Mr BAILEY - 1997-11-26
Will he note the lax management style of his Minister for Health and instruct him to become a hands-on minister who directly oversees and approves all consultant medical and surgical specialists, as the Chief Minister has done with lawyers? In that way, he too can become a great minister.
ANSWER
Some things really do not change. There he stands - the member for Wanguri.
Madam Speaker, every minister has his or her own style, and the public knows that. The public makes its assessment about that when we have elections. While members opposite may take great delight in saying that the Chief Minister is a terrible fellow for having this hands-on approach, I actually want to know what is happening in my departments.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: All this is consistent with the laziness that is the hallmark of members opposite.
There is a very good reason for the system that has been put in place. In fact, the industry - if I can call the profession that - has applauded the decision, if members opposite had bothered to listen, because there was an unacceptable level of work going out of the Territory. I was not prepared to stand by and allow that to continue. Quite clearly, however, the message of the Labor Party to the industry is that it does not really care. That is consistent with the Leader of the Opposition who went into her local tile shop, obtained all the brochures, and then bought her tiles interstate, direct from the supplier. That is the procurement policy of the Labor Party. It is probably very happy for all the work to go of the Territory. Let me make it very clear that the CLP believes in buying locally. The CLP supports local industry.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: They wave their arms around, but how gutless they were when it was pointed out that their own leader went to a local supplier for all of her brochures, then snuck away and bought the goods from an interstate supplier. We do not run industry procurement like that in the Territory. We are doing the job, and the election has just confirmed the public's support for that approach.
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ANSWER
Some things really do not change. There he stands - the member for Wanguri.
Madam Speaker, every minister has his or her own style, and the public knows that. The public makes its assessment about that when we have elections. While members opposite may take great delight in saying that the Chief Minister is a terrible fellow for having this hands-on approach, I actually want to know what is happening in my departments.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: All this is consistent with the laziness that is the hallmark of members opposite.
There is a very good reason for the system that has been put in place. In fact, the industry - if I can call the profession that - has applauded the decision, if members opposite had bothered to listen, because there was an unacceptable level of work going out of the Territory. I was not prepared to stand by and allow that to continue. Quite clearly, however, the message of the Labor Party to the industry is that it does not really care. That is consistent with the Leader of the Opposition who went into her local tile shop, obtained all the brochures, and then bought her tiles interstate, direct from the supplier. That is the procurement policy of the Labor Party. It is probably very happy for all the work to go of the Territory. Let me make it very clear that the CLP believes in buying locally. The CLP supports local industry.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: They wave their arms around, but how gutless they were when it was pointed out that their own leader went to a local supplier for all of her brochures, then snuck away and bought the goods from an interstate supplier. We do not run industry procurement like that in the Territory. We are doing the job, and the election has just confirmed the public's support for that approach.
Page 18
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016