Mrs HICKEY - 1996-05-21
Last Thursday, while the minister was absent from the House, the Chief Minister cut the ground from under him and from under the Sessional Committee on Constitutional Development of which he is chairman. The Chief Minister repudiated more than a decade of work by the committee. In 1995, the committee recommended unanimously a popularly-elected constitutional convention as the means of framing the constitution for the Northern Territory. As the chairman of the committee, does the Minister for Constitutional Development continue to support the unanimous recommendation for a constitutional convention, or does he agree with the Chief Minister that the people of the Northern Territory do not deserve any say in the constitution that will be the foundation of the system of law and government for their new state?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, apart from anything else, the Leader of the Opposition cannot get her titles right. She addressed her question to me as Minister for Constitutional Development and then said: 'As chairman of the committee, does the Minister ...' They happen to be different roles and functions. As chairman of the Sessional Committee on Constitutional Development, it is my responsibility to reflect the views of that committee and provide reports to this Assembly accordingly. I have done that. I am on the record as reflecting the views of the committee. It has recommended procedures whereby a constitutional convention would be structured. The matter is now out of the hands of the committee and on the floor of this House. It is a matter that is under active consideration by the government and, contrary to the view expressed by the Leader of the Opposition, the Chief Minister did not cut the ground
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from under either myself or the Committee on Constitutional Development. The only point he made was that the government is considering several options. One of those is a constitutional convention. That matter will be dealt with in this parliament.
I point out that the Leader of the Opposition will be raising exactly this point in a discussion of a Matter of Public Importance later today. If she were genuinely serious rather than smugly playing cheap politics, she would wait for the MPI to be brought on when the matter will be discussed fully.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, apart from anything else, the Leader of the Opposition cannot get her titles right. She addressed her question to me as Minister for Constitutional Development and then said: 'As chairman of the committee, does the Minister ...' They happen to be different roles and functions. As chairman of the Sessional Committee on Constitutional Development, it is my responsibility to reflect the views of that committee and provide reports to this Assembly accordingly. I have done that. I am on the record as reflecting the views of the committee. It has recommended procedures whereby a constitutional convention would be structured. The matter is now out of the hands of the committee and on the floor of this House. It is a matter that is under active consideration by the government and, contrary to the view expressed by the Leader of the Opposition, the Chief Minister did not cut the ground
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from under either myself or the Committee on Constitutional Development. The only point he made was that the government is considering several options. One of those is a constitutional convention. That matter will be dealt with in this parliament.
I point out that the Leader of the Opposition will be raising exactly this point in a discussion of a Matter of Public Importance later today. If she were genuinely serious rather than smugly playing cheap politics, she would wait for the MPI to be brought on when the matter will be discussed fully.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016