Mr EDE - 1995-11-30
The Chief Minister may not realise it but he advised us only in regard to 3 of the 7 payments for legal costs that have been made, 2 of which were for actions against local candidates and the third of which was against the press. Will he advise us in regard to the other 4, as I asked him to do in my original question?
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am not in a position to give the Leader of the Opposition all of those details for the very simple reason that I need to be satisfied as to whether the matters that were settled on the basis of confidential terms permit me actually to reveal all that information.
Mr EDE: You said they were all Labor people.
Mr STONE: It seems that ...
Mr Bell: You are giving away public money for ...
Mr COULTER: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member for MacDonnell is not speaking from his seat.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacDonnell is not in his seat.
Mr STONE: And he just bumped into a big obstacle!
Mr Bell: You are using public money for private settlements. You are terrific. You are better than Joh.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: I intend to be very sure about how I release this information. I would have thought that the Leader of the Opposition would want me to be sure before the information was released. However, I can tell him that I will not be releasing any information relating to current litigation involving the members for Leanyer and MacDonnell. That would be improper because that action is not concluded.
Mr Bell: It is improper giving it to him to start with ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bell: ... unlawful.
Mr STONE: I ask the member to withdraw the interjection that it is unlawful.
Mr SPEAKER: It could not really be ruled as unparliamentary to say that. It is a matter of opinion.
Mr STONE: I would have thought it a matter of fact, Mr Speaker.
In any event, as I said to the Leader of the Opposition, I have been very frank with him to date and I have provided him with the exact amounts. I gave him a very detailed answer yesterday. I have signed off another series of questions that he has sent to me, in relation to other people.
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Mr Stirling: You do not think Territorians have a right to know? It is taxpayers' money you are talking about.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: Your leader is trying to listen to me but you, member for Nhulunbuy, are interjecting over the top.
Mr Stirling: Don't come on the big, generous thing with us. It is taxpayers' money. They have every right to know.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: As I said, I have signed off a number of questions that the Leader of the Opposition sent to me. They include details of the basis on which decisions were made and how much was actually assigned in terms of legal costs recovery. Of course, a number of these matters are complicated by the fact that the parties entered into confidential terms of settlement - and that is on both sides, plaintiff and defendant. You would want to be ...
Mr Bell: That just shows how stupid the cost agreements are to start with.
Mr STONE: This is the kind of extraordinary interjection that is made by the member for MacDonnell. He would impugn the right of a plaintiff and a defendant to settle a legal action on terms on which they both agree. This is the aspiring lawyer. One thing I am sure of is that he will never act for me.
The point I make to the Leader of the Opposition is that we are providing him with the information, and will continue to do so, within the constraints of what is proper and information that has been made available in the past when it has been asked for.
Mr Ede: I asked you for which one and for which minister?
Mr STONE: I have actually provided that information already.
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Page 1101
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am not in a position to give the Leader of the Opposition all of those details for the very simple reason that I need to be satisfied as to whether the matters that were settled on the basis of confidential terms permit me actually to reveal all that information.
Mr EDE: You said they were all Labor people.
Mr STONE: It seems that ...
Mr Bell: You are giving away public money for ...
Mr COULTER: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member for MacDonnell is not speaking from his seat.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacDonnell is not in his seat.
Mr STONE: And he just bumped into a big obstacle!
Mr Bell: You are using public money for private settlements. You are terrific. You are better than Joh.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: I intend to be very sure about how I release this information. I would have thought that the Leader of the Opposition would want me to be sure before the information was released. However, I can tell him that I will not be releasing any information relating to current litigation involving the members for Leanyer and MacDonnell. That would be improper because that action is not concluded.
Mr Bell: It is improper giving it to him to start with ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bell: ... unlawful.
Mr STONE: I ask the member to withdraw the interjection that it is unlawful.
Mr SPEAKER: It could not really be ruled as unparliamentary to say that. It is a matter of opinion.
Mr STONE: I would have thought it a matter of fact, Mr Speaker.
In any event, as I said to the Leader of the Opposition, I have been very frank with him to date and I have provided him with the exact amounts. I gave him a very detailed answer yesterday. I have signed off another series of questions that he has sent to me, in relation to other people.
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Mr Stirling: You do not think Territorians have a right to know? It is taxpayers' money you are talking about.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: Your leader is trying to listen to me but you, member for Nhulunbuy, are interjecting over the top.
Mr Stirling: Don't come on the big, generous thing with us. It is taxpayers' money. They have every right to know.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: As I said, I have signed off a number of questions that the Leader of the Opposition sent to me. They include details of the basis on which decisions were made and how much was actually assigned in terms of legal costs recovery. Of course, a number of these matters are complicated by the fact that the parties entered into confidential terms of settlement - and that is on both sides, plaintiff and defendant. You would want to be ...
Mr Bell: That just shows how stupid the cost agreements are to start with.
Mr STONE: This is the kind of extraordinary interjection that is made by the member for MacDonnell. He would impugn the right of a plaintiff and a defendant to settle a legal action on terms on which they both agree. This is the aspiring lawyer. One thing I am sure of is that he will never act for me.
The point I make to the Leader of the Opposition is that we are providing him with the information, and will continue to do so, within the constraints of what is proper and information that has been made available in the past when it has been asked for.
Mr Ede: I asked you for which one and for which minister?
Mr STONE: I have actually provided that information already.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016