Page 2576 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 24 August 1993
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
and training to ensure that opportunities are made available. In practical terms the Government has demonstrated this commitment through ensuring that the system is relevant to the needs and aspirations of young people. The process of public consultation we have undertaken on the establishment of an ACT Training Authority, the move of the former TAFE onto a corporate footing as the Canberra Institute of Technology and the consolidation of the portfolio responsibilities for education and training are examples of structural changes which go to the core of ensuring that our education system has the capacity to give young people choices which will enhance the quality of their lives and the contribution they are able to make to the society in which they live.
Within ACT Health a number of initiatives are worthy of note. In particular, two mental health outreach workers have been employed to work with young people experiencing mental health problems. This aims to increase young people's access to existing services and to provide early intervention programs. In addition, ACT Health is developing a youth alcohol strategy. This project will address a variety of issues related to young people and alcohol abuse, including the connection between alcohol and violence and the role of the media in raising awareness.
The national youth policy also highlights the importance of ensuring that people working in the youth sector have access to adequate and appropriate training. In fact, this issue was discussed as an agenda item in its own right at the youth Ministers conference. I took particular interest in this discussion. I believe that the youth sector training councils have done some excellent work and continue to provide much needed training to people working in the youth sector. In the ACT this is especially true of the ACT Youth Sector Training Council, which provides a comprehensive calendar of field based training relevant to both community and government workers dealing with young people.
The discussion at the council meeting centred around the issue of funding to the youth sector training councils and the fact that the current joint Commonwealth-State funding arrangements will cease at a national level in December this year. In the course of discussion on this issue I was instrumental in negotiating the inclusion of a resolution which will allow States and Territories to individually enter into bilateral negotiations with the Commonwealth for jointly funded approaches to youth sector training. I believe that this was an important concession, as it ensures that States have the option to continue to pursue the support of their training councils with the assistance of the Commonwealth.
Madam Speaker, I have outlined the substance of the outcomes of the ministerial council meeting and the current ACT initiatives in line with the national youth policy, so at this point it is timely to return to the development of the first youth budget statement. The youth budget statement will be tabled with other budget documents in September. Essentially, its production demonstrates a practical example of this Government's commitment to put policy into practice. Through the budget statement the Government and the community will be able to monitor the level of resources being directed towards our young people and to assess the impact of our policies and programs across the ACT Government Service on young people in the ACT.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .