Mrs HICKEY - 1997-06-17
I refer to the payment of $440 000 for 22 Hispano aircraft cannons and the remarks made by the Chief Minister on 12 June: `I want to know how did they qualify for compensation when it is something you legally cannot have'. I am sure Territorians generally would want to know this too. Will the Minister for Police inform this Assembly and Territorians who received the payment of $440 000 and how he qualified for it?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the story is only about 4 or 5 days old.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: They can interject. There was not a word from the opposition at the time it happened. Make no mistake ...
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr STONE: If the member for Nhulunbuy will be quiet, I will answer the question.
Mr Stirling: Well, don't tell lies.
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, I ask for that to be withdrawn.
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Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member will withdraw the remark.
Mr STIRLING: Mr Speaker, I withdraw.
Mr STONE: Members of the public would be aware that, immediately this matter came to my attention, I expressed grave concern that there were 22 Hispano cannons sitting in a warehouse in Winnellie. My first priority, and the first priority of the police, was to get those cannons out of circulation. I hope we can agree that was the responsible thing to do.
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: If the member for Wanguri would stop interjecting, I will give an answer.
Mr Bailey: You knew about them. You just referred to when you heard about them.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister will resume his seat for a moment. The member for Wanguri will have opportunity to ask further questions if he wishes, but he will not continue to interject in the way that he is doing at the moment or he will find himself in hot water.
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri does not even want to be here, Mr Speaker. That is an interesting story in itself which we will tell during the course of these sittings.
The Hispano cannons were withdrawn from circulation. That was important because we do not want those types of machine guns or weapons of war in our community. The Northern Territory police were subject to some criticism and ridicule for the way that they processed this matter. The reality is that they acted according to the guidelines set down by the federal agency to the point where they sought assistance in valuation from New South Wales and overseas. Furthermore, they notified the federal agency by facsimile as to what had transpired. However, it took the federal agency some 5 or 6 weeks to then amend its guidelines and state that, whereas it had happened already in other jurisdictions, it would no longer pay compensation for those sorts of weapons. In other words, the federal agency had consented to and approved that compensation in other jurisdictions up to that point.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition decided that he would have a go. He claimed in the press that it was terrible of the Minister for Police to attack federal public servants. That is what he said. I did not hear him say one thing about our own Northern Territory police officers who had acted in good faith. They had followed the guidelines set down by the federal agency and found themselves being described as `F Troop'. I condemn that kind of description of our police. They acted ...
Mr Bailey: The buck stopes with you, Shane.
Mr STONE: I ask the member for Wanguri to stop interjecting. I am sure there are people listening to the broadcast who are interested in the answer even if he is not.
The facts are that the Northern Territory police acted entirely within the law and within the guidelines. A subsequent inquiry by the Commissioner of Police demonstrated that they
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had done exactly that. The very fact that the federal agency had been advised and subsequently changed the guidelines demonstrates that it had agreed that it had all been done within the terms and references of the firearms buyback.
How did those firearms come into our community? How did they get here in the first place? I did not hear anyone in the Labor Party standing up and stating that the real issue is how 22 Hispano cannons ended up in a warehouse in Winnellie. There was not a word about that. It demonstrates the level of their concern. The matter has now been referred to the Australian Federal Police and to Customs. The federal government has the responsibility for what comes in and goes out of this country at any port. I want answers. Someone said that these weapons are incapable of being fired. Wrong! They are in pristine condition. They are capable of being fired. They are weapons of mass destruction. The Northern Territory police moved quickly and efficiently to remove them from circulation. Members opposite should be on their feet congratulating the police instead of trying to make political mileage out of it.
I am not prepared to confirm the name of the person for the very simple reason that there is a police inquiry. I do not know how long the member has been shadow spokesman for police. How many times have members opposite been told that we will not name people in this parliament who are the subject of a police inquiry and who, to all intents and purposes, are still innocent people? We will not use parliamentary privilege to name people in the way that members opposite do.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the story is only about 4 or 5 days old.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: They can interject. There was not a word from the opposition at the time it happened. Make no mistake ...
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr STONE: If the member for Nhulunbuy will be quiet, I will answer the question.
Mr Stirling: Well, don't tell lies.
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, I ask for that to be withdrawn.
Page 2149
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member will withdraw the remark.
Mr STIRLING: Mr Speaker, I withdraw.
Mr STONE: Members of the public would be aware that, immediately this matter came to my attention, I expressed grave concern that there were 22 Hispano cannons sitting in a warehouse in Winnellie. My first priority, and the first priority of the police, was to get those cannons out of circulation. I hope we can agree that was the responsible thing to do.
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: If the member for Wanguri would stop interjecting, I will give an answer.
Mr Bailey: You knew about them. You just referred to when you heard about them.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister will resume his seat for a moment. The member for Wanguri will have opportunity to ask further questions if he wishes, but he will not continue to interject in the way that he is doing at the moment or he will find himself in hot water.
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri does not even want to be here, Mr Speaker. That is an interesting story in itself which we will tell during the course of these sittings.
The Hispano cannons were withdrawn from circulation. That was important because we do not want those types of machine guns or weapons of war in our community. The Northern Territory police were subject to some criticism and ridicule for the way that they processed this matter. The reality is that they acted according to the guidelines set down by the federal agency to the point where they sought assistance in valuation from New South Wales and overseas. Furthermore, they notified the federal agency by facsimile as to what had transpired. However, it took the federal agency some 5 or 6 weeks to then amend its guidelines and state that, whereas it had happened already in other jurisdictions, it would no longer pay compensation for those sorts of weapons. In other words, the federal agency had consented to and approved that compensation in other jurisdictions up to that point.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition decided that he would have a go. He claimed in the press that it was terrible of the Minister for Police to attack federal public servants. That is what he said. I did not hear him say one thing about our own Northern Territory police officers who had acted in good faith. They had followed the guidelines set down by the federal agency and found themselves being described as `F Troop'. I condemn that kind of description of our police. They acted ...
Mr Bailey: The buck stopes with you, Shane.
Mr STONE: I ask the member for Wanguri to stop interjecting. I am sure there are people listening to the broadcast who are interested in the answer even if he is not.
The facts are that the Northern Territory police acted entirely within the law and within the guidelines. A subsequent inquiry by the Commissioner of Police demonstrated that they
Page 2150
had done exactly that. The very fact that the federal agency had been advised and subsequently changed the guidelines demonstrates that it had agreed that it had all been done within the terms and references of the firearms buyback.
How did those firearms come into our community? How did they get here in the first place? I did not hear anyone in the Labor Party standing up and stating that the real issue is how 22 Hispano cannons ended up in a warehouse in Winnellie. There was not a word about that. It demonstrates the level of their concern. The matter has now been referred to the Australian Federal Police and to Customs. The federal government has the responsibility for what comes in and goes out of this country at any port. I want answers. Someone said that these weapons are incapable of being fired. Wrong! They are in pristine condition. They are capable of being fired. They are weapons of mass destruction. The Northern Territory police moved quickly and efficiently to remove them from circulation. Members opposite should be on their feet congratulating the police instead of trying to make political mileage out of it.
I am not prepared to confirm the name of the person for the very simple reason that there is a police inquiry. I do not know how long the member has been shadow spokesman for police. How many times have members opposite been told that we will not name people in this parliament who are the subject of a police inquiry and who, to all intents and purposes, are still innocent people? We will not use parliamentary privilege to name people in the way that members opposite do.
Page 2151
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016