Mrs BRAHAM - 1995-10-19
Has a group of Northern Territory public servants taken out this year's Australian Financial Review Management Championships?
Mr Ede interjecting.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition laughs, and that is a shame, because this is an outstanding achievement. This group of Northern Territory public servants beat BHP and many other large, private sector firms.
Mr Ede: You should adjourn on it.
Mr STONE: You laugh.
Mr Ede: No. You should make a proper speech about it in the adjournment debate.
Mr STONE: It is a shame because, when I heard about it this morning, I thought that it was a matter of which all Territorians would be very proud.
Mr Ede: They are.
Mr STONE: It is with some delight that I can confirm that this year's Australian Financial Review Management Championships were taken out by a group of Northern Territory public servants after a competition that was carried out ...
Mr Ede: He is reading a prepared speech.
Mr STONE: It is a shame that the Leader of the Opposition interjects again, because ...
Mr Stirling: Get on with it!
Mr STONE: Now the member for Nhulunbuy interjects.
Mr Ede: They have heard that you had staff write a speech about it.
Mr STONE: It is very important that we have this on the record, because I know that they are listening and that they would like the satisfaction that Territorians ...
Mr Ede: They would have thought that you would have known enough about it to be able to talk about it.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Page 932
Mr STONE: It is a real shame that the Leader of the Opposition will not even allow these people to have their moment. I will continue ...
Mr Bailey: Questions without notice - written answers ...
Mr STONE: ... despite his and the member for Wanguri's rude interjections.
The championships were taken out by a group of Northern Territory public servants after a competition run over 12 months. The group comprise: Derek Frampton from the Policy and Coordination Division of my department; Jim Colvin from the Economic Services Division of Northern Territory Treasury; and Iain Summers, the Auditor-General. The award was made last night following the fourth and final round of the championships which were held on 17 and 18 October in Sydney. The finals followed 3 previous rounds in which the Territory team overtook hundreds of management specialists drawn from private industry, government business enterprises and government departments all around Australia. I am advised that the teams entering the competition consist usually of 4 persons. They are required to make business decisions covering a succession of notional 3-month business periods, encompassing a wide range of business variables including pricing, marketing, investment and production. The finalists in the competition included Westpac, which entered 17 teams in the overall competition, NAB, the Victorian Gas and Fuel Corporation, Alcoa and P&O Containers.
The involvement of our officers arose from a decision taken 12 months ago to enter the competition as part of a training and development exercise, and to examine how we might benchmark against other operations. The work for the competition was undertaken out of hours. I am advised that last night, speaking on behalf of the team, Derek Frampton said the team was pleased with its win because it redressed in a demonstrable way the somewhat jaundiced view taken in some circles interstate of the capacity of Territorians. He indicated that the team was pleased to win because they demonstrated also that Northern Territory public servants could compete against the biggest and the best from private enterprise. I am told the winners have taken out a variety of prizes, including cash and computers. It was suggested to me that that might present a dilemma. I do not believe it presents a dilemma. These public servants should be permitted to keep the prizes, given that they competed in their own time. In fact, I understand that the air fares were picked up by the Australian Financial Review. As the national winners, Jim and Derek will travel to Singapore to represent Australia in the Asia-Pacific championships. We can be justifiably proud of these Territory public servants. We wish them well in the international competition.
Page 933
Mr Ede interjecting.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition laughs, and that is a shame, because this is an outstanding achievement. This group of Northern Territory public servants beat BHP and many other large, private sector firms.
Mr Ede: You should adjourn on it.
Mr STONE: You laugh.
Mr Ede: No. You should make a proper speech about it in the adjournment debate.
Mr STONE: It is a shame because, when I heard about it this morning, I thought that it was a matter of which all Territorians would be very proud.
Mr Ede: They are.
Mr STONE: It is with some delight that I can confirm that this year's Australian Financial Review Management Championships were taken out by a group of Northern Territory public servants after a competition that was carried out ...
Mr Ede: He is reading a prepared speech.
Mr STONE: It is a shame that the Leader of the Opposition interjects again, because ...
Mr Stirling: Get on with it!
Mr STONE: Now the member for Nhulunbuy interjects.
Mr Ede: They have heard that you had staff write a speech about it.
Mr STONE: It is very important that we have this on the record, because I know that they are listening and that they would like the satisfaction that Territorians ...
Mr Ede: They would have thought that you would have known enough about it to be able to talk about it.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Page 932
Mr STONE: It is a real shame that the Leader of the Opposition will not even allow these people to have their moment. I will continue ...
Mr Bailey: Questions without notice - written answers ...
Mr STONE: ... despite his and the member for Wanguri's rude interjections.
The championships were taken out by a group of Northern Territory public servants after a competition run over 12 months. The group comprise: Derek Frampton from the Policy and Coordination Division of my department; Jim Colvin from the Economic Services Division of Northern Territory Treasury; and Iain Summers, the Auditor-General. The award was made last night following the fourth and final round of the championships which were held on 17 and 18 October in Sydney. The finals followed 3 previous rounds in which the Territory team overtook hundreds of management specialists drawn from private industry, government business enterprises and government departments all around Australia. I am advised that the teams entering the competition consist usually of 4 persons. They are required to make business decisions covering a succession of notional 3-month business periods, encompassing a wide range of business variables including pricing, marketing, investment and production. The finalists in the competition included Westpac, which entered 17 teams in the overall competition, NAB, the Victorian Gas and Fuel Corporation, Alcoa and P&O Containers.
The involvement of our officers arose from a decision taken 12 months ago to enter the competition as part of a training and development exercise, and to examine how we might benchmark against other operations. The work for the competition was undertaken out of hours. I am advised that last night, speaking on behalf of the team, Derek Frampton said the team was pleased with its win because it redressed in a demonstrable way the somewhat jaundiced view taken in some circles interstate of the capacity of Territorians. He indicated that the team was pleased to win because they demonstrated also that Northern Territory public servants could compete against the biggest and the best from private enterprise. I am told the winners have taken out a variety of prizes, including cash and computers. It was suggested to me that that might present a dilemma. I do not believe it presents a dilemma. These public servants should be permitted to keep the prizes, given that they competed in their own time. In fact, I understand that the air fares were picked up by the Australian Financial Review. As the national winners, Jim and Derek will travel to Singapore to represent Australia in the Asia-Pacific championships. We can be justifiably proud of these Territory public servants. We wish them well in the international competition.
Page 933
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016