Mr EDE - 1995-08-15
There is a very disturbing report in today's NT News. It refers to allegations of interference in the electoral processes of the Northern Territory. The Chief Minister is aware that amendments to the Northern Territory's electoral legislation are scheduled for debate during these sittings. Will the Chief Minister give an undertaking to the House to defer consideration of the Northern Territory Electoral Bill until these allegations have been fully investigated and debated in this Assembly?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the simple answer is no. As I understood it ...
Mr Ede: They are very serious allegations.
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Mr STONE: You have just walked right into something, and that surprises me given the amount of time that you have been in this Chamber. That you would somehow suggest that a properly-elected member of this Legislative Assembly would not be at liberty to write to a minister or the Chief Minister on an issue that he felt was of concern ...
Mr Ede: That is not the point. It is what the public servants did with it.
Mr STONE: Will you allow me to finish? What you have just put is very serious.
Mr Ede: Too right!
Mr STONE: What you have just put is that we should have an investigation whenever a member of the Legislative Assembly communicates with the Chief Minister or a minister. I am appalled by that ...
Mr Ede: No. Who said that?
Mr STONE: You just said it.
Mr Ede: Garbage!
Mr STONE: You want to have an inquiry because a member of this Chamber wrote to my predecessor on a matter that was of concern to the member.
Mr Ede: Wrong! When did I say that?
Mr STONE: You just said that then. Your question referred to a newspaper report. I gather that we are talking about the same ...
Mr Ede: You are an outrageous liar!
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, I take exception to the interjection that I am an outrageous liar, and I ask the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw it.
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw the remark.
Mr EDE: Mr Speaker, I will obtain the daily Hansard but, in the meantime, I will certainly withdraw that.
Mr SPEAKER: The Chief Minister.
Mr Ede: I will ram the daily Hansard record down your throat.
Mr STONE: The Leader of the Opposition can give us as many copies of the daily Hansard as he wishes to, but that sort of talk in this Chamber is quite unbecoming given the position he holds.
Mr Ede: Your disregard for the truth ...
Page 696
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, the simple answer to his question is no. The Northern Territory Electoral Bill will proceed. He will have ample opportunity, as will other opposition members in the second-reading debate and in the committee stage, to raise his concerns to test whether they are real. He will have the opportunity to put them to the Assembly in a free, frank and open way.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the simple answer is no. As I understood it ...
Mr Ede: They are very serious allegations.
Page 695
Mr STONE: You have just walked right into something, and that surprises me given the amount of time that you have been in this Chamber. That you would somehow suggest that a properly-elected member of this Legislative Assembly would not be at liberty to write to a minister or the Chief Minister on an issue that he felt was of concern ...
Mr Ede: That is not the point. It is what the public servants did with it.
Mr STONE: Will you allow me to finish? What you have just put is very serious.
Mr Ede: Too right!
Mr STONE: What you have just put is that we should have an investigation whenever a member of the Legislative Assembly communicates with the Chief Minister or a minister. I am appalled by that ...
Mr Ede: No. Who said that?
Mr STONE: You just said it.
Mr Ede: Garbage!
Mr STONE: You want to have an inquiry because a member of this Chamber wrote to my predecessor on a matter that was of concern to the member.
Mr Ede: Wrong! When did I say that?
Mr STONE: You just said that then. Your question referred to a newspaper report. I gather that we are talking about the same ...
Mr Ede: You are an outrageous liar!
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, I take exception to the interjection that I am an outrageous liar, and I ask the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw it.
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw the remark.
Mr EDE: Mr Speaker, I will obtain the daily Hansard but, in the meantime, I will certainly withdraw that.
Mr SPEAKER: The Chief Minister.
Mr Ede: I will ram the daily Hansard record down your throat.
Mr STONE: The Leader of the Opposition can give us as many copies of the daily Hansard as he wishes to, but that sort of talk in this Chamber is quite unbecoming given the position he holds.
Mr Ede: Your disregard for the truth ...
Page 696
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, the simple answer to his question is no. The Northern Territory Electoral Bill will proceed. He will have ample opportunity, as will other opposition members in the second-reading debate and in the committee stage, to raise his concerns to test whether they are real. He will have the opportunity to put them to the Assembly in a free, frank and open way.
Page 697
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016