Ms MARTIN - 1999-08-10
I refer the Chief Minister to his radio interview after the by-elections, when he spouted the nonsense that a drop in the Territory Liberal Party’s primary vote to 49%, a 22% swing against it, was a good result. The interviewer asked the Chief Minister why Territorians think he’s a weak and dithering leader At one point the interviewer asked the Chief Minister: ‘So you feel you’ve been a bit indecisive?’ The reply from the Chief Minister, which had to be heard to be believed, was: ‘Oh, [pause] probably’. When will the Chief Minister get the message, sent clearly by the voters and again by Barry Coulter in his crisis call, that his hand-wringing is simply not good enough?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker,the name of the party is the Country Liberal Party. It is another deliberate deception on the part of the Leader of the Opposition that she calls it otherwise.
With regard to the result in the Blain by-election, the reality is that instead of that member there, Mr Terry Mills, there is no new member on the other side of the House. That’s a fact. The new member is on our side of the House. Using old military terminology, we took out the whole of the hill. We stand a bit battered and bruised, but guess who’s got the hill? And there ain’t no second prize.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order, member for Nhulunbuy!
Mr BURKE: You can make much of the by-election, but I can tell you that it was an endorsement of the incredible personal vote that Mr Barry Coulter had in that electorate. He has been seen for many years as the father of Palmerston and had an immense personal following.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nhulunbuy is on a warning. You are warned. One more outburst and you’re gone.
Mr BURKE: It was extremely difficult for a mid-term CLP government to face two by-elections against a Labor campaign that outspent us 4 to 1, a campaign that was run by the Labor Party as a general election. You can’t tell me that you didn’t set out in that election to take the seat of Blain. You can’t say you only set out to get a reduction of votes. You set out to take Blain. The reality is that Mr Mills sits on this side of the House. You lost a mid-term by-election. You are the first Labor leader in 13 years to fail to win a by-election against the CLP.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker,the name of the party is the Country Liberal Party. It is another deliberate deception on the part of the Leader of the Opposition that she calls it otherwise.
With regard to the result in the Blain by-election, the reality is that instead of that member there, Mr Terry Mills, there is no new member on the other side of the House. That’s a fact. The new member is on our side of the House. Using old military terminology, we took out the whole of the hill. We stand a bit battered and bruised, but guess who’s got the hill? And there ain’t no second prize.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order, member for Nhulunbuy!
Mr BURKE: You can make much of the by-election, but I can tell you that it was an endorsement of the incredible personal vote that Mr Barry Coulter had in that electorate. He has been seen for many years as the father of Palmerston and had an immense personal following.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nhulunbuy is on a warning. You are warned. One more outburst and you’re gone.
Mr BURKE: It was extremely difficult for a mid-term CLP government to face two by-elections against a Labor campaign that outspent us 4 to 1, a campaign that was run by the Labor Party as a general election. You can’t tell me that you didn’t set out in that election to take the seat of Blain. You can’t say you only set out to get a reduction of votes. You set out to take Blain. The reality is that Mr Mills sits on this side of the House. You lost a mid-term by-election. You are the first Labor leader in 13 years to fail to win a by-election against the CLP.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016