NT Chief Minister Avoids Tough Questions

The decision of the Chief Minister to schedule his estimates appearance at night and restrict questions to just four and a half hours is a clear attempt to limit potentially embarrassing revelations, says the Territory Opposition.
“The Chief Minister knows some tough questions are coming his way, so he’s suddenly coy about appearing before the tv cameras,” says Terry Mills, Leader of the Opposition.
Aside from being Chief Minister, Henderson is directly responsible for Police, Fire and Emergency Services; Major Projects and Trade; Climate Change; Statehood; Information, Communication and Technology Policy as well as Multicultural Affairs.
Len Kiely is the Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage and the Minister for Parks and Wildlife.
“Despite the hugely differing levels of ministerial responsibility between the Chief Minister and Len Kiely, we have the preposterous situation where they are both allocated exactly the same amount of time for questions,” says Terry Mills, Leader of the Opposition.
“Further eroding the level of scrutiny of the Chief Minister is the fact questions to the Auditor General and Ombudsman must be asked during the time allocated for questions to the chief Minister.
“The Chief Minister will slink into the chair to answer questions after the nightly tv news bulletins have gone to air.
“It is worth remembering that before Labor came to office estimates allowed the opposition to ask every question it thought fit, with no restriction on time.
“Labor has decided to honour its election commitment to open and transparent Government by limiting the number of questions that can be asked about its budget process.”

2008-06-17