Mr TOYNE - 1999-10-21
The contract that his department signed with the federal government says funding for Aboriginal education programs would be supplementary to Territory government funding. In other words, it is given as additional funding. The leaked report says there has been a history of using IESIP funding as substitute funding for Education Department core business. That is a breach of your contract. You’ve broken the law. And incredibly, this report also says that the Education Department ...
Mr ADAMSON: A point of order, Mr Speaker! An allegation of breaking the law requires a substantive motion. He must withdraw.
Mr SPEAKER: Yes, the member should withdraw that. You can’t make that sort of statement without a substantive motion.
Mr TOYNE: I withdraw that for the moment. Incredibly, this report also says:
The Education Department has a history of annual under-expenditure and transferral of unexpended funds to capital work, an area that has no agreed targets and outcomes.
Why has the minister been misusing Commonwealth funding in breach of the contract his department signed?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, for starters we have not breached the contract. I tell the honourable member that straight up-front. Indeed, once again he is misleading the House.
We have had, as we have said in this place on a number of occasions, ongoing dialogue with the Commonwealth over some of these issues. It is all too apparent to everyone who has been following this issue that it has been a matter of serious dialogue between us and the Commonwealth. To claim that contracts have been broken is quite misleading. There is no other way to describe it. We have in recent times had some extremely fruitful discussions with the Commonwealth, both at ministerial and at officer level.
I think it is unfortunate that, on a day when we are really going to take another step forward in terms of trying to achieve better and more positive outcomes in Aboriginal education, we have an opposition that did not ask me one question about this earlier in the sittings choose today to do this, to continue to mislead the House.
I ask the honourable member, let’s put all that misinformation behind us and let’s get on with it. I think there is one bit of misinformation that we do need to put behind us straightaway, and I have to revisit history again. Honourable members will remember how we went to the last election with Mr Toyne claiming he was Dr Toyne. We all know that he had to withdraw that.
There is only one problem - he has continued with that deception. I simply call on the member to cease and desist. I table a copy of Governments of Australia, which all honourable members probably have seen. It includes biographies of all members of parliament around Australia. The latest edition - updated, I believe, in September - still lists you as a doctor. You just cannot tell the truth.
I agree to tell the truth on this side. How about you try it for a change? Try it. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to keep doing it, but at least stop deceiving the public. This is simply another concrete example where this man has absolutely no shred of decency when it comes to the truth.
We will admit our faults when we have them. We as a department have …
Ms MARTIN: A point of order, Mr Speaker! We asked a specific question. The minister has a copy of this report. The question is specific to the minister’s own internal departmental report, and he has to answer it.
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the minister to answer the question.
Mr ADAMSON: I was about to sit down, Mr Speaker. I simply say that several reviews have been established and commissioned by the department to look at exactly where we do need to move ahead from here. We are prepared to do that. We are prepared to move on. It is apparent, however, that the opposition is not.
Mr ADAMSON: A point of order, Mr Speaker! An allegation of breaking the law requires a substantive motion. He must withdraw.
Mr SPEAKER: Yes, the member should withdraw that. You can’t make that sort of statement without a substantive motion.
Mr TOYNE: I withdraw that for the moment. Incredibly, this report also says:
The Education Department has a history of annual under-expenditure and transferral of unexpended funds to capital work, an area that has no agreed targets and outcomes.
Why has the minister been misusing Commonwealth funding in breach of the contract his department signed?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, for starters we have not breached the contract. I tell the honourable member that straight up-front. Indeed, once again he is misleading the House.
We have had, as we have said in this place on a number of occasions, ongoing dialogue with the Commonwealth over some of these issues. It is all too apparent to everyone who has been following this issue that it has been a matter of serious dialogue between us and the Commonwealth. To claim that contracts have been broken is quite misleading. There is no other way to describe it. We have in recent times had some extremely fruitful discussions with the Commonwealth, both at ministerial and at officer level.
I think it is unfortunate that, on a day when we are really going to take another step forward in terms of trying to achieve better and more positive outcomes in Aboriginal education, we have an opposition that did not ask me one question about this earlier in the sittings choose today to do this, to continue to mislead the House.
I ask the honourable member, let’s put all that misinformation behind us and let’s get on with it. I think there is one bit of misinformation that we do need to put behind us straightaway, and I have to revisit history again. Honourable members will remember how we went to the last election with Mr Toyne claiming he was Dr Toyne. We all know that he had to withdraw that.
There is only one problem - he has continued with that deception. I simply call on the member to cease and desist. I table a copy of Governments of Australia, which all honourable members probably have seen. It includes biographies of all members of parliament around Australia. The latest edition - updated, I believe, in September - still lists you as a doctor. You just cannot tell the truth.
I agree to tell the truth on this side. How about you try it for a change? Try it. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to keep doing it, but at least stop deceiving the public. This is simply another concrete example where this man has absolutely no shred of decency when it comes to the truth.
We will admit our faults when we have them. We as a department have …
Ms MARTIN: A point of order, Mr Speaker! We asked a specific question. The minister has a copy of this report. The question is specific to the minister’s own internal departmental report, and he has to answer it.
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the minister to answer the question.
Mr ADAMSON: I was about to sit down, Mr Speaker. I simply say that several reviews have been established and commissioned by the department to look at exactly where we do need to move ahead from here. We are prepared to do that. We are prepared to move on. It is apparent, however, that the opposition is not.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016