Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Senator Malarndirri McCarthy says she support the Territory Rights bill as it is, with the legislation expected to go to a vote this afternoon

Transcript

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy says she support the Territory Rights bill as it is, with the legislation expected to go to a vote this afternoon · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, today is the day that we're expecting the vote
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: on the Territory Rights Bill. Senators participated in a preliminary
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: vote on the bill last week, with forty one senators
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: in support and twenty five against. Now, as we know,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: a federal veto on territory rights was imposed around twenty
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: five years ago after the Northern Territory legalized euthanasia. But
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: today is the day that that is expected to change. Now,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: joining me on the line to tell me more about
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: the process is the Senator Labour Senator for the Northern Territory,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Melanderie McCarthy. Good morning to you.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Senator, it is certainly hopefully going to be quite a
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: historic day for us. That preliminary vote happened last week
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: and the numbers looked good for the Northern Territory. What's
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: the process today, Well, we certainly.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Had a good numbers last week of forty one in
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: favor and to twenty five. So if those numbers still
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: stay the same or grow even more, it will be
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: a very very welcome outcome, certainly for both the Act
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: and the Northern Territory Today, though of course there's still
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: a long way to go, and there's been a number
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: of amendments that have been brought forward, so people senators
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: are obviously having a look at those amendments, Katie.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: So what are some of those amendments? And I guess
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: some of the concerns that have been raised. I know
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: that the CLP Senator just Enter Price is one of
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: the people who did raise some of those concerns last week.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Yes, I'm just looking at Senator Price's amendment, and you
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: know it does need to be given some thought, but
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: I will certainly not be supporting the amendment. My view
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: on this is that the Territory Rights Bill is purely
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: a repeal of an existing bill and does not need
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: any amendments, and so I'll be firm in my response
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: to that. I do understand that it is a conscience
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: vote for every single Senator, so every single senator needs
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: to work out their position, but certainly my position will
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: be no to that amendment.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: Now what sort of what time are we expecting this
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: vote to happen.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: Well, we're going through quite a number of bills. We've
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: still got the ir Bill before us in the Senate,
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill. We hope to get
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: to the Territory's Bill at five point thirty Australia Eastern
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Standard time, so that's about four pm your time in
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: the territory. And I just encourage your listeners to tune
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: in wherever they are online on Telly listening. This matters
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: to the people of the Northern Territory and you know,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: please join me in listening in and being a part
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: of what I hope will be an historic day for us.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Mel And Dearie, what is going to happen If it passes.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: Well, naturally there will be great relief. I think you know, Katie,
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: that this has been a long time coming for the territory.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: But for the act, this is actually about the equality
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: of the parliaments being able to debate and make their
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: own decisions consult with constituencies, just like any state parliament
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: in this country. And that to me is about effective democracy.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: And I believe we are well and fully.
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: Voiced in the Territory to have those rights to debate
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: as we should. And you know, then, of course, if
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: it does pass here, it does need to go through
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: Royalist sense with the Governor General and no doubt then
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: going to law. So I guess yes, in the new year.
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: It will be up to the Northern Territory and the
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: Act Parliament, but for now I won't get ahead of myself.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: It's going to be a really long night, Katie. I
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: suspect that with these amendments that are being.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: Introduced them a very late stage unfortunately means the very
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: real possibility of it being quite a lengthy debate well
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: into the night and in the early hours of the morning.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: Now, obviously those concerns were raised by the COLP Senator
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: just Enter Price, and we spoke to her on the
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: show last week. The opposition leader Leofanocchiaro, though yesterday told
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: us on the show that the Senator Senator Price will
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: vote for territory rights today. Have you spoken to Senator
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: Price and what's your understanding at this point if she's
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: introduced an amendment.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Look, I certainly haven't spoken to Senator Price about the
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: bill at this particular point in time, given that her
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: amendments have now been circulated to all senators, so everyone
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: is looking at the amendment by by Senate Price and
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: also Senator Dunham, who's the Tasmanian senator who's also put
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: in an amendment, So all senators are looking through those amendments,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: and I'm quite intrigued, actually, Katie, to hear that the
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: COLP leader is now saying that Senator Price will vote
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: for the Church to Rights bill, and I certainly hope
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: that will be the case, but I guess will it
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: remains to be seen.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Really, Yeah, We'll wait and see how things pan out today.
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: And now I know that last week as well, Senator
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Price was indeed raising the discussion about statehood. Do you
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: reckon we need to go back down this path?
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: Look at statehood? I believe is always an eventuality for
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: the people of the Northern Territory. I do firmly believe
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: in statehood and see it is the next step for
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: our growth in the economy. Our growth is a population
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: and our growth to be the seventh state in the
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: Federation of Australia.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: Are we there yet?
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: I think we were there a long time ago, Katie.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: Is my personal view on it, and any opportunity to
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: continue to push for statehood is very welcomed and certainly
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: a bipartisan one. I do believe that's the only way
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: we can achieve it.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: Why do you reckon it stalled?
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: I think there's you know, I think that's probably a
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: really long conversation, Gating. I was certainly Minister for Statehood
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: in two thousand and eight, and that was ten years
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: after the referendum in the Northern Territory in nineteen ninety
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: eight where vot have said no. I only just said
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: no over fifty one percent in nineteen ninety eight. When
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: I was Minister of Statehood, we tried to get it
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: back up again and running. I was certainly chair of
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: the statehoods Steering Committee in two thousand and five and
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: we canvassed people's views. There was still a warm reception
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: about the ability to do it, but it was the
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: Federal Parliament that also needed to meet us halfway. And
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: I'm conscious now that we have two senators who are
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: for statehood from the Northern Territory and this might be
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: a very real opportunity to actually get the Australian Parliament
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: to reconsider enabling the territory to go forward in terms
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: of statehood.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: Well let's see where we end up for early next year, Senator,
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: because it has been a big year in Parliament and
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: it looks like it's really going to end, you know,
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: in a big way. There is so much happening today,
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: but It's been a massive year, hasn't it.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: It's been huge, absolutely huge. It's not over yet and
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: we have what I suspect will be a very long
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: night ahead of us.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Well, Senator for the Northern Territory Labor Senator Melandery McCarthy.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Let's wait and see exactly what happens this evening. Thank
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: you so very much for your time this morning.
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: No worries, Katie, thank you, and your listeners, thank you.