Mr McCARTHY - 1998-10-15
The member for Arnhem yesterday made some astonishing claims on ABC Radio, not the least being that a 1990 plebiscite to determine support for a regional land council in south-east Arnhem Land did not gain majority support from the mainland participants. As the minister responsible for Aboriginal affairs at the time, my memory of the detail about that plebiscite is very different from that of the member for Arnhem. Indeed, I highlighted in my response to the statement on the Reeves report just a couple of days ago the part that the member for Arnhem played as the then Director of the Northern Land Council to interfere in the outcome of the plebiscite. I ask the minister to confirm ...
Mr BAILEY: Point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: I think the honourable member is about to ask his question now.
Mr McCARTHY: I ask the minister to confirm my understanding that the claim made by the member for Arnhem is untrue.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is a very interesting question. It is actually quite an amazing story when you track this through, particularly from a man who sits in an Aboriginal electorate and says that he is passionate about representing Aboriginal Territorians.
Territorians would have heard on ABC Radio 8DDD yesterday Mr Ah Kit, the member for Arnhem, make some very amazing claims. The first was that he does represent his constituents in Arnhem Land, and by his own admission when he moved his office from Katherine ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BALDWIN: When he did decide to move his office and he was trying to justify that, he said that he was moving because he did not get his Aboriginal constituents visiting him in Katherine. I fail to see ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BALDWIN: He is very sensitive about this, Madam Speaker.
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Under section 113, it is quite clear, even though it was very much a Dorothy Dixer question in regard to the plebiscite, the answer is quite clearly not relevant to the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please make your answer relevant to the question.
Mr BALDWIN: I will indeed, Madam Speaker. It seems that he is very sensitive about his Labor outstation up here in the northern suburbs …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BALDWIN: Getting back to what he did say yesterday on the radio about the plebiscite, and trying to rewrite the history of that plebiscite, it is worth members and Territorians knowing that the member for Arnhem, at the time of that plebiscite, was the Director of the Northern Land Council. We all know that the voice of south-east Arnhem Land Aboriginal Territorians has been that they do want to have their own land council out that way, and that has been going on for some years. In a letter to the federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister at the time, Mr Robert Tickner, it was demonstrated very conclusively that a move towards a regional land council for south-east Arnhem …
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: The member for Wanguri.
Mr BALDWIN: … had 67% support on the mainland for a new land council. Madam Speaker, 67% is, in my books, pretty conclusive about the wishes of people in that area. But yesterday on radio, the member for Arnhem attempted to rewrite the history books when he was asked about his involvement, or the Northern Land Council’s involvement, in stymieing efforts for people to get their own land councils up. The member for Arnhem stated...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, do not continue until this has stopped.
Mr BALDWIN: The member for Arnhem said:
No, no, Fred, you’ve got it wrong there, mate. The plebiscite that was held in south-east Arnhem land, at the end of the day there was a majority support.
Madam Speaker, again this man has been caught out. As usual, he has been caught out with his pants down, trying to re-write the history books. Today, he sits here in parliament, purporting to represent the constituents of ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BALDWIN: We have a case of not only the south-east Arnhem group wanting their own land council, but we also have the Jawoyn people just recently, who are also constituents of the member for Arnhem. I quote briefly from a Jawoyn press release of 21 September:
The Jawoyn today announced its intentions to move to establish an independent land council in the region ...
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr TOYNE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This is turning into a ministerial statement.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Let us have fewer interjections, and minister, please get on with your answer to the question.
Mr BALDWIN: Madam Speaker, I’ll table that press release from the Jawoyn so the member for Arnhem can see it in black and white and understand what his constituents are going for. I would like to challenge him to show his support for his constituents. I would like him to take the media onto the steps of parliament and categorically state once and for all that he does support his constituents in their move towards local management through their own land council systems and not on behalf of the NLC who he used to work for and, I think, continues to work for.
Mr BAILEY: Point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: I think the honourable member is about to ask his question now.
Mr McCARTHY: I ask the minister to confirm my understanding that the claim made by the member for Arnhem is untrue.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is a very interesting question. It is actually quite an amazing story when you track this through, particularly from a man who sits in an Aboriginal electorate and says that he is passionate about representing Aboriginal Territorians.
Territorians would have heard on ABC Radio 8DDD yesterday Mr Ah Kit, the member for Arnhem, make some very amazing claims. The first was that he does represent his constituents in Arnhem Land, and by his own admission when he moved his office from Katherine ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BALDWIN: When he did decide to move his office and he was trying to justify that, he said that he was moving because he did not get his Aboriginal constituents visiting him in Katherine. I fail to see ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BALDWIN: He is very sensitive about this, Madam Speaker.
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Under section 113, it is quite clear, even though it was very much a Dorothy Dixer question in regard to the plebiscite, the answer is quite clearly not relevant to the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please make your answer relevant to the question.
Mr BALDWIN: I will indeed, Madam Speaker. It seems that he is very sensitive about his Labor outstation up here in the northern suburbs …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BALDWIN: Getting back to what he did say yesterday on the radio about the plebiscite, and trying to rewrite the history of that plebiscite, it is worth members and Territorians knowing that the member for Arnhem, at the time of that plebiscite, was the Director of the Northern Land Council. We all know that the voice of south-east Arnhem Land Aboriginal Territorians has been that they do want to have their own land council out that way, and that has been going on for some years. In a letter to the federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister at the time, Mr Robert Tickner, it was demonstrated very conclusively that a move towards a regional land council for south-east Arnhem …
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: The member for Wanguri.
Mr BALDWIN: … had 67% support on the mainland for a new land council. Madam Speaker, 67% is, in my books, pretty conclusive about the wishes of people in that area. But yesterday on radio, the member for Arnhem attempted to rewrite the history books when he was asked about his involvement, or the Northern Land Council’s involvement, in stymieing efforts for people to get their own land councils up. The member for Arnhem stated...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, do not continue until this has stopped.
Mr BALDWIN: The member for Arnhem said:
No, no, Fred, you’ve got it wrong there, mate. The plebiscite that was held in south-east Arnhem land, at the end of the day there was a majority support.
Madam Speaker, again this man has been caught out. As usual, he has been caught out with his pants down, trying to re-write the history books. Today, he sits here in parliament, purporting to represent the constituents of ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BALDWIN: We have a case of not only the south-east Arnhem group wanting their own land council, but we also have the Jawoyn people just recently, who are also constituents of the member for Arnhem. I quote briefly from a Jawoyn press release of 21 September:
The Jawoyn today announced its intentions to move to establish an independent land council in the region ...
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr TOYNE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This is turning into a ministerial statement.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Let us have fewer interjections, and minister, please get on with your answer to the question.
Mr BALDWIN: Madam Speaker, I’ll table that press release from the Jawoyn so the member for Arnhem can see it in black and white and understand what his constituents are going for. I would like to challenge him to show his support for his constituents. I would like him to take the media onto the steps of parliament and categorically state once and for all that he does support his constituents in their move towards local management through their own land council systems and not on behalf of the NLC who he used to work for and, I think, continues to work for.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016