Mrs BRAHAM - 1996-11-27
In light of the member for Barkly's complaint to this House last night, does the Chief Minister now intend to meet the Leader of the Opposition's demand that the Northern Territory government pay for the award she personally sponsored at the recent media awards?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, what a doozey this one is! We have interjections about propriety thrown at us from members opposite and we have the Leader of the Opposition telling the media that she was personally sponsoring this award. That is what she said. In fact, she wanted to ensure that she had her name on the necessary documentation, and that was done. My ticket had on it: `Maggie Hickey, Leader of the Opposition, Territory Labor'. I looked at all the other sponsors - the TAB, the Northern Territory government, CREST, the Women's Advisory Council, the Department of Asian Relations, Trade and Industry ...
Members interjecting
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: I could not find `Shane Stone' or `Country Liberal Party' anywhere on the card. If I had personally paid for some of those, I guess I would want to have my name on them. It was not unreasonable that the Leader of the Opposition, if she was personally sponsoring an award, should have her name and `Territory Labor' on the advertising and on the tickets. What Territorians need to know is that she sent me the bill. She wants me to pay
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the $1500 so that she can have `Maggie Hickey, Leader of the Opposition, Territory Labor' on the award.
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr STONE: On behalf of Territory Labor, you want me to pay for your advertising, after you conned certain members of the press gallery into believing that this was a personal award from you. You rose in this Chamber, in the dead of night when there was hardly anyone around. That was the smartest thing you have done ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: You were joined by your deputy. He was interjecting and he claimed that ...
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member cannot reflect on whether members are in or out of the Chamber by implying when members come in and when they leave, and whether they come in at the end or the beginning of the day. The minister came in at the very end of the adjournment debate, after everyone else had left. He cannot reflect on the movements of members into or out of the Chamber.
Mr SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr STONE: One of the interjections last night was that somehow I am supposed to use $10 000 of taxpayers' money for the Chief Minister's Cup at the Darwin Turf Club.
Mr Bailey: Is there such a thing as the Chief Minister's Cup?
Mr STONE: I thought I would have a look at this, particularly since the member for Wanguri was continuing to make this statement. It turns out to be yet another one of the furphies invented by Labor and dropped ...
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: They can um and ah, but Territorians keep catching them out all the time. They do not tell the truth.
Mr Bailey: Tell us about the Chief Minister's Cup.
Mr STONE: The Darwin Turf Club Chief Minister's Cup involves a donation of $1100. There is a whole swag of them.
Mr Bailey: A whole swag of them?
Mr STONE: Be quiet for a minute and I will tell you something. There is the Northern Territory Council of Social Service - that receives $11 200. That is one body which members
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opposite keep interjecting that we give nothing to. That was an extraordinary statement. They said that we do not give NTCOSS anything.
Mr Bailey: That is not an award.
Mr STONE: How about the Orchid Spectacular? The champion prize is $620.
Mr Martin: Out of your pocket?
Mr STONE: I will pick up the interjection from the member for Fannie Bay. I went back over my own cheque butts to determine whether I had ever personally paid for trophies. I have.
Mr Bailey: We all have.
Mr STONE: If that is what the Leader of the Opposition ...
Ms Martin: Yes, but what about Chief Minister's cup?
Mr STONE: The member for Fannie Bay obviously does not understand ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr STONE: If the member for Arnhem does not be quiet, he will cop it too. The member for Fannie Bay does not understand the difference between providing an award that is a Northern Territory government award, and even calling it `the Chief Minister's Award', as opposed to `Maggie Hickey, Leader of the Opposition, Territory Labor'. There is a big difference because, when the cup is presented, it is not announced as the `CLP Chief Minister's Cup'. When the award is handed out for the Alice Springs Chief Minister's Cup, it is not the `Shane Stone Cup'. However, here we have `Maggie Hickey, Leader of the Opposition, Territory Labor' - and she sent me the bill. I could not get over the gall of it. She is expecting Territory taxpayers to pay for some advertising for Territory Labor.
Mrs Hickey: No. That is untrue.
Mr STONE: Do not talk to me about propriety. I heard what you said to the journalists. You told them that you, Maggie Hickey, were personally sponsoring this award. What you did not tell them was that Shane Stone was paying.
Mrs Hickey: But you are not.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, what a doozey this one is! We have interjections about propriety thrown at us from members opposite and we have the Leader of the Opposition telling the media that she was personally sponsoring this award. That is what she said. In fact, she wanted to ensure that she had her name on the necessary documentation, and that was done. My ticket had on it: `Maggie Hickey, Leader of the Opposition, Territory Labor'. I looked at all the other sponsors - the TAB, the Northern Territory government, CREST, the Women's Advisory Council, the Department of Asian Relations, Trade and Industry ...
Members interjecting
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: I could not find `Shane Stone' or `Country Liberal Party' anywhere on the card. If I had personally paid for some of those, I guess I would want to have my name on them. It was not unreasonable that the Leader of the Opposition, if she was personally sponsoring an award, should have her name and `Territory Labor' on the advertising and on the tickets. What Territorians need to know is that she sent me the bill. She wants me to pay
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the $1500 so that she can have `Maggie Hickey, Leader of the Opposition, Territory Labor' on the award.
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr STONE: On behalf of Territory Labor, you want me to pay for your advertising, after you conned certain members of the press gallery into believing that this was a personal award from you. You rose in this Chamber, in the dead of night when there was hardly anyone around. That was the smartest thing you have done ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: You were joined by your deputy. He was interjecting and he claimed that ...
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member cannot reflect on whether members are in or out of the Chamber by implying when members come in and when they leave, and whether they come in at the end or the beginning of the day. The minister came in at the very end of the adjournment debate, after everyone else had left. He cannot reflect on the movements of members into or out of the Chamber.
Mr SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr STONE: One of the interjections last night was that somehow I am supposed to use $10 000 of taxpayers' money for the Chief Minister's Cup at the Darwin Turf Club.
Mr Bailey: Is there such a thing as the Chief Minister's Cup?
Mr STONE: I thought I would have a look at this, particularly since the member for Wanguri was continuing to make this statement. It turns out to be yet another one of the furphies invented by Labor and dropped ...
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: They can um and ah, but Territorians keep catching them out all the time. They do not tell the truth.
Mr Bailey: Tell us about the Chief Minister's Cup.
Mr STONE: The Darwin Turf Club Chief Minister's Cup involves a donation of $1100. There is a whole swag of them.
Mr Bailey: A whole swag of them?
Mr STONE: Be quiet for a minute and I will tell you something. There is the Northern Territory Council of Social Service - that receives $11 200. That is one body which members
Page 1841
opposite keep interjecting that we give nothing to. That was an extraordinary statement. They said that we do not give NTCOSS anything.
Mr Bailey: That is not an award.
Mr STONE: How about the Orchid Spectacular? The champion prize is $620.
Mr Martin: Out of your pocket?
Mr STONE: I will pick up the interjection from the member for Fannie Bay. I went back over my own cheque butts to determine whether I had ever personally paid for trophies. I have.
Mr Bailey: We all have.
Mr STONE: If that is what the Leader of the Opposition ...
Ms Martin: Yes, but what about Chief Minister's cup?
Mr STONE: The member for Fannie Bay obviously does not understand ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr STONE: If the member for Arnhem does not be quiet, he will cop it too. The member for Fannie Bay does not understand the difference between providing an award that is a Northern Territory government award, and even calling it `the Chief Minister's Award', as opposed to `Maggie Hickey, Leader of the Opposition, Territory Labor'. There is a big difference because, when the cup is presented, it is not announced as the `CLP Chief Minister's Cup'. When the award is handed out for the Alice Springs Chief Minister's Cup, it is not the `Shane Stone Cup'. However, here we have `Maggie Hickey, Leader of the Opposition, Territory Labor' - and she sent me the bill. I could not get over the gall of it. She is expecting Territory taxpayers to pay for some advertising for Territory Labor.
Mrs Hickey: No. That is untrue.
Mr STONE: Do not talk to me about propriety. I heard what you said to the journalists. You told them that you, Maggie Hickey, were personally sponsoring this award. What you did not tell them was that Shane Stone was paying.
Mrs Hickey: But you are not.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016