Mr BURKE - 2005-02-16
You have stated in this House that there has been extensive assessment of environmental issues at the waterfront development site. Can you confirm that one of the major reports, the Remedial Action Plan, which is now part of documentation that is being assessed by Development Consent Authority, carries a very strong disclaimer which says:
It also says:
Chief Minister, do you agree with URS, the consultants you commissioned, that their report is unreliable?
ANSWER
No, Madam Speaker, and their report certainly is not unreliable. Again, we have a question that is trying to undermine a great project for the Territory. I say again, we are doing all appropriate environmental management through the remediation action plans that will apply to all sectors of the site. If the opposition was so keen to understand this process, they would have asked for a briefing. They would have been knocking at my door, they would have been making telephone calls to say, ‘Let me, Chief Minister, get across this’.
We have expert people working in government, with the private sector, to move this great project ahead. If the opposition is so careless about this project, so negative about this project that they do not want to have a briefing, and continually come in here, and we saw it last week, a question about environmental management. They did not ask for a briefing. They simply asked the questions we are having repeated in here. I gave a very detailed response to all proper statutory and regulatory processes will be followed, and gave the cost of those over the years. We have the independent environmental auditor.
Madam Speaker, the environment is an important issue. We are dealing with a disused industrial site, 25 ha of that at the waterfront. We will clean it up to contemporary standards, the standards that are required under our laws. There is no question about it. The doubts being expressed from the opposition is more undermining of the project, underpinning what they really want to do with this, and that is to scrap it.
When Territorians are rejoicing that this government has the vision and the foresight, the job creation and business opportunities, to recognise that we go ahead with a project like the waterfront, all we have is carping and negativity from that side of the House.
If you ask legitimate questions and they are answered, which I did effectively last week, and then you do not seek a briefing and continue to ask the questions, it shows that you are not listening and you are not really concerned about the answer. This opposition is simply grandstanding.
- No party (including the NT government or developers appointed to develop the site) may rely on this document;
It also says:
- In the event that the NT government makes the report available to any third party, the NT government will ensure that the third party acknowledges and accepts these conditions.
Chief Minister, do you agree with URS, the consultants you commissioned, that their report is unreliable?
ANSWER
No, Madam Speaker, and their report certainly is not unreliable. Again, we have a question that is trying to undermine a great project for the Territory. I say again, we are doing all appropriate environmental management through the remediation action plans that will apply to all sectors of the site. If the opposition was so keen to understand this process, they would have asked for a briefing. They would have been knocking at my door, they would have been making telephone calls to say, ‘Let me, Chief Minister, get across this’.
We have expert people working in government, with the private sector, to move this great project ahead. If the opposition is so careless about this project, so negative about this project that they do not want to have a briefing, and continually come in here, and we saw it last week, a question about environmental management. They did not ask for a briefing. They simply asked the questions we are having repeated in here. I gave a very detailed response to all proper statutory and regulatory processes will be followed, and gave the cost of those over the years. We have the independent environmental auditor.
Madam Speaker, the environment is an important issue. We are dealing with a disused industrial site, 25 ha of that at the waterfront. We will clean it up to contemporary standards, the standards that are required under our laws. There is no question about it. The doubts being expressed from the opposition is more undermining of the project, underpinning what they really want to do with this, and that is to scrap it.
When Territorians are rejoicing that this government has the vision and the foresight, the job creation and business opportunities, to recognise that we go ahead with a project like the waterfront, all we have is carping and negativity from that side of the House.
If you ask legitimate questions and they are answered, which I did effectively last week, and then you do not seek a briefing and continue to ask the questions, it shows that you are not listening and you are not really concerned about the answer. This opposition is simply grandstanding.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016