Ms MARTIN - 2001-05-30
The Chief Minister went on radio this morning claiming that the Conditions of Service Trust had nothing to do with public sector entitlements. He told Fred McCue on 8DDD, and I quote:
Territorians should know that’s a lie. The main Conditions of Service Trust with regards to a perception that it’s benefits for public servants is wrong.
Sorry about the grammar.
It’s a trust account where money, where government parks money.
Chief Minister, I refer you to the Conditions of Service Trust 1999-2000 Annual Report, page 13, which says, and I quote:
The trust was established on 1 July 1990 in accordance with the Trust Deed dated 12 June 1990. The Trust was established to hold monies on behalf of the Territory and in particular to be applied towards meeting the Territory’s service-related liabilities including, but not confined to, salaries, allowances, leave entitlements, airfares and superannuation payments.
Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table this paper.
Leave granted.
Ms MARTIN: These savings took 10 years to accumulate and this government has plundered them in one stroke of a pen. Your statement on radio this morning is blatantly and obviously wrong. Public servants have had their safety net pulled from underneath them. Tell us exactly where the money to cover these liabilities is now coming from?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, can I say to Territorians, particularly those public servants who may be concerned by the scare tactics the Leader of the Opposition is trying to run, that their superannuation entitlements are absolutely secure. There is no public servant in the Northern Territory entitled to superannuation entitlements who has claimed them and not been paid out in full.
The government departments are funded in the budget to provide for superannuation expenses and where they require additional money to meet those expenses, that is provided for by the Treasurer in the budgetary context or as a special allocation. I say to all public servants again, don’t be concerned about the scare tactics that the Leader of the Opposition is trying to run.
Ms Martin: You just went on radio and lied, Denis!
Mr BURKE: Your entitlements are absolutely secure, you will be paid out in full ...
Ms Martin: You went on radio and simply lied!
Mr BURKE: ... in the future. I give you that absolute rock solid guarantee.
Mr REED: A point of order, Mr Speaker! By interjection, the Leader of the Opposition has said that the Chief Minister went on radio and lied, and I do not believe it is appropriate.
Mr SPEAKER: You must withdraw that comment.
Mrs Hickey: He got it wrong.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! You have a point of order, if that was the case. You must withdraw, thank you.
Ms MARTIN: I withdraw, Mr Speaker.
Mr BURKE: And by her own admission, when she quoted the use of the superannuation trust, she said, ‘... but not confined to ...’, and that is precisely what we have been saying.
It is used for a broader purpose. It is used to put moneys and invest moneys that come from the sale of Uluru and elsewhere and it is used to inject those moneys into large projects, for example, a recent injection to the railway. The residual money is not gone; it is still there. The residual money is now being brought fully onto the public account for all to see. It is a true reflection of the budget.
The real issue here is that the Leader of the Opposition is trying to peddle a mistruth; she is trying to scare public servants; she is trying to suggest that somehow their superannuation entitlements are not secure and that is plain wrong. Public servants know that and if they do not know it, I as Chief Minister will continue to assure them that they have absolutely no concern and our track record is proven.
Name me one public servant who has not had their superannuation entitlements paid out in full and that is the answer to why you can do nothing but run a scare campaign. If you are concerned about people in the Northern Territory, as the Leader of the Opposition claims she is, there is one small businessman you might want to attend to - the person you hired the boat from to do your TV ad has not been paid. He has not been paid. He said to me, not directly to me, I am advised he said, ‘How can this mob ever look after small business when I’m running around trying to find some person to pay me?’
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr BURKE: Look after one small businessman then you might have some credibility.
Territorians should know that’s a lie. The main Conditions of Service Trust with regards to a perception that it’s benefits for public servants is wrong.
Sorry about the grammar.
It’s a trust account where money, where government parks money.
Chief Minister, I refer you to the Conditions of Service Trust 1999-2000 Annual Report, page 13, which says, and I quote:
The trust was established on 1 July 1990 in accordance with the Trust Deed dated 12 June 1990. The Trust was established to hold monies on behalf of the Territory and in particular to be applied towards meeting the Territory’s service-related liabilities including, but not confined to, salaries, allowances, leave entitlements, airfares and superannuation payments.
Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table this paper.
Leave granted.
Ms MARTIN: These savings took 10 years to accumulate and this government has plundered them in one stroke of a pen. Your statement on radio this morning is blatantly and obviously wrong. Public servants have had their safety net pulled from underneath them. Tell us exactly where the money to cover these liabilities is now coming from?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, can I say to Territorians, particularly those public servants who may be concerned by the scare tactics the Leader of the Opposition is trying to run, that their superannuation entitlements are absolutely secure. There is no public servant in the Northern Territory entitled to superannuation entitlements who has claimed them and not been paid out in full.
The government departments are funded in the budget to provide for superannuation expenses and where they require additional money to meet those expenses, that is provided for by the Treasurer in the budgetary context or as a special allocation. I say to all public servants again, don’t be concerned about the scare tactics that the Leader of the Opposition is trying to run.
Ms Martin: You just went on radio and lied, Denis!
Mr BURKE: Your entitlements are absolutely secure, you will be paid out in full ...
Ms Martin: You went on radio and simply lied!
Mr BURKE: ... in the future. I give you that absolute rock solid guarantee.
Mr REED: A point of order, Mr Speaker! By interjection, the Leader of the Opposition has said that the Chief Minister went on radio and lied, and I do not believe it is appropriate.
Mr SPEAKER: You must withdraw that comment.
Mrs Hickey: He got it wrong.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! You have a point of order, if that was the case. You must withdraw, thank you.
Ms MARTIN: I withdraw, Mr Speaker.
Mr BURKE: And by her own admission, when she quoted the use of the superannuation trust, she said, ‘... but not confined to ...’, and that is precisely what we have been saying.
It is used for a broader purpose. It is used to put moneys and invest moneys that come from the sale of Uluru and elsewhere and it is used to inject those moneys into large projects, for example, a recent injection to the railway. The residual money is not gone; it is still there. The residual money is now being brought fully onto the public account for all to see. It is a true reflection of the budget.
The real issue here is that the Leader of the Opposition is trying to peddle a mistruth; she is trying to scare public servants; she is trying to suggest that somehow their superannuation entitlements are not secure and that is plain wrong. Public servants know that and if they do not know it, I as Chief Minister will continue to assure them that they have absolutely no concern and our track record is proven.
Name me one public servant who has not had their superannuation entitlements paid out in full and that is the answer to why you can do nothing but run a scare campaign. If you are concerned about people in the Northern Territory, as the Leader of the Opposition claims she is, there is one small businessman you might want to attend to - the person you hired the boat from to do your TV ad has not been paid. He has not been paid. He said to me, not directly to me, I am advised he said, ‘How can this mob ever look after small business when I’m running around trying to find some person to pay me?’
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr BURKE: Look after one small businessman then you might have some credibility.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016