Mr BELL - 1996-10-08
I remind him of these expenses of his government. One of his spokespeople told the NT News that expenditure of $551 000 on entertainment was `not really a big amount'. The Chief Minister himself said that spending over $0.75m on overseas travel was `a very modest amount'. The Chief Minister boasted also that he spends $2m a year on this establishment. In light of these expenditures, why has an overseas aid agency found it necessary to spend $90 000 of Third World aid money in the Northern Territory to perform what is clearly the responsibility of the Country Liberal Party administration in providing health services for Territorians?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the feigned outrage of the member for MacDonnell ...
Mr Bell: There is nothing feigned about it. Great grief!
Mr STONE: He feigns outrage. He says that it is absolutely outrageous that $0.5m was, I think, in the words of the Leader of the Opposition `spent on parties'. In fact, had she been truthful, when she wanted to tell the world about the $0.5m spent on parties, she would have told people what she omitted, which was that she was present at a number of those `parties'. They were receptions held in Parliament House, including receptions for the Olympians, for our senior citizens and for a range of other groups. In fact, during the appropriation debate I was asked to name some of the groups and she sat there nodding in agreement. She could not take issue over any of the 82 functions and receptions that were hosted for other Territorians. Why should they not have the right to come to this Parliament House as part of this community and be able to be proud of this great facility? Members opposite have always decried the building of State Square. They have never faced up to the fact that Territorians are very proud of this building and what it represents.
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr STONE: You are less than truthful when you claim publicly that the government spent $0.5m on parties when they comprised ministerial, chief ministerial and opposition leader's receptions. Your own expenses are included in that amount - admit it! You did not tell the media that, did you? You did not come clean and explain either that the overseas travel includes travel by the Leader of the Opposition. You do not put those details out on the table, do you?
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I stand by my statement: for a fully-functioning government to spend some $729 000 on overseas travel is modest. Why not make some comparisons with what other governments in this country spend? I have never heard any member opposite mutter a single criticism of the ATSIC travel budget of $12m. That applies particularly to the members for Arnhem and Arafura, who really should have something to say about an organisation such as ATSIC taking 36 people to Geneva. I have never seen that sort of extravagance connected with the Northern Territory government. Instead of members opposite coming in here with half-smart attempts to dress something up as a party when it is not a party, and trying to cast overseas travel as being unreasonable, they should tell Territorians the truth.
Mr Ah Kit: You should have taken your ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: In relation to the World Vision worker who has been assigned, I understand, to Papunya, the Minister for Health Services will welcome the opportunity to answer that part of the question.
Mr Ah Kit: What a flick-pass!
Mr BURKE (Health Services): Mr Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to lay to rest a couple of the myths that exist about the way health services are delivered, not only in Australia, but also in ...
Mrs HICKEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! While the opposition is very interested to hear the Minister for Health Services' explanation, I seek the Speaker's advice as to whether it is now to be the practice in this House that a question asked of a minister will be part-answered by that minister and then flick-passed to someone else.
Mr SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The part of the question relating to a health worker assigned to a community is a matter for the Minister for Health Services.
Mr Hatton: He asked the wrong minister.
Mrs Hickey: He spent 10 minutes answering it.
Mr Stone: He should not have asked me.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: Mr Speaker, one of the myths promoted by a former Labor Prime Minister was that no child in Australia would live in poverty. That is one of the classic myths. Another myth that is being run is that health care is free. It is time that we all became realistic about this. There is no government in Australia - territory, state or federal - that is wholly responsible for my health or your health or any other person's health. That is the fact of the matter. National, state and territory governments put a great deal of money towards the health
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budget in their own areas, and also rely considerably on non- government agencies assisting them to deliver health care. The Northern Territory is no different. Of our $400m health budget, we allocate about $45m a year to various non-government agencies that are integral to the delivery of health-care services. Those services cover areas such as aged care, AIDS education, ambulance services, anti-drug programs, blood transfusions, bush nursing, community workers, counselling, crisis accommodation, childbirth education services, child-care centres, domestic violence intervention, disability services, environmental health, home help, hostels for medium- and long-term accommodation, medical services, mental health workers, nutrition programs ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr BURKE: Get it into perspective. This is how health care is delivered. The services also cover nursing homes ...
Mr Bailey: Not overseas agencies ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: What would you call the Red Cross?
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The minister should not ask questions across the Chamber.
Mr BURKE: The Red Cross is a classic example. It is integral to the health delivery services of Australia and the Northern Territory.
Other programs include nursing homes, pharmaceuticals, petrol-sniffing programs, play groups, rehabilitation, rape and sexual assault counselling, respite care, aged care workers, sobering-up shelters, traditional midwives, women's centres and wheelchair transport.
There is now one worker at Papunya who is funded by World Vision. World Vision has operated an indigenous health program in Australia since 1979. Its effort now in the Northern Territory is one health worker.
Mr Ah Kit: Do you think we should encourage more?
Mr BURKE: I certainly do. I absolutely applaud it. I welcome all the help I can get. But I will say that, when the spokesman for World Vision says that the health worker is here to `fix white men's failures', the antennae go up. If it wants to come in for the long haul, if it wants to put its hands to the shovel, as the Territory government has done and is doing, for 8 hours a day, 365 days a year, and if it has a program with some sort of recurrent value in it, we welcome it. However, if it is going to Papunya with a program that is said to cost $90 000, and that should be, in reality, for 2 workers although only 1 has arrived, and if it wants to appear for only
5 minutes and then turn around and say that it is here to fix white men's failures, it is simply propagating another myth. It is not doing anything to aid the health of a single Territorian, certainly not a single Aboriginal Territorian in a remote community. If it is genuine, we welcome its involvement.
Page 1624
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the feigned outrage of the member for MacDonnell ...
Mr Bell: There is nothing feigned about it. Great grief!
Mr STONE: He feigns outrage. He says that it is absolutely outrageous that $0.5m was, I think, in the words of the Leader of the Opposition `spent on parties'. In fact, had she been truthful, when she wanted to tell the world about the $0.5m spent on parties, she would have told people what she omitted, which was that she was present at a number of those `parties'. They were receptions held in Parliament House, including receptions for the Olympians, for our senior citizens and for a range of other groups. In fact, during the appropriation debate I was asked to name some of the groups and she sat there nodding in agreement. She could not take issue over any of the 82 functions and receptions that were hosted for other Territorians. Why should they not have the right to come to this Parliament House as part of this community and be able to be proud of this great facility? Members opposite have always decried the building of State Square. They have never faced up to the fact that Territorians are very proud of this building and what it represents.
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr STONE: You are less than truthful when you claim publicly that the government spent $0.5m on parties when they comprised ministerial, chief ministerial and opposition leader's receptions. Your own expenses are included in that amount - admit it! You did not tell the media that, did you? You did not come clean and explain either that the overseas travel includes travel by the Leader of the Opposition. You do not put those details out on the table, do you?
Page 1622
I stand by my statement: for a fully-functioning government to spend some $729 000 on overseas travel is modest. Why not make some comparisons with what other governments in this country spend? I have never heard any member opposite mutter a single criticism of the ATSIC travel budget of $12m. That applies particularly to the members for Arnhem and Arafura, who really should have something to say about an organisation such as ATSIC taking 36 people to Geneva. I have never seen that sort of extravagance connected with the Northern Territory government. Instead of members opposite coming in here with half-smart attempts to dress something up as a party when it is not a party, and trying to cast overseas travel as being unreasonable, they should tell Territorians the truth.
Mr Ah Kit: You should have taken your ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: In relation to the World Vision worker who has been assigned, I understand, to Papunya, the Minister for Health Services will welcome the opportunity to answer that part of the question.
Mr Ah Kit: What a flick-pass!
Mr BURKE (Health Services): Mr Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to lay to rest a couple of the myths that exist about the way health services are delivered, not only in Australia, but also in ...
Mrs HICKEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! While the opposition is very interested to hear the Minister for Health Services' explanation, I seek the Speaker's advice as to whether it is now to be the practice in this House that a question asked of a minister will be part-answered by that minister and then flick-passed to someone else.
Mr SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The part of the question relating to a health worker assigned to a community is a matter for the Minister for Health Services.
Mr Hatton: He asked the wrong minister.
Mrs Hickey: He spent 10 minutes answering it.
Mr Stone: He should not have asked me.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: Mr Speaker, one of the myths promoted by a former Labor Prime Minister was that no child in Australia would live in poverty. That is one of the classic myths. Another myth that is being run is that health care is free. It is time that we all became realistic about this. There is no government in Australia - territory, state or federal - that is wholly responsible for my health or your health or any other person's health. That is the fact of the matter. National, state and territory governments put a great deal of money towards the health
Page 1623
budget in their own areas, and also rely considerably on non- government agencies assisting them to deliver health care. The Northern Territory is no different. Of our $400m health budget, we allocate about $45m a year to various non-government agencies that are integral to the delivery of health-care services. Those services cover areas such as aged care, AIDS education, ambulance services, anti-drug programs, blood transfusions, bush nursing, community workers, counselling, crisis accommodation, childbirth education services, child-care centres, domestic violence intervention, disability services, environmental health, home help, hostels for medium- and long-term accommodation, medical services, mental health workers, nutrition programs ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr BURKE: Get it into perspective. This is how health care is delivered. The services also cover nursing homes ...
Mr Bailey: Not overseas agencies ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: What would you call the Red Cross?
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The minister should not ask questions across the Chamber.
Mr BURKE: The Red Cross is a classic example. It is integral to the health delivery services of Australia and the Northern Territory.
Other programs include nursing homes, pharmaceuticals, petrol-sniffing programs, play groups, rehabilitation, rape and sexual assault counselling, respite care, aged care workers, sobering-up shelters, traditional midwives, women's centres and wheelchair transport.
There is now one worker at Papunya who is funded by World Vision. World Vision has operated an indigenous health program in Australia since 1979. Its effort now in the Northern Territory is one health worker.
Mr Ah Kit: Do you think we should encourage more?
Mr BURKE: I certainly do. I absolutely applaud it. I welcome all the help I can get. But I will say that, when the spokesman for World Vision says that the health worker is here to `fix white men's failures', the antennae go up. If it wants to come in for the long haul, if it wants to put its hands to the shovel, as the Territory government has done and is doing, for 8 hours a day, 365 days a year, and if it has a program with some sort of recurrent value in it, we welcome it. However, if it is going to Papunya with a program that is said to cost $90 000, and that should be, in reality, for 2 workers although only 1 has arrived, and if it wants to appear for only
5 minutes and then turn around and say that it is here to fix white men's failures, it is simply propagating another myth. It is not doing anything to aid the health of a single Territorian, certainly not a single Aboriginal Territorian in a remote community. If it is genuine, we welcome its involvement.
Page 1624
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016