Mr BURKE - 1994-11-23
In January, the Territory branch of the Australian Labor Party announced that it would ask the Keating government to return control of Kakadu and Uluru National Parks to the Northern Territory. I refer the minister to a comment piece by John Loizou in the Sunday Territorian of 30 October 1994 which revealed that the Leader of the Opposition was rebuffed by the Territory's federal member, Hon Warren Snowdon. Should the Territory branch of the ALP bother renewing its national affiliation when its leader cannot even represent the interests of Territorians without being rebuffed by his southern masters?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am aware of the article to which the member refers. It is a different view of the Rock, and it contains many matters that tell us exactly the way in which the opposition's side of politics actually works. On 3 January 1994, the Leader of the Opposition said that he would lead the charge to have Kakadu and Uluru brought back under the Northern Territory's umbrella. He even said he would seek a multimillion dollar package from the federal government to run the parks. Members may recall that there was an election in the air. In his Sunday Territorian pronouncements, John Loizou informed the public that, soon after making the announcement - and perhaps the Leader of the Opposition could inform members how soon after the announcement - the federal member telephoned him and said: 'This proposal is not federal Labor Party policy'. That series of events led to 2 important points which all of us should note. First, the Leader of the Opposition went on to deceive Territorians at the polls, claiming a Labor Territory government would regain control of Kakadu and Uluru. He knew that he did not have any support for the proposal, but he and his tourism spokesman walked around the Territory, telling anybody who wanted to stand still long enough that an Ede government would gain control of Kakadu and Uluru.
Mr Ede: That is right.
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Mr COULTER: The second matter that all Territorians should note is the high standing of the Leader of the Opposition with his Canberra-based colleagues. The parliamentary leader of a state party was telephoned by a federal member and told to shut up because the issue would not be ...
Mr Ede: You are wrong.
Mr COULTER: ... resolved and was not federal party policy. It is as simple as that. That is what it said. Warren got on the telephone and said: 'Brian, shut your mouth!' That is how much standing he has in Territory politics ...
Mr Ede: You are wrong.
Mr COULTER: ... and in federal politics. It says here that I am right.
Members interjecting.
Mr COULTER: When did he telephone you? Did he telephone you?
Mr Ede: No.
Mr COULTER: He did not telephone you. So John Loizou got it wrong? The story is, of course ...
Mr Ede: That is all it is.
Mr COULTER: ... that the Leader of the Opposition simply could not deliver what he claimed.
The federal government is happy to manage the park at a time when we have demonstrated to the federal Minister for the Environment, Senator John Faulkner, that visitor numbers to Kakadu have declined since the introduction of fees. I asked Senator Faulkner that any further increases in fees be suspended until hard statistics on visitor numbers to Kakadu and a variety of other Territory-operated parks could be examined. The minister declined to suspend any increase in park fees, and they will now rise from $10 to $15 an adult. If one visits any of the world's great parks, such as Yellowstone in the United States, the cost is $5 or $10 a car - and they have long cars over there. In the Territory, the cost will be $15 an adult. That is an absolute disgrace, and the Leader of the Opposition knows it. The federal government justified the rise by saying that it had intended to introduce it in October 1994 but now will introduce it in May 1995, and everything will be all right because it has stalled it for 6 months. That will not help Kakadu. It is an outrageous fee. It is far too high and it should be dropped.
Mr Ede: You have failed to fix it over the last 20 years.
Mr COULTER: You are on their side. They are your colleagues. It is your party! You are a branch of their party. You are in this as much as they are.
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For the benefit of members, I would like to quote some of the information that we have obtained from surveys through the Territory Tourism Monitor. The kind of question we ask visitors to various destinations is whether their experience was above or below their expectations. The Territory Tourism Monitor summed it up by stating: 'The entrance fees to Kakadu National Park are a bit expensive'. That is before the increase to $15. It gave the example of the United States where the entrance fees to national parks are between $5 and $10 a car.
The Leader of the Opposition has absolutely no chance and is denying now what John Loizou wrote in the press - that, in fact, Warren Snowdon telephoned him.
Mr Ede: I had a far better chance than you did. You have demonstrated your failure.
Mr COULTER: Our failure is that we have 220 000 people visiting Litchfield National Park now and that figure is rising. We really do not know how many people are visiting Kakadu. Litchfield is becoming a far more popular park than Kakadu. If that is failure, then I will have a little more of it. We do have a problem. It is your party policy ...
Mr Ede: It is your problem.
Mr COULTER: Do you intend simply to walk away from it now? If you are still here at the time of the next election, we will recall your words: 'Don't worry, I have the answer. I will get the park back'. Wozza will get on the telephone and say: 'Shut your mouth again, Brian'. We will then be back to normal again. You are a failure. You failed totally in what you set out to do, and you should be condemned for it. Somebody should ask you whether or not Wozza did telephone you and tell you to shut up.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am aware of the article to which the member refers. It is a different view of the Rock, and it contains many matters that tell us exactly the way in which the opposition's side of politics actually works. On 3 January 1994, the Leader of the Opposition said that he would lead the charge to have Kakadu and Uluru brought back under the Northern Territory's umbrella. He even said he would seek a multimillion dollar package from the federal government to run the parks. Members may recall that there was an election in the air. In his Sunday Territorian pronouncements, John Loizou informed the public that, soon after making the announcement - and perhaps the Leader of the Opposition could inform members how soon after the announcement - the federal member telephoned him and said: 'This proposal is not federal Labor Party policy'. That series of events led to 2 important points which all of us should note. First, the Leader of the Opposition went on to deceive Territorians at the polls, claiming a Labor Territory government would regain control of Kakadu and Uluru. He knew that he did not have any support for the proposal, but he and his tourism spokesman walked around the Territory, telling anybody who wanted to stand still long enough that an Ede government would gain control of Kakadu and Uluru.
Mr Ede: That is right.
Page 294
Mr COULTER: The second matter that all Territorians should note is the high standing of the Leader of the Opposition with his Canberra-based colleagues. The parliamentary leader of a state party was telephoned by a federal member and told to shut up because the issue would not be ...
Mr Ede: You are wrong.
Mr COULTER: ... resolved and was not federal party policy. It is as simple as that. That is what it said. Warren got on the telephone and said: 'Brian, shut your mouth!' That is how much standing he has in Territory politics ...
Mr Ede: You are wrong.
Mr COULTER: ... and in federal politics. It says here that I am right.
Members interjecting.
Mr COULTER: When did he telephone you? Did he telephone you?
Mr Ede: No.
Mr COULTER: He did not telephone you. So John Loizou got it wrong? The story is, of course ...
Mr Ede: That is all it is.
Mr COULTER: ... that the Leader of the Opposition simply could not deliver what he claimed.
The federal government is happy to manage the park at a time when we have demonstrated to the federal Minister for the Environment, Senator John Faulkner, that visitor numbers to Kakadu have declined since the introduction of fees. I asked Senator Faulkner that any further increases in fees be suspended until hard statistics on visitor numbers to Kakadu and a variety of other Territory-operated parks could be examined. The minister declined to suspend any increase in park fees, and they will now rise from $10 to $15 an adult. If one visits any of the world's great parks, such as Yellowstone in the United States, the cost is $5 or $10 a car - and they have long cars over there. In the Territory, the cost will be $15 an adult. That is an absolute disgrace, and the Leader of the Opposition knows it. The federal government justified the rise by saying that it had intended to introduce it in October 1994 but now will introduce it in May 1995, and everything will be all right because it has stalled it for 6 months. That will not help Kakadu. It is an outrageous fee. It is far too high and it should be dropped.
Mr Ede: You have failed to fix it over the last 20 years.
Mr COULTER: You are on their side. They are your colleagues. It is your party! You are a branch of their party. You are in this as much as they are.
Page 295
For the benefit of members, I would like to quote some of the information that we have obtained from surveys through the Territory Tourism Monitor. The kind of question we ask visitors to various destinations is whether their experience was above or below their expectations. The Territory Tourism Monitor summed it up by stating: 'The entrance fees to Kakadu National Park are a bit expensive'. That is before the increase to $15. It gave the example of the United States where the entrance fees to national parks are between $5 and $10 a car.
The Leader of the Opposition has absolutely no chance and is denying now what John Loizou wrote in the press - that, in fact, Warren Snowdon telephoned him.
Mr Ede: I had a far better chance than you did. You have demonstrated your failure.
Mr COULTER: Our failure is that we have 220 000 people visiting Litchfield National Park now and that figure is rising. We really do not know how many people are visiting Kakadu. Litchfield is becoming a far more popular park than Kakadu. If that is failure, then I will have a little more of it. We do have a problem. It is your party policy ...
Mr Ede: It is your problem.
Mr COULTER: Do you intend simply to walk away from it now? If you are still here at the time of the next election, we will recall your words: 'Don't worry, I have the answer. I will get the park back'. Wozza will get on the telephone and say: 'Shut your mouth again, Brian'. We will then be back to normal again. You are a failure. You failed totally in what you set out to do, and you should be condemned for it. Somebody should ask you whether or not Wozza did telephone you and tell you to shut up.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016