Ms LAWRIE - 2014-08-27
The Deputy Chief Minister seat remains empty again today. Your dysfunctional government is imploding around you and business leaders are now openly wondering who is in charge and what is going on with your scandal-plagued government. The division and chaos is a hallmark of your leadership; it is undermining business confidence. Now we hear your position is under threat, with numbers being crunched against you. How can Territorians have confidence in you when it appears your colleagues do not?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, what an opportunity to talk about the midterm progress report of the Country Liberals. People can have confidence from a little flyer going into their letterboxes. I will read from it and talk about the Country Liberals team and what it is has been doing to deliver for Territorians in two years. I can go through a range of different things. I could start with health and talk about the Palmerston hospital and how we are getting on with the job of building it, with thanks to the Minister for Health. I can talk about the $4.6m that has gone towards an additional 400 elective surgery operations conducted since we came to government, to try to reduce the pressures on the elective surgery wait list.
I could talk about the Minister for Housing and what he has done as part of the Country Liberals team in making sure we have release land at an efficient rate, the fastest ever seen in the Territory’s history. As I mentioned yesterday and will repeat today, $132.5m is going towards land release for residential and commercial land, with some 6500 blocks of land across the Northern Territory in 15 centres where we are releasing land.
I could talk about the amount of money we are putting into roads – $400m into regional, remote and urban areas to ensure we have a great level of connectivity in the Northern Territory.
I could talk about cost of living and lifestyle pressures, how we have doubled the Back to School vouchers and how the minister for Sport introduced the $75 sports voucher, which has now increased to $200 per year ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. You do not have a Deputy Chief Minister and the numbers are being crunched against you. How can we have confidence …
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Sit down!
Mr GILES: I could look at some of those things or I could look at my notes on the Labor report card, which show we were left, as we came into government, with a $1.8bn debt, a $70m asset management system …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please put the prop down.
Mr GILES: … that we were managing, a $1.6bn debt for Power and Water ...
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Chief Minister just ignored your direction to remove the prop.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Fannie Bay. Chief Minister, please leave the prop on the table.
Mr GILES: We are trying to drive down cost of living pressures with our land release program, and doubling the sports vouchers to $200 through two $100 payments. There is also the 10% increase in the childcare rebate, making it easier for mums and dads to get their kids into childcare.
We could talk about the problems Labor had with crime and how we are driving down crime. As I said yesterday, we are driving crime and debt down and driving the economy and jobs up.
You are very observant, Opposition Leader, you have managed to see the vacant chair two days in a row. Congratulations for being so observant, a tick of approval for you. You do not get a tick of approval for sending debt through the roof, or for taking the Territory’s crime levels to record levels, so we have to fix it.
Our midterm report is substantial in what we have achieved over two years and we will continue, as a team, to do more to benefit Territorians.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise of the presence in the gallery of Year 11 Legal Studies class from the Essington School accompanied by Mali Grossman. On behalf of honourable members, welcome to Parliament House, I hope you enjoy your time here.
Members: Hear, hear!
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, what an opportunity to talk about the midterm progress report of the Country Liberals. People can have confidence from a little flyer going into their letterboxes. I will read from it and talk about the Country Liberals team and what it is has been doing to deliver for Territorians in two years. I can go through a range of different things. I could start with health and talk about the Palmerston hospital and how we are getting on with the job of building it, with thanks to the Minister for Health. I can talk about the $4.6m that has gone towards an additional 400 elective surgery operations conducted since we came to government, to try to reduce the pressures on the elective surgery wait list.
I could talk about the Minister for Housing and what he has done as part of the Country Liberals team in making sure we have release land at an efficient rate, the fastest ever seen in the Territory’s history. As I mentioned yesterday and will repeat today, $132.5m is going towards land release for residential and commercial land, with some 6500 blocks of land across the Northern Territory in 15 centres where we are releasing land.
I could talk about the amount of money we are putting into roads – $400m into regional, remote and urban areas to ensure we have a great level of connectivity in the Northern Territory.
I could talk about cost of living and lifestyle pressures, how we have doubled the Back to School vouchers and how the minister for Sport introduced the $75 sports voucher, which has now increased to $200 per year ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. You do not have a Deputy Chief Minister and the numbers are being crunched against you. How can we have confidence …
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Sit down!
Mr GILES: I could look at some of those things or I could look at my notes on the Labor report card, which show we were left, as we came into government, with a $1.8bn debt, a $70m asset management system …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please put the prop down.
Mr GILES: … that we were managing, a $1.6bn debt for Power and Water ...
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Chief Minister just ignored your direction to remove the prop.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Fannie Bay. Chief Minister, please leave the prop on the table.
Mr GILES: We are trying to drive down cost of living pressures with our land release program, and doubling the sports vouchers to $200 through two $100 payments. There is also the 10% increase in the childcare rebate, making it easier for mums and dads to get their kids into childcare.
We could talk about the problems Labor had with crime and how we are driving down crime. As I said yesterday, we are driving crime and debt down and driving the economy and jobs up.
You are very observant, Opposition Leader, you have managed to see the vacant chair two days in a row. Congratulations for being so observant, a tick of approval for you. You do not get a tick of approval for sending debt through the roof, or for taking the Territory’s crime levels to record levels, so we have to fix it.
Our midterm report is substantial in what we have achieved over two years and we will continue, as a team, to do more to benefit Territorians.
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Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise of the presence in the gallery of Year 11 Legal Studies class from the Essington School accompanied by Mali Grossman. On behalf of honourable members, welcome to Parliament House, I hope you enjoy your time here.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016