Mr McADAM - 2004-10-05
What are the government priorities for development in the Douglas Daly region, and are you aware of any alternative proposals?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Barkly for his question. Last year, the government established the Daly Region Community Reference Group. At the same time, we said no dams on the Daly and no commercial cotton will grow in the Territory. We will stick by our statement. The Daly Region Community Reference Group is currently formulating a new framework for ecologically sustainable development. We do not want to put added pressure on land and water resources by having broad acreage crops such as cotton. We certainly do not want to repeat the mistakes which have been made in other parts of Australia.
I was surprised and disappointed to hear the member for Daly say: ‘The CLP supports cotton, but do not put it in my electorate, do not put it in Katherine’. I was also very disappointed …
Mr BALDWIN: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The member is actually lying, because I said …
Members interjecting.
Mr BALDWIN: Hear me out, Madam Speaker …
Madam SPEAKER: Rephrase that.
Mr BALDWIN: I said that we would look at cotton in another area of the Northern Territory which is in my electorate.
Members interjecting.
Mr BALDWIN: Yes, it is in my electorate. Get over the Berrimah Line and get out there and have a look. He is misrepresenting me, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: That is a better way of saying it. There is no point of order. Settle down.
Mr Baldwin: Stick to the facts.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly! Come on, let the listeners at least hear something.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The member for Daly still needs to withdraw his allegation that my colleague was lying.
Madam SPEAKER: No, he raised it as a point of order and I ruled there was no point of order.
Mr VATSKALIS: He also said that the area in Katherine is not suitable for cotton - how come then do we have 60 hectares of trial in Katherine and are going to extrapolate the results from the Katherine region to other regions in the Northern Territory and Western Australia?
Members interjecting.
Mr VATSKALIS: We support the trial. We are committed to these trials, and …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, cease for a moment.
Mr Baldwin interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, settle down - and the member for Drysdale.
Members interjecting.
Mr VATSKALIS: Further to the government document, in the title it says CRC Cotton …
A member interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, would you direct your remarks through me?
Mr VATSKALIS: Sorry, Madam Speaker. I am really disappointed with the statement by the other side that they support cotton. I was also very disappointed by the silence from the member for Katherine, who has previously stated clearly in a public forum that she would not support cotton and, while her colleague the member for Daly was stating his full support for cotton, she was silent. She did not put …
Mr Baldwin: Now you are contradicting yourself.
Mr VATSKALIS: Well, I invite her to go back to Katherine and tell the people in Katherine that: ‘I changed my mind. I now support cotton’.
Mr Baldwin: That is not what she said. Good try, Kon, but you have bloody fluffed it, mate.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, withdraw that!
Mr WOOD: I warn people this is a non-federal election question.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson please wait. Member for Daly, would you withdraw that last rude remark?
Mr BALDWIN: I apologise for saying ‘bloody’.
Madam SPEAKER: That is not funny. Just withdraw.
Mr BALDWIN: I withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Barkly for his question. Last year, the government established the Daly Region Community Reference Group. At the same time, we said no dams on the Daly and no commercial cotton will grow in the Territory. We will stick by our statement. The Daly Region Community Reference Group is currently formulating a new framework for ecologically sustainable development. We do not want to put added pressure on land and water resources by having broad acreage crops such as cotton. We certainly do not want to repeat the mistakes which have been made in other parts of Australia.
I was surprised and disappointed to hear the member for Daly say: ‘The CLP supports cotton, but do not put it in my electorate, do not put it in Katherine’. I was also very disappointed …
Mr BALDWIN: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The member is actually lying, because I said …
Members interjecting.
Mr BALDWIN: Hear me out, Madam Speaker …
Madam SPEAKER: Rephrase that.
Mr BALDWIN: I said that we would look at cotton in another area of the Northern Territory which is in my electorate.
Members interjecting.
Mr BALDWIN: Yes, it is in my electorate. Get over the Berrimah Line and get out there and have a look. He is misrepresenting me, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: That is a better way of saying it. There is no point of order. Settle down.
Mr Baldwin: Stick to the facts.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly! Come on, let the listeners at least hear something.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The member for Daly still needs to withdraw his allegation that my colleague was lying.
Madam SPEAKER: No, he raised it as a point of order and I ruled there was no point of order.
Mr VATSKALIS: He also said that the area in Katherine is not suitable for cotton - how come then do we have 60 hectares of trial in Katherine and are going to extrapolate the results from the Katherine region to other regions in the Northern Territory and Western Australia?
Members interjecting.
Mr VATSKALIS: We support the trial. We are committed to these trials, and …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, cease for a moment.
Mr Baldwin interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, settle down - and the member for Drysdale.
Members interjecting.
Mr VATSKALIS: Further to the government document, in the title it says CRC Cotton …
A member interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, would you direct your remarks through me?
Mr VATSKALIS: Sorry, Madam Speaker. I am really disappointed with the statement by the other side that they support cotton. I was also very disappointed by the silence from the member for Katherine, who has previously stated clearly in a public forum that she would not support cotton and, while her colleague the member for Daly was stating his full support for cotton, she was silent. She did not put …
Mr Baldwin: Now you are contradicting yourself.
Mr VATSKALIS: Well, I invite her to go back to Katherine and tell the people in Katherine that: ‘I changed my mind. I now support cotton’.
Mr Baldwin: That is not what she said. Good try, Kon, but you have bloody fluffed it, mate.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, withdraw that!
Mr WOOD: I warn people this is a non-federal election question.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson please wait. Member for Daly, would you withdraw that last rude remark?
Mr BALDWIN: I apologise for saying ‘bloody’.
Madam SPEAKER: That is not funny. Just withdraw.
Mr BALDWIN: I withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016