Page 1611 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 17 May 1994
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That matter has been addressed by speakers this evening. The resolution continues:
2. The ACT legislation to permit exemption for money spent on training by individual employers, using the same criteria as the Federal Training Guarantee Legislation. Where expenditure by any individual or company is recognised under the Commonwealth training guarantee legislation as granting an exemption to part of the one per cent training guarantee, the same amount will be credited to a reduction in any permit levy charges under the relevant ACT legislation.
3. There will be an equivalent levy raised on all Government projects.
4. The ACT Government will distribute the sum of funds raised, equitably through a trust account, to individual companies and associations in the building and construction industry. In distributing funds, the trust, which will comprise all employer and union organisations, will give consideration to the advice of the Building and Construction Industry Training Council and other relevant industry bodies.
This resolution, as I said before, Madam Speaker, was passed nearly four years ago. It seems strange to me that, with such an intense debate still continuing on the issue, the resolution has not been revisited by the Industry Training Council to confirm or not to confirm a consensus of views on the issue.
I remember lengthy debates in this Assembly about the level of the long service leave building and construction industry levy, which was eventually reduced by this Assembly from 2.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent in recent times. I believe, Madam Speaker, that the Assembly took the view that the current level of contributions being levied from industry was far in excess of current need. There is no doubt, having formed the view that this levy was not sustainable, that I am reluctant to consider a further additional levy on the building and construction industry for training purposes.
I have received advice from the Department of Education and Training which refers to the $160,000 currently in the long service leave training fund. I asked for information to be provided on this which would explain to me how that money is to be spent. Almost the whole amount is committed, according to the information that I have received, as follows: $32,000 is for the balance of a gas appliance course post-trade being run by the Canberra Institute of Technology; $54,000 is for the balance of a plastering trade course, also being run by the Canberra Institute of Technology; and $60,000 is to be sought to implement a competency assessment program as part of the introduction of competency based training. I have recently received further advice from a different source which indicates that the Industry Training Council has $435,750 available to it, as at 30 April this year, in cash management reserves. Opposition members also have referred to that amount. I understand, Madam Speaker, that the Minister is going to say, in his concluding remarks, how those funds are to be spent at this stage on industry training.
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