Ms LAWRIE - 2013-02-19
Current Chief Minister, the people of Wanguri have spoken on behalf of all Territorians. With the greatest swing against the government in a by-election for 20 years, they have sent you a clear message. One of your own, Daryl Manzie, has told you that even your government’s strongest supporters are scathing of you. Will you now listen? Will you end the deceit? Will you admit you broke your promises? Will you admit you got it wrong and resign from parliament?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I can answer the last one straight up: absolutely not. I am serving the best interests, as is my government, of the Northern Territory. I thank you for your question. What you quite conveniently and almost callously overlook is we acknowledge it was a result of a magnitude you describe. What you have not described is the magnitude of the debt that has been left to be dealt with by …
Ms Lawrie: You are going into denial.
Mr MILLS: Denial? You are in denial because we have a situation that is very real. You will try your darndest to conceal a glaring fact; that anybody who has an interest in the long-term secure future of the Northern Territory knows there has to be a plan. There was no plan under the former Treasurer ...
Ms Lawrie: Not true.
Mr MILLS: No, you are on the record because you borrowed over $1bn to help support Power and Water Corporation. You never described a plan on how you would repay that. You are on the record, former Treasurer, with your plan. You were planning there would be more GST, then that would help us solve the problem. You know full well the financial and economic situation of the Northern Territory. Your vain hope that there would be more money was your plan to deal with the underlying debt problem.
This is a real government and I accept it has made real decisions that are difficult. They are difficult, but we have a five-point plan, as you well know. The first point is to cut the waste and, thereby, reduce the debt so we can reduce the cost of living.
At the moment, we have a situation that is so real - anyone who is honest on your side could see it - the proposition of spending $750 000 every day would answer that question. We do not want that to continue because, if we do not put a plan in place - a real plan, unlike your fictitious, fake plan hoping more money would come and you would have enough to pay the growing debt in some other way on some other day, which is not a plan, it is wishful thinking - we would end up with $1m every day.
Believe it or not, it is a fact, and it has to be responded to. It is a difficult situation we have been faced with. It is five-and-a-half months in. We are required to do the best things for the Northern Territory and we are doing that. We have heard what the electorate has said ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I can answer the last one straight up: absolutely not. I am serving the best interests, as is my government, of the Northern Territory. I thank you for your question. What you quite conveniently and almost callously overlook is we acknowledge it was a result of a magnitude you describe. What you have not described is the magnitude of the debt that has been left to be dealt with by …
Ms Lawrie: You are going into denial.
Mr MILLS: Denial? You are in denial because we have a situation that is very real. You will try your darndest to conceal a glaring fact; that anybody who has an interest in the long-term secure future of the Northern Territory knows there has to be a plan. There was no plan under the former Treasurer ...
Ms Lawrie: Not true.
Mr MILLS: No, you are on the record because you borrowed over $1bn to help support Power and Water Corporation. You never described a plan on how you would repay that. You are on the record, former Treasurer, with your plan. You were planning there would be more GST, then that would help us solve the problem. You know full well the financial and economic situation of the Northern Territory. Your vain hope that there would be more money was your plan to deal with the underlying debt problem.
This is a real government and I accept it has made real decisions that are difficult. They are difficult, but we have a five-point plan, as you well know. The first point is to cut the waste and, thereby, reduce the debt so we can reduce the cost of living.
At the moment, we have a situation that is so real - anyone who is honest on your side could see it - the proposition of spending $750 000 every day would answer that question. We do not want that to continue because, if we do not put a plan in place - a real plan, unlike your fictitious, fake plan hoping more money would come and you would have enough to pay the growing debt in some other way on some other day, which is not a plan, it is wishful thinking - we would end up with $1m every day.
Believe it or not, it is a fact, and it has to be responded to. It is a difficult situation we have been faced with. It is five-and-a-half months in. We are required to do the best things for the Northern Territory and we are doing that. We have heard what the electorate has said ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016