Mr BAILEY - 1994-11-30
Previously, the Chief Minister has refused to answer questions relating to the Cannonball Run by hiding behind the excuse of waiting for the coronial inquiry to conclude. The coronial inquiry is over and I am sure that the Chief Minister does not think that what he might say could influence the coroner's thinking. Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table a promotional letter, signed by the Chief Minister, that uses the phrase 'one of the greatest car races of all time'. I seek leave also to table promotional material from the Cannonball Run organisers which states that the Cannonball Run was not a race.
Leave granted.
Mr BAILEY: Can the Chief Minister explain why he promoted the Cannonball Run as 'one of the greatest car races of all time' when the Cannonball Run organisers were very
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careful to avoid its being called a race? Does the Chief Minister accept that his false promotion of the event could have contributed to the 4 tragic deaths that occurred?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I note that the member does not go quite as far as the Leader of the Opposition did when, at the last sittings, he asked me a similar question which I declined to answer as a result of the possibility of my being called before the coroner. The Leader of the Opposition asked whether I accepted that my promotion of the event as a 'race' placed the lives of ordinary road users in the Territory at risk and led to the tragedy that occurred. The member for Wanguri stepped back only a little from that, obviously recognising that the Leader of the Opposition was guilty of a classic case of going over the top.
Mr Ede: No.
Mr PERRON: I too will table some promotional material that was prepared in advance of the Cannonball Run being conducted. No doubt the material will include the couple of selective items that the member tabled during the course of his question this morning. Members who peruse those documents will see many references to the Northern Territory and to the event itself. In all instances except one, the event is referred to as a 'run'.
Mr Ede: We have found 2 now - one for Japan and one for ...
Mr PERRON: In one of them, the phrase used in a document that I myself signed was 'ready to accept the challenge of what we believe will be one of the greatest car races of all time'. I acknowledge that it is my signature on that document. It was not obviously misleading or foisted on the organisers. It was a document provided among the rest of the material to the organisers to distribute. If they had considered that it would be sensitive in some way, they could have asked me to amend those words.
Mr Ede: So it is their fault?
Mr PERRON: No, it is not their fault at all. What I am saying is that these documents were sent to many people to encourage them to take an interest in the event and perhaps participate. There was subsequent documentation of rules etc that was sent to competitors. I can assure members that there was no confusion whatsoever among competitors in the event as to the nature of the event. It is true that, after the event, the media in Australia and in the Northern Territory, which never seemed to be very positive about the event in the first place, went into what can only be described as a frenzy in their use of the term 'race'. They used that term in every one of the numerous broadcasts that I heard ...
Mr Ede: You were using it before the event.
Mr PERRON: ... after that most tragic event.
Mr Ede: They were only following the lead you gave.
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Mr PERRON: The Leader of the Opposition says that I used the term beforehand. I might have used it once and corrected myself instantly. If he can provide further references of where I used the term 'race' ...
Mr Ede: There is one there.
Mr Bailey: There is a statement in the Parliamentary Record.
Mr PERRON: ... prior to the event ...
Mr Ede: You sent that out all around Australia. There is another example where you said ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr PERRON: Mr Speaker, I table these documents for the information of members. They will see the nature of the event. Another term used in these documents was 'race against the clock'. The nature of the event in respect of the fast sections was indeed a 'race against the clock' where competitors attempted, in what could be described as single file, to outdo each other against the clock over particular segments of the event. I acknowledge that indeed it is my signature on a document that was distributed in advance ...
Mr Bailey: Did you call it a 'race' in the Assembly, Marshall?
Mr PERRON: I deny the Leader of the Opposition's suggestion, at least supported by the member for Wanguri, that the use of that word in that document led to the tragic accident that occurred. I condemn the Leader of the Opposition for being in the gutter by making a statement such as that in relation to this matter.
Mr Ede: Why don't you wear some responsibility? You will never wear responsibility for your mistakes.
Mr PERRON: You are under no responsibility here because you will never be on this side to do it.
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Leave granted.
Mr BAILEY: Can the Chief Minister explain why he promoted the Cannonball Run as 'one of the greatest car races of all time' when the Cannonball Run organisers were very
Page 360
careful to avoid its being called a race? Does the Chief Minister accept that his false promotion of the event could have contributed to the 4 tragic deaths that occurred?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I note that the member does not go quite as far as the Leader of the Opposition did when, at the last sittings, he asked me a similar question which I declined to answer as a result of the possibility of my being called before the coroner. The Leader of the Opposition asked whether I accepted that my promotion of the event as a 'race' placed the lives of ordinary road users in the Territory at risk and led to the tragedy that occurred. The member for Wanguri stepped back only a little from that, obviously recognising that the Leader of the Opposition was guilty of a classic case of going over the top.
Mr Ede: No.
Mr PERRON: I too will table some promotional material that was prepared in advance of the Cannonball Run being conducted. No doubt the material will include the couple of selective items that the member tabled during the course of his question this morning. Members who peruse those documents will see many references to the Northern Territory and to the event itself. In all instances except one, the event is referred to as a 'run'.
Mr Ede: We have found 2 now - one for Japan and one for ...
Mr PERRON: In one of them, the phrase used in a document that I myself signed was 'ready to accept the challenge of what we believe will be one of the greatest car races of all time'. I acknowledge that it is my signature on that document. It was not obviously misleading or foisted on the organisers. It was a document provided among the rest of the material to the organisers to distribute. If they had considered that it would be sensitive in some way, they could have asked me to amend those words.
Mr Ede: So it is their fault?
Mr PERRON: No, it is not their fault at all. What I am saying is that these documents were sent to many people to encourage them to take an interest in the event and perhaps participate. There was subsequent documentation of rules etc that was sent to competitors. I can assure members that there was no confusion whatsoever among competitors in the event as to the nature of the event. It is true that, after the event, the media in Australia and in the Northern Territory, which never seemed to be very positive about the event in the first place, went into what can only be described as a frenzy in their use of the term 'race'. They used that term in every one of the numerous broadcasts that I heard ...
Mr Ede: You were using it before the event.
Mr PERRON: ... after that most tragic event.
Mr Ede: They were only following the lead you gave.
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Mr PERRON: The Leader of the Opposition says that I used the term beforehand. I might have used it once and corrected myself instantly. If he can provide further references of where I used the term 'race' ...
Mr Ede: There is one there.
Mr Bailey: There is a statement in the Parliamentary Record.
Mr PERRON: ... prior to the event ...
Mr Ede: You sent that out all around Australia. There is another example where you said ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr PERRON: Mr Speaker, I table these documents for the information of members. They will see the nature of the event. Another term used in these documents was 'race against the clock'. The nature of the event in respect of the fast sections was indeed a 'race against the clock' where competitors attempted, in what could be described as single file, to outdo each other against the clock over particular segments of the event. I acknowledge that indeed it is my signature on a document that was distributed in advance ...
Mr Bailey: Did you call it a 'race' in the Assembly, Marshall?
Mr PERRON: I deny the Leader of the Opposition's suggestion, at least supported by the member for Wanguri, that the use of that word in that document led to the tragic accident that occurred. I condemn the Leader of the Opposition for being in the gutter by making a statement such as that in relation to this matter.
Mr Ede: Why don't you wear some responsibility? You will never wear responsibility for your mistakes.
Mr PERRON: You are under no responsibility here because you will never be on this side to do it.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016