Mr BALDWIN - 1997-05-01
I understand that the Chief Minister has an announcement to make which will be of considerable significance to Territorians. Could he please tell Territorians what it is?
Mr Bailey: The election?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it is an important announcement, but I will pick up the interjection from the member for Wanguri. The only people talking about an election are ...
Mr Bailey: Fred gave his swan song last night.
Mr Finch: Our swan song - you and me, John.
Mr Bailey: It was his last adjournment debate.
Mr STONE: To pick up that interjection from the member for Wanguri, there is nothing to prevent any member of this parliament, who has announced their resignation or retirement, from making their farewells at any time that they wish. However, the only people talking about an election are members of the Labor Party.
You lot have priors. You talked up the aspirations of the Larrakia people. You talked up the aspirations of Aboriginal claimants ...
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr STONE: You are a convicted drunk. I would not even start if I were you.
The reality is that they have heightened the expectations of Territorians to the point where one of their candidates even relayed to one of my ministerial colleagues that the Leader of the Opposition had advised him to take his annual leave and part of his long service leave
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because the election was about to be called. She is heightening this uncertainty. She is even writing to her party members. I will table a copy of this letter. If the Leader of the Opposition thinks for one moment that her leadership is comfortable with this derailed tactic, then she is kidding herself. They are even leaking to us now. She wrote as recently as last week to ALP members:
There is no doubt that an early election is now on. We
expect the Country Liberal Party will deny Territorians
more than 12 months of a full term and go to the polls
in May.
This is the sort of misguided, misdirected leadership that is being provided on the other side. Let me advise the business community and the public service not to listen to this mob opposite. In May, I am going on holidays - and I should add that I am paying my own way and going on a private holiday. Unless I am to run this election offshore, there will be no election in May. Will you stop telling Territorians lies? Will you stop heightening this uncertainty in our community?
Mr Bailey: Will you run the full term or not?
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri started all this with his interjection. If he will be quiet, we will be able to get on with the good government of the Territory. We have a booming economy. Things are going well. Unlike the doom and gloom merchants opposite, we are getting on with the job.
May I come now to my important announcement? In January 1996, I wrote to the then Minister for Administrative Services requesting, following on from submissions from the Northern Territory Police Historical Society, that the Civilian Service Medal be made available to Northern Territory police who served north of the 18th parallel between 1939 and 1945. I am absolutely delighted to be able to report - it has taken a Coalition government to take this decision - that I received a letter from the current Minister for Administrative Services, Hon David Jull, advising that persons who served as police officers in that period will be entitled to that medal. That is an excellent outcome, a first-class result.
A number of other groups who served in the Territory are already eligible for the medal. They include people who worked on the North Australian Railway, in the Civil Construction Corps and for the Allied Works Council, and the civilian Aboriginal guides who accompanied the North Australian Observer Unit. The 6 new groups which qualify for the Civilian Service Medal include: ground crews of civil airlines; those involved in the Red Cross; members of other emergency service organisations; Commonwealth public servants; Northern Territory public servants who were actually posted here as Commonwealth officers, including post office staff, medical personnel and Navy Department civilians operating the Port of Darwin; and those men and women serving as police officers.
People listening to this broadcast should be aware that, if one of these people was a relative of theirs who has since passed on or who has left the Territory, I understand they are able still to make an application and their family will receive the medal. The Department of Administrative Services will be making available the means and processes by which to access those medals. I want to ensure that all eligible people or their next-of-kin are aware of the
Page 2117
entitlement to the medal. I congratulate the Coalition government on acceding to this request and the Northern Territory Police Historical Society for making the representation to me in the first place.
Returning to my earlier point, will the opposition please stop this election hype? They are only scaring the kids. We have a great economy. We have everything going for us. The opposition really has to question the political judgment of its leader, who commits herself to paper in telling all the party membership that the election will be held in May - even to the point of telling candidates to take their annual leave. I would not be running behind her. I would have no confidence in anything she would ever tell me.
Page 2118
Mr Bailey: The election?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it is an important announcement, but I will pick up the interjection from the member for Wanguri. The only people talking about an election are ...
Mr Bailey: Fred gave his swan song last night.
Mr Finch: Our swan song - you and me, John.
Mr Bailey: It was his last adjournment debate.
Mr STONE: To pick up that interjection from the member for Wanguri, there is nothing to prevent any member of this parliament, who has announced their resignation or retirement, from making their farewells at any time that they wish. However, the only people talking about an election are members of the Labor Party.
You lot have priors. You talked up the aspirations of the Larrakia people. You talked up the aspirations of Aboriginal claimants ...
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr STONE: You are a convicted drunk. I would not even start if I were you.
The reality is that they have heightened the expectations of Territorians to the point where one of their candidates even relayed to one of my ministerial colleagues that the Leader of the Opposition had advised him to take his annual leave and part of his long service leave
Page 2116
because the election was about to be called. She is heightening this uncertainty. She is even writing to her party members. I will table a copy of this letter. If the Leader of the Opposition thinks for one moment that her leadership is comfortable with this derailed tactic, then she is kidding herself. They are even leaking to us now. She wrote as recently as last week to ALP members:
There is no doubt that an early election is now on. We
expect the Country Liberal Party will deny Territorians
more than 12 months of a full term and go to the polls
in May.
This is the sort of misguided, misdirected leadership that is being provided on the other side. Let me advise the business community and the public service not to listen to this mob opposite. In May, I am going on holidays - and I should add that I am paying my own way and going on a private holiday. Unless I am to run this election offshore, there will be no election in May. Will you stop telling Territorians lies? Will you stop heightening this uncertainty in our community?
Mr Bailey: Will you run the full term or not?
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri started all this with his interjection. If he will be quiet, we will be able to get on with the good government of the Territory. We have a booming economy. Things are going well. Unlike the doom and gloom merchants opposite, we are getting on with the job.
May I come now to my important announcement? In January 1996, I wrote to the then Minister for Administrative Services requesting, following on from submissions from the Northern Territory Police Historical Society, that the Civilian Service Medal be made available to Northern Territory police who served north of the 18th parallel between 1939 and 1945. I am absolutely delighted to be able to report - it has taken a Coalition government to take this decision - that I received a letter from the current Minister for Administrative Services, Hon David Jull, advising that persons who served as police officers in that period will be entitled to that medal. That is an excellent outcome, a first-class result.
A number of other groups who served in the Territory are already eligible for the medal. They include people who worked on the North Australian Railway, in the Civil Construction Corps and for the Allied Works Council, and the civilian Aboriginal guides who accompanied the North Australian Observer Unit. The 6 new groups which qualify for the Civilian Service Medal include: ground crews of civil airlines; those involved in the Red Cross; members of other emergency service organisations; Commonwealth public servants; Northern Territory public servants who were actually posted here as Commonwealth officers, including post office staff, medical personnel and Navy Department civilians operating the Port of Darwin; and those men and women serving as police officers.
People listening to this broadcast should be aware that, if one of these people was a relative of theirs who has since passed on or who has left the Territory, I understand they are able still to make an application and their family will receive the medal. The Department of Administrative Services will be making available the means and processes by which to access those medals. I want to ensure that all eligible people or their next-of-kin are aware of the
Page 2117
entitlement to the medal. I congratulate the Coalition government on acceding to this request and the Northern Territory Police Historical Society for making the representation to me in the first place.
Returning to my earlier point, will the opposition please stop this election hype? They are only scaring the kids. We have a great economy. We have everything going for us. The opposition really has to question the political judgment of its leader, who commits herself to paper in telling all the party membership that the election will be held in May - even to the point of telling candidates to take their annual leave. I would not be running behind her. I would have no confidence in anything she would ever tell me.
Page 2118
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016