Mr EDE - 1994-11-22
The Chief Minister has received regular briefings on the bitter negotiations between his government and the developers of this building. Can he now advise Territorians the basic points of contention that underlie this dispute? Do they highlight the government's ineptitude and subsequent inability to enforce a completion date?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, to answer the member's question, firstly, I do not know where he obtained the cute term 'bitter negotiations'. I thought that, when officers and QCs spoke to each other, they did so on the basis of making genuine attempts to obtain a satisfactory result on behalf of their respective clients. Usually, bitterness is left to the principals or the politicians. In relation to what the issues have all been about, as the Leader of the Opposition is aware, the Minister for Transport and Works will make a statement in this Assembly this morning ...
Mr Ede: There are no answers there.
Mr PERRON: ... which, in fact, contains a significant amount of information because I have seen the statement.
As is the case with many disputes, at the end of the day, this is about money. It is a motivational force that is not new to our society in terms of the parties attempting either to obtain some more money or, as in our case, to save some money. The Leader of the Opposition implied that this process may indicate some ineptitude on the part of the Northern Territory government. That is denied. The Northern Territory government's objective is to have this building completed at the earliest possible date so that the project manager, the builder and subcontractors can leave the site in an acceptable way and the balance of the building can be occupied completely, including by the Leader of the Opposition and his officers. We will then all be able to get on with the job.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, to answer the member's question, firstly, I do not know where he obtained the cute term 'bitter negotiations'. I thought that, when officers and QCs spoke to each other, they did so on the basis of making genuine attempts to obtain a satisfactory result on behalf of their respective clients. Usually, bitterness is left to the principals or the politicians. In relation to what the issues have all been about, as the Leader of the Opposition is aware, the Minister for Transport and Works will make a statement in this Assembly this morning ...
Mr Ede: There are no answers there.
Mr PERRON: ... which, in fact, contains a significant amount of information because I have seen the statement.
As is the case with many disputes, at the end of the day, this is about money. It is a motivational force that is not new to our society in terms of the parties attempting either to obtain some more money or, as in our case, to save some money. The Leader of the Opposition implied that this process may indicate some ineptitude on the part of the Northern Territory government. That is denied. The Northern Territory government's objective is to have this building completed at the earliest possible date so that the project manager, the builder and subcontractors can leave the site in an acceptable way and the balance of the building can be occupied completely, including by the Leader of the Opposition and his officers. We will then all be able to get on with the job.
Page 275
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016