Ms LAWRIE - 2014-10-29
Yesterday your Liberal mates in Canberra imposed a fuel tax described by Andrew McKellar of the Australian Automobile Association as weak, sneaky and tricky. This fuel tax will hurt Territory families and businesses. Fuel price pain will hit us all every six months. You have failed to stand up for Territorians and fight this unfair tax hike. You have rolled over to your Canberra puppet masters. Why have you failed to protect Territorians from a tax grab that …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 112 prevents imputations and epithets being applied. Both of those comments by the Leader of the Opposition qualify as imputations.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order, Leader of Government Business. Please be seated. Opposition Leader.
Ms LAWRIE: Why have you failed to stand up for Territorians against this unfair fuel price tax hike that will raise the cost of living for every Territorian?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I assume the Opposition Leader took the same position when Labor increased the fuel tax excise on many occasions when they were running the federal government in Canberra.
It is really important to reflect on the performance on both sides of the Chamber. When you were in government in 2005 you conducted the Parry report into fuel prices …
Ms Lawrie: And implemented the recommendations.
Mr GILES: Hang on… and did not implement any reform; there was not any reduction in fuel prices in the Northern Territory. In 2011 there was a significant increase in fuel prices in the Northern Territory …
Ms Lawrie: Then it dropped.
Mr GILES: Hang on, you asked me a question, let me answer it.
Ms Fyles: Are you standing up to Canberra?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please pause. I remind honourable members of what I said yesterday in regard to calling across the floor and interjecting. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: I am happy to produce the data and show the graphs. The largest increase in fuel prices was in 2011, to a point where there was no change in fuel prices between 2011 and 2014. The data was produced at the fuel price summit by the former deputy head of the Reserve Bank of Australia. I give him some credit. You were the worst Treasurer we had. You can argue against the Reserve Bank’s former deputy.
In 2011 prices went up. Nothing was done to that date. Since that point we have seen a range of interventions by the Northern Territory government which have led to substantial drops in petrol prices in the Northern Territory – drops of more than 20c per litre. We did not see that under your watch. We have put pressure on fuel retailers, wholesalers, shipping companies and the distribution points. We called on them to lower the price. We have called for market leaders. United has been a very good market leader. I thank David, who heads that up, for his work. We have developed a Fuel Price Disclosure Bill and released it to the public. We are putting in place a committee to examine fuel prices in the Northern Territory. We have asked the member for Nelson to chair that and set up the committee to look at this. We are seeing price leading in the Northern Territory.
Do I support the fuel tax excise increase? No, I do not.
Ms Fyles: What are you going to do about it? You are the Chief Minister.
Mr GILES: Member for Nightcliff, you need to grow up. The fuel price tax …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Offensive: withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nightcliff, do you find it offensive?
Ms FYLES: Continually offensive.
Mr GILES: I withdraw. Quite clearly the member for Nightcliff was not absent the day glass jaws were being handed out.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: that was another offensive remark.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, there is no point of order. Sit down.
Mr GILES: If you want to know the answer, I will give you the answer in full detail.
Ms Lawrie: Why have you rolled over? Why have you not fought it?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader and member for Nightcliff, you have clearly forgotten what I said yesterday morning. You are on a warning, Opposition Leader.
Mr GILES: We do not support the increase in fuel tax excise that was announced yesterday. I will be very happy for you to ask me the second question. I will give you another three minutes on the implications of the fuel tax excise increase, what it means and why it is being done. We do not support it.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 112 prevents imputations and epithets being applied. Both of those comments by the Leader of the Opposition qualify as imputations.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order, Leader of Government Business. Please be seated. Opposition Leader.
Ms LAWRIE: Why have you failed to stand up for Territorians against this unfair fuel price tax hike that will raise the cost of living for every Territorian?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I assume the Opposition Leader took the same position when Labor increased the fuel tax excise on many occasions when they were running the federal government in Canberra.
It is really important to reflect on the performance on both sides of the Chamber. When you were in government in 2005 you conducted the Parry report into fuel prices …
Ms Lawrie: And implemented the recommendations.
Mr GILES: Hang on… and did not implement any reform; there was not any reduction in fuel prices in the Northern Territory. In 2011 there was a significant increase in fuel prices in the Northern Territory …
Ms Lawrie: Then it dropped.
Mr GILES: Hang on, you asked me a question, let me answer it.
Ms Fyles: Are you standing up to Canberra?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please pause. I remind honourable members of what I said yesterday in regard to calling across the floor and interjecting. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: I am happy to produce the data and show the graphs. The largest increase in fuel prices was in 2011, to a point where there was no change in fuel prices between 2011 and 2014. The data was produced at the fuel price summit by the former deputy head of the Reserve Bank of Australia. I give him some credit. You were the worst Treasurer we had. You can argue against the Reserve Bank’s former deputy.
In 2011 prices went up. Nothing was done to that date. Since that point we have seen a range of interventions by the Northern Territory government which have led to substantial drops in petrol prices in the Northern Territory – drops of more than 20c per litre. We did not see that under your watch. We have put pressure on fuel retailers, wholesalers, shipping companies and the distribution points. We called on them to lower the price. We have called for market leaders. United has been a very good market leader. I thank David, who heads that up, for his work. We have developed a Fuel Price Disclosure Bill and released it to the public. We are putting in place a committee to examine fuel prices in the Northern Territory. We have asked the member for Nelson to chair that and set up the committee to look at this. We are seeing price leading in the Northern Territory.
Do I support the fuel tax excise increase? No, I do not.
Ms Fyles: What are you going to do about it? You are the Chief Minister.
Mr GILES: Member for Nightcliff, you need to grow up. The fuel price tax …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Offensive: withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nightcliff, do you find it offensive?
Ms FYLES: Continually offensive.
Mr GILES: I withdraw. Quite clearly the member for Nightcliff was not absent the day glass jaws were being handed out.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: that was another offensive remark.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, there is no point of order. Sit down.
Mr GILES: If you want to know the answer, I will give you the answer in full detail.
Ms Lawrie: Why have you rolled over? Why have you not fought it?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader and member for Nightcliff, you have clearly forgotten what I said yesterday morning. You are on a warning, Opposition Leader.
Mr GILES: We do not support the increase in fuel tax excise that was announced yesterday. I will be very happy for you to ask me the second question. I will give you another three minutes on the implications of the fuel tax excise increase, what it means and why it is being done. We do not support it.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016