Mr BALCH - 2000-10-18
Yesterday, the opposition claimed the Territory stood to lose $4.5m because of ongoing discussions with the National Competition Council on the Territory’s electricity access code. The opposition even claimed you should resign over the issue.
Can the Treasurer explain if the $4.5m claim has anything to do with the access code and does the Treasurer have any intention of resigning over this issue?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, here is yet another example of deceit. The disease is spreading rapidly throughout the ranks of the opposition. The Deputy Leader might laugh but I remind him of what he said and yesterday that was that – first of all he called on me to resign if there was – I think he used the figure of $4.7m that we would lose because of our non-compliance with national competition policy as it applies to the electricity regime. Well, there are a couple of points for the Leader of the Opposition to pass on to her colleague. First of all, the national competition policy details to which the honourable Deputy Leader referred to yesterday do not apply to the Northern Territory electricity regime. He was wrong on that count.
The reason for that is that he assumed, did not take the trouble to check, that the same applies in the Northern Territory as applies elsewhere as regards the electricity regimes, and when he thought he was on to something, did not bother checking the facts to see if he was right, because being right is not a big point with the opposition. They do not worry about the facts. He just assumed that that would be the case in the Northern Territory when, in fact, it is not. So, there’s my word not necessary in terms of proving what those circumstances are.
The National Competition Council Executive Director, Ed Willett, was on ABC Radio yesterday afternoon and when asked by the interviewer if in fact we were about to lose in excess of $4m because of this particular matter, Mr Willett hung the member for Nhulunbuy out to dry very nicely. His answer was, following the question when asked if the competition payment was at risk because of discussions on the access code, ‘No, it’s not’. Not in the case of the Northern Territory because the Northern Territory has no obligations under the full electricity agreements that apply to the national electricity market in the south east. This process is quite separate from the assessment process we have on government’s progress with implementing national competition policy’. Wrong again, Syd.
So, if they are going to make these assertions and if they are going to try and create a misrepresentation of the facts to Territorians, this government will continually expose the fact that they are being mischievous and that they are being deceitful. We have already had two examples of that here today in terms of the Leader of the Opposition’s assertion that the Territory economy was in recession and now the Deputy Leader of the Opposition as regards his $4.7m claim that we were about to lose the money.
For the benefit of the honourable member, can I say that in overall terms with the matters that he raised yesterday, there are really only one or two outstanding issues and as Mr Willett said yesterday, the Northern Territory government is continuing to cooperate in relation to those matters, and we are continuing to negotiate the issues that the National Competition Council has raised as regards our proposals for the regulation of the electricity network. So, we did not have to enter into it under the National Competition Policy. Wrong, member for Nhulunbuy.
We did so that we would be able to put in place a process that would deregulate the Northern Territory electricity market, and as has occurred since that deregulation was introduced, see reduced electricity tariffs for some sectors of the Northern Territory and, indeed, a program that will see those tariffs further reduce over time. And, thirdly of course, the assertion that $4.7m was going to be lost, by the member for Nhulunbuy, and rightly he should hang his head, and while he is hanging his head he should be thinking about the apology that he has to make to Territorians for incorrectly asserting that we are about to lose $4.7m. As the National Competition Council clearly demonstrates, it is not at risk.
Can the Treasurer explain if the $4.5m claim has anything to do with the access code and does the Treasurer have any intention of resigning over this issue?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, here is yet another example of deceit. The disease is spreading rapidly throughout the ranks of the opposition. The Deputy Leader might laugh but I remind him of what he said and yesterday that was that – first of all he called on me to resign if there was – I think he used the figure of $4.7m that we would lose because of our non-compliance with national competition policy as it applies to the electricity regime. Well, there are a couple of points for the Leader of the Opposition to pass on to her colleague. First of all, the national competition policy details to which the honourable Deputy Leader referred to yesterday do not apply to the Northern Territory electricity regime. He was wrong on that count.
The reason for that is that he assumed, did not take the trouble to check, that the same applies in the Northern Territory as applies elsewhere as regards the electricity regimes, and when he thought he was on to something, did not bother checking the facts to see if he was right, because being right is not a big point with the opposition. They do not worry about the facts. He just assumed that that would be the case in the Northern Territory when, in fact, it is not. So, there’s my word not necessary in terms of proving what those circumstances are.
The National Competition Council Executive Director, Ed Willett, was on ABC Radio yesterday afternoon and when asked by the interviewer if in fact we were about to lose in excess of $4m because of this particular matter, Mr Willett hung the member for Nhulunbuy out to dry very nicely. His answer was, following the question when asked if the competition payment was at risk because of discussions on the access code, ‘No, it’s not’. Not in the case of the Northern Territory because the Northern Territory has no obligations under the full electricity agreements that apply to the national electricity market in the south east. This process is quite separate from the assessment process we have on government’s progress with implementing national competition policy’. Wrong again, Syd.
So, if they are going to make these assertions and if they are going to try and create a misrepresentation of the facts to Territorians, this government will continually expose the fact that they are being mischievous and that they are being deceitful. We have already had two examples of that here today in terms of the Leader of the Opposition’s assertion that the Territory economy was in recession and now the Deputy Leader of the Opposition as regards his $4.7m claim that we were about to lose the money.
For the benefit of the honourable member, can I say that in overall terms with the matters that he raised yesterday, there are really only one or two outstanding issues and as Mr Willett said yesterday, the Northern Territory government is continuing to cooperate in relation to those matters, and we are continuing to negotiate the issues that the National Competition Council has raised as regards our proposals for the regulation of the electricity network. So, we did not have to enter into it under the National Competition Policy. Wrong, member for Nhulunbuy.
We did so that we would be able to put in place a process that would deregulate the Northern Territory electricity market, and as has occurred since that deregulation was introduced, see reduced electricity tariffs for some sectors of the Northern Territory and, indeed, a program that will see those tariffs further reduce over time. And, thirdly of course, the assertion that $4.7m was going to be lost, by the member for Nhulunbuy, and rightly he should hang his head, and while he is hanging his head he should be thinking about the apology that he has to make to Territorians for incorrectly asserting that we are about to lose $4.7m. As the National Competition Council clearly demonstrates, it is not at risk.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016