Page 532 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 February 1993
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MR CORNWELL: I would have to ask that question myself. Where is the social justice in being unemployed? But it is all right; Ms Follett has promised to work on the following: A social justice budget statement; a separate ACT public service; a voting system for the ACT; and, of course, the indigenous people here. Again, where are the jobs in these four areas that she is going to beaver away at with enthusiasm in 1993? She has also promised a ratepayers survey and a new flag for Canberra. If we can get everybody to sit down and make new flags, we might be able to create a few jobs, but I am not convinced that this is the case. These, however, are the Chief Minister's priorities. They certainly do not address job creation in any real or meaningful way.
Furthermore, they give no hope for the creation of jobs in the business sector. For example, no reduction is proposed for payroll tax. There are no cuts to taxes on business such as wholesale sales tax, payroll taxes, petrol excise, customs duties, rebates on goods and services, tax paid on business inputs. All of these cuts are part of the progressive Fightback package of the coalition. There are no plans by this ACT Labor Government to reduce the huge costs incurred in the ACT with, for example, transport infrastructure, like reducing the costs in ACTION.
Mr Connolly: What? We are the only government that has ever done that.
MR CORNWELL: It is all right, Mr Connolly. I am not going to ask you to comment on that, because I know that you will offend the Transport Workers Union yet again and we do not want anything to happen to you. You are one of the most efficient Ministers opposite.
There is no mention of labour market reform in Ms Follett's 1993 priorities. There is no commitment to aiding the review process for development projects. It has been drawn to our attention that there are housing developments that are still languishing in various offices of this administration all over town, and we do want to ask: How long is it going to take to get these things off the ground? There is no mention at all of employment as a priority by this Government. In fact, what this Government has done in terms of employment in this city is to allow their Federal colleagues to remove employment opportunities from the ACT. For example, the Human Rights Commission went to Sydney - 130 jobs were lost. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal went to Brisbane - 114 jobs. The Industry Commission went to Melbourne - 227 jobs. The CSIRO headquarters moved to Melbourne - I think the figure might have been about 50 there. Of course, there is the suggested transfer of the Australian Broadcasting Authority, with another 50 jobs going to Sydney.
What did this Government, this Government that has such an affinity with the Federal Labor Government, do and indeed what could they do to prevent those job losses from the ACT? They are significant; you cannot just push them aside, because it is known that each job within the public service or within public service statutory authorities generates a certain number of jobs in the private sector. So not only have we lost these jobs from the ACT, we have also lost the potential of generating other jobs in the private sector to serve these positions.
Mr Lamont: Oh!
MR CORNWELL: Do not scoff, Mr Lamont; it is very basic. What about ACT youth unemployment, which is the highest in Australia? The Chief Minister's Youth Advisory Council on Youth Unemployment said in December 1991:
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