Ms MARTIN - 2000-05-18
On Thursday 16 March in the 7.30 Report, the Chief Minister said that he moved to alter the Chief Magistrate’s contract ‘ …as soon as I became aware of it’, thus indicating that he knew nothing of the deal until he became Attorney-General and Chief Minister. Last month, under pressure from Shane Stone, he was forced to come clean, acknowledging that he was in Cabinet which approved this Chief Magistrate’s secret deal. The discrepancy between the 2 stories is now a matter of public record and was compounded this morning on 8DDD.
I ask the Attorney-General why he mislead Territorians about his role in and knowledge of the secret deal done for the Chief Magistrate by initially pretending he knew nothing of the deal, when in fact he was a member of the Cabinet that approved it?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, you would not be Einstein to figure out that I was a member of the Cabinet that approved the document that went to the Executive Council. If that has taken the member some years to figure out, it shows the incompetence of the opposition that we have. Appointments of magistrates are approved by the Administrator in Executive Council and the members of the Executive Council are the Cabinet. I have been in Cabinet since 1996. The Chief Magistrate was appointed in 1998. God willing, imsh’Allah, I will be in Cabinet for many, many, years to come.
With regards to Territorians being misled, firstly I say to you at the outset that I do not believe Territorians were interested at all. The only reason that Territorians have become interested is primarily because of the waste of taxpayers’ money that is occurring through the Northern Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Services that is set up to defend Aboriginal clients, not play with taxpayers’ money to the degree they are. Employing QCs to ...
Mr STIRLING: A point of Order, Mr Speaker! The question goes directly as to why the Chief Minister mislead Territorians by saying he knew nothing about this deal when clearly he did.
Mr SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr BURKE: Territorians are, I would imagine, now interested and engaged because we have a full page spread across the NT News, as I predicted would occur. The terms and conditions of each of our judges is now public knowledge because somehow the Deputy Leader of the Opposition believes this is in the public interest. Well, that is for some to debate. I believe it is in the public interest that some things remain essentially private. Anyone could see that there is nothing untoward with those terms and conditions, but I imagine if I was one of those judges I would be most concerned to see my photograph and individual conditions splattered over the pages of the paper. They are under enough pressure as it is without these scurrilous allegations that are trying to undermine the judiciary of the Northern Territory. And mad you may call me; looking for flying saucers you might say. But until they prove the opposite, this is all part of a widening plot to undermine the issue of self-government in the Northern Territory.
The federal Leader of the Opposition has the time to look up a book of quotations to find a cute quote but he can’t bring himself to answer the simple question: ‘If you become Prime Minister of Australia, will you give an undertaking in writing that you will not interfere with the Self-Government Act of the Northern Territory?’ He can’t do it. He can’t bring himself to do it.
The Territory Leader of the Opposition can’t speak for herself. She peddles out others to do her speaking for her. Warren Snowdon rattled on yesterday full of contempt and abuse for me and this government but he couldn’t bring himself to say it, could he? They are guilty by omission. I give them the opportunity to prove me mad, to prove me stupid, to prove me mischievous. It is simple, just get the letter signed and I will be the first to say thank you.
With regards to misleading this parliament, I have said on many occasions that the Chief Magistrate was appointed by the Administrator in Executive Council ...
Ms Martin: You were present?
Mr BURKE: Of course I was present. Even if I wasn’t ...
Ms Martin: You were president.
Mr BURKE: Can I just clarify this issue? Even if I was not present - I would imagine on the particular day of the Chief Magistrate’s appointment some of the Cabinet ministers may not have been there – that is irrelevant because the Administrator in Executive Council appoints, therefore all members of Cabinet are involved whether they are there physically or not. I believe I probably was. I have not even checked. He was appointed because the terms and conditions of his appointment raised no concern in Cabinet’s eyes and certainly no concern from the Administrator. There is still, in my opinion, no cause for concern with regards to the appointment of the Chief Magistrate. But we will spend taxpayers’ money, initiated by NAALAS, now widened by the Labor Party, to get the answer to that point. I would go further only I am restrained by the action that is happening in the court.
With regards to misleading anyone, I have said on many occasions when I became aware of ‘it’. When I became aware of ‘it’ was when I became aware, as Chief Minister and Attorney-General, of the concerns that were being expressed quietly by some members of the legal profession with regards to that appointment. On investigation I decided that when that appointment expired – that is, the terms and conditions as arranged on his original appointment expired -I would revert his appointment to normal terms, and that’s the flat end of it. You can make all the allegations you like but that’s the simple truth of it.
I ask the Attorney-General why he mislead Territorians about his role in and knowledge of the secret deal done for the Chief Magistrate by initially pretending he knew nothing of the deal, when in fact he was a member of the Cabinet that approved it?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, you would not be Einstein to figure out that I was a member of the Cabinet that approved the document that went to the Executive Council. If that has taken the member some years to figure out, it shows the incompetence of the opposition that we have. Appointments of magistrates are approved by the Administrator in Executive Council and the members of the Executive Council are the Cabinet. I have been in Cabinet since 1996. The Chief Magistrate was appointed in 1998. God willing, imsh’Allah, I will be in Cabinet for many, many, years to come.
With regards to Territorians being misled, firstly I say to you at the outset that I do not believe Territorians were interested at all. The only reason that Territorians have become interested is primarily because of the waste of taxpayers’ money that is occurring through the Northern Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Services that is set up to defend Aboriginal clients, not play with taxpayers’ money to the degree they are. Employing QCs to ...
Mr STIRLING: A point of Order, Mr Speaker! The question goes directly as to why the Chief Minister mislead Territorians by saying he knew nothing about this deal when clearly he did.
Mr SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr BURKE: Territorians are, I would imagine, now interested and engaged because we have a full page spread across the NT News, as I predicted would occur. The terms and conditions of each of our judges is now public knowledge because somehow the Deputy Leader of the Opposition believes this is in the public interest. Well, that is for some to debate. I believe it is in the public interest that some things remain essentially private. Anyone could see that there is nothing untoward with those terms and conditions, but I imagine if I was one of those judges I would be most concerned to see my photograph and individual conditions splattered over the pages of the paper. They are under enough pressure as it is without these scurrilous allegations that are trying to undermine the judiciary of the Northern Territory. And mad you may call me; looking for flying saucers you might say. But until they prove the opposite, this is all part of a widening plot to undermine the issue of self-government in the Northern Territory.
The federal Leader of the Opposition has the time to look up a book of quotations to find a cute quote but he can’t bring himself to answer the simple question: ‘If you become Prime Minister of Australia, will you give an undertaking in writing that you will not interfere with the Self-Government Act of the Northern Territory?’ He can’t do it. He can’t bring himself to do it.
The Territory Leader of the Opposition can’t speak for herself. She peddles out others to do her speaking for her. Warren Snowdon rattled on yesterday full of contempt and abuse for me and this government but he couldn’t bring himself to say it, could he? They are guilty by omission. I give them the opportunity to prove me mad, to prove me stupid, to prove me mischievous. It is simple, just get the letter signed and I will be the first to say thank you.
With regards to misleading this parliament, I have said on many occasions that the Chief Magistrate was appointed by the Administrator in Executive Council ...
Ms Martin: You were present?
Mr BURKE: Of course I was present. Even if I wasn’t ...
Ms Martin: You were president.
Mr BURKE: Can I just clarify this issue? Even if I was not present - I would imagine on the particular day of the Chief Magistrate’s appointment some of the Cabinet ministers may not have been there – that is irrelevant because the Administrator in Executive Council appoints, therefore all members of Cabinet are involved whether they are there physically or not. I believe I probably was. I have not even checked. He was appointed because the terms and conditions of his appointment raised no concern in Cabinet’s eyes and certainly no concern from the Administrator. There is still, in my opinion, no cause for concern with regards to the appointment of the Chief Magistrate. But we will spend taxpayers’ money, initiated by NAALAS, now widened by the Labor Party, to get the answer to that point. I would go further only I am restrained by the action that is happening in the court.
With regards to misleading anyone, I have said on many occasions when I became aware of ‘it’. When I became aware of ‘it’ was when I became aware, as Chief Minister and Attorney-General, of the concerns that were being expressed quietly by some members of the legal profession with regards to that appointment. On investigation I decided that when that appointment expired – that is, the terms and conditions as arranged on his original appointment expired -I would revert his appointment to normal terms, and that’s the flat end of it. You can make all the allegations you like but that’s the simple truth of it.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016