Page 1318 - Week 05 - Thursday, 26 April 1990
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requiring the board to invest moneys on deposit with an approved bank or in Territory or Commonwealth securities or in any other manner approved by the Chief Minister. An approved bank, in relation to an authority, means either a trading bank, as defined in section 5(1) of the Banking Act 1959 of the Commonwealth, or another bank declared by the Chief Minister or a person authorised by the Chief Minister to give approvals under this section to be an approved bank in relation to that authority.
Mr Speaker, I believe that the amendments put forward in this Bill provide a system by which industry training in the Territory can be enhanced. It is something which has long been sought by union organisations and by employers in the Territory. It sets up the mechanisms for proper control of the moneys that are being paid by way of levy for this purpose. It provides the infrastructure within which the board can operate effectively to get the best return for the money that it has on investment until it is required for training purposes, yet it still vests in the Minister for Finance and Urban Services and indeed the Chief Minister the means of properly controlling the collection, management and expenditure of those funds. I believe this is something that both the industry and the trade unions have long been seeking and waiting for. This Bill will give them the system that they require.
MR DUBY (Minister for Finance and Urban Services) (11.50), in reply: I see that there are still no other members of the opposition here in the Assembly with the exception of Mr Moore. I gather that Mr Moore does not intend to speak, so I shall conclude the debate on this matter.
Mr Speaker, the Long Service Leave (Building and Construction Industry) (Amendment) Bill of 1990 was initially drafted with the approval of the previous ACT Government, the previous Labor administration. I think it is an indication of the acceptance of this particular piece of legislation throughout the community that the Alliance Government agrees with the merits of the draft Bill and has carried it through in almost the identical state to that proposed by the previous Government.
The main purpose of the legislation is to provide a mechanism to allow a portion of funds being collected from the building and construction industry to be set aside for industry training. I think it is well-known and documented throughout the community that training is a matter of vital importance for our industries. Without training, the general level of standards within the industry will decline and perchance we will wind up with a situation where we have no new young people coming into the various industries. Training is very, very important.
The need for a fund to provide and assist with training was recently highlighted by the severe budgetary restraints experienced at the ACT Institute of TAFE. These led to the deletion of some trade courses from the TAFE's curriculum.
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