Ms CARNEY - 2001-10-17
If the government is to be believed in its claim that the current capital works program is to be honoured, can the minister explain why there has been no progress on constructing a new low-security facility at the Berrimah Prison? For the minister’s information, when the tender process initiated by the previous government closed on 22 August, the new government had received 12 offers to construct this facility. I seek leave to table this document showing that there were 12 offers.
Leave granted.
Ms CARNEY: When will this government get on with this project and create jobs for Territorians?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is a classic example of what I was alluding to earlier in my answers. The previous government put projects on the program but did not allocate any cash to those projects. We have a situation here, might I tell the member for Araluen, that there has been no cash allocated for that building project. They - your colleagues - are the culprits to blame for that, because they were in government. They put it on there, like many other projects, and did not allocate the cash alongside those programs. That is why we have this predicament we are in. They continually promised Territorians projects, big and small …
Mr REED: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Government cannot tender jobs unless the money is ready to be spent. The money was ready to be spent because the item was tendered, and the question was, ‘When will the tender, which is now closed, be announced’?
Madam SPEAKER: The minister is answering the question as well as he can. There is no point of order. Minister, please address the question.
Mr Burke: Are you going to say your are not going to do it now?
Mr Reed: The money had to be there, it could be tendered. That is fraud on behalf of government.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr AH KIT: That is a bit rich coming from the ex-Treasurer, aided by some of his ex-Cabinet colleagues, in that this is fraud. This is not about fraud, this is about having an open, honest, accountable government for Territorians. That is what our election promises were about, that is what Territorians went to the polls about, and that is why Territorians brought a change about, because they have had enough of your arrogance and your fiddling with the cooking of the books.
Let me return to responding to the question about the capital works program. We have had a commitment by a Chief Minister, we have had an election promise. When the capital works projects have been approved, they will be delivered on, where the cash has been allocated for those projects, big or small. That is the commitment that we have - where the cash has been allocated to the program. We cannot continue to run up with the credit card.
One of the projects we have on the capital works budget is the Girraween Primary School, which is well underway …
Mr Burke: We did all that.
Mr AH KIT: ‘We did all that’. Of course, you did it all. You did the mess - you went with the Bankcard, the debts. Your continual promises …
Mr Burke: We let a tender and then we got a contractor and we started building it.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Come on, there is too much backchat across the Chamber. The minister is on his feet, let him speak.
Mr AH KIT: Obviously, the Leader of the Opposition knows it all, because he did not take up the briefing about the financial concerns that our government is burdened with.
It is important for business and industry to be reassured that the government will honour our commitments. It is also important to recognise that the overall economy is down for a range of reasons, but the government has indicated it wishes to remain fiscally responsible, and seek to move its efforts across the financial cycle. The financial mess the previous CLP government left the Territory Treasury in needs to be addressed. We are considering every avenue to responsibly expand the funding for capital works in the current economic climate.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Before we continue, there is a little too much backchat across from this side and that side, so shall we please control yourselves a little.
Leave granted.
Ms CARNEY: When will this government get on with this project and create jobs for Territorians?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is a classic example of what I was alluding to earlier in my answers. The previous government put projects on the program but did not allocate any cash to those projects. We have a situation here, might I tell the member for Araluen, that there has been no cash allocated for that building project. They - your colleagues - are the culprits to blame for that, because they were in government. They put it on there, like many other projects, and did not allocate the cash alongside those programs. That is why we have this predicament we are in. They continually promised Territorians projects, big and small …
Mr REED: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Government cannot tender jobs unless the money is ready to be spent. The money was ready to be spent because the item was tendered, and the question was, ‘When will the tender, which is now closed, be announced’?
Madam SPEAKER: The minister is answering the question as well as he can. There is no point of order. Minister, please address the question.
Mr Burke: Are you going to say your are not going to do it now?
Mr Reed: The money had to be there, it could be tendered. That is fraud on behalf of government.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr AH KIT: That is a bit rich coming from the ex-Treasurer, aided by some of his ex-Cabinet colleagues, in that this is fraud. This is not about fraud, this is about having an open, honest, accountable government for Territorians. That is what our election promises were about, that is what Territorians went to the polls about, and that is why Territorians brought a change about, because they have had enough of your arrogance and your fiddling with the cooking of the books.
Let me return to responding to the question about the capital works program. We have had a commitment by a Chief Minister, we have had an election promise. When the capital works projects have been approved, they will be delivered on, where the cash has been allocated for those projects, big or small. That is the commitment that we have - where the cash has been allocated to the program. We cannot continue to run up with the credit card.
One of the projects we have on the capital works budget is the Girraween Primary School, which is well underway …
Mr Burke: We did all that.
Mr AH KIT: ‘We did all that’. Of course, you did it all. You did the mess - you went with the Bankcard, the debts. Your continual promises …
Mr Burke: We let a tender and then we got a contractor and we started building it.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Come on, there is too much backchat across the Chamber. The minister is on his feet, let him speak.
Mr AH KIT: Obviously, the Leader of the Opposition knows it all, because he did not take up the briefing about the financial concerns that our government is burdened with.
It is important for business and industry to be reassured that the government will honour our commitments. It is also important to recognise that the overall economy is down for a range of reasons, but the government has indicated it wishes to remain fiscally responsible, and seek to move its efforts across the financial cycle. The financial mess the previous CLP government left the Territory Treasury in needs to be addressed. We are considering every avenue to responsibly expand the funding for capital works in the current economic climate.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Before we continue, there is a little too much backchat across from this side and that side, so shall we please control yourselves a little.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016