Mr EDE - 1996-02-28
For the benefit of members who believe in truth and honesty, I am sure they will be interested to note that anti-teacher advertising bearing the logo `Northern Territory Government' is so misleading that it is now the subject of investigation by the Advertising Standards Council of Australia.
Mr Speaker, I seek leave to a table copies of those advertisements.
Leave granted.
Mr EDE: Mr Speaker, from a letter I have received from the council, I can confirm that the council's chairman, a former judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Hon Paul B. Toose CBE, QC, has examined the complaint and instructed that the matter be determined by the council.
Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table a copy of that letter also.
Leave granted.
Mr EDE: Will the Chief Minister agree to suspend these misleading anti-teacher advertisements while the Advertising Standards Council completes its determination? If the advertisements are found to be in breach of the standards, will the Chief Minister agree to retract publicly the claims made in the advertisements?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition used a couple of critical words. He asked if we believe in truth and honesty. We have really to turn the question back on him, because we have an example of push-polling by the ALP in the rural electorates.
Mr EDE: A point of order, Mr Speaker!
Mr Stone: You do not want to hear about this, do you? Truth and honesty!
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr EDE: Mr Speaker, it is quite appropriate for the Chief Minister to have one of his numerous backbenchers ask a question in relation to that matter by way of a dorothy dixer and for him to answer in that vein. It is not appropriate for him to decide to answer my question by bringing in a matter that has nothing at all to do with the issue my question referred to.
Mr SPEAKER: I believe the Chief Minister has yet to show whether this has any relevance to the question. I am prepared to hear the Chief Minister demonstrate the relevance.
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Mr STONE: In fact, he prefaced his question by asking if I believed in truth and honesty.
Mr Ede: No, I did not.
Mr STONE: Yes, you did. Those were your words.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: It is like the member for Nhulunbuy who says: `I did not say it. I did not say that teachers should not go out on strike'. He then walked in here and said that the media `got it wrong'. They are a bunch of mugs.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: I wrote down the words as he said them. He asked whether I believe in truth and honesty.
Mr Ede: That is an outright lie.
Mr STONE: I come back to you and ask why you are peddling this type of pamphlet among the Aboriginal communities - a pamphlet that says Labor will keep sacred sites laws strong, but the CLP will take away Aboriginal power over sacred sites. Are you nodding that you agree that that is the case? Your own colleague in Canberra, Robert Tickner, had this to say: `In the case of the Northern Territory, I must say that I have a high regard for the way the system generally works. Not all Aboriginal people share my view, but I think it is pretty good on the whole'. That was said to the Ministerial Council on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs in Sydney on 3 November 1994.
Mr EDE: A point of order, Mr Speaker! It is not in order for the Chief Minister to misquote my question and then turn around and make his own answer. I asked a question relating to 2 documents that I tabled. I directed a very specific question to him as to whether he would agree to suspend those advertisements until such time as the standards council had made its determination and whether, if the determination found that they were misleading, he would apologise. It was a very clear question but he has not come within cooee of its substance.
Mr SPEAKER: As I have ruled on a number of occasions in the past, I am not in a position to force any minister to answer a question in the way that suits the questioner. The Chief Minister has an opportunity to answer the questions that you have asked and he has scope in the way he chooses to do so.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: You used the words: `Do you believe in truth and honesty?'
Mr Ede: I did not. I said: `For the benefit of those members who believe in truth and honesty ...'
Page 1228
Mr STONE: I realise this is pretty uncomfortable for you. Let me add to your discomfort. Perhaps we will be lodging the same complaint in relation to this disgusting example of push-polling whereby the ALP is trying to mislead Aboriginal people by telling them lies, making misrepresentations ...
Mr Ede You reckon that is a lie?
Mr STONE: Will you withdraw the pamphlet in the event that we make a similar complaint? You come in here and cry your crocodile tears.
Mr Stirling: You call that push-polling?
Mr STONE: You must be really hurting. We have the member for Nhulunbuy who tries to ...
Mr EDE: A point of order, Mr Speaker! Standing order 113 is very short and very simple: `An answer shall be relevant to the question'. We have heard absolutely nothing of relevance to date in relation to my question. I ask the Chief Minister to provide an answer that is related to the question.
Mr SPEAKER: As I see it, there is a fairly broad scope. It must be relevant to the question. The relevance in this instance is that the Chief Minister is attempting to tie an advertisement from the Labor Party to the type of advertisement that the Leader of the Opposition is claiming has been issued by the Country Liberal Party. The answer must be relevant to the question and that leaves a fairly broad scope in my view.
Mr Stone: It was not issued by the Country Liberal Party.
Mr SPEAKER: Issued by the government.
Mr STONE: This is interesting, Mr Speaker. We now have a copy of the letter that the Leader of the Opposition tabled. I note that he was very careful not to read the letter and now I understand why. It is inherent in the correspondence from a Mr Colin Harcourt, the executive director, that they make no demand that the advertisement be withdrawn. In fact, what they say is: `You are requested ...
Mr Ede interjecting.
Mr STONE: You did not read this bit out, did you?
Mr Ede: I tabled it.
Mr STONE: I can see why you did not read this bit out. You talk about truth and honesty! You flop out a couple of letters. Why didn't you make this available to us before? What are you trying to hide? Why won't you be open with Territorians?
Members interjecting.
Page 1229
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: It reads: `You are requested to forward to council within 7 days of today's date your comments on and response to the complaint for council's consideration when it determines the matter. A similar request has been made of your agency'. There is no demand that the advertisement be withdrawn. There is not even a suggestion that the Advertising Standards Council has formed a view on it. He did not read that bit out, did he? He came in here and tabled the letter, hoping that we would be unable to obtain a copy. He comes in here and talks about truth and honesty! This is the very same person who issues these types of flyers that tell blatant lies to Aboriginal Territorians. He expects me to accede to his request which is beyond that which the Advertising Standards Council has asked for. The advertisement will not be withdrawn.
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Mr Speaker, I seek leave to a table copies of those advertisements.
Leave granted.
Mr EDE: Mr Speaker, from a letter I have received from the council, I can confirm that the council's chairman, a former judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Hon Paul B. Toose CBE, QC, has examined the complaint and instructed that the matter be determined by the council.
Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table a copy of that letter also.
Leave granted.
Mr EDE: Will the Chief Minister agree to suspend these misleading anti-teacher advertisements while the Advertising Standards Council completes its determination? If the advertisements are found to be in breach of the standards, will the Chief Minister agree to retract publicly the claims made in the advertisements?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition used a couple of critical words. He asked if we believe in truth and honesty. We have really to turn the question back on him, because we have an example of push-polling by the ALP in the rural electorates.
Mr EDE: A point of order, Mr Speaker!
Mr Stone: You do not want to hear about this, do you? Truth and honesty!
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr EDE: Mr Speaker, it is quite appropriate for the Chief Minister to have one of his numerous backbenchers ask a question in relation to that matter by way of a dorothy dixer and for him to answer in that vein. It is not appropriate for him to decide to answer my question by bringing in a matter that has nothing at all to do with the issue my question referred to.
Mr SPEAKER: I believe the Chief Minister has yet to show whether this has any relevance to the question. I am prepared to hear the Chief Minister demonstrate the relevance.
Page 1227
Mr STONE: In fact, he prefaced his question by asking if I believed in truth and honesty.
Mr Ede: No, I did not.
Mr STONE: Yes, you did. Those were your words.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: It is like the member for Nhulunbuy who says: `I did not say it. I did not say that teachers should not go out on strike'. He then walked in here and said that the media `got it wrong'. They are a bunch of mugs.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: I wrote down the words as he said them. He asked whether I believe in truth and honesty.
Mr Ede: That is an outright lie.
Mr STONE: I come back to you and ask why you are peddling this type of pamphlet among the Aboriginal communities - a pamphlet that says Labor will keep sacred sites laws strong, but the CLP will take away Aboriginal power over sacred sites. Are you nodding that you agree that that is the case? Your own colleague in Canberra, Robert Tickner, had this to say: `In the case of the Northern Territory, I must say that I have a high regard for the way the system generally works. Not all Aboriginal people share my view, but I think it is pretty good on the whole'. That was said to the Ministerial Council on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs in Sydney on 3 November 1994.
Mr EDE: A point of order, Mr Speaker! It is not in order for the Chief Minister to misquote my question and then turn around and make his own answer. I asked a question relating to 2 documents that I tabled. I directed a very specific question to him as to whether he would agree to suspend those advertisements until such time as the standards council had made its determination and whether, if the determination found that they were misleading, he would apologise. It was a very clear question but he has not come within cooee of its substance.
Mr SPEAKER: As I have ruled on a number of occasions in the past, I am not in a position to force any minister to answer a question in the way that suits the questioner. The Chief Minister has an opportunity to answer the questions that you have asked and he has scope in the way he chooses to do so.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: You used the words: `Do you believe in truth and honesty?'
Mr Ede: I did not. I said: `For the benefit of those members who believe in truth and honesty ...'
Page 1228
Mr STONE: I realise this is pretty uncomfortable for you. Let me add to your discomfort. Perhaps we will be lodging the same complaint in relation to this disgusting example of push-polling whereby the ALP is trying to mislead Aboriginal people by telling them lies, making misrepresentations ...
Mr Ede You reckon that is a lie?
Mr STONE: Will you withdraw the pamphlet in the event that we make a similar complaint? You come in here and cry your crocodile tears.
Mr Stirling: You call that push-polling?
Mr STONE: You must be really hurting. We have the member for Nhulunbuy who tries to ...
Mr EDE: A point of order, Mr Speaker! Standing order 113 is very short and very simple: `An answer shall be relevant to the question'. We have heard absolutely nothing of relevance to date in relation to my question. I ask the Chief Minister to provide an answer that is related to the question.
Mr SPEAKER: As I see it, there is a fairly broad scope. It must be relevant to the question. The relevance in this instance is that the Chief Minister is attempting to tie an advertisement from the Labor Party to the type of advertisement that the Leader of the Opposition is claiming has been issued by the Country Liberal Party. The answer must be relevant to the question and that leaves a fairly broad scope in my view.
Mr Stone: It was not issued by the Country Liberal Party.
Mr SPEAKER: Issued by the government.
Mr STONE: This is interesting, Mr Speaker. We now have a copy of the letter that the Leader of the Opposition tabled. I note that he was very careful not to read the letter and now I understand why. It is inherent in the correspondence from a Mr Colin Harcourt, the executive director, that they make no demand that the advertisement be withdrawn. In fact, what they say is: `You are requested ...
Mr Ede interjecting.
Mr STONE: You did not read this bit out, did you?
Mr Ede: I tabled it.
Mr STONE: I can see why you did not read this bit out. You talk about truth and honesty! You flop out a couple of letters. Why didn't you make this available to us before? What are you trying to hide? Why won't you be open with Territorians?
Members interjecting.
Page 1229
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: It reads: `You are requested to forward to council within 7 days of today's date your comments on and response to the complaint for council's consideration when it determines the matter. A similar request has been made of your agency'. There is no demand that the advertisement be withdrawn. There is not even a suggestion that the Advertising Standards Council has formed a view on it. He did not read that bit out, did he? He came in here and tabled the letter, hoping that we would be unable to obtain a copy. He comes in here and talks about truth and honesty! This is the very same person who issues these types of flyers that tell blatant lies to Aboriginal Territorians. He expects me to accede to his request which is beyond that which the Advertising Standards Council has asked for. The advertisement will not be withdrawn.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016