Mr STIRLING - 2001-02-22
The Auditor-General’s report very clearly puts the lie to the Chief Minister’s and Treasurer’s claims that there was no link between the power lines purchase and Hancock’s investment in the railway. I ask the Treasurer will he still stand there and continue to deny that your mate, Paul Everingham, and Hancock took this government to the cleaners to the tune of $44m using the rail investment as leverage?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Deputy Leader and the Leader of the Opposition have to pursue this issue. They have to pursue it because last year they made such a fuss of it.
You will recall last year that after all of the assertions that they were making without any information whatsoever, notwithstanding that I offered the Leader of the Opposition a full briefing from Treasury on this matter, and she had the ability to acquaint herself with the full knowledge of the facts and the events, she refused that briefing. She refused that briefing because she knew that if she was informed as to what the facts are, which have now been very eruditely presented by the Auditor-General, she will have been proven wrong. She has now been proven wrong and so has the Deputy Leader, but they have to try and cover their tracks because they have now been exposed. They have now been exposed by no less a person than the Auditor-General.
I say to Territorians, that in the six key findings of the Auditor-General, the word ‘railway’, the words ‘transmission line linked to the railway’, are not there. They are not mentioned. They are the key findings. And the only couple of paragraphs where the railway is mentioned, the Auditor-General takes pains to explain that the government took action to ensure that there was no link between the transmission line and the railway.
Now, you have to try and make something out of this because you made such fools of yourselves last year, and you have now been exposed as making fools of yourselves last year. The principal matters that the opposition raised last year as regards this issue have all been proven to be wrong. Being fully aware of what the processes were in relation to settling the transmission line issue, that is why, last year, I said publicly ‘I will not comment on this matter again’, and I wrote to the Auditor-General in this vein, ‘I will not comment on this matter again until the Auditor-General reports on it’. The reason for that was because of the untruths and the misleading statements that were made by members opposite, and they had to be exposed for what they were. They have been fully exposed now.
The Auditor-General has considered the matter. He has investigated documents I would think would probably half fill this Chamber and he has found that the government acted responsibly. And can I say too, and I will quote this to people listening:
While the final decision required the exercise of judgement by the government, the processes which delivered the advice to the government, and which eventually led to the approval of the settlement offer, were appropriate to the circumstances.
So the processes were followed, the hard work that was done by Territory public servants was professional and the advice was appropriate and the action was appropriate.
In terms of the opposition, they have nowhere to go in relation to this, they have to ask a few questions because they have to follow it on, they have been committed to it, and they are left exposed for what they are. You are frauds. You do not understand process and you do not respect that the Territory public servants who worked hard for Territorians are professional and they would never have allowed the sort of things that you are suggesting they would do to happen in the Northern Territory. You are a fraud and a disgrace as an opposition leader. You have no alternative but to get out on the steps of Parliament House today, with a copy of the Auditor-General’s report, and apologise to them for creating the unnecessary concern that you did last year. Because all of the matters that you raised last year in relation to the transmission line purchase have been proved wrong by no less a person than the Auditor-General. You are a disgrace.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Deputy Leader and the Leader of the Opposition have to pursue this issue. They have to pursue it because last year they made such a fuss of it.
You will recall last year that after all of the assertions that they were making without any information whatsoever, notwithstanding that I offered the Leader of the Opposition a full briefing from Treasury on this matter, and she had the ability to acquaint herself with the full knowledge of the facts and the events, she refused that briefing. She refused that briefing because she knew that if she was informed as to what the facts are, which have now been very eruditely presented by the Auditor-General, she will have been proven wrong. She has now been proven wrong and so has the Deputy Leader, but they have to try and cover their tracks because they have now been exposed. They have now been exposed by no less a person than the Auditor-General.
I say to Territorians, that in the six key findings of the Auditor-General, the word ‘railway’, the words ‘transmission line linked to the railway’, are not there. They are not mentioned. They are the key findings. And the only couple of paragraphs where the railway is mentioned, the Auditor-General takes pains to explain that the government took action to ensure that there was no link between the transmission line and the railway.
Now, you have to try and make something out of this because you made such fools of yourselves last year, and you have now been exposed as making fools of yourselves last year. The principal matters that the opposition raised last year as regards this issue have all been proven to be wrong. Being fully aware of what the processes were in relation to settling the transmission line issue, that is why, last year, I said publicly ‘I will not comment on this matter again’, and I wrote to the Auditor-General in this vein, ‘I will not comment on this matter again until the Auditor-General reports on it’. The reason for that was because of the untruths and the misleading statements that were made by members opposite, and they had to be exposed for what they were. They have been fully exposed now.
The Auditor-General has considered the matter. He has investigated documents I would think would probably half fill this Chamber and he has found that the government acted responsibly. And can I say too, and I will quote this to people listening:
While the final decision required the exercise of judgement by the government, the processes which delivered the advice to the government, and which eventually led to the approval of the settlement offer, were appropriate to the circumstances.
So the processes were followed, the hard work that was done by Territory public servants was professional and the advice was appropriate and the action was appropriate.
In terms of the opposition, they have nowhere to go in relation to this, they have to ask a few questions because they have to follow it on, they have been committed to it, and they are left exposed for what they are. You are frauds. You do not understand process and you do not respect that the Territory public servants who worked hard for Territorians are professional and they would never have allowed the sort of things that you are suggesting they would do to happen in the Northern Territory. You are a fraud and a disgrace as an opposition leader. You have no alternative but to get out on the steps of Parliament House today, with a copy of the Auditor-General’s report, and apologise to them for creating the unnecessary concern that you did last year. Because all of the matters that you raised last year in relation to the transmission line purchase have been proved wrong by no less a person than the Auditor-General. You are a disgrace.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016