Mr BALCH - 2000-05-09
Does the minister have any evidence of links between the Labor Party and Aboriginal legal aid, and does the minister have any concerns that the relationship between the two may be diverting funds away from the defence of legal aid clients?
ANSWER
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: First of all, I am interested on behalf of those Aboriginal people who the Aboriginal legal aid services might be able to assist if their money was not being diverted to your party.
Secondly, as police minister, I think it is appropriate that I concern myself with these matters, particularly as the former question was coming from the member for Nhulunbuy, who was concerned about the compromise of integrity. The compromise of integrity in relation to this particular matter is something that the Leader of the Opposition might want to answer for, Mr Speaker.
Ms Martin: Oh, sit down.
Mr REED: Well, you might say, ‘Sit down’, but we are aware that the Labor Party has taken up the cudgels on behalf of the Aboriginal legal aid services this morning against the Chief Magistrate, and of course, we have heard from the Chief Minister ...
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr REED: These people over here who talk about integrity and justice, dishing out justice to Territorians. This is the fellow, the shadow attorney-general, who said, ‘Hang the Chief Magistrate, hang him on the evidence, so called, that we have before us. Don’t let him have his day in court, just give him the flick’.
Well, that is the way you would administer justice, and you are on the public record as demonstrating that you have no integrity in terms of applying justice to Territorians and that in this particular case...
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: ...and that in this particular – well, whether you think it was a secret deal or not, it happens that the Chief Magistrate or any other person who would find themselves in those circumstances have a right to their day in court, which you tried to deny him, and you as the shadow attorney-general should be absolutely ashamed for taking that stance.
So we get to the point as to why they are supporting the legal aid services in terms of this action that they are taking against the Chief Magistrate and they have strongly supported in terms of wanting to get rid of the Chief Magistrate. I would like to hear from the Leader of the Opposition...
Ms Martin: It is a disgrace.
Mr REED: It is a disgrace and I will get to the disgrace. You are a disgrace and the reason that she is a disgrace is there is a direct political link between the Labor Party and some of the Aboriginal legal aid services. I can demonstrate that and I can also demonstrate that some of the operational funds of the Aboriginal legal aid services are being used to support the Australian Labor Party.
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: Yes, exactly. That is what I said when I saw it and what I saw was this. It is an advertisement in the Katherine Review newspaper of Tuesday 14 March: ‘Australian Labor Party annual general meeting Wednesday 15 March 2000, 7.30pm’, where at? The Katherine Regional Aboriginal Legal Aid Service offices. So it is you who is using as a political party and talking at the same time about the separation of powers...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: It is not rubbish, it is here, it is printed. Look, I put a bigger one – I had one enlarged so that you might be able to see it, read it and comprehend it. I table a copy of that because it clearly demonstrates a political link and the direction that is being taken, I think, in some of these cases by some employees of some of the Aboriginal legal aid services, that are either driven politically and if not driven politically then some of the costs that should be being used by legal aid services to provide legal support for Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory are being diverted to run the Australian Labor Party, in this case, in Katherine. You should be ashamed of yourself, and don’t get up in here and tell us about integrity, and don’t get up here and talk to us about justice.
ANSWER
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: First of all, I am interested on behalf of those Aboriginal people who the Aboriginal legal aid services might be able to assist if their money was not being diverted to your party.
Secondly, as police minister, I think it is appropriate that I concern myself with these matters, particularly as the former question was coming from the member for Nhulunbuy, who was concerned about the compromise of integrity. The compromise of integrity in relation to this particular matter is something that the Leader of the Opposition might want to answer for, Mr Speaker.
Ms Martin: Oh, sit down.
Mr REED: Well, you might say, ‘Sit down’, but we are aware that the Labor Party has taken up the cudgels on behalf of the Aboriginal legal aid services this morning against the Chief Magistrate, and of course, we have heard from the Chief Minister ...
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr REED: These people over here who talk about integrity and justice, dishing out justice to Territorians. This is the fellow, the shadow attorney-general, who said, ‘Hang the Chief Magistrate, hang him on the evidence, so called, that we have before us. Don’t let him have his day in court, just give him the flick’.
Well, that is the way you would administer justice, and you are on the public record as demonstrating that you have no integrity in terms of applying justice to Territorians and that in this particular case...
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: ...and that in this particular – well, whether you think it was a secret deal or not, it happens that the Chief Magistrate or any other person who would find themselves in those circumstances have a right to their day in court, which you tried to deny him, and you as the shadow attorney-general should be absolutely ashamed for taking that stance.
So we get to the point as to why they are supporting the legal aid services in terms of this action that they are taking against the Chief Magistrate and they have strongly supported in terms of wanting to get rid of the Chief Magistrate. I would like to hear from the Leader of the Opposition...
Ms Martin: It is a disgrace.
Mr REED: It is a disgrace and I will get to the disgrace. You are a disgrace and the reason that she is a disgrace is there is a direct political link between the Labor Party and some of the Aboriginal legal aid services. I can demonstrate that and I can also demonstrate that some of the operational funds of the Aboriginal legal aid services are being used to support the Australian Labor Party.
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: Yes, exactly. That is what I said when I saw it and what I saw was this. It is an advertisement in the Katherine Review newspaper of Tuesday 14 March: ‘Australian Labor Party annual general meeting Wednesday 15 March 2000, 7.30pm’, where at? The Katherine Regional Aboriginal Legal Aid Service offices. So it is you who is using as a political party and talking at the same time about the separation of powers...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: It is not rubbish, it is here, it is printed. Look, I put a bigger one – I had one enlarged so that you might be able to see it, read it and comprehend it. I table a copy of that because it clearly demonstrates a political link and the direction that is being taken, I think, in some of these cases by some employees of some of the Aboriginal legal aid services, that are either driven politically and if not driven politically then some of the costs that should be being used by legal aid services to provide legal support for Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory are being diverted to run the Australian Labor Party, in this case, in Katherine. You should be ashamed of yourself, and don’t get up in here and tell us about integrity, and don’t get up here and talk to us about justice.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016