Mrs HICKEY - 1998-08-18
I move on to a real issue.
Mr Stone: ‘On to a real issue’, she says! You don’t think statehood and the railway are real issues?
Mr Bailey: No, we think your lies are just garbage.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Wanguri, the Leader of the Opposition will be allowed to ask her question in silence and without interruption from either side.
Mrs HICKEY: I return to the disastrous radio interview referred to in my earlier question, when the Chief Minister misled Territorians once again by claiming they could afford a 10% GST on all goods and services because. He said: ‘The Territory has the highest disposable income in Australia’. The Chief Minister’s assertion is not true and he knows it. Northern Territorians have nowhere near the highest disposable income in Australia. The Territory ranks fourth behind the ACT, New South Wales and Victoria. In addition, the Territory has the highest cost of living in Australia, and Territory household incomes per head are below the Australian average. Now that the Chief Minister has been reminded of the facts, will he admit that he misled Territorians? Will he apologise to Territorians and publicly retract his misleading statement?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition go onto the streets and tell Territorians that they are badly off and that things are not working for them. Perhaps she should go to the shopping centres, the restaurants and the pubs and ask people how things are going for them. Instead, she tells people that it is all doom and gloom and the sky will fall in, and that they are not as well off as they thought. Who is she trying to kid? The Territory has the highest growth rate in all Australia. We have the best employment rates in all Australia.
The Leader of the Opposition stands up and bags the Territory. She tries to talk the economy down. Did the Labor Party not get a message at the last election, after 23 years? Under this Leader of the Opposition, the Labor Party received a reduced percentage of the vote and lost a seat. Surely she can read the message in that. The Territory is the most prosperous place in the nation. The Leader of the Opposition is trying to convince Territorians that they are not well off. When will she get the drift? People are not interested in her tales of doom and gloom. People are not interested in hearing her talk down the Territory economy.
The reality is that Territorians are far better off with this package, including the GST, than with anything that the Labor Party has put on the table to date. Let us remember that the Labor Party, which includes this lot sitting opposite, is the crowd that created $9000m debt. It is the crowd that almost brought this country to its knees. Now it has the gall to ask voters to …
Mr Bailey: You’re the one lying, though.
Mr STONE: … elect Kim Beazley and give Warren Snowdon another go so that he can use his VIP flights to go to dog shows in Tennant Creek. Then it wonders why it ends in a black hole. It is time the Leader of the Opposition started to stand up for the Territory and for Territorians. She is an abysmal failure.
Mr COULTER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Members of the opposition are very familiar with standing orders. They know that, if they want to accuse the Chief Minister of lying, they can do so only by way of a substantive motion. They have not seen fit to move a censure motion against the Chief Minister, but the continual interjection of ‘lying’ across the Chamber surely must be a point of order that you must take into consideration.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Wanguri, I have noticed your comments. I want you to withdraw those remarks that have referred to the Chief Minister as a liar.
Mr BAILEY: Madam Speaker, I am surprised that I was not asked to withdraw earlier. It was quite clear. I asked him whether he was lying and he did not answer. I unreservedly withdraw my many references to the Chief Minister as a liar. I suggest that my colleagues do the same. Most of them made similar references.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Wanguri, I am placing you on a warning. You have been outrageous this morning. You have been outrageous throughout these sittings. Sending you out for an hour has not cured you or improved your parliamentary behaviour. Therefore, I am seriously considering naming you next time. Try to exercise a little self-control.
Mr Stone: ‘On to a real issue’, she says! You don’t think statehood and the railway are real issues?
Mr Bailey: No, we think your lies are just garbage.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Wanguri, the Leader of the Opposition will be allowed to ask her question in silence and without interruption from either side.
Mrs HICKEY: I return to the disastrous radio interview referred to in my earlier question, when the Chief Minister misled Territorians once again by claiming they could afford a 10% GST on all goods and services because. He said: ‘The Territory has the highest disposable income in Australia’. The Chief Minister’s assertion is not true and he knows it. Northern Territorians have nowhere near the highest disposable income in Australia. The Territory ranks fourth behind the ACT, New South Wales and Victoria. In addition, the Territory has the highest cost of living in Australia, and Territory household incomes per head are below the Australian average. Now that the Chief Minister has been reminded of the facts, will he admit that he misled Territorians? Will he apologise to Territorians and publicly retract his misleading statement?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I would like to see the Leader of the Opposition go onto the streets and tell Territorians that they are badly off and that things are not working for them. Perhaps she should go to the shopping centres, the restaurants and the pubs and ask people how things are going for them. Instead, she tells people that it is all doom and gloom and the sky will fall in, and that they are not as well off as they thought. Who is she trying to kid? The Territory has the highest growth rate in all Australia. We have the best employment rates in all Australia.
The Leader of the Opposition stands up and bags the Territory. She tries to talk the economy down. Did the Labor Party not get a message at the last election, after 23 years? Under this Leader of the Opposition, the Labor Party received a reduced percentage of the vote and lost a seat. Surely she can read the message in that. The Territory is the most prosperous place in the nation. The Leader of the Opposition is trying to convince Territorians that they are not well off. When will she get the drift? People are not interested in her tales of doom and gloom. People are not interested in hearing her talk down the Territory economy.
The reality is that Territorians are far better off with this package, including the GST, than with anything that the Labor Party has put on the table to date. Let us remember that the Labor Party, which includes this lot sitting opposite, is the crowd that created $9000m debt. It is the crowd that almost brought this country to its knees. Now it has the gall to ask voters to …
Mr Bailey: You’re the one lying, though.
Mr STONE: … elect Kim Beazley and give Warren Snowdon another go so that he can use his VIP flights to go to dog shows in Tennant Creek. Then it wonders why it ends in a black hole. It is time the Leader of the Opposition started to stand up for the Territory and for Territorians. She is an abysmal failure.
Mr COULTER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Members of the opposition are very familiar with standing orders. They know that, if they want to accuse the Chief Minister of lying, they can do so only by way of a substantive motion. They have not seen fit to move a censure motion against the Chief Minister, but the continual interjection of ‘lying’ across the Chamber surely must be a point of order that you must take into consideration.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Wanguri, I have noticed your comments. I want you to withdraw those remarks that have referred to the Chief Minister as a liar.
Mr BAILEY: Madam Speaker, I am surprised that I was not asked to withdraw earlier. It was quite clear. I asked him whether he was lying and he did not answer. I unreservedly withdraw my many references to the Chief Minister as a liar. I suggest that my colleagues do the same. Most of them made similar references.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Wanguri, I am placing you on a warning. You have been outrageous this morning. You have been outrageous throughout these sittings. Sending you out for an hour has not cured you or improved your parliamentary behaviour. Therefore, I am seriously considering naming you next time. Try to exercise a little self-control.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016