Ms MARTIN - 2001-02-28
Mr Speaker, the prospect of bringing onshore the gas from 22 trillion cubic feet gas fields in the Timor Sea is an exciting one for the future of the Territory. The plan of Phillips Petroleum to establish an LNG plant at Wickham Point, Methanex’s intention to establish a methanol plant, and Woodside’s aim to build gas pipelines linking Darwin to south-eastern states, Gove and the Gulf Region has the potential to create thousands of jobs for Territorians - particularly young Territorians now passing through our education system.
Those jobs, however, will not be filled by Territorians without careful planning, and linking our schools and higher education institutions into the needs of the oil and gas industry. East Timor has already started its jobs plan for the oil and gas industry.
Chief Minister, you had no jobs plan in place for the railway; will you put one in place for oil and gas before it is too late?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, pray tell what the East Timor jobs plan is ...
Mr Stirling: What, do you want to copy it?
Mr BURKE: I can tell you what the East Timor situation is. It is being negotiated entirely by the United Nations. It is centred on the taxation regime that will apply to that particular resource. One of the large uncertainties that I have spoken to the Prime Minister and Senator Minchin about is to get an early resolution of that matter because the companies themselves want certainty in how much taxation will be levied upon a resource, and where it will be levied. They are not interested in how the Australian government and the East Timor government divvies up the pot. They only want some certainty, and that is not there at the moment. That is an issue that needs to be resolved.
With regards to a jobs plan and the planning the Northern Territory government has in place, it is very easy to be critical and point to a lack of effort in the Northern Territory government in this regard…
Ms Martin: We want to make sure the young students who are here today will have jobs in the oil and gas industry when it comes on board.
Mr BURKE: The Leader of the Opposition feigns concern about Territorians’ prospects and interests. Recently she took a trip to Scotland. She had the gall to talk about how this parliament should target and pre-plan trips with more focus thereby getting the most benefit from these trips in respect of the gas and oil industry. Yet not once has she sought a briefing from the Minister for Industries and Business, the Minister for Resource Development, or the Minister for Tertiary Education and Training who has carriage of NTETA, which deals with issues relating to apprenticeship training and skills training, in order to gain knowledge about the oil and gas industry.
The focus of government to this point in time ...
Ms Martin: Your gas consultants, Western Australia’s gas consultant - Phillips, Shell, Methanex, Woodside.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: It is very important you understand this; you are so inept. The focus of government to this point has been to secure gas onshore, and that has occupied an immense amount of effort and time. It has only been in the past few months, as late as last September I think ...
Ms Martin: Where is your jobs plan? It is a simple question.
Mr BURKE: The Leader of the Opposition likes to interrupt, likes to criticise. She is criticising the government about what we are doing with a jobs plan. If there is no gas onshore, there is no prospect of jobs. That is the first thing, and it has only been ...
Mr Toyne: Three years from now, four years - you train them over the next three years.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: The scientist from Yuendumu criticises the fact that this has been in the pipeline for four years. That demonstrates again the total incompetence and lack of knowledge or interest they have - apart from criticising.
It has only been in the past few months that the prospect of gas coming onshore at an early date - when I say an early date, I am talking 2004, 2005 - has become a reality. So, you might consider there is some time yet to develop those particular initiatives. The prospect of gas coming onshore that early has become a reality because of the joint venture arrangements and the sharing of equity between Shell, Woodside and Phillips. It is something that this Chief Minister, the Minister for Resource Development, and the Treasurer have been directly engaged in, to the point of taking that group to the federal government, to the Prime Minister and Minister Minchin, in order to get the federal government’s support. That support was forthcoming in the incentives that have been offered through Invest Australia.
Mr Stirling: Daryl says they will come from interstate.
Mr BURKE: Listen! You might learn something!
I turn now to attracting the first foundation customer, Methanex, to Darwin. Methanex has not yet decided on Darwin, and it is primarily Methanex that will be central to the early delivery of gas onshore. That is the focus of government: Securing Methanex; getting the pipeline built; and, concurrent with that, discussing the benefits to Territorians in bringing gas onshore.
I make this point absolutely clear - gas onshore to the Northern Territory for all of these companies comes at a price and that is: Where is the benefit to the Northern Territory? If that answer can’t be given clearly and unequivocally, they will have issues to discuss with this government.
We will work earnestly to ensure the job prospects are there, the benefit to the economy is there, the training and skills for Territorians are there. This will be central in all of our discussions about bringing this great venture onshore.
Those jobs, however, will not be filled by Territorians without careful planning, and linking our schools and higher education institutions into the needs of the oil and gas industry. East Timor has already started its jobs plan for the oil and gas industry.
Chief Minister, you had no jobs plan in place for the railway; will you put one in place for oil and gas before it is too late?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, pray tell what the East Timor jobs plan is ...
Mr Stirling: What, do you want to copy it?
Mr BURKE: I can tell you what the East Timor situation is. It is being negotiated entirely by the United Nations. It is centred on the taxation regime that will apply to that particular resource. One of the large uncertainties that I have spoken to the Prime Minister and Senator Minchin about is to get an early resolution of that matter because the companies themselves want certainty in how much taxation will be levied upon a resource, and where it will be levied. They are not interested in how the Australian government and the East Timor government divvies up the pot. They only want some certainty, and that is not there at the moment. That is an issue that needs to be resolved.
With regards to a jobs plan and the planning the Northern Territory government has in place, it is very easy to be critical and point to a lack of effort in the Northern Territory government in this regard…
Ms Martin: We want to make sure the young students who are here today will have jobs in the oil and gas industry when it comes on board.
Mr BURKE: The Leader of the Opposition feigns concern about Territorians’ prospects and interests. Recently she took a trip to Scotland. She had the gall to talk about how this parliament should target and pre-plan trips with more focus thereby getting the most benefit from these trips in respect of the gas and oil industry. Yet not once has she sought a briefing from the Minister for Industries and Business, the Minister for Resource Development, or the Minister for Tertiary Education and Training who has carriage of NTETA, which deals with issues relating to apprenticeship training and skills training, in order to gain knowledge about the oil and gas industry.
The focus of government to this point in time ...
Ms Martin: Your gas consultants, Western Australia’s gas consultant - Phillips, Shell, Methanex, Woodside.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: It is very important you understand this; you are so inept. The focus of government to this point has been to secure gas onshore, and that has occupied an immense amount of effort and time. It has only been in the past few months, as late as last September I think ...
Ms Martin: Where is your jobs plan? It is a simple question.
Mr BURKE: The Leader of the Opposition likes to interrupt, likes to criticise. She is criticising the government about what we are doing with a jobs plan. If there is no gas onshore, there is no prospect of jobs. That is the first thing, and it has only been ...
Mr Toyne: Three years from now, four years - you train them over the next three years.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: The scientist from Yuendumu criticises the fact that this has been in the pipeline for four years. That demonstrates again the total incompetence and lack of knowledge or interest they have - apart from criticising.
It has only been in the past few months that the prospect of gas coming onshore at an early date - when I say an early date, I am talking 2004, 2005 - has become a reality. So, you might consider there is some time yet to develop those particular initiatives. The prospect of gas coming onshore that early has become a reality because of the joint venture arrangements and the sharing of equity between Shell, Woodside and Phillips. It is something that this Chief Minister, the Minister for Resource Development, and the Treasurer have been directly engaged in, to the point of taking that group to the federal government, to the Prime Minister and Minister Minchin, in order to get the federal government’s support. That support was forthcoming in the incentives that have been offered through Invest Australia.
Mr Stirling: Daryl says they will come from interstate.
Mr BURKE: Listen! You might learn something!
I turn now to attracting the first foundation customer, Methanex, to Darwin. Methanex has not yet decided on Darwin, and it is primarily Methanex that will be central to the early delivery of gas onshore. That is the focus of government: Securing Methanex; getting the pipeline built; and, concurrent with that, discussing the benefits to Territorians in bringing gas onshore.
I make this point absolutely clear - gas onshore to the Northern Territory for all of these companies comes at a price and that is: Where is the benefit to the Northern Territory? If that answer can’t be given clearly and unequivocally, they will have issues to discuss with this government.
We will work earnestly to ensure the job prospects are there, the benefit to the economy is there, the training and skills for Territorians are there. This will be central in all of our discussions about bringing this great venture onshore.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016