Ms LAWRIE - 2005-05-05
Yet again, the opposition has further outlined their opposition to the waterfront precinct development. Can you inform this House how the waterfront development will benefit Territorians?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is a particularly pertinent question after the questions we were asked yesterday when the Opposition Leader declared that - not based on fact – parts of the waterfront and convention proposal, which are in the final stages of financial close, that they were not happening. They simply came in here and said: ‘You are deceiving Territorians because there is no lock’. I said: ‘Yes, there is a lock’. He simply refused to listen and declared we were walking away from maintaining water quality, that we had a sham of public consultation, and what was on display in the model at Casuarina, which hundreds and hundreds of Territorians have looked at, was simply, as he described it this morning: ‘The whole thing is a mess’. The whole waterfront project, he said - with great insight and an understanding of what 100 people have been working on for months and months - was a mess, and virtually implied that I was misleading Territorians.
This morning I said to him that he can imply anything he likes about me. I am a tough Chief Minister, I can cop it, but go out and tell that to Territory companies which have put their heart and soul into this process, which have put in hours and hours of work. They know it is a great project, and they know their companies, their workers, will have years of work. They will be helping Territory families. They will be providing Darwin with an exciting new dimension for our wonderful city. I said: ‘Go out and tell Steve Margetic and Michael Sitzler from Sitzlers’, whose hearts and souls are in this project, ‘Go and tell Robert Wilson from McMahon NT and his workers that they are lying; that they are a mess’, or: ‘Go and tell Dick Guit from Barclay Mowlem the same thing’.
This is a terrific project. Just to put on the record exactly what is happening, I point out to the House where the lock is. Maybe the Opposition Leader does not know. This is one of the diagrams of the waterfront, and here is the lock. The sea wall, which had a minor variation, explained well by consortium leader Malcolm Macintyre to the media, which is quite logical …
Mr Baldwin: 20%.
Mr Burke: 20%.
Ms MARTIN: If you look at what Malcolm Macintyre said, he said 5%. Read the newspaper occasionally; it might help. Then he said: ‘The marina has gone. There is nowhere for the boats’. There is the marina: five hectares of marina area.
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: I get carried away sometimes. It is a great project. Here is the marina, which the Opposition Leader said we had taken away.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: He said we were conning Territorians. The Opposition Leader owes it to Territorians …
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Could that be tabled, please?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, would you table that document? Yes or no?
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, I will obtain some other copies and table them. I have things written on these and I will keep them to myself, thank you very much.
Madam SPEAKER: All right. Give the member for Drysdale a copy, would you? He obviously wants one.
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, this is an exciting project, and I cannot understand why the Opposition Leader comes in time and time again to try to undermine it, to criticise and demean the project. It is ...
Mr Burke: How dare we question anything that this government does, is that what you are saying?
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, the difference between questioning and simply telling …
Mr Burke: No, questioning!
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, order!
Ms MARTIN: … making up things is what you did. You spent 24 …
Mr Burke interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, would you cease for a minute? I hope we are not going to have one of these Question Times where we have all these interjections. You have asked the Chief Minister a question. Let her answer it without interjections.
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, the opposition is entitled to ask questions, but they cannot make up things and then allege they are facts, and then start running stories on them, and that is what they have done.
This is a great project. We are moving towards financial close. Today, in the Development Consent Authority, approval has been given to some key components of the waterfront project, and that is the community infrastructure of Stage 1. Approval has been given to the public park, swimming and water play areas, a wave pool, amenities block, a boating lagoon, children’s play equipment, the bridge link with the lift, escarpment stairs, board walks amphitheatre, car parks. We have approval for some key elements of the waterfront. I am delighted and so are Territorians.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is a particularly pertinent question after the questions we were asked yesterday when the Opposition Leader declared that - not based on fact – parts of the waterfront and convention proposal, which are in the final stages of financial close, that they were not happening. They simply came in here and said: ‘You are deceiving Territorians because there is no lock’. I said: ‘Yes, there is a lock’. He simply refused to listen and declared we were walking away from maintaining water quality, that we had a sham of public consultation, and what was on display in the model at Casuarina, which hundreds and hundreds of Territorians have looked at, was simply, as he described it this morning: ‘The whole thing is a mess’. The whole waterfront project, he said - with great insight and an understanding of what 100 people have been working on for months and months - was a mess, and virtually implied that I was misleading Territorians.
This morning I said to him that he can imply anything he likes about me. I am a tough Chief Minister, I can cop it, but go out and tell that to Territory companies which have put their heart and soul into this process, which have put in hours and hours of work. They know it is a great project, and they know their companies, their workers, will have years of work. They will be helping Territory families. They will be providing Darwin with an exciting new dimension for our wonderful city. I said: ‘Go out and tell Steve Margetic and Michael Sitzler from Sitzlers’, whose hearts and souls are in this project, ‘Go and tell Robert Wilson from McMahon NT and his workers that they are lying; that they are a mess’, or: ‘Go and tell Dick Guit from Barclay Mowlem the same thing’.
This is a terrific project. Just to put on the record exactly what is happening, I point out to the House where the lock is. Maybe the Opposition Leader does not know. This is one of the diagrams of the waterfront, and here is the lock. The sea wall, which had a minor variation, explained well by consortium leader Malcolm Macintyre to the media, which is quite logical …
Mr Baldwin: 20%.
Mr Burke: 20%.
Ms MARTIN: If you look at what Malcolm Macintyre said, he said 5%. Read the newspaper occasionally; it might help. Then he said: ‘The marina has gone. There is nowhere for the boats’. There is the marina: five hectares of marina area.
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: I get carried away sometimes. It is a great project. Here is the marina, which the Opposition Leader said we had taken away.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: He said we were conning Territorians. The Opposition Leader owes it to Territorians …
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Could that be tabled, please?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, would you table that document? Yes or no?
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, I will obtain some other copies and table them. I have things written on these and I will keep them to myself, thank you very much.
Madam SPEAKER: All right. Give the member for Drysdale a copy, would you? He obviously wants one.
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, this is an exciting project, and I cannot understand why the Opposition Leader comes in time and time again to try to undermine it, to criticise and demean the project. It is ...
Mr Burke: How dare we question anything that this government does, is that what you are saying?
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, the difference between questioning and simply telling …
Mr Burke: No, questioning!
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, order!
Ms MARTIN: … making up things is what you did. You spent 24 …
Mr Burke interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, would you cease for a minute? I hope we are not going to have one of these Question Times where we have all these interjections. You have asked the Chief Minister a question. Let her answer it without interjections.
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, the opposition is entitled to ask questions, but they cannot make up things and then allege they are facts, and then start running stories on them, and that is what they have done.
This is a great project. We are moving towards financial close. Today, in the Development Consent Authority, approval has been given to some key components of the waterfront project, and that is the community infrastructure of Stage 1. Approval has been given to the public park, swimming and water play areas, a wave pool, amenities block, a boating lagoon, children’s play equipment, the bridge link with the lift, escarpment stairs, board walks amphitheatre, car parks. We have approval for some key elements of the waterfront. I am delighted and so are Territorians.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016