Mr ADAMSON - 1995-05-16
Was the Territory's member of the House of Representatives, Warren Snowdon, incorrect when he claimed that Commonwealth payments to the Territory will increase at a rate higher than inflation?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, Hon Warren Snowdon was incorrect when he made the claim during an interview with 8DDD on 24 April that the Territory was being funded above the current rate of inflation. In truth, grants from the Commonwealth will total $1195m in 1995-96, which represents an increase of $36m over 1994-95. This is a nominal increase of 3.1%, or a real reduction of 0.6%. I will spell that out more simply. Mr Snowdon said that the Territory's funding was in line with inflation, and that is clearly wrong given that inflation is now 3.7%.
However, the real bone of contention, the real problem with Mr Snowdon is his total lack of commitment to the people of the Northern Territory. I said earlier that Mr Snowdon is big on rhetoric but, when you question him on detail, he cannot answer. He was caught out on ABC radio by the presenter Fred McCue the day after the federal budget. I quote from an interview on 8DDD on 10 May ...
Mr Ede: You had nothing but praise for it.
Mr COULTER: Well, at least I knew what was in it.
Mr Ede: You did not - you got the $5m figure wrong.
Mr COULTER: The fact is that we know there is a little over $100m for Aboriginal health around Australia, and our percentage - this is over 4 years ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr COULTER: The problem that we have is so huge that the Prime Minister is in Germany telling the world that the Australian government will do something about Aboriginal health ...
Mr Bailey: Because you have evaded your responsibilities over the last 20 years.
Mr COULTER: The Territory's share of that will be about $5.3m. In this year's budget - and I do not usually forecast Territory budgets ahead of time - we will have an increase of more than $9m for Aboriginal health. And that is what Mr Snowdon could not tell us.
Let us go on. Before I was rudely interrupted, I was quoting the reporter:
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Reporter: Barry Coulter said you have been absolutely tight-fisted when it comes to Aboriginal
health. $5m is what he says is going in in a year. Is that right?
Snowdon: Well, what did you expect from him?
Reporter: How much is to be spent on Aboriginal health in the Territory next year?
Snowdon: Well, that will be a matter for Carmen Lawrence to decide in conjunction with the
people delivering the health service.
That is that vital issue, and nobody knows how much will be spent on Aboriginal health. It is very simple. He went on to make a number of other mistakes in the interview because he did not know what he was talking about. He spun the line that is being fed through the opposition here about defence funding in the Northern Territory: `If it were not for the Commonwealth putting defence funding into the Territory, we'd all be rooned!' Where else would they put defence funding? There has been a change in defence policy ...
Mr Ede: By the Labor government.
Mr COULTER: Not by the Labor government. It started with Ian Sinclair, as Minister for Defence when Tindal was announced. That is where it started. Let's not be wrong about that. The change in defence policy is that Australians are no longer terrified that a flock of angry penguins is about to come in from Tasmania to infiltrate Victoria. They are looking at other areas of Australia that have been absolutely ignored previously in defence build-up. Simply because we happen to live here, we are told that it is really all the work of Warren Snowdon and the Labor government. It has not been. Tindal was on the drawing board and under way long before the Robert Rays or the Beazleys of the world became involved.
The fact is that, when Mr Snowdon was asked how much would be spent on Aboriginal health, he did not know, yet he was the man who was supposed to sell it. I tell members opposite now that, if they think this $5m will be enough, I do not believe that $100m would be enough to address Aboriginal health problems successfully. Yet this is what we are to get - a miserable $5m from the Commonwealth to address what Graham Richardson described on 60 Minutes as `a disgrace that has to be addressed'. The outcome now is an allocation of $5m. Dialysis alone will burn that up. It is not enough. Members opposite know it is not enough. The Territory government will be doubling that amount in this year's budget.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr COULTER: You have been sold down the drain on Aboriginal policy by this federal Labor government, this caring Labor government, and I know I am right in saying that because the member for MacDonnell has not interjected once whilst I have been speaking.
Page 528
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, Hon Warren Snowdon was incorrect when he made the claim during an interview with 8DDD on 24 April that the Territory was being funded above the current rate of inflation. In truth, grants from the Commonwealth will total $1195m in 1995-96, which represents an increase of $36m over 1994-95. This is a nominal increase of 3.1%, or a real reduction of 0.6%. I will spell that out more simply. Mr Snowdon said that the Territory's funding was in line with inflation, and that is clearly wrong given that inflation is now 3.7%.
However, the real bone of contention, the real problem with Mr Snowdon is his total lack of commitment to the people of the Northern Territory. I said earlier that Mr Snowdon is big on rhetoric but, when you question him on detail, he cannot answer. He was caught out on ABC radio by the presenter Fred McCue the day after the federal budget. I quote from an interview on 8DDD on 10 May ...
Mr Ede: You had nothing but praise for it.
Mr COULTER: Well, at least I knew what was in it.
Mr Ede: You did not - you got the $5m figure wrong.
Mr COULTER: The fact is that we know there is a little over $100m for Aboriginal health around Australia, and our percentage - this is over 4 years ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr COULTER: The problem that we have is so huge that the Prime Minister is in Germany telling the world that the Australian government will do something about Aboriginal health ...
Mr Bailey: Because you have evaded your responsibilities over the last 20 years.
Mr COULTER: The Territory's share of that will be about $5.3m. In this year's budget - and I do not usually forecast Territory budgets ahead of time - we will have an increase of more than $9m for Aboriginal health. And that is what Mr Snowdon could not tell us.
Let us go on. Before I was rudely interrupted, I was quoting the reporter:
Page 527
Reporter: Barry Coulter said you have been absolutely tight-fisted when it comes to Aboriginal
health. $5m is what he says is going in in a year. Is that right?
Snowdon: Well, what did you expect from him?
Reporter: How much is to be spent on Aboriginal health in the Territory next year?
Snowdon: Well, that will be a matter for Carmen Lawrence to decide in conjunction with the
people delivering the health service.
That is that vital issue, and nobody knows how much will be spent on Aboriginal health. It is very simple. He went on to make a number of other mistakes in the interview because he did not know what he was talking about. He spun the line that is being fed through the opposition here about defence funding in the Northern Territory: `If it were not for the Commonwealth putting defence funding into the Territory, we'd all be rooned!' Where else would they put defence funding? There has been a change in defence policy ...
Mr Ede: By the Labor government.
Mr COULTER: Not by the Labor government. It started with Ian Sinclair, as Minister for Defence when Tindal was announced. That is where it started. Let's not be wrong about that. The change in defence policy is that Australians are no longer terrified that a flock of angry penguins is about to come in from Tasmania to infiltrate Victoria. They are looking at other areas of Australia that have been absolutely ignored previously in defence build-up. Simply because we happen to live here, we are told that it is really all the work of Warren Snowdon and the Labor government. It has not been. Tindal was on the drawing board and under way long before the Robert Rays or the Beazleys of the world became involved.
The fact is that, when Mr Snowdon was asked how much would be spent on Aboriginal health, he did not know, yet he was the man who was supposed to sell it. I tell members opposite now that, if they think this $5m will be enough, I do not believe that $100m would be enough to address Aboriginal health problems successfully. Yet this is what we are to get - a miserable $5m from the Commonwealth to address what Graham Richardson described on 60 Minutes as `a disgrace that has to be addressed'. The outcome now is an allocation of $5m. Dialysis alone will burn that up. It is not enough. Members opposite know it is not enough. The Territory government will be doubling that amount in this year's budget.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr COULTER: You have been sold down the drain on Aboriginal policy by this federal Labor government, this caring Labor government, and I know I am right in saying that because the member for MacDonnell has not interjected once whilst I have been speaking.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016