Falklands : Legislative Council Motion for Adjournment Speeches (Part 2)
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 04.06.2007 (Article Archived on 18.06.2007)
Councillors speak about what is important to them and their constituents.
CLLR THE HON MR RICHARD COCKWELL (RC):
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, in rising to support the motion I would like to pass my congratulations on to the Financial Secretary and his team. It’s a huge amount of midnight oil they have burnt and hopefully next year it will be wind-power so it won’t be so expensive. But I really must congratulate them on the way which they have produced this budget. Although it’s been, as the Honourable Janet Robertson said, difficult, I have to assure her it’s nowhere near as difficult as it used to be under the old system. I think Derek and Keith and the rest of his team have made it a much smoother path to tread.
I would also like to commend the Honourable Mike Summers for leading us through the tribulations of the budget, chairing in his usual, very firm but sometimes friendly way.
The budget, I feel, - I think some people may be disappointed with it because we have had to increase tax or at least tax thresholds. But it was either that or the expense of services. The problem is if we reduce services most of the time the cuts are not acceptable and affect the less well paid rather than the well paid. And so, I did feel more comfortable in supporting the concept of raising the tax thresholds in order to balance the budget.
This is the first budget session where I haven’t since I’ve been a Councillor, had the Attorney General, David Lang sitting opposite me and giving us some wise advice occasionally and he is greatly missed. However, I have to agree that the acting Attorney General, Robert Titterington, has been a great Attorney General. The Attorney General is very welcome and I do thank him so much for everything he’s done for us in the short time that he’s been here.
And I would like to also mention at the same time, Ros Cheek, who has stepped in over and over again. She has done the most fantastic job. I, as a Falkland Islander am extremely proud that she, as a Falkland Islander has been able to perform so well. And, I have to say here that I look forward to seeing the time when she is sitting in your place, sir, as Attorney General of the Falkland Islands.
I look forward to the commemorations next month. I don’t think that we can in any way express in words the gratitude that we have to everybody who was involved in the liberation of the Falklands on 1982, so I won’t even try to express them. However, one thing that I must say is when I am in the happy position of being appointed as the representative on the Commonwealth Parliamentary association, meeting people all around the world. And, people ask me what is the solution of the problem between the Falkland Islands and Argentina and I always give the same answer. All they have to do is to recognise our right to determine our own future and live our lives in the way we wish to live it. And, they ask if that is all and I say that yes, that is all.
Sir, I support the motion.
CLLR THE HON MR MICHAEL RENDELL (MR):
Mr Speaker, honourable members, in rising to support the Motion for Adjournment I have got a few points to add on to comments made by other people. Several of my colleagues have talked about the Exercise Referral Manager position, which we have agreed in principle. That’s the way I would approach it but we still need to look at the detail. There has been quite a lot of discussion about this matter over the last few months. And, it’s my understanding that the benefits which we will get from this person is that they will be able to support doctors in weaning their patients off drugs. The issue that the Honourable Andrea Clausen has with this – we are asking for further work on it and I am sure we will get that amplified and will be able to move forward and support this position.
One of my colleagues also talked about the abattoir and this is an area which I have loyalties to. I have a real loyalty to the need for an abattoir for the long-term prosperity of the Falklands and the Camp in particular. But I do have some issues about exactly ow we keep it going and how much money needs to be ploughed into it and I am very pleased that a working group was established as a result of select committee to look at exactly what are the priorities for the abattoir and how it can move forward in a sensible and financially prudent way. But there is a strong need for it to support the Camp. There is no doubt about that.
I would just like to cherry-pick on a couple of items that have been approved in the capital expenditure for this coming year and to thank colleagues for their united support for them all. One in particular to me is the cross-sound ferry terminals, which I think are absolutely vital that we’ve allocated all the money that we think we are going to need for this purpose to build these two terminals all to happen in this coming season. We got the finances, we just have to make sure we’ve got the resources to do it as well and given that there is a possible change in the way in which it’s going to be constructed. I think there’s a lot more for optimism that it will be the case.
Camp road construction continues and one of the things that came out loud and clear from the Fox Bay meeting – and I should make it clear that the four or five meetings that I had at Fox Bay have always been very well attended and I have absolutely no doubt that Fox Bay, in particular, is an area where people are very keen to keep up with events and to ask serious questions.
But at that meeting one of the serious questions that was asked was about what we were going to be doing about the condition of some of the roads on West Falkland. And I will be working hard with the Transport Advisory Committee to make sure that in this coming year we are able to resolve some of those problems helped in a way by the ploughing back in of the money that will be recouped from the cost of building the road to Mt. Byron for the Military.
Another area where I am very pleased that work is going to be going ahead is on the refurbishment of the Police Station and the Prison. We have been talking about this for years and years and now we are getting on with it, so thank goodness for that.
And, another one that falls into the same category is the Jetty Centre car park. We’ve got £30,000.00 in there this year and we really, really must get on and do it.
A much smaller one with a less cost to it is the upgrading of the Fox Bay airstrip, which I think has been long overdue and which will bring that airstrip back up to the capability which it should have year around rather than moving on to a grass airstrip during the winter. And that will be a positive benefit to everybody on the West.
Behind all these projects is the Public Works Department and their Director, Manfred Keenleyside. Yesterday the Honourable Richard Cockwell touched on the work that Manfred has done and I would like to back that up and say what a fantastic job he is doing in some very difficult circumstances with a lot of really major engineering projects.
The last thing I would like to say is to endorse a comment that the Honourable Richard Stevens made yesterday, which was about this 77% of farmers making a profit. I, too, am a little mystified by that. I know that we are going to be updating the Islands’ Plan this year and I will be asking forsome detail as to exactly how that was calculated.
Mr Speaker, I support the Motion.
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