Mr AH KIT - 1996-09-17
The budget papers tabled in the Assembly last month show an allocation of $5.2m this year to strategic roads on Aboriginal land. The Country Liberal Party's mates in Canberra have ripped up the contract to provide grants of $10.4m over the next 2 years for this program. Will the Country Liberal Party administration do its duty to the Northern Territory by filling in the $10.4m funding gap that has been inflicted on the Territory's local governments? Secondly, if the government is unable to provide the $10.4m, will the minister explain why?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the honourable member did not know which minister to ask this question of, but I will answer it. Hopefully, one of these days, he will become better informed and more aware of his responsibilities.
The member for Arnhem spoke on radio a week or 2 ago, asking that the Northern Territory government provide funding to meet what he referred to as a shortfall and mentioning the fact that this program was not funded in the federal budget. My response to that is that, before we spend Territory taxpayers' money, we should talk to the federal Treasurer to obtain some explanation as to whether it was an oversight that this item was not funded and, if that was the case, whether the federal government will fund it. I think that course of action would be more appropriate in the context of our overall budget.
The other point that the member for Arnhem might remember is that this program ticked along very smoothly for many years before there was intervention by the then federal member for the Territory, Warren Snowdon, who removed the program from the normal funding process which had very adequately serviced Aboriginal communities in relation to roads infrastructure.
Mr Ah Kit: Will you find the $10.4m?
Mr REED: You do not want to hear the truth.
Mr Ah Kit: Yes, I want to hear what you have discussed with the member.
Mr REED: The then member for the Northern Territory intervened in this way so that he might flit from community to community and sprinkle money around like Santa Claus to his own electoral benefit. That was when the program fell over. That is when it was found that the amounts of money being allocated individually to communities were not useable. They were too small. The relocation of equipment needed for the program cost more than the money that was available in the relevant communities.
We have taken a rational approach to this issue. I have written to the federal Treasurer and we will await his response before we make any knee-jerk reaction of the kind proposed by the member for Arnhem.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the honourable member did not know which minister to ask this question of, but I will answer it. Hopefully, one of these days, he will become better informed and more aware of his responsibilities.
The member for Arnhem spoke on radio a week or 2 ago, asking that the Northern Territory government provide funding to meet what he referred to as a shortfall and mentioning the fact that this program was not funded in the federal budget. My response to that is that, before we spend Territory taxpayers' money, we should talk to the federal Treasurer to obtain some explanation as to whether it was an oversight that this item was not funded and, if that was the case, whether the federal government will fund it. I think that course of action would be more appropriate in the context of our overall budget.
The other point that the member for Arnhem might remember is that this program ticked along very smoothly for many years before there was intervention by the then federal member for the Territory, Warren Snowdon, who removed the program from the normal funding process which had very adequately serviced Aboriginal communities in relation to roads infrastructure.
Mr Ah Kit: Will you find the $10.4m?
Mr REED: You do not want to hear the truth.
Mr Ah Kit: Yes, I want to hear what you have discussed with the member.
Mr REED: The then member for the Northern Territory intervened in this way so that he might flit from community to community and sprinkle money around like Santa Claus to his own electoral benefit. That was when the program fell over. That is when it was found that the amounts of money being allocated individually to communities were not useable. They were too small. The relocation of equipment needed for the program cost more than the money that was available in the relevant communities.
We have taken a rational approach to this issue. I have written to the federal Treasurer and we will await his response before we make any knee-jerk reaction of the kind proposed by the member for Arnhem.
Page 1596
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016