Mr McCARTHY - 2015-02-19
On behalf of Territorians living in the bush, the former Chief Minister, Terry Mills, won government for the CLP because people in the bush trusted him to deliver on his promises. His assessment is that the bush appears to have been abandoned by the Giles government. A good government would not take Territorians in the bush for granted and fail to deliver promises when representing signed contracts with communities.
CLP election promises to improve education opportunities and outcomes in the bush are all talk and no action, with the loss of local jobs. Your contracts with the bush have been ignored. You have failed to deliver on Labor-funded projects, putting them back by two-and-a-half years. Given your appalling failure, with nine CLP members voting you out, how can you justify your leadership?
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 112; that question is clearly out of order on several issues under sub-sections 1(b) and (c), I suspect.
Madam SPEAKER: No, it is not, sit down.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Barkly for his question. I have just been given some additional information in regard to standing up for Territorians and fighting for their rights. I understand the member for Casuarina did not turn up at the fuel disclosure meeting either. Is that right?
Members interjecting.
Mr GILES: No worries. Member for Barkly, in relation to the delivery of outcomes in the bush, you raised the issue of education. Anyone can see Indigenous remote education attendance is increasing, which is a positive sign. We can see increases in school enrolments and investments in schools in remote locations. We conducted a review of Indigenous remote education. We put aside tens of millions of dollars to invest in Indigenous remote education. We have set aside funding for boarding facilities in locations across the Northern Territory, including a significant investment in Nhulunbuy in partnership with the Commonwealth government.
We are seeing more and more Indigenous employees gaining positions within the Health sector in remote locations. We are seeing more contracts going towards Aboriginal community organisations and Aboriginal businesses in remote locations. We are seeing Indigenous employment in the private sector going up substantially on a regular basis. These are all signs of success.
We have more roads, bridges and telecommunications in remote locations across regions of the Northern Territory than ever before. That is a sure sign of success and delivery. It is also a sure sign that we are putting more infrastructure and investment into remote parts of the Northern Territory than you ever did in eleven-and-a-half years.
Despite the fact you sent the budget backwards to a $5.5bn debt and left us with a $1.1bn deficit, we have managed to rein in spending, manage the finances better and deliver outcomes in remote parts of the Territory. That is a big tick of approval.
CLP election promises to improve education opportunities and outcomes in the bush are all talk and no action, with the loss of local jobs. Your contracts with the bush have been ignored. You have failed to deliver on Labor-funded projects, putting them back by two-and-a-half years. Given your appalling failure, with nine CLP members voting you out, how can you justify your leadership?
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 112; that question is clearly out of order on several issues under sub-sections 1(b) and (c), I suspect.
Madam SPEAKER: No, it is not, sit down.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Barkly for his question. I have just been given some additional information in regard to standing up for Territorians and fighting for their rights. I understand the member for Casuarina did not turn up at the fuel disclosure meeting either. Is that right?
Members interjecting.
Mr GILES: No worries. Member for Barkly, in relation to the delivery of outcomes in the bush, you raised the issue of education. Anyone can see Indigenous remote education attendance is increasing, which is a positive sign. We can see increases in school enrolments and investments in schools in remote locations. We conducted a review of Indigenous remote education. We put aside tens of millions of dollars to invest in Indigenous remote education. We have set aside funding for boarding facilities in locations across the Northern Territory, including a significant investment in Nhulunbuy in partnership with the Commonwealth government.
We are seeing more and more Indigenous employees gaining positions within the Health sector in remote locations. We are seeing more contracts going towards Aboriginal community organisations and Aboriginal businesses in remote locations. We are seeing Indigenous employment in the private sector going up substantially on a regular basis. These are all signs of success.
We have more roads, bridges and telecommunications in remote locations across regions of the Northern Territory than ever before. That is a sure sign of success and delivery. It is also a sure sign that we are putting more infrastructure and investment into remote parts of the Northern Territory than you ever did in eleven-and-a-half years.
Despite the fact you sent the budget backwards to a $5.5bn debt and left us with a $1.1bn deficit, we have managed to rein in spending, manage the finances better and deliver outcomes in remote parts of the Territory. That is a big tick of approval.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016