Mr MITCHELL - 1995-10-12
The Leader of the Opposition has attempted to impugn the integrity and impartiality of the Speaker. His comments on the ABC's The Morning Program alleged that the Speaker does not act impartially. Can the Chief Minister, as the leader of government in the Northern Territory, refute this outrageous allegation?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I was appalled by what the Leader of the Opposition said on radio this morning. He should go back and listen to what he said ...
Mr Ede: I hope that you learnt something from it.
Mr STONE: He should listen to what he said. His attempt to impugn your integrity and impartiality, Mr Speaker, was absolutely contemptible. This is what he had to say ...
Mr BELL: A point of order, Mr Speaker! This is hardly a matter for a question in the House. If it is of such concern to the government, it should be dealt with by way of a substantive motion and not by way of a cheap shot in Question Time.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Without hearing more of the answer, I find it very difficult to decide that because I do not know what the Chief Minister's response is.
Mr Ede: It is a matter of opinion. It is not within his portfolio.
Mr STONE: As the leader of the government, it is.
Mr SPEAKER: The Chief Minister has responsibilities across government and, as a consequence, can be asked questions across government.
Mr STONE: This is what the Leader of the Opposition had to say this morning on The Morning Program:
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There is a certain amount with the behaviour which is over-exuberance, which is the Speaker's job to
control ... You have got to actually address the causes of it and see how you can make the House operate
with a bit of balance.
He went on to say:
Let's not have the hypocrisy ...
Mr Bailey: Selective quoting.
Mr STONE: Are you interested in the answer?
Mr Ede: Selective quoting.
Mr STONE: The Leader of the Opposition said:
Let's not have the hypocrisy of pretending that there are rules that operate for everybody, and then not
playing it according to those rules. You have actually got to address the causes of it and see how you can
make the House operate with a bit of balance.
Mr Ede: Yes, that is right.
Mr STONE: On the face of it, Mr Speaker, people could be excused for thinking there must be something in this except that we had the Parish confession. Ken Parish telephoned The Morning Program yesterday, and this is what he had to say:
The second point that I wish to make, that John probably would not have made because it is a matter of
internal tactics, is that I agree when I was there I interjected quite a lot. The reason for that is
because I was required to do that. That was the job that I was required by the opposition and by the
Opposition Leader to perform ...
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: You want to talk about hypocrisy yet you climb on a radio program and say ...
Mr Bailey: Bring on a substantive motion!
Mr STONE: Your mob are actually the cause of it.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: Is he your new hit man - Syd Stirling? Has he been given the job?
Members interjecting.
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Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr PALMER: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member for Wanguri knows that he cannot refer to any member of this House as `a liar'.
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the member to withdraw that comment.
Mr BAILEY: I withdraw the comment, but again I raise the point of order that ...
Members interjecting.
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! I raise the same point of order again, now that you have heard the diatribe from the Chief Minister in which he is ...
Mr Ede: Censure me!
Mr BAILEY: Allow a debate on a motion of censure! Don't sit there and slag off at us during what is supposed to be Question Time over what is essentially a substantive criticism by the Leader of the Opposition. Bring on a censure motion if you have the guts to because what you are doing is creating the basis for a censure motion. I request Mr Speaker to rule on it.
Mr SPEAKER: There is no point of order at this stage. I ask the Chief Minister to contain his answer to the question as much as possible.
Mr STONE: In order not to be accused of quoting selectively, I will finish the quote:
That was the job that I was required by the opposition and the Leader of the Opposition to perform, to take
the fights up to the government and to do that job.
Mr Bailey: What does that have to do with the way the Speaker behaves?
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri does not want to hear any of this.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: The quote continues:
Now that sometimes meant pushing the envelope quite hard and I risked being warned ... because that was the
job I was asked to do. It is a bit like a Rugby League field ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: That is the arrant hypocrisy of what you are doing.
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Mr Ede: This is a little like a Rugby League field all right.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: He continued:
Let's not have any illusions about it. If you are a front row enforcer, that is the job you are required to
do. Whether I liked it or not, that was the job I was required to do.
What a phoney the Leader of the Opposition is. He climbs on the radio and says the terrible Speaker and the terrible government will not give the opposition a go and yet we have the Parish confession. We just want to know who the front row enforcer is now. Is it this peabrain or the one who sits behind him?
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I was appalled by what the Leader of the Opposition said on radio this morning. He should go back and listen to what he said ...
Mr Ede: I hope that you learnt something from it.
Mr STONE: He should listen to what he said. His attempt to impugn your integrity and impartiality, Mr Speaker, was absolutely contemptible. This is what he had to say ...
Mr BELL: A point of order, Mr Speaker! This is hardly a matter for a question in the House. If it is of such concern to the government, it should be dealt with by way of a substantive motion and not by way of a cheap shot in Question Time.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Without hearing more of the answer, I find it very difficult to decide that because I do not know what the Chief Minister's response is.
Mr Ede: It is a matter of opinion. It is not within his portfolio.
Mr STONE: As the leader of the government, it is.
Mr SPEAKER: The Chief Minister has responsibilities across government and, as a consequence, can be asked questions across government.
Mr STONE: This is what the Leader of the Opposition had to say this morning on The Morning Program:
Page 866
There is a certain amount with the behaviour which is over-exuberance, which is the Speaker's job to
control ... You have got to actually address the causes of it and see how you can make the House operate
with a bit of balance.
He went on to say:
Let's not have the hypocrisy ...
Mr Bailey: Selective quoting.
Mr STONE: Are you interested in the answer?
Mr Ede: Selective quoting.
Mr STONE: The Leader of the Opposition said:
Let's not have the hypocrisy of pretending that there are rules that operate for everybody, and then not
playing it according to those rules. You have actually got to address the causes of it and see how you can
make the House operate with a bit of balance.
Mr Ede: Yes, that is right.
Mr STONE: On the face of it, Mr Speaker, people could be excused for thinking there must be something in this except that we had the Parish confession. Ken Parish telephoned The Morning Program yesterday, and this is what he had to say:
The second point that I wish to make, that John probably would not have made because it is a matter of
internal tactics, is that I agree when I was there I interjected quite a lot. The reason for that is
because I was required to do that. That was the job that I was required by the opposition and by the
Opposition Leader to perform ...
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: You want to talk about hypocrisy yet you climb on a radio program and say ...
Mr Bailey: Bring on a substantive motion!
Mr STONE: Your mob are actually the cause of it.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: Is he your new hit man - Syd Stirling? Has he been given the job?
Members interjecting.
Page 867
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr PALMER: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member for Wanguri knows that he cannot refer to any member of this House as `a liar'.
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the member to withdraw that comment.
Mr BAILEY: I withdraw the comment, but again I raise the point of order that ...
Members interjecting.
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! I raise the same point of order again, now that you have heard the diatribe from the Chief Minister in which he is ...
Mr Ede: Censure me!
Mr BAILEY: Allow a debate on a motion of censure! Don't sit there and slag off at us during what is supposed to be Question Time over what is essentially a substantive criticism by the Leader of the Opposition. Bring on a censure motion if you have the guts to because what you are doing is creating the basis for a censure motion. I request Mr Speaker to rule on it.
Mr SPEAKER: There is no point of order at this stage. I ask the Chief Minister to contain his answer to the question as much as possible.
Mr STONE: In order not to be accused of quoting selectively, I will finish the quote:
That was the job that I was required by the opposition and the Leader of the Opposition to perform, to take
the fights up to the government and to do that job.
Mr Bailey: What does that have to do with the way the Speaker behaves?
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri does not want to hear any of this.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: The quote continues:
Now that sometimes meant pushing the envelope quite hard and I risked being warned ... because that was the
job I was asked to do. It is a bit like a Rugby League field ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: That is the arrant hypocrisy of what you are doing.
Page 868
Mr Ede: This is a little like a Rugby League field all right.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: He continued:
Let's not have any illusions about it. If you are a front row enforcer, that is the job you are required to
do. Whether I liked it or not, that was the job I was required to do.
What a phoney the Leader of the Opposition is. He climbs on the radio and says the terrible Speaker and the terrible government will not give the opposition a go and yet we have the Parish confession. We just want to know who the front row enforcer is now. Is it this peabrain or the one who sits behind him?
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Page 869
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016