Dr LIM - 2000-08-17
Before I ask the question, Mr Speaker, I ask the House to take note that the former member for Flynn, one of the old seats in central Australia, Mr Ray Hanrahan, is sitting in the public gallery.
Members will recall the pro-active approach that this government took to ensure our local businesses were well positioned to supply the needs of the East Timor operation last year. Does the Treasurer have any details on what that effort meant to the Northern Territory economy?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it was a significant contribution and it reflected, of course, the enormous effort that hardworking Northern Territory public servants put into preparing a capability statement so that we could make the Defence Force and other organisations aware of what materials and services could be sourced out of Darwin in relation to the response to the Timor crisis. That initial underlying information and documentation was instrumental in achieving a wonderful outcome for the Territory economy. In fact, that outcome was $242m in relation to Darwin’s ability to supply the Australian Defence Force’s involvement in the East Timor operation.
I commend those who were involved in that, including of course the business sector who did a marvellous job in very quickly organising themselves in terms of advising what their capability was as regards the delivery of services, and their ability to respond in a timely fashion.
A report jointly commissioned by the Territory government and the Defence Materiel Organisation found the East Timor operation delivered work to nearly 200 small and medium-sized Territory businesses. That report confirms and quantifies the extent of the money spent by the ADF during the period September last to February this year.
The business community was very pro-active, and in dealing with the Australian Defence Force during the East Timor effort was found to have experienced an increase in turnover averaging 6%, or $1.3m per enterprise. That didn’t come easily. A lot of hard work was required. Further investment was demanded of some businesses in terms of being able to do that.
I think the collective effort from the business sector in the Northern Territory, the response by the Northern Territory government in providing ‘Tent City’, the old Reserve Bank building now owned by the Territory government immediately handed over to the United Nations as their headquarters and still being used for that purpose, were demonstrations of how responsive we were, and the $242m injection into the economy demonstrate the success of those efforts. But it was not just government and business. Aid organisations, non-government organisations from not just other parts of Australia but internationally, participated.
In congratulating the business community for their efforts, I reflect on the experience of this sittings in Question Time and the very negative and undermining approach that the Leader of the Opposition put in, alleging in her terms a recession in the Northern Territory economy. In doing so, she used the figures for this year and compared them with last year, but eliminated of course the fact that there was a $1.3bn injection in last year’s figures because of the purchase of Northern Endeavour. Of course, the Leader of the Opposition cast that aside and compared the figures without saying: ‘Hang on a minute, you don’t buy a Northern Endeavour every year’.
When the economic indicators come out for the period I have just been discussing, September through February, including the outcome of the $242m injection into the Territory economy because of the East Timor crisis, I ask her to be responsible and not undermine the confidence of the business sector by saying we are back in recession. But when that time comes I predict she will do it, because that is the frame of mind she is in. She wants to undermine confidence, she wants to be negative and she wants to be deceitful, and she is achieving top results in those three arenas.
I ask her, when the economic results come out for this period that I have just referred to and she compares the future outcome with the past outcome as a result of the $242m injection, to try for once to be responsible. Tell the truth and be honest with Territorians. Allow for the fact that there was a $242m spike in the economy because of the injection of the East Timor effort. I forewarn Territorians who are listening to be prepared for this, because she has a lot of priors. We know how she acts. We know how deceitful she is. We know that when the September-February period is assessed over the next six months she will be saying we are back in recession without making allowance for the fact that at that time - hopefully for the people of East Timor we won’t have another East Timor crisis, notwithstanding that we benefited from the last one in terms of the economic activity was generated. You do have to make allowances, in comparing future statistics and future outcomes with those we are experiencing, for that $242m very welcome injection into the economy.
Members will recall the pro-active approach that this government took to ensure our local businesses were well positioned to supply the needs of the East Timor operation last year. Does the Treasurer have any details on what that effort meant to the Northern Territory economy?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it was a significant contribution and it reflected, of course, the enormous effort that hardworking Northern Territory public servants put into preparing a capability statement so that we could make the Defence Force and other organisations aware of what materials and services could be sourced out of Darwin in relation to the response to the Timor crisis. That initial underlying information and documentation was instrumental in achieving a wonderful outcome for the Territory economy. In fact, that outcome was $242m in relation to Darwin’s ability to supply the Australian Defence Force’s involvement in the East Timor operation.
I commend those who were involved in that, including of course the business sector who did a marvellous job in very quickly organising themselves in terms of advising what their capability was as regards the delivery of services, and their ability to respond in a timely fashion.
A report jointly commissioned by the Territory government and the Defence Materiel Organisation found the East Timor operation delivered work to nearly 200 small and medium-sized Territory businesses. That report confirms and quantifies the extent of the money spent by the ADF during the period September last to February this year.
The business community was very pro-active, and in dealing with the Australian Defence Force during the East Timor effort was found to have experienced an increase in turnover averaging 6%, or $1.3m per enterprise. That didn’t come easily. A lot of hard work was required. Further investment was demanded of some businesses in terms of being able to do that.
I think the collective effort from the business sector in the Northern Territory, the response by the Northern Territory government in providing ‘Tent City’, the old Reserve Bank building now owned by the Territory government immediately handed over to the United Nations as their headquarters and still being used for that purpose, were demonstrations of how responsive we were, and the $242m injection into the economy demonstrate the success of those efforts. But it was not just government and business. Aid organisations, non-government organisations from not just other parts of Australia but internationally, participated.
In congratulating the business community for their efforts, I reflect on the experience of this sittings in Question Time and the very negative and undermining approach that the Leader of the Opposition put in, alleging in her terms a recession in the Northern Territory economy. In doing so, she used the figures for this year and compared them with last year, but eliminated of course the fact that there was a $1.3bn injection in last year’s figures because of the purchase of Northern Endeavour. Of course, the Leader of the Opposition cast that aside and compared the figures without saying: ‘Hang on a minute, you don’t buy a Northern Endeavour every year’.
When the economic indicators come out for the period I have just been discussing, September through February, including the outcome of the $242m injection into the Territory economy because of the East Timor crisis, I ask her to be responsible and not undermine the confidence of the business sector by saying we are back in recession. But when that time comes I predict she will do it, because that is the frame of mind she is in. She wants to undermine confidence, she wants to be negative and she wants to be deceitful, and she is achieving top results in those three arenas.
I ask her, when the economic results come out for this period that I have just referred to and she compares the future outcome with the past outcome as a result of the $242m injection, to try for once to be responsible. Tell the truth and be honest with Territorians. Allow for the fact that there was a $242m spike in the economy because of the injection of the East Timor effort. I forewarn Territorians who are listening to be prepared for this, because she has a lot of priors. We know how she acts. We know how deceitful she is. We know that when the September-February period is assessed over the next six months she will be saying we are back in recession without making allowance for the fact that at that time - hopefully for the people of East Timor we won’t have another East Timor crisis, notwithstanding that we benefited from the last one in terms of the economic activity was generated. You do have to make allowances, in comparing future statistics and future outcomes with those we are experiencing, for that $242m very welcome injection into the economy.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016