Dr LIM - 1998-04-29
At the beginning of this term of government, he advised that he intended to outsource Northern Territory government legal services. What is the extent of tendering of services?
Mr Stirling: Your lawyer mates are ...
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I pick up the interjection about my 'lawyer mates'. Whether they are my mates or my opponents, they are all Territorians and they will get the work. It will not go interstate any more. That is what this is all about.
Ms Martin: It still goes interstate.
Mr STONE: The member for Fannie Bay interjects that it still goes interstate. Less goes interstate today than ever in our history. She should be supporting this move. Members opposite should be applauding the government for what it has done in directing work back to the local bar and to members of the local profession who practice as solicitors to ensure they continue to receive a good slice of the cake. They simply were not getting it. If the Leader of ...
Ms Martin: We just do not want you personally to determine that.
Mr STONE: If the member for Fannie Bay ...
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fannie Bay, listen to the answer.
Mr Ah Kit: We object to his doing it personally.
Mr STONE: Let me pick up that interjection, that I do it personally. I do not do it personally. I have never done it personally, despite the best efforts of members opposite to try to convey to people the impression that I sit behind my desk, picking at will a legal firm or a legal practitioner.
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For the benefit of members opposite, let me explain how it works.
The department brings across the profiles of the files and recommends that certain people be allocated certain work which is consistent with the policy of 'buy local first'. I simply sign off as the responsible minister. That is how it has always worked. Let us get rid of this myth that I somehow pluck names out of the air. It would be impossible for the member for Fannie Bay to explain why some of the individuals who are being briefed and given work are being given that work, if that were the case. I rely entirely on the advice of the head of the Attorney-General's Department who, in consultation with her colleagues in the department, makes the necessary choice. Although it was a begrudging acknowledgment from the Law Society, even it has agreed that it is a better system and is working much better.
On Friday 27 March, tenders were called across a range of agencies, including the Power and Water Authority, the Department of Transport and Works and the Northern Territory Housing Commission. Other work relates to the crime victims assistance scheme, work health claims, child and family protective services, adoption, and Katherine matters. Members will be aware that we have trialled this system in Alice Springs over the past 5 years and it has worked very well. We are undertaking an assessment of those people and firms who have been submitting tenders. Contracts will be for an initial period of 2 years, commencing on 1 June 1998, and they will be performance-based. Most importantly, they will be with local practitioners and local firms.
This is a first for Australia, and it guarantees that Territorians will get the work. Instead of offering curmudgeonly criticism, members opposite should be congratulating the government on this important initiative. It is not simply to the benefit of the lawyers, but of all the people who work in those law firms. The secretaries, bookkeepers, rounds clerks and conveyancing clerks will all benefit considerably because of the CLP government's commitment to employing Territorians.
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Mr Stirling: Your lawyer mates are ...
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I pick up the interjection about my 'lawyer mates'. Whether they are my mates or my opponents, they are all Territorians and they will get the work. It will not go interstate any more. That is what this is all about.
Ms Martin: It still goes interstate.
Mr STONE: The member for Fannie Bay interjects that it still goes interstate. Less goes interstate today than ever in our history. She should be supporting this move. Members opposite should be applauding the government for what it has done in directing work back to the local bar and to members of the local profession who practice as solicitors to ensure they continue to receive a good slice of the cake. They simply were not getting it. If the Leader of ...
Ms Martin: We just do not want you personally to determine that.
Mr STONE: If the member for Fannie Bay ...
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fannie Bay, listen to the answer.
Mr Ah Kit: We object to his doing it personally.
Mr STONE: Let me pick up that interjection, that I do it personally. I do not do it personally. I have never done it personally, despite the best efforts of members opposite to try to convey to people the impression that I sit behind my desk, picking at will a legal firm or a legal practitioner.
Page 219
For the benefit of members opposite, let me explain how it works.
The department brings across the profiles of the files and recommends that certain people be allocated certain work which is consistent with the policy of 'buy local first'. I simply sign off as the responsible minister. That is how it has always worked. Let us get rid of this myth that I somehow pluck names out of the air. It would be impossible for the member for Fannie Bay to explain why some of the individuals who are being briefed and given work are being given that work, if that were the case. I rely entirely on the advice of the head of the Attorney-General's Department who, in consultation with her colleagues in the department, makes the necessary choice. Although it was a begrudging acknowledgment from the Law Society, even it has agreed that it is a better system and is working much better.
On Friday 27 March, tenders were called across a range of agencies, including the Power and Water Authority, the Department of Transport and Works and the Northern Territory Housing Commission. Other work relates to the crime victims assistance scheme, work health claims, child and family protective services, adoption, and Katherine matters. Members will be aware that we have trialled this system in Alice Springs over the past 5 years and it has worked very well. We are undertaking an assessment of those people and firms who have been submitting tenders. Contracts will be for an initial period of 2 years, commencing on 1 June 1998, and they will be performance-based. Most importantly, they will be with local practitioners and local firms.
This is a first for Australia, and it guarantees that Territorians will get the work. Instead of offering curmudgeonly criticism, members opposite should be congratulating the government on this important initiative. It is not simply to the benefit of the lawyers, but of all the people who work in those law firms. The secretaries, bookkeepers, rounds clerks and conveyancing clerks will all benefit considerably because of the CLP government's commitment to employing Territorians.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016