Mr MILLS - 2012-02-16
In the House yesterday you said, in reference to the Planning Scheme Amendment for the workers village site at Batten Road, that the process was that: ‘... it went through the normal planning processes’. That assumes a public advertising period, an objection and comment period, independent consent authority assessment, and a decision based on sustainability. Can you assure the House, given this is the normal process, that that process was followed in this case?
Ms Lawrie: It will.
Mr Tollner: What do you mean it will? You said it has already happened ...
ANSWER
No, no, I ...
Mr Tollner: You did say it happened.
Mr McCarthy: No, no ..
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Fong Lim!
Mr McCARTHY: Madam Speaker, what I said was normal planning processes - absolutely. I will tell the story about the Batten Road site …
Mr Tollner: You announced this has happened.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr McCARTHY: … because what I would encourage you to do is to get it from the horse’s mouth and not run off on your innuendo and all your gossip. That is what happened yesterday.
As I said to this House, we run things through normal planning processes. For Territorians here and for the members opposite who are interested, the Batten Road site is formally zoned SD39, Specific Use Zone. It is to facilitate the use and development of Section 4445 for temporary use …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question was very succinct and asked for a very specific answer. The minister is not providing that. I ask him to answer the question.
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, speaking to the point of order. Members opposite probably do not know that planning is a very technical issue. The minister is explaining the zoning and the process around that zoning. It is quite in order. I am very interested in what he has to say ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, you have the floor, but please come to the point after you have made some explanation.
Mr McCARTHY: Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. I just pulled up Hansard on my screen and I will read what I said:
Mr Tollner: Read the question.
Mr McCARTHY: And I will. That was my answer ...
Mr Tollner interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim!
Mr McCARTHY: That was my answer.
Mr Tollner interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim! You are about to go on a warning!
Mr McCARTHY: Madam Speaker, the member for Fong Lim was bantering after his little slap yesterday and said to me across the benches: ‘No, you have not. No, you have not’, and got into a ‘Yes, I have’, ‘No, you haven’t’ story. So you can carry on about that. I am reading from Hansard because the answer was straightforward.
What I have here is the request for proposal. In the request for proposal, if you want to get it from the horse’s mouth - but you would prefer to go with your rumour and innuendo as you usually do - I will read it out for you: in terms of environmental assessment the successful proponent from the request for proposal for the development and operation of a short-term accommodation village will submit a notice of intent to NRETAS ...
Mr Tollner interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr McCARTHY: I will go on, Madam Speaker. The successful proponent …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! There are actually two. One, will the minister table the whole of that document, and second, will he answer the very specific question he was asked?
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, are you willing to table the document at the end of the question?
Mr McCARTHY: Yes, Madam Speaker. It is a public document.
Madam SPEAKER: Can you come to the point in the short time you have left.
Mr McCARTHY: I will pick up on the interjection, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired. Can you please table the document? Thank you.
Mr MILLS to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING
A simple question: was a suitable design provided for the site, or was it just your decision that the land could be rezoned by the flick of a pen and not have any consultation with the local community whatsoever?
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! We have to start again because the minister has not actually been called until right now.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, given the site had previously been identified for development for the same intended purpose, it was not considered necessary for a full exhibition of the Planning Scheme Amendment. The successful proposal will require development approval which will entail a public exhibition process - normal processes. So, once again ...
Mr Giles: It was not a normal process.
Mr McCARTHY: That is normal, yes, and you want to run through your rumour and innuendo. Or come and see me, the door is always open. We will walk you through this. It is about options, it is about housing options that these fellows over here cannot handle. It is about our government providing options for development, and strategic and enabling infrastructure to support development. It was already identified. We have put out a request for a proposal, and guess what, Leader of the Opposition, we received plenty of responses. People are interested, so we are about to continue with this request for proposal purpose. That is what it is about. You can read into it and run your innuendo, gossip and media spin but it is a ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired. Order!
Ms Lawrie: It will.
Mr Tollner: What do you mean it will? You said it has already happened ...
ANSWER
No, no, I ...
Mr Tollner: You did say it happened.
Mr McCarthy: No, no ..
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Fong Lim!
Mr McCARTHY: Madam Speaker, what I said was normal planning processes - absolutely. I will tell the story about the Batten Road site …
Mr Tollner: You announced this has happened.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr McCARTHY: … because what I would encourage you to do is to get it from the horse’s mouth and not run off on your innuendo and all your gossip. That is what happened yesterday.
As I said to this House, we run things through normal planning processes. For Territorians here and for the members opposite who are interested, the Batten Road site is formally zoned SD39, Specific Use Zone. It is to facilitate the use and development of Section 4445 for temporary use …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question was very succinct and asked for a very specific answer. The minister is not providing that. I ask him to answer the question.
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, speaking to the point of order. Members opposite probably do not know that planning is a very technical issue. The minister is explaining the zoning and the process around that zoning. It is quite in order. I am very interested in what he has to say ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, you have the floor, but please come to the point after you have made some explanation.
Mr McCARTHY: Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. I just pulled up Hansard on my screen and I will read what I said:
- Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It is a pretty succinct answer: through the normal planning processes.
Mr Tollner: Read the question.
Mr McCARTHY: And I will. That was my answer ...
Mr Tollner interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim!
Mr McCARTHY: That was my answer.
Mr Tollner interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim! You are about to go on a warning!
Mr McCARTHY: Madam Speaker, the member for Fong Lim was bantering after his little slap yesterday and said to me across the benches: ‘No, you have not. No, you have not’, and got into a ‘Yes, I have’, ‘No, you haven’t’ story. So you can carry on about that. I am reading from Hansard because the answer was straightforward.
What I have here is the request for proposal. In the request for proposal, if you want to get it from the horse’s mouth - but you would prefer to go with your rumour and innuendo as you usually do - I will read it out for you: in terms of environmental assessment the successful proponent from the request for proposal for the development and operation of a short-term accommodation village will submit a notice of intent to NRETAS ...
Mr Tollner interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr McCARTHY: I will go on, Madam Speaker. The successful proponent …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! There are actually two. One, will the minister table the whole of that document, and second, will he answer the very specific question he was asked?
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, are you willing to table the document at the end of the question?
Mr McCARTHY: Yes, Madam Speaker. It is a public document.
Madam SPEAKER: Can you come to the point in the short time you have left.
Mr McCARTHY: I will pick up on the interjection, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired. Can you please table the document? Thank you.
Supplementary Question
Batten Road Workers Accommodation Project
Batten Road Workers Accommodation Project
Mr MILLS to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING
A simple question: was a suitable design provided for the site, or was it just your decision that the land could be rezoned by the flick of a pen and not have any consultation with the local community whatsoever?
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! We have to start again because the minister has not actually been called until right now.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, given the site had previously been identified for development for the same intended purpose, it was not considered necessary for a full exhibition of the Planning Scheme Amendment. The successful proposal will require development approval which will entail a public exhibition process - normal processes. So, once again ...
Mr Giles: It was not a normal process.
Mr McCARTHY: That is normal, yes, and you want to run through your rumour and innuendo. Or come and see me, the door is always open. We will walk you through this. It is about options, it is about housing options that these fellows over here cannot handle. It is about our government providing options for development, and strategic and enabling infrastructure to support development. It was already identified. We have put out a request for a proposal, and guess what, Leader of the Opposition, we received plenty of responses. People are interested, so we are about to continue with this request for proposal purpose. That is what it is about. You can read into it and run your innuendo, gossip and media spin but it is a ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired. Order!
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016