Mr BONSON - 2001-10-17
Minister, the previous government promised a soccer stadium at Marrara with a price tag of $4.5m. Was this just another CLP hollow promise?
ANSWER
I thank the member for Millner for his question. Indeed, what was this promise based on? We saw loud announcements made during the election. We saw $4.5m pledged to the soccer bodies in the Northern Territory. They were very excited about it, they actually believed you. Then, when we went looking around the budget, where you were going to get the money from - where were they going to get the money from? From the bottom of the black hole, probably. What we have now is a whole code of sport in the Northern Territory, who have a whole lot of expectations that have crashed to the ground. Now, you guys have got form on this. You guys have got form on this broken promises lark.
Let us have a look at the stinger-free beach episodes that you foisted on the Territory public for so long. Here we go - 1993, ‘safe beach for Darwin, $1m plan’. That was Max Ortmann shortly before he took up his career as the Darwin strangler. In 1997, again, ‘$50 000 stinger net plan for Cullen Bay’. That was Fred before he got out, had the good sense to get out before you guys crashed to the ground. Then 1999, ‘city beach at top of town plan list’. So here we go again. Yet again, ‘$15m plan for a no-nasties beach’. Why would anyone believe you people when you make the sort of promises you did in the last election?
What we have out there is a code of sport, right down to junior soccer players, who have been led round the garden path by the CLP. They were made promises, they based their plans on promises. All the volunteers who have kept that sport going for years - we have had to tell them there is no money, no funded area that we can deliver on that promise. What we can deliver on, though - we are going to get them out of that rat-infested donga that they have been carrying out their administration from for the last however many years. We will get them into Sports House, we will give them decent office accommodation to run their sport from. We will help them in practical ways to get in with other codes around the Territory. We will help them with their internal youth development programs. That is what we can deliver. That is what we have the money for, not for these broken promises from the other side.
ANSWER
I thank the member for Millner for his question. Indeed, what was this promise based on? We saw loud announcements made during the election. We saw $4.5m pledged to the soccer bodies in the Northern Territory. They were very excited about it, they actually believed you. Then, when we went looking around the budget, where you were going to get the money from - where were they going to get the money from? From the bottom of the black hole, probably. What we have now is a whole code of sport in the Northern Territory, who have a whole lot of expectations that have crashed to the ground. Now, you guys have got form on this. You guys have got form on this broken promises lark.
Let us have a look at the stinger-free beach episodes that you foisted on the Territory public for so long. Here we go - 1993, ‘safe beach for Darwin, $1m plan’. That was Max Ortmann shortly before he took up his career as the Darwin strangler. In 1997, again, ‘$50 000 stinger net plan for Cullen Bay’. That was Fred before he got out, had the good sense to get out before you guys crashed to the ground. Then 1999, ‘city beach at top of town plan list’. So here we go again. Yet again, ‘$15m plan for a no-nasties beach’. Why would anyone believe you people when you make the sort of promises you did in the last election?
What we have out there is a code of sport, right down to junior soccer players, who have been led round the garden path by the CLP. They were made promises, they based their plans on promises. All the volunteers who have kept that sport going for years - we have had to tell them there is no money, no funded area that we can deliver on that promise. What we can deliver on, though - we are going to get them out of that rat-infested donga that they have been carrying out their administration from for the last however many years. We will get them into Sports House, we will give them decent office accommodation to run their sport from. We will help them in practical ways to get in with other codes around the Territory. We will help them with their internal youth development programs. That is what we can deliver. That is what we have the money for, not for these broken promises from the other side.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016