Parliamentary record : Part I debates (02 October 1990)
Debates for 5th Assembly 1987 - 1990; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 5th Assembly 1987 - 1990
1990-10-02
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Debates
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Darwin
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DEBATES - Tuesday 2 October 1990 Mr Collins: Who put this together? The United Nations? Mrs PADGHAM-PURICH: I had it read out to me today. Things like this make nonsense of any sensible recommendation in any draft code of practice. I would like to be convinced that this matter is being' treated with the seriousness that the situation demands and also that the people who are writing these recommendations, especially our representatives from the Northern Territory, are not having a lend of us. Mr COLLINS (Sadadeen): Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to comment on some of the matters that the member for Koo 1 pi nyah has mentioned, notably theS7 poi sons. It is 1 i ke ly that I am the only person in thi s Chamber who is registered to use a couple of S7 poisons for horticultural purposes. This is a matter that I had meant to bring to the attention of the Minister for Health and Community Services, who has the ,supervision of the legislation. When I purchase these chemi ca 1 s, the 1 i cence requi res me to present a copy of my 1 i cence - I presume face to face - to the person from whom I am purchasing them. He has to' register and record the purchase. The only problem with that is that I purchase .my chemicals from interstate. It .is pretty hard to follow those procedures unless we have reciprocal arrangements with the states. Clearly, I have no intention of. going down to Adelaide or the Riverland where I obtain most of my chemicals. Some logic and common sense ought to be brought into the procedures. It is simply assumed that peop 1 e wi 11 be able to buy these chemi ca 1 s 1 oca 11y. That may be the case in Darwi n, but S7 chemi ca 1 s are not used wi de ly in central Austra 1 i a. I have to purchase them interstate or poss i b ly from Darwi n. I think my sources interstate would be cheaper. In 1 ast Thursday ni ght' s adjournment debate, I menti oned a document titled 'The Conclusion of Treaties and Other International Arrangements' and a summary which indicates quite clearly that, when the executive of the federal government ratifies a United Nations treaty or convention, it is binding in international law. Because of the lateness of the hour, I forgot to seek leave to table those papers at that time. I seek leave to table that summary. Leave granted. Mr COLLINS: I have something in which the Minister for Mines and Energy would be interested. It was brought to my attention that, in last Thursday's Sydney Morning Herald, there was an article headed, 'Ward Treaty Pledges Our Oil to Japan'. Unfortunately, our library receives the Sydney Morning Herald by post, and the edition of 25 September was the latest one available up until this morning. I have a fax copy of the article but, unfortunately, it is fairly hard to read. My secretary has typed the art i cle, but has had to omit a couple of words that she could not deci pher. However, the reference is there. I find it rather horrendous that, in 1979, a Liberal government signed a provision which will mean that, in effect, if war breaks out in the Mi ddl e East, we wi 11 be requi red to contribute to a pool of oil to be used by countries like Japan, West Germany and Italy. The reference is the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald of 27 September 1990. The effects on this country should be a matter of concern to all of us. Mr Deputy Speaker, I seek leave to table the document. Leave granted. 10 716