Page 1014 - Week 04 - Thursday, 18 June 1992
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Much work now needs to be done with regard to this report. I disagree with the stance of the Social Policy Committee in not referring the issue of youth unemployment to a select committee as I feel that this would have been the perfect vehicle for passage of those recommendations deemed appropriate for putting recommended action into practice. However, even though the committee chair has admitted that the majority of the committee has, in the past, rejected youth unemployment as an area of investigation, I note that the current recommendation does not preclude it from being taken on at a later stage, and I would suggest that the EPACT report provides the perfect catalyst for this to now occur.
MR MOORE (12.16): I believe that Assembly business is approaching the end of its time. I was happy to move under standing order 77 for an extension.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Moore, we are finished with Assembly business. This is the presentation of papers.
MR MOORE: That makes it easier. Madam Speaker, I would like to address the subject, but I will defer to a member of the Social Policy Committee.
MRS GRASSBY (12.16): I rise to support the decision that was made by the Social Policy Committee. I feel that the committee that this should have gone to is the Tourism and ACT Promotion Committee. After all, we all know extremely well how badly we fared in the Premiers Conference. Therefore, we cannot look to the Government for this sort of money and we have to look to the private sector. As tourism is one of our biggest businesses in this city, I am sure that that committee could be looking at ways of improving jobs for young people in the tourist industry. As Ms Szuty is a member of that committee, I thought that that is the committee that it should be sent to.
I feel that youth unemployment is far too important to be put virtually on the backburner. As we are going to report on aged accommodation, I feel that, with the short time that everybody has on these committees, a report on youth unemployment would be something that would be done in a hurry, and I do not agree with that. I am not sure that we need just to look at the effect that unemployment has on youth. We pretty well know the effect that unemployment has on all people over a long period. We do not have to ask, "Well, what does it do to the youth?". We know that it has a very devastating effect on anybody who feels that they have a right to a job and cannot get one.
I feel that putting it to our committee and trying to deal with aged accommodation as well as youth unemployment would be very unfair to these people. It would be unfair to come up with a report that may not be done in a way that it should be done. As I say, we do not all have that amount of time to sit on committees, day and night. All of us are serving on two, sometimes three, committees. It does make it difficult. As I say, it is too important to just skip through something.
As Ms Ellis said, we have considered maybe looking at this later, but I cannot see how we on the Social Policy Committee can look at finding jobs for young people. What we can do is look at the effect unemployment is having, but the Tourism and ACT Promotion Committee can look at ways in which jobs can be found in that area in Canberra for people. So, I am afraid that I was one of those who voted against it. I support the chairman, Ms Ellis, on this, as other members also
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