Mr MILLS - 2010-08-12
In respect of your bogus claim that Territory BER projects had been completed on time, I refer you to page 9 of your statement of yesterday. There you named three science and language projects that had been completed to date, and indicated Gunbalanya, Gapuwiyak and Milingimbi are due for completion by December.
I again refer to the department of Education time lines which I tabled previously, which state Round 1 science and learning centres were to be completed by 30 June. Further, an FOI from the opposition indicates that Gapuwiyak and Milingimbi were actually scheduled to be competed by 19 May, and Gunbalanya was to be competed by the end of March.
Why did you mislead the House by claiming the science and language BER projects have been delivered on time, when some of them are at least nine months overdue?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it was quite a large statement yesterday. I do not have verbatim everything I said here yesterday. What I can assure the House …
Mr Mills: I tabled the statement the minister made in this House yesterday, or he can read the Hansard. Read it.
Dr BURNS: Table what evidence you have, Leader of the Opposition? What I am saying to this House is that what I stated in this House was stated in good faith on the information and advice I have.
Moreover, it appears the Leader of the Opposition is intent on pulling this whole program apart as per his media release today. This is his big set piece. I can tell you, when I go from school to school across the Territory, people are well satisfied with their BER projects. The only one whingeing about it is the opposition. The only one trying to pick holes in it is the opposition - except when it is not in their electorate. That is what they do.
If you are talking about honesty, we had the member for Fong Lim, who has been a strident critic of the BER, turning up on Friday of last week, at the opening of the Ludmilla Library and Learning Precinct and, of course, he loves it …
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance to the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, can you get to the point pretty quickly, please?
Dr BURNS: There has been a national report tabled last week into the BER in which the Northern Territory, I believe, received quite a lot of good marks in the …
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The issue, once again, is relevance. The topic of the question was deceit.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, have you completed your answer?
Dr BURNS: I have completed, Madam Speaker.
I again refer to the department of Education time lines which I tabled previously, which state Round 1 science and learning centres were to be completed by 30 June. Further, an FOI from the opposition indicates that Gapuwiyak and Milingimbi were actually scheduled to be competed by 19 May, and Gunbalanya was to be competed by the end of March.
Why did you mislead the House by claiming the science and language BER projects have been delivered on time, when some of them are at least nine months overdue?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it was quite a large statement yesterday. I do not have verbatim everything I said here yesterday. What I can assure the House …
Mr Mills: I tabled the statement the minister made in this House yesterday, or he can read the Hansard. Read it.
Dr BURNS: Table what evidence you have, Leader of the Opposition? What I am saying to this House is that what I stated in this House was stated in good faith on the information and advice I have.
Moreover, it appears the Leader of the Opposition is intent on pulling this whole program apart as per his media release today. This is his big set piece. I can tell you, when I go from school to school across the Territory, people are well satisfied with their BER projects. The only one whingeing about it is the opposition. The only one trying to pick holes in it is the opposition - except when it is not in their electorate. That is what they do.
If you are talking about honesty, we had the member for Fong Lim, who has been a strident critic of the BER, turning up on Friday of last week, at the opening of the Ludmilla Library and Learning Precinct and, of course, he loves it …
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance to the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, can you get to the point pretty quickly, please?
Dr BURNS: There has been a national report tabled last week into the BER in which the Northern Territory, I believe, received quite a lot of good marks in the …
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The issue, once again, is relevance. The topic of the question was deceit.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, have you completed your answer?
Dr BURNS: I have completed, Madam Speaker.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016