Mrs HICKEY - 1995-08-17
The Chief Minister has refused again to establish any sort of inquiry into the matter of undue influence raised by former Chief Electoral Officer Mr Charlie Phillips, in spite of Mr Phillips' statement that he would be prepared to give sworn evidence of pressure to a judicial inquiry. Is the Chief Minister's reason for not holding any inquiry due to the fact that at least one of the 2 senior public servants involved in the allegations is a prominent member of the Country Liberal Party?
Page 719
ANSWER
What a cowardly, slimy attack on a person under the privilege of parliament!
Mr Ede: Hang on! It wasn't yesterday, when you said ...
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: What a cowardly attack! I heard the member for Nelson interject, `It happened years ago'. It happened 5 years ago.
Mr Stirling: That makes it right, does it?
Members interjecting.
Mr Bailey: The corrupt activities of your government years ago, unless they were found out at the time, are okay.
Mr Ede: What has changed?
Mr STONE: I am sure that the students from Larrakeyah Primary School, who are observing all of this, are wondering about the manners of members opposite.
Mr Stirling: You have just set a very bad lesson for them, a very bad example.
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, they are not even prepared to allow me ...
Mrs Hickey: They will be wondering about democracy in the Northern Territory and the independence of the Chief Electoral Officer.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: I am glad that the member for Barkly interjected `the independence of the Chief Electoral Officer'. I take her back to the report that was prepared by the same Charlie Phillips, in which he wrote, `Successive Chief Electoral Officers have always acted with complete independence in carrying out their duties'.
Mr Stirling: They have.
Mr Ede: True.
Mr STONE: `The integrity ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: You are so tiresome, and you are rude as well. `The ...
Page 720
Mr Bell: How embarrassing!
Mr Bailey: You do not like the truth.
Mr STONE: `The integrity of the electoral process, which is at the heart of the democratic system, has been scrupulously protected by the government'.
Mr Stirling: That was before they came and knocked on his door.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: On 12 March 1992, the very same Charlie Phillips put out a memo which effectively endorsed his earlier statement. He wrote: `A copy of a paper outlining some relevant philosophical issues is attached as promised'. That was not qualified in any way. It was an opportunity for him to say that most of what he had put in that paper still stood, except for some concerns he had which he could then indicate. However, he did not do that, did he? It makes one wonder whether it is an example of recent invention.
Let us get down to the tin-tacks of what this little exercise is all about. Yesterday, Charlie Phillips put out a press release. Guess who was handing it out to the media? The Leader of the Opposition's press secretary!
Mr Ede: So?
Mr STONE: We can only presume that you prepared it.
Mr Stirling: Is that right?
Mr STONE: In other words, you concede that he is now a member of your party and he is seeking preselection for the seat of Jingili ...
Mr Ede: He is not!
Mr STONE: It is nothing short of a political stunt.
Mr Ede: Lies.
Mr STONE: And you want me to revisit an allegation of something that is supposed to have happened 5 years ago ...
Mr Stirling: It does not matter when it happened.
Mr STONE: ... which does not appear in any documentation ever prepared by the same man ...
Mr Ede: It does.
Mr STONE: ... who, after the event, still put out a memo endorsing his original paper.
Page 721
Mr EDE: No.
Page 722
Page 719
ANSWER
What a cowardly, slimy attack on a person under the privilege of parliament!
Mr Ede: Hang on! It wasn't yesterday, when you said ...
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: What a cowardly attack! I heard the member for Nelson interject, `It happened years ago'. It happened 5 years ago.
Mr Stirling: That makes it right, does it?
Members interjecting.
Mr Bailey: The corrupt activities of your government years ago, unless they were found out at the time, are okay.
Mr Ede: What has changed?
Mr STONE: I am sure that the students from Larrakeyah Primary School, who are observing all of this, are wondering about the manners of members opposite.
Mr Stirling: You have just set a very bad lesson for them, a very bad example.
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, they are not even prepared to allow me ...
Mrs Hickey: They will be wondering about democracy in the Northern Territory and the independence of the Chief Electoral Officer.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: I am glad that the member for Barkly interjected `the independence of the Chief Electoral Officer'. I take her back to the report that was prepared by the same Charlie Phillips, in which he wrote, `Successive Chief Electoral Officers have always acted with complete independence in carrying out their duties'.
Mr Stirling: They have.
Mr Ede: True.
Mr STONE: `The integrity ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: You are so tiresome, and you are rude as well. `The ...
Page 720
Mr Bell: How embarrassing!
Mr Bailey: You do not like the truth.
Mr STONE: `The integrity of the electoral process, which is at the heart of the democratic system, has been scrupulously protected by the government'.
Mr Stirling: That was before they came and knocked on his door.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: On 12 March 1992, the very same Charlie Phillips put out a memo which effectively endorsed his earlier statement. He wrote: `A copy of a paper outlining some relevant philosophical issues is attached as promised'. That was not qualified in any way. It was an opportunity for him to say that most of what he had put in that paper still stood, except for some concerns he had which he could then indicate. However, he did not do that, did he? It makes one wonder whether it is an example of recent invention.
Let us get down to the tin-tacks of what this little exercise is all about. Yesterday, Charlie Phillips put out a press release. Guess who was handing it out to the media? The Leader of the Opposition's press secretary!
Mr Ede: So?
Mr STONE: We can only presume that you prepared it.
Mr Stirling: Is that right?
Mr STONE: In other words, you concede that he is now a member of your party and he is seeking preselection for the seat of Jingili ...
Mr Ede: He is not!
Mr STONE: It is nothing short of a political stunt.
Mr Ede: Lies.
Mr STONE: And you want me to revisit an allegation of something that is supposed to have happened 5 years ago ...
Mr Stirling: It does not matter when it happened.
Mr STONE: ... which does not appear in any documentation ever prepared by the same man ...
Mr Ede: It does.
Mr STONE: ... who, after the event, still put out a memo endorsing his original paper.
Page 721
Mr EDE: No.
Page 722
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016