Dr LIM - 1997-11-26
The Labor Party has claimed it is wrong to have the public service check the accuracy of claims that the Labor Party made during the last Territory election. Why has this checking exercise been necessary?
Mr Toyne: How many hundreds do you want to ...
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, members opposite laugh and the member for Stuart interjects. He is the one who
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said that, if it could be demonstrated that the Aboriginal Labor vote had declined in the Labor electorates and increased for the CLP, he would walk down the Todd Mall in Alice Springs with a bare bum. I am still waiting to see that.
In terms of the outrageous claims and lies that were told ...
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! My understanding is that the Chief Minister has implied that Labor members lied.
Mr Stone: I have not got that far yet.
Mr BAILEY: He just used the word `lies' in relation to quotes. He knows that he has to move a substantive motion if he wishes to imply that members have lied.
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister will withdraw the word.
Mr STONE: I withdraw it. I do make the point, however, that a great deal of misinformation was circulated, and that was absolutely irresponsible. One of the classics was that, on 12 August, the Leader of the Opposition told Territory voters - and she did so by way of a letter - that their taxes had been increased by a whopping 66%. Less than 6 days later, she had to concede on radio that she had confused taxes with revenue. The Leader of the Opposition is a complete dummy. Throughout the election campaign, those sorts of claims were made. There were numerous other examples.
Labor made these statements and sent them out in letters that were produced in the Leader of the Opposition's office because the party had no money in its campaign funds. Members opposite will be held accountable for that misinformation and the damage it did, particularly in the commercial sector. I do not doubt that the Leader of the Opposition was very concerned that we would check the claims that were made. This is the same person who talks about accountability. She says over and over that we should be open and honest with Territorians and that we should be transparent.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: They all interject, yet every one of them stands guilty of providing misinformation and factually wrong material to the electorate. We will go through it, chapter and verse. We will point up the distortions of fact, particularly those made by the Leader of the Opposition. She told Territorians that the Territory economy was in tatters at a time when its growth rate rivalled that of China - 9%. It was she who told Territorians that there was massive unemployment when, in fact, we had the best employment rate in Australia. With absolute gay abandon, she told Territorians things that were patently untrue, and she did it in a premeditated and deliberate fashion. How is that for a new definition of lying? The Labor Party will be held accountable, and the Leader of the Opposition will be held accountable for the misinformation that she peddled throughout the community.
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Mr Toyne: How many hundreds do you want to ...
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, members opposite laugh and the member for Stuart interjects. He is the one who
Page 14
said that, if it could be demonstrated that the Aboriginal Labor vote had declined in the Labor electorates and increased for the CLP, he would walk down the Todd Mall in Alice Springs with a bare bum. I am still waiting to see that.
In terms of the outrageous claims and lies that were told ...
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! My understanding is that the Chief Minister has implied that Labor members lied.
Mr Stone: I have not got that far yet.
Mr BAILEY: He just used the word `lies' in relation to quotes. He knows that he has to move a substantive motion if he wishes to imply that members have lied.
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister will withdraw the word.
Mr STONE: I withdraw it. I do make the point, however, that a great deal of misinformation was circulated, and that was absolutely irresponsible. One of the classics was that, on 12 August, the Leader of the Opposition told Territory voters - and she did so by way of a letter - that their taxes had been increased by a whopping 66%. Less than 6 days later, she had to concede on radio that she had confused taxes with revenue. The Leader of the Opposition is a complete dummy. Throughout the election campaign, those sorts of claims were made. There were numerous other examples.
Labor made these statements and sent them out in letters that were produced in the Leader of the Opposition's office because the party had no money in its campaign funds. Members opposite will be held accountable for that misinformation and the damage it did, particularly in the commercial sector. I do not doubt that the Leader of the Opposition was very concerned that we would check the claims that were made. This is the same person who talks about accountability. She says over and over that we should be open and honest with Territorians and that we should be transparent.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: They all interject, yet every one of them stands guilty of providing misinformation and factually wrong material to the electorate. We will go through it, chapter and verse. We will point up the distortions of fact, particularly those made by the Leader of the Opposition. She told Territorians that the Territory economy was in tatters at a time when its growth rate rivalled that of China - 9%. It was she who told Territorians that there was massive unemployment when, in fact, we had the best employment rate in Australia. With absolute gay abandon, she told Territorians things that were patently untrue, and she did it in a premeditated and deliberate fashion. How is that for a new definition of lying? The Labor Party will be held accountable, and the Leader of the Opposition will be held accountable for the misinformation that she peddled throughout the community.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016