Mr BURKE - 2005-02-17
Yesterday, I outlined the many concerns that people have regarding the waterfront development. These include the secret nature of the financial negotiations, the value of the taxpayers’ land that you are handing over and our financial exposure generally, the considerable and yet unresolved environmental issues, and your position to not only open a taxpayer cheque book to fix these issues, but also your insistence to leave the taxpayer exposed to these costs through the 15-year life of the project, also the massive Defence issues you have not resolved, and details of the impact of the HWE situation that you have failed to provide to Territorians.
Will you now agree with me that you are rushing this waterfront project for your own political purposes, and that you should delay financial close until all these issues and many others that are outstanding are resolved?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I believe it was in 2003, when the now Opposition Leader was the Opposition Leader, there was much quite lively discussion about whether we had a convention centre in the CBD area. There was much discussion about the failed attempt by the previous government to build one, which had gone nowhere. There was an assessment of which sites were better to have a convention and exhibition centre built on.
I remember the then Opposition Leader, the now Opposition Leader, criticising this government for doing assessments, risk analysis, economic benefits about whether we should build a convention centre and where we should put it. I remember standing here saying: ‘We are doing this. We are doing it sensibly and logically so that we know that when we spend taxpayers’ dollars it will be effectively done’. I believe the words he used were: ‘Just get on and do it!’ He was out there saying: ‘Get on and do it!’. This is 18 months ago, he is saying: ‘Just do it, just do it’, like a Nike ad.
Here we are, getting on and doing it, and what do we have from the Opposition Leader? He has forgotten his yesterday’s man’s terms, which is interesting, for the first time. You have forgotten those. What you are staying now is: ‘Stop it, do not do it!’
Might we try to understand this contradiction? Eighteen months ago, he is saying: ‘Just do it! Stop carefully analysing where we should do it, why we should do it, what the economic benefits are, and just get on and do it.’ Now we are getting on and doing it.
Yesterday, in this House, there was a motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition. I went through the issues that he raised and addressed them in detail. I am bewildered about how it is that you can address all the issues that are raised, explain that while you are doing the final financial negotiations you cannot reveal those details, quite logically, as happened in previous negotiations such as the railway, and still you have the Opposition Leader saying: ‘I am not convinced.’
Madam Speaker, you can say to the Opposition Leader for only so long: ‘These are the details,’ and he continues to say: ‘I am not convinced.’ He obviously does not want to see this project continue. He obviously does not want to see a convention and exhibition centre for Darwin. We are dealing with it and we have expert advice. It was really offensive to hear the nature of the debate yesterday, putting down every person involved in the waterfront, implying that they had no expertise to deal with this. This is a senior group of public servants, with expertise across the private sector, dealing with the final stages of financial close, yet all we have from the Opposition Leader is knocking it, putting down those who are involved in it, questioning their integrity and questioning their expertise.
Madam Speaker, this is an Opposition Leader who does not want to see the waterfront develop, and let me say, Territorians do.
Will you now agree with me that you are rushing this waterfront project for your own political purposes, and that you should delay financial close until all these issues and many others that are outstanding are resolved?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I believe it was in 2003, when the now Opposition Leader was the Opposition Leader, there was much quite lively discussion about whether we had a convention centre in the CBD area. There was much discussion about the failed attempt by the previous government to build one, which had gone nowhere. There was an assessment of which sites were better to have a convention and exhibition centre built on.
I remember the then Opposition Leader, the now Opposition Leader, criticising this government for doing assessments, risk analysis, economic benefits about whether we should build a convention centre and where we should put it. I remember standing here saying: ‘We are doing this. We are doing it sensibly and logically so that we know that when we spend taxpayers’ dollars it will be effectively done’. I believe the words he used were: ‘Just get on and do it!’ He was out there saying: ‘Get on and do it!’. This is 18 months ago, he is saying: ‘Just do it, just do it’, like a Nike ad.
Here we are, getting on and doing it, and what do we have from the Opposition Leader? He has forgotten his yesterday’s man’s terms, which is interesting, for the first time. You have forgotten those. What you are staying now is: ‘Stop it, do not do it!’
Might we try to understand this contradiction? Eighteen months ago, he is saying: ‘Just do it! Stop carefully analysing where we should do it, why we should do it, what the economic benefits are, and just get on and do it.’ Now we are getting on and doing it.
Yesterday, in this House, there was a motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition. I went through the issues that he raised and addressed them in detail. I am bewildered about how it is that you can address all the issues that are raised, explain that while you are doing the final financial negotiations you cannot reveal those details, quite logically, as happened in previous negotiations such as the railway, and still you have the Opposition Leader saying: ‘I am not convinced.’
Madam Speaker, you can say to the Opposition Leader for only so long: ‘These are the details,’ and he continues to say: ‘I am not convinced.’ He obviously does not want to see this project continue. He obviously does not want to see a convention and exhibition centre for Darwin. We are dealing with it and we have expert advice. It was really offensive to hear the nature of the debate yesterday, putting down every person involved in the waterfront, implying that they had no expertise to deal with this. This is a senior group of public servants, with expertise across the private sector, dealing with the final stages of financial close, yet all we have from the Opposition Leader is knocking it, putting down those who are involved in it, questioning their integrity and questioning their expertise.
Madam Speaker, this is an Opposition Leader who does not want to see the waterfront develop, and let me say, Territorians do.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016