Mr AH KIT - 1996-08-21
Last night's federal budget continued funding for 2 federal Labor initiatives - the northern defence buildup and implementation of the Wran Committee report. The budget revealed cuts to operational grants to Northern Territory University, hospital funding, the National Highways Program, Aboriginal health, the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) support program, community-based child-care operational grants, strategic roads funding of $10m and special revenue assistance. Firstly, what did the Chief Minister do to protect Territorians from the attack on regional Australia? Secondly, did his government argue long and hard that the Northern Territory is a special case and, if so, why did he fail so miserably to protect Territorians from these savage cuts?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am confused because the Leader of the Opposition told us that we had done pretty well at the Premiers Conference. However, the member for Arnhem is now singing a different tune entirely. I am particularly intrigued by his reference to special revenue assistance, or SRAs as we call these grants.
Mr Ah Kit: Do you support the cuts?
Mr STONE: I remind members opposite and Territorians generally that the only state or territory that received an SRA was the Northern Territory. We were the only people who managed to salvage the SRA, and we did it for Territorians. It is a bit rich for the member for
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Arnhem to get to his feet and decry any changes in health funding. Does he really know what happened to health under the stewardship of Hawke and then Keating? Has he ever bothered to do any research? Under Labor, private health cover had declined by some 33.6%. I know the member for Arnhem is not interested in the answer. He stood up and made a grab-bag of allegations, none of which he can substantiate. Does he think that it was right for the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health, Keating and Lawrence, to brag that they had no private health insurance? Does he think that was in the spirit of what we were trying to achieve as Australians in terms of health? I have private health insurance because I recognise my responsibility to pay my way. Your federal leader ...
Mr Bailey: Is that why you bought the house next to yours to stop the noise?
Mr STONE: ... boasted about the fact that he did not have any.
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: To compound it, his health minister did the same. The member produced a whole grab-bag of allegations, none of which are true. It is very easy for him to stand up and say all those things ...
Mr Bailey: They cut the university.
Mr STONE: I will pick up the interjection from the member for Wanguri. How ironic that the great defenders of the university today are the very same people who consistently opposed the establishment of that university!
Members interjecting.
Mr Ede: Wrong!
Mr STONE: You can say that is wrong, but I have been around long enough to know the truth. You may think you can rewrite history on the university, but I will continue to ram down your throats the fact that Labor opposed the establishment of a university. You sided with your federal colleagues and said that Territorians did not need a university. You came up with some half-baked figures. Who will ever forget the then federal Minister for Education claiming that the very best we would ever need was 200 higher education places? What a load of nonsense!
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: It was 20 places? I thought it was 200. Even if it had been 200 ...
Members interjecting
Mr STONE: ... how appallingly short of the mark!
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Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, I understand the university has over 9000 enrolments today. Our young people no longer have to go south for higher education. That is what the CLP supported.
In terms of the university, there have been some wins and some losses. Members opposite may sigh, but that is the difference between them and me. I am prepared to make the concessions. They get to their feet, but never make any concessions. However, there are no greater advocates for redressing those losses than members on this side of the Chamber. Northern Territory University has no stauncher defenders than the CLP government. We were the architects of that university and we will defend it.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: The member rambled on about supposed attacks on CDEP programs. Again, that is just a grab-bag of labour market programs being thrown out the window. He knows that there has been a great deal of dissatisfaction over the way that labour market programs have worked. Can he get to his feet and say honestly that, under 13 years of Labor mismanagement, more people were working in Aboriginal communities in meaningful employment? The answer is no.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: These were a grab-bag of programs under which people were paid basically to be quiet. People were paid basically in order to take them out of the unemployment percentages. That was what Labor was up to. That has been exposed now.
This is a fair budget. It is a budget that assists middle Australia. It is a budget that will help Territory families, and I congratulate the Prime Minister.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Honourable members are falling into bad habits. There is far too much interjection from the opposition benches at the present time. I would appreciate a little more decorum in the House.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am confused because the Leader of the Opposition told us that we had done pretty well at the Premiers Conference. However, the member for Arnhem is now singing a different tune entirely. I am particularly intrigued by his reference to special revenue assistance, or SRAs as we call these grants.
Mr Ah Kit: Do you support the cuts?
Mr STONE: I remind members opposite and Territorians generally that the only state or territory that received an SRA was the Northern Territory. We were the only people who managed to salvage the SRA, and we did it for Territorians. It is a bit rich for the member for
Page 1522
Arnhem to get to his feet and decry any changes in health funding. Does he really know what happened to health under the stewardship of Hawke and then Keating? Has he ever bothered to do any research? Under Labor, private health cover had declined by some 33.6%. I know the member for Arnhem is not interested in the answer. He stood up and made a grab-bag of allegations, none of which he can substantiate. Does he think that it was right for the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health, Keating and Lawrence, to brag that they had no private health insurance? Does he think that was in the spirit of what we were trying to achieve as Australians in terms of health? I have private health insurance because I recognise my responsibility to pay my way. Your federal leader ...
Mr Bailey: Is that why you bought the house next to yours to stop the noise?
Mr STONE: ... boasted about the fact that he did not have any.
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: To compound it, his health minister did the same. The member produced a whole grab-bag of allegations, none of which are true. It is very easy for him to stand up and say all those things ...
Mr Bailey: They cut the university.
Mr STONE: I will pick up the interjection from the member for Wanguri. How ironic that the great defenders of the university today are the very same people who consistently opposed the establishment of that university!
Members interjecting.
Mr Ede: Wrong!
Mr STONE: You can say that is wrong, but I have been around long enough to know the truth. You may think you can rewrite history on the university, but I will continue to ram down your throats the fact that Labor opposed the establishment of a university. You sided with your federal colleagues and said that Territorians did not need a university. You came up with some half-baked figures. Who will ever forget the then federal Minister for Education claiming that the very best we would ever need was 200 higher education places? What a load of nonsense!
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: It was 20 places? I thought it was 200. Even if it had been 200 ...
Members interjecting
Mr STONE: ... how appallingly short of the mark!
Page 1523
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, I understand the university has over 9000 enrolments today. Our young people no longer have to go south for higher education. That is what the CLP supported.
In terms of the university, there have been some wins and some losses. Members opposite may sigh, but that is the difference between them and me. I am prepared to make the concessions. They get to their feet, but never make any concessions. However, there are no greater advocates for redressing those losses than members on this side of the Chamber. Northern Territory University has no stauncher defenders than the CLP government. We were the architects of that university and we will defend it.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: The member rambled on about supposed attacks on CDEP programs. Again, that is just a grab-bag of labour market programs being thrown out the window. He knows that there has been a great deal of dissatisfaction over the way that labour market programs have worked. Can he get to his feet and say honestly that, under 13 years of Labor mismanagement, more people were working in Aboriginal communities in meaningful employment? The answer is no.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: These were a grab-bag of programs under which people were paid basically to be quiet. People were paid basically in order to take them out of the unemployment percentages. That was what Labor was up to. That has been exposed now.
This is a fair budget. It is a budget that assists middle Australia. It is a budget that will help Territory families, and I congratulate the Prime Minister.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Honourable members are falling into bad habits. There is far too much interjection from the opposition benches at the present time. I would appreciate a little more decorum in the House.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016