Ms CARNEY - 2005-11-29
In a document that was leaked to the opposition this afternoon, it is clear that your $8m spin doctors are expecting questions on the terrible state of the Territories finances. Among the other excuses that your ministers are being urged to give in their answers to the economy includes the following: ‘Budgets were not blown, we just did more as all good governments do’. The fact is that all but one of the major departments blew their budgets for the year. Will you now tell your ministers - and this includes you - to be honest with their answers to Territorians and not to jump to the orders issued by their spin doctors but, instead, tell the truth when we will be asking some very important questions about the Territory economy?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I ask that the Leader of the Opposition table …
Ms Carney: I am happy to.
Mr Mills: This will be interesting!
Ms MARTIN: It is always important to get the information that the Leader of the Opposition is working from because, sometimes …
Ms Carney: Oh, it is very important to get the information.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Ms MARTIN: Sometimes there is a discrepancy between what is said …
Ms Carney: It is terrific to get the information, Madam Speaker! And we thank whoever it was!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, we, on this side of the House, will proudly be able to justify every cent expended to Territorians and to this House. We are the ones who introduced an estimates process so that we can go through that in detail. We are the ones who put budget papers out and, when there is an assertion today that, somehow or other, we got more money and budgets were blown - I take the Leader of the Opposition back to Budget Paper No 3, which detailed all the changes. The variations in line items in the budget detailed all that. To have the opposition six months later say: ‘Shock, horror! Look what we have found,’ you wonder exactly what documents the opposition is working off.
Every minister in here will stand up and absolutely deliver what are the facts about budget expenditure. The Treasurer has been on the record consistently talking about the increasing GST that we got over the 2004-05 year, how that was expended, and what the surplus was. It all adds up. Madam Speaker, what we have done is deliver on important priorities for Territorians and we are proud of it.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I ask that the Leader of the Opposition table …
Ms Carney: I am happy to.
Mr Mills: This will be interesting!
Ms MARTIN: It is always important to get the information that the Leader of the Opposition is working from because, sometimes …
Ms Carney: Oh, it is very important to get the information.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Ms MARTIN: Sometimes there is a discrepancy between what is said …
Ms Carney: It is terrific to get the information, Madam Speaker! And we thank whoever it was!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, we, on this side of the House, will proudly be able to justify every cent expended to Territorians and to this House. We are the ones who introduced an estimates process so that we can go through that in detail. We are the ones who put budget papers out and, when there is an assertion today that, somehow or other, we got more money and budgets were blown - I take the Leader of the Opposition back to Budget Paper No 3, which detailed all the changes. The variations in line items in the budget detailed all that. To have the opposition six months later say: ‘Shock, horror! Look what we have found,’ you wonder exactly what documents the opposition is working off.
Every minister in here will stand up and absolutely deliver what are the facts about budget expenditure. The Treasurer has been on the record consistently talking about the increasing GST that we got over the 2004-05 year, how that was expended, and what the surplus was. It all adds up. Madam Speaker, what we have done is deliver on important priorities for Territorians and we are proud of it.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016