Mr SETTER - 1995-06-20
Does the Treasurer share the same pessimism as the Leader of the Opposition about the state of the Northern Territory economy? To quote the Leader of the Opposition, if we did not have the defence build-up in the Northern Territory, we would be 'an economic basket case'.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, at the outset, let me say that we appreciate the defence build-up in the Northern Territory and its contribution to our economy. It is not as we would have ...
Mr Bell: You would not vote for Hon Warren Snowdon then?
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr COULTER: I told you that it was Hon Ian Sinclair who ...
Members interjecting.
Mr COULTER: You do not seem to want to believe me.
It amazes me that the Leader of the Opposition could ignore the enormous amount of hard work that is being carried out by private enterprise.
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Mr Ede: Of course it is private enterprise doing the work.
Mr COULTER: He tries to push the tired old line that the Territory is totally dependent on the Commonwealth. This is the line that goes: `Where does 80% of your funding come from?' It is the line that Senator Bob Collins used to the Chamber of Commerce recently: 'Without the Department of Defence and without us, you are finished'. He fails to recognise the hard work contributed by ordinary Territorians to this economy. That is where they will get a slap in the face.
From time to time, we have seen the headlines that the Northern Territory is set to boom. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the Territory is already booming. That is the reason why we reduced the capital works program this year. This is the smallest capital works program that we have had since self-government - about $170m. If we increased that capital works program, we would simply inflate the price of getting work done in the Northern Territory. If members look at gross state product (GSP) for the March quarter, the Territory recorded a real annual increase of 8.5%. In dollar terms per head of population, that equates to $6800 per person in the Territory - $1000 more than the national average. So much for the suggestion that we are the monkey on the back of the Commonwealth and are slowing everybody down. Territorians are contributing $1000 more per head of population than the national average. Hardworking Territorians are working to support the economy and develop the north. Another indicator that I consider equally reliable is state final demand. In that regard, the Territory recorded a real annual increase of 5.8% in the March quarter.
Mr Ede: What is this in?
Mr COULTER: The Leader of the Opposition would have us believe - and I will given him the details of that in a minute - that all of this resulted from defence expenditure. His words were: `Without defence, we are a basket case'. Territory final demand reflected a 4.6% decrease in private capital expenditure, which is depreciable assets, an 11.3% increase in private final consumption, which includes such figures as retail trade, and a 6% increase in public capital expenditure, which is the Northern Territory and the Commonwealth's capital works program ...
Mr Ede: It is not yours!
Mr COULTER: Our $175m must contribute something.
Mr Ede: However, it is not an increase - it is a decrease.
Mr COULTER: It is still having an effect. Does the Leader of the Opposition admit that it is doing something?
Mr Bailey: It is doing less.
Mr COULTER: The reason why it is less is because we provide the cushion in the hard times, as we did with the accelerated program to build this building in which we are sitting. We do not deny that. However, it is time now for the government to withdraw from this
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because, were it not to do so, that would simply inflate the cost of doing work in the Northern Territory.
All this comes from the man who could not run a chook raffle. He is sitting over there, telling us how to run the Northern Territory economy, when the central administration of the ALP lost $2000 on a chook raffle. He should not sit there and ...
Members interjecting.
Mr COULTER: He probably congratulates himself that they lost so little on that deal.
The Leader of the Opposition and his tunnel-visioned colleagues would have us believe that the 6% increase in Northern Territory and Commonwealth capital works is totally dependent on the defence build-up. I intend to table a document, State of the States, from Natwest Capital Markets, which compares the Northern Territory with each of the Australian states. It is dated 7June 1995. The section on our economy states in part:
The NT economy is based on mining, oil, gas and agricultural production, together with an increasing contribution from tourism.
For 1994-95, the Northern Territory economy is expected to have outperformed the rest of Australia, with growth of 6% estimated
for the year. In 1993-94, the NT economy expanded by 7.3%. This improvement was largely due to a growing contribution from
the private sector, but has also been helped by the expansion of the Australian Defence Force presence in northern Australia.
I simply ask the Leader of the Opposition to get his priorities right when he talks about this. I suggest that he take a walk down Mitchell Street and Smith Street and look at the $75m-worth of tourism infrastructure that is being built there. The Territory attracts more than a million touristsannually. Growth of 8% in our tourism industry alone is part of that boom. Retail trade figures indicate that the Territory recorded more than $100m a month in retail sales for 6 of the last 8 months. Live cattle exports are up 40%. Will the Leader of the Opposition try to say that that is all due to the presence of the army and the air force here, including personal expenditure by their personnel? I have not even touched on the biggest economic contributor - the mining industry. In those few sentences, I failed to use the 'd' word once - and that is because there is more to the Northern Territory economy than the defence build-up. Unfortunately, the Leader of the Opposition cannot acknowledge that, even as he could not concede defeat graciously at the last Territory election.
Page 650
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, at the outset, let me say that we appreciate the defence build-up in the Northern Territory and its contribution to our economy. It is not as we would have ...
Mr Bell: You would not vote for Hon Warren Snowdon then?
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr COULTER: I told you that it was Hon Ian Sinclair who ...
Members interjecting.
Mr COULTER: You do not seem to want to believe me.
It amazes me that the Leader of the Opposition could ignore the enormous amount of hard work that is being carried out by private enterprise.
Page 648
Mr Ede: Of course it is private enterprise doing the work.
Mr COULTER: He tries to push the tired old line that the Territory is totally dependent on the Commonwealth. This is the line that goes: `Where does 80% of your funding come from?' It is the line that Senator Bob Collins used to the Chamber of Commerce recently: 'Without the Department of Defence and without us, you are finished'. He fails to recognise the hard work contributed by ordinary Territorians to this economy. That is where they will get a slap in the face.
From time to time, we have seen the headlines that the Northern Territory is set to boom. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the Territory is already booming. That is the reason why we reduced the capital works program this year. This is the smallest capital works program that we have had since self-government - about $170m. If we increased that capital works program, we would simply inflate the price of getting work done in the Northern Territory. If members look at gross state product (GSP) for the March quarter, the Territory recorded a real annual increase of 8.5%. In dollar terms per head of population, that equates to $6800 per person in the Territory - $1000 more than the national average. So much for the suggestion that we are the monkey on the back of the Commonwealth and are slowing everybody down. Territorians are contributing $1000 more per head of population than the national average. Hardworking Territorians are working to support the economy and develop the north. Another indicator that I consider equally reliable is state final demand. In that regard, the Territory recorded a real annual increase of 5.8% in the March quarter.
Mr Ede: What is this in?
Mr COULTER: The Leader of the Opposition would have us believe - and I will given him the details of that in a minute - that all of this resulted from defence expenditure. His words were: `Without defence, we are a basket case'. Territory final demand reflected a 4.6% decrease in private capital expenditure, which is depreciable assets, an 11.3% increase in private final consumption, which includes such figures as retail trade, and a 6% increase in public capital expenditure, which is the Northern Territory and the Commonwealth's capital works program ...
Mr Ede: It is not yours!
Mr COULTER: Our $175m must contribute something.
Mr Ede: However, it is not an increase - it is a decrease.
Mr COULTER: It is still having an effect. Does the Leader of the Opposition admit that it is doing something?
Mr Bailey: It is doing less.
Mr COULTER: The reason why it is less is because we provide the cushion in the hard times, as we did with the accelerated program to build this building in which we are sitting. We do not deny that. However, it is time now for the government to withdraw from this
Page 649
because, were it not to do so, that would simply inflate the cost of doing work in the Northern Territory.
All this comes from the man who could not run a chook raffle. He is sitting over there, telling us how to run the Northern Territory economy, when the central administration of the ALP lost $2000 on a chook raffle. He should not sit there and ...
Members interjecting.
Mr COULTER: He probably congratulates himself that they lost so little on that deal.
The Leader of the Opposition and his tunnel-visioned colleagues would have us believe that the 6% increase in Northern Territory and Commonwealth capital works is totally dependent on the defence build-up. I intend to table a document, State of the States, from Natwest Capital Markets, which compares the Northern Territory with each of the Australian states. It is dated 7June 1995. The section on our economy states in part:
The NT economy is based on mining, oil, gas and agricultural production, together with an increasing contribution from tourism.
For 1994-95, the Northern Territory economy is expected to have outperformed the rest of Australia, with growth of 6% estimated
for the year. In 1993-94, the NT economy expanded by 7.3%. This improvement was largely due to a growing contribution from
the private sector, but has also been helped by the expansion of the Australian Defence Force presence in northern Australia.
I simply ask the Leader of the Opposition to get his priorities right when he talks about this. I suggest that he take a walk down Mitchell Street and Smith Street and look at the $75m-worth of tourism infrastructure that is being built there. The Territory attracts more than a million touristsannually. Growth of 8% in our tourism industry alone is part of that boom. Retail trade figures indicate that the Territory recorded more than $100m a month in retail sales for 6 of the last 8 months. Live cattle exports are up 40%. Will the Leader of the Opposition try to say that that is all due to the presence of the army and the air force here, including personal expenditure by their personnel? I have not even touched on the biggest economic contributor - the mining industry. In those few sentences, I failed to use the 'd' word once - and that is because there is more to the Northern Territory economy than the defence build-up. Unfortunately, the Leader of the Opposition cannot acknowledge that, even as he could not concede defeat graciously at the last Territory election.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016