Mr BURKE - 2005-02-16
You have confirmed in this parliament that government will undertake to remediate any environmental clean-up necessary for the waterfront development to proceed at taxpayers’ expense. Your best guess is that those expenses are more than $10m, and government will undertake those works through the life of the waterfront development. Surely a responsible government would demonstrate responsible environmental credentials by ensuring that any environmental concerns were dealt with before a project of this size proceeded, rather than asking Territorians to believe that costs will be contained over the 15 years of the project.
Can you provide a guarantee that the substantial environmental issues of the waterfront site will be dealt with before any construction proceeds?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to talk about the waterfront. It really is a great project for Darwin and the Territory. It is a 25 ha site. We are looking at development over a 10- to 15-year period. As I said in the House last week, we estimate that the environmental clean-up costs will be something like $10m over the life of that project. We are saying in an up-front way that that is the cost. As this project proceeds stage by stage, we are dealing with the environmental issues stage by stage. If the Opposition Leader would like a briefing on how environmental processes in 2005 actually take place in these projects I will offer it to him. He continues to ask questions about the environmental management, and has not requested a briefing nor asked to get across the issues. We have an independent environmental auditor …
Mr Burke: I am not interested in being misled.
Ms MARTIN: … who has been involved in the process …
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Leader of the Opposition cannot accuse the Chief Minister of misleading this House unless he does so by way of substantive motion. I ask him to withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: I will ignore it at the moment. However, Leader of the Opposition, you understand what the point of order is about.
Ms MARTIN: We have an independent environmental auditor. In this House last week I went through the whole statutory process of environmental management which we are following in detail. It is being carefully monitored by the government and the independent auditor.
This question, once again, goes to the opposition trying to damage and pull down what is a great project for the Territory. It is a terrific project and I have not heard one word from the Opposition Leader - the man who really is cast in yesterday’s mould - not one positive word about this project.
Mr BURKE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! On a number of occasions, the Chief Minister has referred to ‘yesterday’s man’. Madam Speaker, under Standing Order 166, that is a slight against a member of another parliament, namely Mr Beazley.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Can you provide a guarantee that the substantial environmental issues of the waterfront site will be dealt with before any construction proceeds?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to talk about the waterfront. It really is a great project for Darwin and the Territory. It is a 25 ha site. We are looking at development over a 10- to 15-year period. As I said in the House last week, we estimate that the environmental clean-up costs will be something like $10m over the life of that project. We are saying in an up-front way that that is the cost. As this project proceeds stage by stage, we are dealing with the environmental issues stage by stage. If the Opposition Leader would like a briefing on how environmental processes in 2005 actually take place in these projects I will offer it to him. He continues to ask questions about the environmental management, and has not requested a briefing nor asked to get across the issues. We have an independent environmental auditor …
Mr Burke: I am not interested in being misled.
Ms MARTIN: … who has been involved in the process …
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Leader of the Opposition cannot accuse the Chief Minister of misleading this House unless he does so by way of substantive motion. I ask him to withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: I will ignore it at the moment. However, Leader of the Opposition, you understand what the point of order is about.
Ms MARTIN: We have an independent environmental auditor. In this House last week I went through the whole statutory process of environmental management which we are following in detail. It is being carefully monitored by the government and the independent auditor.
This question, once again, goes to the opposition trying to damage and pull down what is a great project for the Territory. It is a terrific project and I have not heard one word from the Opposition Leader - the man who really is cast in yesterday’s mould - not one positive word about this project.
Mr BURKE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! On a number of occasions, the Chief Minister has referred to ‘yesterday’s man’. Madam Speaker, under Standing Order 166, that is a slight against a member of another parliament, namely Mr Beazley.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016