Mr KIELY - 2001-11-29
The new government has been in office for close to three months. Will the Chief Minister provide an overview of this period?
ANSWER
I thank the member for his question. Just to reinforce, we are actually three months and two days, we are getting closer to our hundred days in office. It certainly has been a very exciting time for the Territory, these last three months. It was interesting that one of the first comments I got from somebody, who I do not actually think voted for a change of government, but after a few weeks said: ‘This is fantastic. This is like community liberation in the Territory’, and was absolutely delighted. A lot of those comments came back from Territorians who did not necessarily vote for a change of government, but were thrilled when they felt the change that happened, with a change of government.
There have been challenges over the last three months, and there have been great frustrations. I think of those great frustrations, the first one was the discovery of the dishonest budget that had been left to Territorians - the massive black hole in the budget. The deceit of the CLP showed no shame when it came to distorting budget papers, and we are pursuing that further. To find that there was a black hole in the budget within days of coming into government - the excitement of taking over and then finding out what a fraud had been perpetrated on Territorians - that was a big disappointment for this new government. That was followed by the impact of the terrorism in the US. The impact, not just on the world, but here in the Territory, on both business confidence - particularly in tourism - and on people’s belief in the decent things in our world.
That was followed by the collapse of Ansett, a great impact on the Territory. We are so dependent on air services: moving people, moving freight. It has been a tough time all around. We are working with Qantas, with the administrator of Ansett, with existing airlines like Virgin Blue, to see those services pick up in the Territory and we are still working to see them to get back to 100%. So, there were some tough things that this new government confronted, but there have also been some very positive things that are being done.
One negative that we inherited from the previous administration was a very poor relationship with our East Timorese neighbours, one that was politically driven and, certainly, reached new heights in the run up to the last election. It was one that, if I was the present Leader of the Opposition, I would feel deeply ashamed about. Constructive relationships have been established with the new government in East Timor and we had a very proud moment at the opening of this parliament when Mari Alkatiri was here. I think he was delighted at the cheer he got from the very full galleries and on the floor of the parliament. It is a relationship that is a constructive one and is moving forward for both the benefit of the Territory and for East Timor.
We have implemented very quickly Labor’s plan on property crime. We removed mandatory sentencing, and it was a proud moment for this parliament when we did. We moved to introduce FOI and we have draft legislation that is now out for community consultation. We made, at the last session of parliament, a long-awaited apology to the Stolen Generation, and we noted the lack of support from the other side of the parliament which, in a way, diminished what could have been a really heartfelt apology to the Stolen Generation. For those who came into parliament and heard the genuine words that were said, they were very moved and it was very important day for them, and we were very proud, but very disappointed at the churlish words of the former Chief Minister.
We have also, in just over three months, introduced a modern, focussed structure for the Territory public sector. We have had the hugely successful Economic Development Summit and this week, we have had the fresh directions for the Territory, a fair and reasonable mini-budget for Territorians including, very importantly, a debt reduction strategy.
While I am on my feet, I would like to say an enormous thank you to our public servants and to the broader community for the support they have given us over these last three months. I say to our public servants, we simply could not have done it without you, you have been terrific. We are very pleased at the positive response you have given, both to the agency restructure and the mini-budget, and we will continue to work with you. Thank you for the help that you have given us so far in learning how to be a new government - and it has been a steep learning curve – and also in moving forward and for service delivery for Territorians.
With the mini-budget now in place, we have established the parameters of where this new government is going, and now it is down to real business. The next months will be truly exciting. Of the challenges that lie ahead, a key one is getting gas on the beach here, and we have business now joined with government to pursue that end. We are fostering investment. I am off to Sydney tomorrow to talk about infrastructure and how private investment can be focussed into the Territory, with economic activity and job creation. We are talking about the challenge of enhancing services in health, education and law enforcement. Again, we saw in the mini-budget a very direct recognition of the priorities of those areas to this new government. We are implementing the initiatives and directions outlined in the mini-budget.
The period has been an exciting one for the Territory and I believe it will be even more exciting in days to come. It is very early days. We are learning to be the new government and we are learning very fast. I say again: I appreciate the help we have been given right across-the-board, and I hope, very much, that moving forward for the Territory will be done in partnership with all sectors of the community and I would hope, to a certain extent, in partnership with the opposition.
ANSWER
I thank the member for his question. Just to reinforce, we are actually three months and two days, we are getting closer to our hundred days in office. It certainly has been a very exciting time for the Territory, these last three months. It was interesting that one of the first comments I got from somebody, who I do not actually think voted for a change of government, but after a few weeks said: ‘This is fantastic. This is like community liberation in the Territory’, and was absolutely delighted. A lot of those comments came back from Territorians who did not necessarily vote for a change of government, but were thrilled when they felt the change that happened, with a change of government.
There have been challenges over the last three months, and there have been great frustrations. I think of those great frustrations, the first one was the discovery of the dishonest budget that had been left to Territorians - the massive black hole in the budget. The deceit of the CLP showed no shame when it came to distorting budget papers, and we are pursuing that further. To find that there was a black hole in the budget within days of coming into government - the excitement of taking over and then finding out what a fraud had been perpetrated on Territorians - that was a big disappointment for this new government. That was followed by the impact of the terrorism in the US. The impact, not just on the world, but here in the Territory, on both business confidence - particularly in tourism - and on people’s belief in the decent things in our world.
That was followed by the collapse of Ansett, a great impact on the Territory. We are so dependent on air services: moving people, moving freight. It has been a tough time all around. We are working with Qantas, with the administrator of Ansett, with existing airlines like Virgin Blue, to see those services pick up in the Territory and we are still working to see them to get back to 100%. So, there were some tough things that this new government confronted, but there have also been some very positive things that are being done.
One negative that we inherited from the previous administration was a very poor relationship with our East Timorese neighbours, one that was politically driven and, certainly, reached new heights in the run up to the last election. It was one that, if I was the present Leader of the Opposition, I would feel deeply ashamed about. Constructive relationships have been established with the new government in East Timor and we had a very proud moment at the opening of this parliament when Mari Alkatiri was here. I think he was delighted at the cheer he got from the very full galleries and on the floor of the parliament. It is a relationship that is a constructive one and is moving forward for both the benefit of the Territory and for East Timor.
We have implemented very quickly Labor’s plan on property crime. We removed mandatory sentencing, and it was a proud moment for this parliament when we did. We moved to introduce FOI and we have draft legislation that is now out for community consultation. We made, at the last session of parliament, a long-awaited apology to the Stolen Generation, and we noted the lack of support from the other side of the parliament which, in a way, diminished what could have been a really heartfelt apology to the Stolen Generation. For those who came into parliament and heard the genuine words that were said, they were very moved and it was very important day for them, and we were very proud, but very disappointed at the churlish words of the former Chief Minister.
We have also, in just over three months, introduced a modern, focussed structure for the Territory public sector. We have had the hugely successful Economic Development Summit and this week, we have had the fresh directions for the Territory, a fair and reasonable mini-budget for Territorians including, very importantly, a debt reduction strategy.
While I am on my feet, I would like to say an enormous thank you to our public servants and to the broader community for the support they have given us over these last three months. I say to our public servants, we simply could not have done it without you, you have been terrific. We are very pleased at the positive response you have given, both to the agency restructure and the mini-budget, and we will continue to work with you. Thank you for the help that you have given us so far in learning how to be a new government - and it has been a steep learning curve – and also in moving forward and for service delivery for Territorians.
With the mini-budget now in place, we have established the parameters of where this new government is going, and now it is down to real business. The next months will be truly exciting. Of the challenges that lie ahead, a key one is getting gas on the beach here, and we have business now joined with government to pursue that end. We are fostering investment. I am off to Sydney tomorrow to talk about infrastructure and how private investment can be focussed into the Territory, with economic activity and job creation. We are talking about the challenge of enhancing services in health, education and law enforcement. Again, we saw in the mini-budget a very direct recognition of the priorities of those areas to this new government. We are implementing the initiatives and directions outlined in the mini-budget.
The period has been an exciting one for the Territory and I believe it will be even more exciting in days to come. It is very early days. We are learning to be the new government and we are learning very fast. I say again: I appreciate the help we have been given right across-the-board, and I hope, very much, that moving forward for the Territory will be done in partnership with all sectors of the community and I would hope, to a certain extent, in partnership with the opposition.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016