Mr BALDWIN - 1995-10-10
Yesterday, I heard ...
Mr EDE: Mr Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent my moving a motion of censure of the Chief Minister ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have recognised the member for Victoria River.
Mr BALDWIN: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Ede: Mr Speaker, I move the suspension ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have recognised the member for Victoria River, and you may not interrupt until he has had his opportunity.
Mr BALDWIN: Yesterday, I heard on radio ...
Mr Bailey: He writes to us asking us to accept common decency in this place, and does not ...
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Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask the member for Wanguri to withdraw his comment, and I remind him that he has been warned.
Mr BAILEY: Mr Speaker, I withdraw.
Mr BALDWIN: Yesterday, I heard the member for Barkly being interviewed on the ABC's Drive Time program on the radio. She claimed that there are problems with the turbine generating sets at Berrimah. I would like to hear a response on that from the minister.
Mr BELL: A point of order, Mr Speaker! If the member for Victoria River wants to ask a question, he should ask it, not make a statement saying that he would like to hear ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have been reasonably lenient with both sides. I call the Minister for the Power and Water.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for his question.
Mr Bailey: He did not ask a question. He asked for a response.
Mr BURKE: I hope the member for Wanguri will hear me out. I have heard that he was such a bad child when he was a kid that, when he was 9 years of age, both his parents ran away from home.
Mr Speaker, I am aware of the member for Barkly's press release and I am interested in it for 2 reasons. It demonstrates, firstly, her eagerness to grab a cheap headline and, secondly, her unwillingness to check the facts. I have mentioned in the Assembly in the past, and also separately to her, that if she purports to be the shadow minister for power and water, she should check the facts. I have nothing to hide. I will explain everything to her and give her a full briefing. If she fails to take up that offer, and continues to make emotive and alarmist statements in the media, that really will not do anyone any good.
I will tell members the facts about the member for Barkly's press release. She claimed that the power generation and distribution facilities have been allowed to run down through poor maintenance and poor planning. Nothing could be further from the truth. If the member bothered to discover the facts, she would be aware that the Darwin, Pine Creek and Katherine power supplies now form an interconnected grid. Power is now generated in the 3 centres with a total capacity of 264 MW. Against this fact, the member for Barkly claimed a 20% growth to 183 MW in the peak load this month over the same period in 1994. That is pure fantasy. If she checked the facts, she would discover that the growth was no more than 8%. If we pursue the honourable member's arguments to their conclusion, she is advocating large incremental growth and generating capacity rather than the structured and more cost-effective strategy being implemented by PAWA at present. Large incremental growth is what is hampering many electricity authorities down south and leading to cost imposts on the community. As an example of the strategy PAWA is pursuing, this year we negotiated an
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upgrading of the privately-owned Pine Creek power station from 15 MW to 24 MW. Much of the new generating capacity is already commissioned, with the work scheduled for completion by December this year.
In relation to the Berrimah generating sets, to which the member for Barkly referred in her press release, these are stand-by units only. In fact, it was the weekly tests of the reliability of these units that exposed the start-up problems. One set was operational again within a day and the second set is expected to be available shortly.
Another fact that the member failed to get right was her claim on radio that the alleged poor maintenance had not been affected by the present union bans. She was wrong again. If she bothered to check the facts, she would know that the union bans have affected the planned maintenance program to the point where, as an example, one Channel Island generating set will now have to wait until after the end of the wet season next year to peak load. I can give her more information and detail, and I make the offer again. I have nothing to hide. If she is really interested in PAWA issues, she might like to check in her own electorate and find out the problems experienced by some of her constituents. I have done that.
I was in Borroloola recently and I met a lady named Mrs Eunice O'Keefe. I went to check the seepage problems with the effluent mound at Garawa camp, an Aboriginal town camp at Borroloola. Mrs Eunice O'Keefe told me that she has had no power for 3 years. She is an Aboriginal Territorian who has been trying to raise a family in Borroloola for 3 years without power. I immediately instructed PAWA that, whatever the problem was, I wanted it fixed. I am pleased to report that Mrs Eunice O'Keefe had power reconnected 2 days ago. PAWA will bear that cost. When you talk about ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr BURKE: That is my first issue with an Aboriginal Territorian.
Mr Bailey: Chequebook politics.
Mr BURKE: And you talk about racism. She is an Aboriginal Territorian ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I remind the member for Wanguri that he has been warned.
Mr BURKE: Mrs Eunice O'Keefe is a constituent of the member for Barkly and she has had no power for 3 years. It is a disgrace. I have also ordered an inspection of other areas in the town camp to identify any other problems there.
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Mr EDE: Mr Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent my moving a motion of censure of the Chief Minister ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have recognised the member for Victoria River.
Mr BALDWIN: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Ede: Mr Speaker, I move the suspension ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have recognised the member for Victoria River, and you may not interrupt until he has had his opportunity.
Mr BALDWIN: Yesterday, I heard on radio ...
Mr Bailey: He writes to us asking us to accept common decency in this place, and does not ...
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Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask the member for Wanguri to withdraw his comment, and I remind him that he has been warned.
Mr BAILEY: Mr Speaker, I withdraw.
Mr BALDWIN: Yesterday, I heard the member for Barkly being interviewed on the ABC's Drive Time program on the radio. She claimed that there are problems with the turbine generating sets at Berrimah. I would like to hear a response on that from the minister.
Mr BELL: A point of order, Mr Speaker! If the member for Victoria River wants to ask a question, he should ask it, not make a statement saying that he would like to hear ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have been reasonably lenient with both sides. I call the Minister for the Power and Water.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for his question.
Mr Bailey: He did not ask a question. He asked for a response.
Mr BURKE: I hope the member for Wanguri will hear me out. I have heard that he was such a bad child when he was a kid that, when he was 9 years of age, both his parents ran away from home.
Mr Speaker, I am aware of the member for Barkly's press release and I am interested in it for 2 reasons. It demonstrates, firstly, her eagerness to grab a cheap headline and, secondly, her unwillingness to check the facts. I have mentioned in the Assembly in the past, and also separately to her, that if she purports to be the shadow minister for power and water, she should check the facts. I have nothing to hide. I will explain everything to her and give her a full briefing. If she fails to take up that offer, and continues to make emotive and alarmist statements in the media, that really will not do anyone any good.
I will tell members the facts about the member for Barkly's press release. She claimed that the power generation and distribution facilities have been allowed to run down through poor maintenance and poor planning. Nothing could be further from the truth. If the member bothered to discover the facts, she would be aware that the Darwin, Pine Creek and Katherine power supplies now form an interconnected grid. Power is now generated in the 3 centres with a total capacity of 264 MW. Against this fact, the member for Barkly claimed a 20% growth to 183 MW in the peak load this month over the same period in 1994. That is pure fantasy. If she checked the facts, she would discover that the growth was no more than 8%. If we pursue the honourable member's arguments to their conclusion, she is advocating large incremental growth and generating capacity rather than the structured and more cost-effective strategy being implemented by PAWA at present. Large incremental growth is what is hampering many electricity authorities down south and leading to cost imposts on the community. As an example of the strategy PAWA is pursuing, this year we negotiated an
Page 834
upgrading of the privately-owned Pine Creek power station from 15 MW to 24 MW. Much of the new generating capacity is already commissioned, with the work scheduled for completion by December this year.
In relation to the Berrimah generating sets, to which the member for Barkly referred in her press release, these are stand-by units only. In fact, it was the weekly tests of the reliability of these units that exposed the start-up problems. One set was operational again within a day and the second set is expected to be available shortly.
Another fact that the member failed to get right was her claim on radio that the alleged poor maintenance had not been affected by the present union bans. She was wrong again. If she bothered to check the facts, she would know that the union bans have affected the planned maintenance program to the point where, as an example, one Channel Island generating set will now have to wait until after the end of the wet season next year to peak load. I can give her more information and detail, and I make the offer again. I have nothing to hide. If she is really interested in PAWA issues, she might like to check in her own electorate and find out the problems experienced by some of her constituents. I have done that.
I was in Borroloola recently and I met a lady named Mrs Eunice O'Keefe. I went to check the seepage problems with the effluent mound at Garawa camp, an Aboriginal town camp at Borroloola. Mrs Eunice O'Keefe told me that she has had no power for 3 years. She is an Aboriginal Territorian who has been trying to raise a family in Borroloola for 3 years without power. I immediately instructed PAWA that, whatever the problem was, I wanted it fixed. I am pleased to report that Mrs Eunice O'Keefe had power reconnected 2 days ago. PAWA will bear that cost. When you talk about ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr BURKE: That is my first issue with an Aboriginal Territorian.
Mr Bailey: Chequebook politics.
Mr BURKE: And you talk about racism. She is an Aboriginal Territorian ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I remind the member for Wanguri that he has been warned.
Mr BURKE: Mrs Eunice O'Keefe is a constituent of the member for Barkly and she has had no power for 3 years. It is a disgrace. I have also ordered an inspection of other areas in the town camp to identify any other problems there.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016