Mr SETTER - 1995-05-23
In January 1993, the Northern Territory's 2 federal Labor members, Hon Warren Snowdon and Senator Bob Collins, trumpeted that they would have a $25m Asian economic institute built in Darwin. Can the minister confirm the rumour that the federal government has now scrapped the idea of this particular institute?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition attempts to savage the Treasurer over the Northern Territory budget, but we have yet to hear a single word on the federal budget that has been delivered ...
Mr Ede: He said that it was okay. Barry Coulter said that it was ...
Mr STONE: ... a budget that Australians do not even believe in. There it was - the great, heralded announcement of an Asian trade institute. The federal government even spent $1m on the prefeasibility studies and said that it was a great idea for engagement with Asia. Away we went. It went as far as to appoint a chairman, a former senior executive of BHP. It said that it would spend $25m, but then came the whisper - `over the next 5 years'. It is reminiscent, of what Hon Carmen Lawrence had to say about expenditure on Aboriginal health across all of Australia. If I recall correctly what the Minister for Health and Community Services had to say, that was $103m - over 4 years. In this instance, we have been given a $25m commitment - over 5 years - except that $4m was spent on top of the $1m, and then what happened? The project disappeared.
Despite all their talk about engagement with Asia, and putting these kind of facilities into the northern part of Australia, the Leader of the Opposition's colleagues in Canberra have failed miserably, and he has said nothing about it. He has said not a word. That is the problem with Territory Labor. It does not stand up for Territorians. Whenever any bad news comes out of Canberra, all members opposite do is run around and make apologies for people like Snowdon and Collins. It is really time they stood up for Territorians.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition attempts to savage the Treasurer over the Northern Territory budget, but we have yet to hear a single word on the federal budget that has been delivered ...
Mr Ede: He said that it was okay. Barry Coulter said that it was ...
Mr STONE: ... a budget that Australians do not even believe in. There it was - the great, heralded announcement of an Asian trade institute. The federal government even spent $1m on the prefeasibility studies and said that it was a great idea for engagement with Asia. Away we went. It went as far as to appoint a chairman, a former senior executive of BHP. It said that it would spend $25m, but then came the whisper - `over the next 5 years'. It is reminiscent, of what Hon Carmen Lawrence had to say about expenditure on Aboriginal health across all of Australia. If I recall correctly what the Minister for Health and Community Services had to say, that was $103m - over 4 years. In this instance, we have been given a $25m commitment - over 5 years - except that $4m was spent on top of the $1m, and then what happened? The project disappeared.
Despite all their talk about engagement with Asia, and putting these kind of facilities into the northern part of Australia, the Leader of the Opposition's colleagues in Canberra have failed miserably, and he has said nothing about it. He has said not a word. That is the problem with Territory Labor. It does not stand up for Territorians. Whenever any bad news comes out of Canberra, all members opposite do is run around and make apologies for people like Snowdon and Collins. It is really time they stood up for Territorians.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016