Ms LAWRIE - 2012-11-27
You have torn up your signed contract with Territorians. You knew the state of the Power and Water financials when you promised Territorians you would lower the cost of living. You raked over these financials in the estimates in June prior to the election. Why did you lie to Territorians?
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition please withdraw ‘lie to Territorians’.
Ms LAWRIE: I withdraw. Why did you betray Territorians when you raked over the full financials of Power and Water in June prior to the election? You knew it, so while you were promising you would lower the cost of living, you knew the financials of Power and Water and your mate, Ken Clarke, was already on your payroll - Ken Clarke who is on the board of Energex, and I am sure Energex, as a distributor, would dearly like to get hold of a retail and generator as well ...
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired.
ANSWER
There is a lot in that one.
A member: You are not as good as I thought you were, Delia.
Mr MILLS: No, not at all.
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. There was an enormous issue you were fully aware of which required a response. You know it, we know it, and most of your colleagues know it too. You acknowledged there were unsustainable debt levels with Power and Water Corporation. You went into some strange bookkeeping to offset …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! He is not telling the truth to the House.
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated. Chief Minister, you have the call. There is no point of order.
Mr MILLS: They were in letters with your name on them. They are true ...
Ms Lawrie: Yes, and you tabled it and it doesn’t say what you are saying.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MILLS: It says you knew very well there needed to be a massive increase and it was something you were going to attend to after the Territory election.
It is less than honest, less than courageous. You tried to squib through an election campaign and out would come the gory details. You, as the former Treasurer, knew more than anyone else - if you were across your brief - of the nature of the debt load facing the Territory. We made it very clear there was no attempt made by the former government to secure the long-term future of the Northern Territory. When you talk about the Power and Water Corporation you are focusing on one aspect of a much greater problem.
You seem to gloss over the fact rents are increasing a couple of hundred dollars, in some cases, per week. That does not cause you any particular concern. The only issue …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I ask the member for Fong Lim not to hold up placards during Question Time.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fong Lim, please be seated and put it down. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr MILLS: Madam Speaker, the real issue, if you are really concerned about Territorians - we are because we have to sort out a real mess and will do that, unpopular though it is in the short-term. Bear us out, we will turn this around! You have colleagues all around the country - even your own colleagues have looked into the Northern Territory and thought, ‘Well, now we have a real government with the courage to make the hard decisions’. We did not really have that before; we had a government skating on thin ice which has collapsed. The reality is now with us, and you have a real government which will face up to this. I wish you would face up to some of the facts. I wish …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance. The question was they knew the financials in June, they raked over them in estimates, why were they hiking up power prices after the election when they knew the financials back in June?
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Once again we have an extended point of order chewing into the minister’s opportunity to answer the question. The point of order must be relevant to the Standing Order and not expanded upon for judgment. I ask you to restrain those points of order.
Mr GUNNER: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition was making a point of relevance which was there ...
Mr ELFERINK: Then she went on a tirade about something else.
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Are we going to be fair on this? That was one part of the question. There was reference to Ken Clarke, reference to a whole range of issues about the contract. It was not that specific point. She is playing games with this parliament and misusing standing orders, Madam Speaker.
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition please withdraw ‘lie to Territorians’.
Ms LAWRIE: I withdraw. Why did you betray Territorians when you raked over the full financials of Power and Water in June prior to the election? You knew it, so while you were promising you would lower the cost of living, you knew the financials of Power and Water and your mate, Ken Clarke, was already on your payroll - Ken Clarke who is on the board of Energex, and I am sure Energex, as a distributor, would dearly like to get hold of a retail and generator as well ...
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired.
ANSWER
There is a lot in that one.
A member: You are not as good as I thought you were, Delia.
Mr MILLS: No, not at all.
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. There was an enormous issue you were fully aware of which required a response. You know it, we know it, and most of your colleagues know it too. You acknowledged there were unsustainable debt levels with Power and Water Corporation. You went into some strange bookkeeping to offset …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! He is not telling the truth to the House.
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated. Chief Minister, you have the call. There is no point of order.
Mr MILLS: They were in letters with your name on them. They are true ...
Ms Lawrie: Yes, and you tabled it and it doesn’t say what you are saying.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MILLS: It says you knew very well there needed to be a massive increase and it was something you were going to attend to after the Territory election.
It is less than honest, less than courageous. You tried to squib through an election campaign and out would come the gory details. You, as the former Treasurer, knew more than anyone else - if you were across your brief - of the nature of the debt load facing the Territory. We made it very clear there was no attempt made by the former government to secure the long-term future of the Northern Territory. When you talk about the Power and Water Corporation you are focusing on one aspect of a much greater problem.
You seem to gloss over the fact rents are increasing a couple of hundred dollars, in some cases, per week. That does not cause you any particular concern. The only issue …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I ask the member for Fong Lim not to hold up placards during Question Time.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fong Lim, please be seated and put it down. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr MILLS: Madam Speaker, the real issue, if you are really concerned about Territorians - we are because we have to sort out a real mess and will do that, unpopular though it is in the short-term. Bear us out, we will turn this around! You have colleagues all around the country - even your own colleagues have looked into the Northern Territory and thought, ‘Well, now we have a real government with the courage to make the hard decisions’. We did not really have that before; we had a government skating on thin ice which has collapsed. The reality is now with us, and you have a real government which will face up to this. I wish you would face up to some of the facts. I wish …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance. The question was they knew the financials in June, they raked over them in estimates, why were they hiking up power prices after the election when they knew the financials back in June?
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Once again we have an extended point of order chewing into the minister’s opportunity to answer the question. The point of order must be relevant to the Standing Order and not expanded upon for judgment. I ask you to restrain those points of order.
Mr GUNNER: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition was making a point of relevance which was there ...
Mr ELFERINK: Then she went on a tirade about something else.
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Are we going to be fair on this? That was one part of the question. There was reference to Ken Clarke, reference to a whole range of issues about the contract. It was not that specific point. She is playing games with this parliament and misusing standing orders, Madam Speaker.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016