Mr GUNNER - 2014-05-15
Magistrate Peter Maley’s resignation from the CLP slush fund Foundation 51 and from the CLP ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This slander and speculation is a clear breach of Standing Order 62 and I ask that this line of questioning be ruled out of order.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, it is not a point of order, because using ‘offensive and unbecoming words’ refers to members of the Assembly, not a company.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I shall quote it back to you:
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, it is not a point of order. The first part of the question references a company, but I caution you, member for Fannie Bay, in regard to referencing a member of judiciary. Please continue.
Mr GUNNER: Magistrate, Peter Maley,has resigned from the CLP slush fund, Foundation 51, as well as the CLP. That resignation shows …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fannie Bay, please pause. It is not a point of order, member for Port Darwin, because he is not referencing the member of the Magistrates Court. He is talking about a company.
Mr ELFERINK: He just mentioned magistrate, Peter Maley. He is a member of the judiciary.
Madam SPEAKER: He has resigned from companies. In my opinion he has not cast aspersions on the magistrate, Mr Peter Maley.
Mr GUNNER: Magistrate Maley now understands how inappropriate it is for a magistrate to be involved in party politics. Will you now concede it is equally inappropriate for CLP slush fund director, Graeme Lewis, to simultaneously hold high-paying government-funded positions? Given you have refused to conduct an independent judicial inquiry into Foundation 51, will you now release the names of who Graeme Lewis has met with in his role as Land Development Corporation Chair and who has donated to the CLP slush fund, Foundation 51, so Territorians can be confident government transactions are not for sale to the highest bidder?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, before you start, the section about who donates to which company is ruled out of order, but the other part of the question is fine.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, for clarity, which part is fine?
Madam SPEAKER: It was the part about the Chair, Mr Graeme Lewis, and who he has met in the capacity of his job within government.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, Mr Graeme Lewis meets with a range of people on this side of the Chamber because he is the Chair of the Waterfront Corporation, which reports to the Minister for Lands, Planning and the Environment. He is Chair of the Land Development Corporation, which now reports to me, and he is also on the Top End Health Service, which reports to the Minister for Health.
There is a range of people who meet with Graeme Lewis. There is probably a range of people who met with him from this side of the Chamber over a long period of time when he was the Treasurer of the CLP, but on matters outside of government.
Labor has been quite successful today; well done in the debate. You are trying to take the focus off the best budget the Territory has seen, but are doing that by defaming people and trying to erode business confidence in the Northern Territory.
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very specific question. Who has Graeme Lewis met with in his role as Land Development Corporation Chair?
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. I think the Chief Minister has already answered that.
Mr GILES: I have already answered that, if your ears were working. What you are doing is defaming people and, once again, bringing this parliament into disrepute from your side of the Chamber. We have put out the best budget, one we are all extremely proud of …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was ‘so Territorians can be confident that important government land transactions do not go to the highest bidder’.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, it is not a point of order. The Chief Minister is answering the question.
Mr GILES: My point being, what we saw on Tuesday – I will say it once again – was the best budget ever. It invests all over the Territory. There is a future for children, it releases land, it invests in schools, builds roads and is supportive of business, something you are clearly not.
I go to the point of a response I gave the other day directly to the member for Fannie Bay. On Tuesday and on Wednesday, I referred to my disappointment in you as a member of parliament …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was about Graeme Lewis, his role as Chair of the Land Development Corporation and who he has met with.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, the Chief Minister has answered that component. He has three minutes to answer the question.
Mr GILES: I will go to the point. There are some people on that side of the Chamber who we respect more than others. I respect the member for Casuarina; he has his business interests at heart, although he is in the wrong party in my opinion. I do not respect the member for Johnston very much; he does not add much value to the debate. The member for Fannie Bay used to provide a valuable contribution in the Chamber, but now he clearly cannot get the numbers to take over from the member for Karama, because the member for Wanguri has her nose in front in the leadership debate on the Labor side of the Chamber. Because you cannot get the numbers, member for Fannie Bay, you are getting in the gutter where the Leader of the Opposition has been for years and year. Instead you come in here and start defaming people.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113. Territorians do want to know what dealings the CLP-appointed Graeme Lewis, Chair of the Land Development Corporation, has. Territorians want the confidence that there is open, transparent and accountable government in the Territory.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, that is not a point of order and you are misusing standing orders. You are on a warning.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, I am disappointed in the member for Fannie Bay. He has gone down in my estimations as a member of parliament. He has gone into the gutter. You have already defamed Bethany Maley and Peter Maley. You have defamed former Chief Minister Denis Burke. Who else is on your list? You have also defamed Tina MacFarlane today …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I will be disappointed if the Chief Minister does not answer the question. Who has Graeme Lewis met with in his role as Land Development Corporation Chair? Beyond ministers, which developers has he met with?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fannie Bay, I believe the Chief Minister has answered that in saying who that person has met with. You are misusing standing orders as well and you are on a warning.
Mr GILES: The final point about who has been defamed today: the public service. Labor comes in as the great defenders of the public service. You lie about the numbers of changes in public service numbers …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, withdraw that comment, please.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, I withdraw ‘lie’. They mislead about the change in the numbers of public servants, which is an outrage. Today they have completely defamed a range of public servants, particularly the minister for Primary Industry and Land Resource Management’s departments.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This slander and speculation is a clear breach of Standing Order 62 and I ask that this line of questioning be ruled out of order.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, it is not a point of order, because using ‘offensive and unbecoming words’ refers to members of the Assembly, not a company.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I shall quote it back to you:
- No Member shall use offensive or unbecoming words against … any Member of the Assembly or against any House or … Parliament or against any member of the Judiciary …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, it is not a point of order. The first part of the question references a company, but I caution you, member for Fannie Bay, in regard to referencing a member of judiciary. Please continue.
Mr GUNNER: Magistrate, Peter Maley,has resigned from the CLP slush fund, Foundation 51, as well as the CLP. That resignation shows …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fannie Bay, please pause. It is not a point of order, member for Port Darwin, because he is not referencing the member of the Magistrates Court. He is talking about a company.
Mr ELFERINK: He just mentioned magistrate, Peter Maley. He is a member of the judiciary.
Madam SPEAKER: He has resigned from companies. In my opinion he has not cast aspersions on the magistrate, Mr Peter Maley.
Mr GUNNER: Magistrate Maley now understands how inappropriate it is for a magistrate to be involved in party politics. Will you now concede it is equally inappropriate for CLP slush fund director, Graeme Lewis, to simultaneously hold high-paying government-funded positions? Given you have refused to conduct an independent judicial inquiry into Foundation 51, will you now release the names of who Graeme Lewis has met with in his role as Land Development Corporation Chair and who has donated to the CLP slush fund, Foundation 51, so Territorians can be confident government transactions are not for sale to the highest bidder?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, before you start, the section about who donates to which company is ruled out of order, but the other part of the question is fine.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, for clarity, which part is fine?
Madam SPEAKER: It was the part about the Chair, Mr Graeme Lewis, and who he has met in the capacity of his job within government.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, Mr Graeme Lewis meets with a range of people on this side of the Chamber because he is the Chair of the Waterfront Corporation, which reports to the Minister for Lands, Planning and the Environment. He is Chair of the Land Development Corporation, which now reports to me, and he is also on the Top End Health Service, which reports to the Minister for Health.
There is a range of people who meet with Graeme Lewis. There is probably a range of people who met with him from this side of the Chamber over a long period of time when he was the Treasurer of the CLP, but on matters outside of government.
Labor has been quite successful today; well done in the debate. You are trying to take the focus off the best budget the Territory has seen, but are doing that by defaming people and trying to erode business confidence in the Northern Territory.
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very specific question. Who has Graeme Lewis met with in his role as Land Development Corporation Chair?
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. I think the Chief Minister has already answered that.
Mr GILES: I have already answered that, if your ears were working. What you are doing is defaming people and, once again, bringing this parliament into disrepute from your side of the Chamber. We have put out the best budget, one we are all extremely proud of …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was ‘so Territorians can be confident that important government land transactions do not go to the highest bidder’.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, it is not a point of order. The Chief Minister is answering the question.
Mr GILES: My point being, what we saw on Tuesday – I will say it once again – was the best budget ever. It invests all over the Territory. There is a future for children, it releases land, it invests in schools, builds roads and is supportive of business, something you are clearly not.
I go to the point of a response I gave the other day directly to the member for Fannie Bay. On Tuesday and on Wednesday, I referred to my disappointment in you as a member of parliament …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was about Graeme Lewis, his role as Chair of the Land Development Corporation and who he has met with.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, the Chief Minister has answered that component. He has three minutes to answer the question.
Mr GILES: I will go to the point. There are some people on that side of the Chamber who we respect more than others. I respect the member for Casuarina; he has his business interests at heart, although he is in the wrong party in my opinion. I do not respect the member for Johnston very much; he does not add much value to the debate. The member for Fannie Bay used to provide a valuable contribution in the Chamber, but now he clearly cannot get the numbers to take over from the member for Karama, because the member for Wanguri has her nose in front in the leadership debate on the Labor side of the Chamber. Because you cannot get the numbers, member for Fannie Bay, you are getting in the gutter where the Leader of the Opposition has been for years and year. Instead you come in here and start defaming people.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113. Territorians do want to know what dealings the CLP-appointed Graeme Lewis, Chair of the Land Development Corporation, has. Territorians want the confidence that there is open, transparent and accountable government in the Territory.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, that is not a point of order and you are misusing standing orders. You are on a warning.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, I am disappointed in the member for Fannie Bay. He has gone down in my estimations as a member of parliament. He has gone into the gutter. You have already defamed Bethany Maley and Peter Maley. You have defamed former Chief Minister Denis Burke. Who else is on your list? You have also defamed Tina MacFarlane today …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I will be disappointed if the Chief Minister does not answer the question. Who has Graeme Lewis met with in his role as Land Development Corporation Chair? Beyond ministers, which developers has he met with?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fannie Bay, I believe the Chief Minister has answered that in saying who that person has met with. You are misusing standing orders as well and you are on a warning.
Mr GILES: The final point about who has been defamed today: the public service. Labor comes in as the great defenders of the public service. You lie about the numbers of changes in public service numbers …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, withdraw that comment, please.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, I withdraw ‘lie’. They mislead about the change in the numbers of public servants, which is an outrage. Today they have completely defamed a range of public servants, particularly the minister for Primary Industry and Land Resource Management’s departments.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016