Mr STIRLING - 1999-10-14
My question goes further into the minister’s abysmal handling of the Fire Service. In this critical report, tabled before, the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service states that 8 years ago the audit bureau of the Chief Minister’s Department carried out its own review of the service and recommended staff increases. It states that those recommendations were never taken up. Why have the minister and the Country Liberal government ignored this important recommendation when it had been told clearly by its own audit bureau 8 years ago that staff increases were needed? What risk, minister, have you placed the staff and the community under in all of that time?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition seems to have this view that anything that anyone asks for should be given. When your kid says, ‘I want to go to the movies 5 times a week and I want another bag of lollies and I want 6 more ice creams’, you frequently have to say: ‘Look, son, I’m sorry about this, but one ice cream over a period of time is enough.’ You don’t keep saying: ‘Okay, get my wallet. Here’s another $5, son. Off you go’. another ice cream.
On a larger scale, government has to operate the same way. People listening to this broadcast understand that they have a home budget and they have to live within their means. And a responsible government too has to live within its means. That, sadly, means that you cannot do everything you want as soon as you want. The Leader of the Opposition may understand that, but I doubt it because we have tried to get the message to her before. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition does not understand it.
In the overall context of reviews that the government requests, the issues that have been brought to the government’s attention are considered and responded to in a responsible time and in a responsible manner. That’s the way you have to operate. Although the government deal with a much larger lump of money than the average household, the principles are the same. If Territorians want a government that willy-nilly will just throw money out everywhere, buying the kid an extra ice cream as soon as he wants one and doing all of the other things that it would like to do, I’m sorry, but life is not like that.
You do have to, in government, work – unlike you. You do have to, in government, be honest - unlike you, you are deceitful. And you do have to, in government, be responsible. That means making decisions, and sometimes they are damned tough decisions. You cannot do what you’d like to do in providing services to Territorians as quickly as you may wish. You have to prioritise issues.
And I have to say again that the member is being misleading. A recruitment school for fire officers has recently been completed. I think it has delivered another 8 officers. Some of those would be replacing some level of attrition that you get in every service, every area of employment. But the Deputy Leader of the Opposition is trying to imply that nothing is being done.
I made reference earlier to the fact - and I’ve done this many times in this House – that it’s one thing to have an efficient and well-trained … They’re laughing about it. That’s how seriously they take it. For the benefit of people listening to this broadcast, we’ve got the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Opposition having a little joke between themselves. They don’t even take their own question seriously!
A government service, be it a police service or a fire service or any other arm of government, must not only be professional. It must be able to deliver its services, so it has to have equipment that’s suitable. On 5 March 1998, Cabinet approved a $5.111m, 8-year major fire appliance replacement program. I could go through the details of those ...
Mr Stirling: And no staff!
Mr REED: You don’t like to hear the positives. You don’t want to hear what the government is doing. You’d be happy if they were still driving around in trucks that were 17 years old.
Darwin, Tennant Creek, Yulara, Jabiru, Alice Springs, Casuarina, and Palmerston fire stations have received new equipment. Nhulunbuy will in this financial year. Darwin will next year ...
Mr Stirling: 18 years and no staff increases!
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: The accusation that nothing’s been done, albeit that he ...
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: What does that tell you? You’re not capable of making tough decisions, not capable of setting priorities. Okay, you’ve got different priorities. But we’re not ignoring the situation. A training course has just been completed. Don’t continue in your deceitful way to try to present as fact a suggestion that nothing has been done. Over $5m is being spent on a re-equipment program. A training school has just been completed. The Fire Service is providing excellent levels of service to Territorians without, as people do in other states, Territorians having to pay a fire service levy. Our service is a quality service, a professional and well-equipped service – and it’s free.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition seems to have this view that anything that anyone asks for should be given. When your kid says, ‘I want to go to the movies 5 times a week and I want another bag of lollies and I want 6 more ice creams’, you frequently have to say: ‘Look, son, I’m sorry about this, but one ice cream over a period of time is enough.’ You don’t keep saying: ‘Okay, get my wallet. Here’s another $5, son. Off you go’. another ice cream.
On a larger scale, government has to operate the same way. People listening to this broadcast understand that they have a home budget and they have to live within their means. And a responsible government too has to live within its means. That, sadly, means that you cannot do everything you want as soon as you want. The Leader of the Opposition may understand that, but I doubt it because we have tried to get the message to her before. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition does not understand it.
In the overall context of reviews that the government requests, the issues that have been brought to the government’s attention are considered and responded to in a responsible time and in a responsible manner. That’s the way you have to operate. Although the government deal with a much larger lump of money than the average household, the principles are the same. If Territorians want a government that willy-nilly will just throw money out everywhere, buying the kid an extra ice cream as soon as he wants one and doing all of the other things that it would like to do, I’m sorry, but life is not like that.
You do have to, in government, work – unlike you. You do have to, in government, be honest - unlike you, you are deceitful. And you do have to, in government, be responsible. That means making decisions, and sometimes they are damned tough decisions. You cannot do what you’d like to do in providing services to Territorians as quickly as you may wish. You have to prioritise issues.
And I have to say again that the member is being misleading. A recruitment school for fire officers has recently been completed. I think it has delivered another 8 officers. Some of those would be replacing some level of attrition that you get in every service, every area of employment. But the Deputy Leader of the Opposition is trying to imply that nothing is being done.
I made reference earlier to the fact - and I’ve done this many times in this House – that it’s one thing to have an efficient and well-trained … They’re laughing about it. That’s how seriously they take it. For the benefit of people listening to this broadcast, we’ve got the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Opposition having a little joke between themselves. They don’t even take their own question seriously!
A government service, be it a police service or a fire service or any other arm of government, must not only be professional. It must be able to deliver its services, so it has to have equipment that’s suitable. On 5 March 1998, Cabinet approved a $5.111m, 8-year major fire appliance replacement program. I could go through the details of those ...
Mr Stirling: And no staff!
Mr REED: You don’t like to hear the positives. You don’t want to hear what the government is doing. You’d be happy if they were still driving around in trucks that were 17 years old.
Darwin, Tennant Creek, Yulara, Jabiru, Alice Springs, Casuarina, and Palmerston fire stations have received new equipment. Nhulunbuy will in this financial year. Darwin will next year ...
Mr Stirling: 18 years and no staff increases!
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: The accusation that nothing’s been done, albeit that he ...
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: What does that tell you? You’re not capable of making tough decisions, not capable of setting priorities. Okay, you’ve got different priorities. But we’re not ignoring the situation. A training course has just been completed. Don’t continue in your deceitful way to try to present as fact a suggestion that nothing has been done. Over $5m is being spent on a re-equipment program. A training school has just been completed. The Fire Service is providing excellent levels of service to Territorians without, as people do in other states, Territorians having to pay a fire service levy. Our service is a quality service, a professional and well-equipped service – and it’s free.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016