Mr STIRLING - 1999-08-18
I refer the Chief Minister to a radio interview with the member for Nightcliff, Steve Hatton, last Thursday. In response to a question about his life on the back bench, he said:
I’ve got other things to do in my life. There’s opportunities for me to get on with other things in my life from the back bench.
The Chief Minister has had it highlighted today that the member for Nightcliff is not using his opportunities to service his electorate or to perform parliamentary duties. His time-consuming preoccupation is to make money for himself at taxpayers’ expense. Chief Minister, do you intend doing anything about that?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I’m sure Territorians are far more interested in issues other than a trivial pursuit of the member for Nightcliff. They are far more interested in how the government is getting on with business and with jobs and development.
The allegation is that the member for Nightcliff has involved himself in a business. I remind members that during the last six months, apart from serving his electorate, he has been the chairman of the standing committee investigating statehood. He has travelled the length and breadth of the Northern Territory. He has attended every meeting in that capacity - far more meetings than members on the other side of the House have attended.
As a member of that committee, his effort has been absolutely superb. He supervised the drafting of the detailed report. He has taken a hands-on responsibility, a direct responsibility, as chairman. That has been an onerous task over the last six months. I am well aware of the amount of effort required from all members of the committee.
He is also the Northern Territory member on the Centenary of Federation Committee. That committee is working up the vast agenda that will occur throughout the length and breadth of Australia, including superb activities in the Northern Territory, during that year. That has taken up more of the member’s time. Serving his electorate comes on top of that.
If he has some interest in a business that is primarily operated, as I understand it, by his wife, it is for him to confirm that in his pecuniary interest statement, and for him to satisfy his electorate that it is not distracting him from his primary responsibility to serve his electorate.
I say again that if you want to talk about a conflict of interest in how taxpayers’ money is spent, we need look no farther than these four glossy brochures produced by the Leader of the Opposition. The reality is the ALP have run their office out of the Leader of the Opposition’s office, using taxpayer’s funds. There’s $20 000 in these four brochures alone. That is something that I have stopped.
I’ve got other things to do in my life. There’s opportunities for me to get on with other things in my life from the back bench.
The Chief Minister has had it highlighted today that the member for Nightcliff is not using his opportunities to service his electorate or to perform parliamentary duties. His time-consuming preoccupation is to make money for himself at taxpayers’ expense. Chief Minister, do you intend doing anything about that?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I’m sure Territorians are far more interested in issues other than a trivial pursuit of the member for Nightcliff. They are far more interested in how the government is getting on with business and with jobs and development.
The allegation is that the member for Nightcliff has involved himself in a business. I remind members that during the last six months, apart from serving his electorate, he has been the chairman of the standing committee investigating statehood. He has travelled the length and breadth of the Northern Territory. He has attended every meeting in that capacity - far more meetings than members on the other side of the House have attended.
As a member of that committee, his effort has been absolutely superb. He supervised the drafting of the detailed report. He has taken a hands-on responsibility, a direct responsibility, as chairman. That has been an onerous task over the last six months. I am well aware of the amount of effort required from all members of the committee.
He is also the Northern Territory member on the Centenary of Federation Committee. That committee is working up the vast agenda that will occur throughout the length and breadth of Australia, including superb activities in the Northern Territory, during that year. That has taken up more of the member’s time. Serving his electorate comes on top of that.
If he has some interest in a business that is primarily operated, as I understand it, by his wife, it is for him to confirm that in his pecuniary interest statement, and for him to satisfy his electorate that it is not distracting him from his primary responsibility to serve his electorate.
I say again that if you want to talk about a conflict of interest in how taxpayers’ money is spent, we need look no farther than these four glossy brochures produced by the Leader of the Opposition. The reality is the ALP have run their office out of the Leader of the Opposition’s office, using taxpayer’s funds. There’s $20 000 in these four brochures alone. That is something that I have stopped.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016