Ms CARNEY - 2005-06-30
Richard Yank, President of the Pacific Operations with Alcan, told ABC radio on 28 June that you were aware during the Territory election that the trans-Territory pipeline was not a done deal and that there were still some significant hurdles. Why did you not tell Territorians this during the election? And why did you and your business minister tell Territorians that there were no problems with the Blacktip gas pipeline project when you clearly knew that was not the case?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, not a good start from the Opposition Leader, you would have to say that.
Ms Carney: Oh, patronising early on, are we?
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Ms MARTIN: It is very important that if you are going to be asked questions that it is not premised on inaccurate information.
Very clearly, we have had the opposition declare that somehow or other government knew and could predict the future that there was not going to be a sales agreement reached between the Blacktip joint venture and Alcan.
Richard Yank - and I am glad you referred to that interview, Opposition Leader - said very clearly that these negotiations were confidential and complex. When the then Opposition Leader raced out in the last week of the election campaign like Henny Penny with the sky falling in saying: ‘I heard …’ – no source - ‘I have heard that this deal is not going to go through’, Woodside said: ‘You are wrong’; Alcan said: ‘You are wrong’.
Yet we have an opposition which is still working on the basis that Woodside and Alcan went out publicly and did not exactly tell the truth.
Let me make it very clear: these are complex, very costly negotiations that go on, and quite appropriately, they are not done in public. Richard Yank has made it very clear about when he actually made this information public, and that was on Monday this week.
I believe, very strongly, that we will get gas onshore from Blacktip. I am a great supporter of gas for Territory power. Gas has been in place for 20 years, and I pay tribute to Ian Tuxworth, as Chief Minister, that he believed in that project. I believe we will continue having gas onshore. I say again and again, it is not a matter of the gas not being there. We have 22 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Timor Sea. Gas will come onshore. This morning we had the Opposition Leader saying: ‘No gas is coming onshore’. I point out again, a 540 km pipeline that exists on the ocean floor between Wickham Point and Bayu-Undan, and, very clearly, gas is coming onshore.
We are very disappointed that the deal over Blacktip and the trans-Territory pipeline was not able to be concluded. I said very clearly in the last week of the election campaign that those negotiations were in final and delicate stages. From my information, the discussions were robust. When my department contacted the companies that is the information they were given. Those are the facts we are dealing with here.
Mr Mills: I don’t believe you.
Ms MARTIN: To have the opposition - look, at least one or two of the opposition are shaking their heads. We know what the opposition believes in. They believe in this great big powerline coming from Queensland; power from coal from Queensland. They do not even believe in gas for the Territory’s future. What was the lynchpin, the icon of the election campaign? It was a powerline. But do you know what the bottom line would be? It would actually add dollars to every single one of the Territory’s power bills.
Let us make it starkly clear: we believe in gas for our future. We do not believe in powerlines from interstate that add to the bottom line, more dollars on our power bills. We are confident, as government, and will continue to be confident and work hard to achieve further gas onshore, not only for our domestic use, but for LNG, for a manufacturing base and, hopefully, over the long term, into the national grid.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, not a good start from the Opposition Leader, you would have to say that.
Ms Carney: Oh, patronising early on, are we?
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Ms MARTIN: It is very important that if you are going to be asked questions that it is not premised on inaccurate information.
Very clearly, we have had the opposition declare that somehow or other government knew and could predict the future that there was not going to be a sales agreement reached between the Blacktip joint venture and Alcan.
Richard Yank - and I am glad you referred to that interview, Opposition Leader - said very clearly that these negotiations were confidential and complex. When the then Opposition Leader raced out in the last week of the election campaign like Henny Penny with the sky falling in saying: ‘I heard …’ – no source - ‘I have heard that this deal is not going to go through’, Woodside said: ‘You are wrong’; Alcan said: ‘You are wrong’.
Yet we have an opposition which is still working on the basis that Woodside and Alcan went out publicly and did not exactly tell the truth.
Let me make it very clear: these are complex, very costly negotiations that go on, and quite appropriately, they are not done in public. Richard Yank has made it very clear about when he actually made this information public, and that was on Monday this week.
I believe, very strongly, that we will get gas onshore from Blacktip. I am a great supporter of gas for Territory power. Gas has been in place for 20 years, and I pay tribute to Ian Tuxworth, as Chief Minister, that he believed in that project. I believe we will continue having gas onshore. I say again and again, it is not a matter of the gas not being there. We have 22 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Timor Sea. Gas will come onshore. This morning we had the Opposition Leader saying: ‘No gas is coming onshore’. I point out again, a 540 km pipeline that exists on the ocean floor between Wickham Point and Bayu-Undan, and, very clearly, gas is coming onshore.
We are very disappointed that the deal over Blacktip and the trans-Territory pipeline was not able to be concluded. I said very clearly in the last week of the election campaign that those negotiations were in final and delicate stages. From my information, the discussions were robust. When my department contacted the companies that is the information they were given. Those are the facts we are dealing with here.
Mr Mills: I don’t believe you.
Ms MARTIN: To have the opposition - look, at least one or two of the opposition are shaking their heads. We know what the opposition believes in. They believe in this great big powerline coming from Queensland; power from coal from Queensland. They do not even believe in gas for the Territory’s future. What was the lynchpin, the icon of the election campaign? It was a powerline. But do you know what the bottom line would be? It would actually add dollars to every single one of the Territory’s power bills.
Let us make it starkly clear: we believe in gas for our future. We do not believe in powerlines from interstate that add to the bottom line, more dollars on our power bills. We are confident, as government, and will continue to be confident and work hard to achieve further gas onshore, not only for our domestic use, but for LNG, for a manufacturing base and, hopefully, over the long term, into the national grid.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016