: It is a simple request. The member for Nhulunbuy made 2 allegations leading into these sittings. He said he had a leaked secret report on another matter and he said that he had proof of people being secretly videotaped. Why won’t they produce it? You had the headlines, you took the press with you on the issue. Why won’t you produce? Why won’t you put up on the allegations? It’s a simple enough question.
For our part, on this side, we make full disclosure. I table the transcripts dated 20 June 1995, 17 September 1996, 17 June 1997 and 16 June 1998 - 4 years while I’ve been Chief Minister in which I have detailed the polling, the amount spent and the topics that were to be polled. What’s so secretive about that?
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question was quite specific: Will he deny that the CLP used push-polling?
Mr STONE: In the deed of release that was tabled here in the parliament yesterday, the opposition made great play of the apologies that were appended to it. I indicated that, on my reading of the document, the defendants denied all liability to the plaintiff. That is clearly set out on page 1.
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: Look, I find this impossible, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I thought after our discussion yesterday, when you complained about the behaviour of the members opposite, you would at least pass the message back to your members also. Yet we have had continual interruptions from the member from Wanguri this morning. He is on a warning. If he continues I will be forced to send him out.
Mr STONE: Madam Speaker, it sets it out clearly. The defendants, being Andrew Robb, Roy Morgan Research and Mark Textor, deny any liability to the plaintiff. In the letters of apology there is absolutely no reference to push-polling. The words are not used. Once again, Labor members have come in here and waved a document around. They have selectively quoted from it and, having started the brushfire, they have hoped for the bushfire.
Mrs Hickey: ‘Liberals Paid a Large Price for Labor Slurs’.
Mr STONE: Don’t read the newspaper extract. Read the legal document that sets out the facts.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr STONE: The member for Nhulunbuy interjects again. Will he put up the evidence that he has claimed to the media that he has had now for weeks? Where is it?
Chief Minister, now that you have had 24 hours to read Mr Textor’s apology and the documents outlining that he has paid significant damages to one of his push-polling victims, will you add to your description that Mark Textor is one of the most unethical pollsters in the world? Will you cease the utter nonsense that Mark Textor and the Country Liberal Party have not implemented the despicable push-polling tactic in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, let me make it very clear that I have never participated in push-polling, I have never condoned push-polling, and I have no knowledge of push-polling in the Northern Territory.
Mr Bailey: Untrue.
Mr STONE: You can continue to interject ‘untrue’, but the problem for you is that if you want to make the allegation, you must produce evidence, because we live in a country ...
Mr Bailey: Have the inquiry.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: ... where, if you want to make those sort of allegations, then you have actually have to put up some evidence up.
Now he says: ‘Have the inquiry’. Here he has parliament, and absolute parliamentary privilege.
Mr Bailey: But no access to documents. They’re all locked away in your little files.
Mr STONE: I take that as an admission that they have nothing to offer. They can come out of the gutter like the grubs they are, hurl any sort of allegation they want across this Chamber, and do it with impunity in the safety of parliament. All you get from the Labor Party over almost 20 years is: ‘Let’s have an inquiry’. Look at the number of inquiries that we have had, the money that has been wasted! Do these people have a single constructive idea.
Now look the simple test for the Labor Party. Let’s pop that out to the public. The very simple test for the Labor Party was the allegations made by the member for Nhulunbuy. He said he had evidence of secret videotaping.
Mr Stirling: Yes.
Mr STONE: He is shaking. He is still saying ‘yes’. You don’t need to get into anyone’s filing cabinet. You don’t need anyone’s papers. Show us your video. What have you got? You have had you could do was produce a letter that said ‘viewing facilities available’. And the interjection from the Leader of Government Business was: ‘Yes, chairs’.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, resume your seat. I note that government members haven’t been interjecting wildly this morning. But, members of the opposition, you’ve been really over the top. We have had the discussion. Just let’s hear the Chief Minister’s answer.
Mr STONE: It is a simple request. The member for Nhulunbuy made 2 allegations leading into these sittings. He said he had a leaked secret report on another matter and he said that he had proof of people being secretly videotaped. Why won’t they produce it? You had the headlines, you took the press with you on the issue. Why won’t you produce? Why won’t you put up on the allegations? It’s a simple enough question.
For our part, on this side, we make full disclosure. I table the transcripts dated 20 June 1995, 17 September 1996, 17 June 1997 and 16 June 1998 - 4 years while I’ve been Chief Minister in which I have detailed the polling, the amount spent and the topics that were to be polled. What’s so secretive about that?
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question was quite specific: Will he deny that the CLP used push-polling?
Mr STONE: In the deed of release that was tabled here in the parliament yesterday, the opposition made great play of the apologies that were appended to it. I indicated that, on my reading of the document, the defendants denied all liability to the plaintiff. That is clearly set out on page 1.
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: Look, I find this impossible, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I thought after our discussion yesterday, when you complained about the behaviour of the members opposite, you would at least pass the message back to your members also. Yet we have had continual interruptions from the member from Wanguri this morning. He is on a warning. If he continues I will be forced to send him out.
Mr STONE: Madam Speaker, it sets it out clearly. The defendants, being Andrew Robb, Roy Morgan Research and Mark Textor, deny any liability to the plaintiff. In the letters of apology there is absolutely no reference to push-polling. The words are not used. Once again, Labor members have come in here and waved a document around. They have selectively quoted from it and, having started the brushfire, they have hoped for the bushfire.
Mrs Hickey: ‘Liberals Paid a Large Price for Labor Slurs’.
Mr STONE: Don’t read the newspaper extract. Read the legal document that sets out the facts.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr STONE: The member for Nhulunbuy interjects again. Will he put up the evidence that he has claimed to the media that he has had now for weeks? Where is it?
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016