Falklands : Motion for Adjournment Speech by the Hon Mr Roger Edwards
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 05.03.2012 (Article Archived on 19.03.2012)
Mr Speaker, Honourable Colleagues, in rising last to support the Motion for Adjournment is always difficult because things have probably been covered before but I would like to start by congratulating. I have three areas where I think people need congratulating.
Motion for Adjournment Speech by the Hon Mr Roger Edwards:
Mr Speaker, Honourable Colleagues, in rising last to support the Motion for Adjournment is always difficult because things have probably been covered before but I would like to start by congratulating. I have three areas where I think people need congratulating.
Firstly the roads My Colleague Sharon Halford mentioned the roads and the work that has been done I think we should thank everybody from top to bottom – the officers for putting forward the proposals, the MLAs for passing the funding bur above all those people who are actually out on the West working and making the roads better. We have a long way to go and much more work needs to be done. And despite the rumours on the West that there isn’t going to be any work done there at all, I hope to assure people that the good work that has been done this year continues into the future.
Secondly is the Abattoir. We were aware from the time we were elected that there was much work to be done at the Abattoir to provide compliance with EU regulation and to better work practices in the Abattoir itself. Although supportive of the Abattoir, Members were not really happy with the high costs that were proposed and so the whole project was taken in-house, overseen by an oversight board and I am pleased to announce that we have come to the end of phases 3 and 4. Even the reduced figures that we came up with have come in under budget. So I think Government has a lot to learn from the way we have treated the Abattoir and congratulations to all those concerned in doing such a good job brought in under budget. We have much to learn.
Third thing I would like to congratulate is Irene Lucas for the review of the review. Many of the manifestos of the November ’09 election referred to the “Super-heads” – the super-directors who were being appointed – a new level of Government etc. etc. we now have a report by an independent person. I think it’s a very good and very fair report and I am pleased that it’s going out to the Civil Service and to the Chamber of Commerce. It is now time to digest that report, decide on what actions we will be taking on that report. We will welcome feedback from members of the Civil Service, members of the public and from the Chamber of Commerce. And further reviews, I am sure, will be necessary.
Next I would like to mention briefly our overseas visits. Sharon and I went to Brussels to the Overseas Countries and Territories Association meeting where the main subject of discussion was the new Overseas Association Decision Paper which lays out the relationship between the European Union and Overseas Territories. The final paper will be produced shortly although it seems to continually slip and it’s always 6 weeks away but they tell us it will be produced very shortly and I am sure that we will have a better relationship with the European Union following on from that production.
In the Caribbean, which was as Sharon Said certainly no holiday, with the number of flights and the number of visits and the number of people we had to see, but we did get across the very basic message. We updated the Islands where we in the Falkland Islands are, we highlighted the myths and rumours that were propagated by the Argentine PR machine and we pointed out as many people have done before our simple right to self-determination. If you don’t grant us that right to self-determination you are implying that someone else has the right to decide your future. And I think that is totally wrong.
We also assisted in the conduct of various interviews for a new Chief Executive and there will be further interviews and discussions next week.
I am pleased the RDS was mentioned. It is an important document for the Camp. We will, I hope, be following up the decision from EXCO in actually producing the paper but we now need the action plan and that will need discussion, visits and so on so I hope in the near future we will all be able to meet with members of the public out and about in the Camp to turn the strategy into an action plan.
Argentines and their visits: We had a very robust meeting with the Attorney General and the Chief of Police on Tuesday afternoon and it came about that in the bit of paper they are given both in English and Spanish to everyone arriving – it says in there that the waving of flags, wearing Argentine football shirts and all the rest of the paraphernalia they bring with them does cause alarm and distress to some people. I am a great believer that if these visitors cause alarm and distress and intimidation and provocation, I think we should be able to react to that. And I welcome back in a couple of weeks the Attorney General, the Chief of Police and possibly the Immigration officer on things that we can do to prevent further alarm and distress to our population.
While we were abroad in the Caribbean we pointed out that actually we would much prefer a much friendlier relationship with Argentina. There is a whole raft of things that we can do – joint fish stocks – areas for hydrocarbons search and so on. Many of these things we had agreements in the ‘90s. (the 14 July 1999 Agreement with Argentina signed by the late Sr Guido di Tella and the Late Mr Robin Cook) Suddenly they were unilaterally withdrawn by Argentina. We would love to progress these things. We must be one of the only seriously rich fishing grounds in the world where we don’t have an area (regional) regulation. So there’s much we can do with Argentina but while the Argentine government continues with this bullying and nasty attack on the Falkland Islands, how can we possibly conduct those things?
However, as was mentioned by a couple of people, that does not stop the people of the Falkland Islands from expressing our sympathy to the families and relatives of those killed in the train crash in Argentina.
Finally, I, too, would like to welcome Jim Sensenbrenner and Todd Washam. Probably the last important visit from the USA was in the form of the USS Lexington in 1832 when it came to sort out the then population trying to impose taxes on American Sealers in the area. But that, to our benefit, gave rise to the Admiralty sending down HMS Clio and Captain Onslow in 1833. Thereafter, of course, history is as is.
I hope, Jim, that you will be a friend and supporter to the Falkland Islands.
Mr Speaker, I support the Motion.
|
