Page 3340 - Week 11 - Thursday, 22 September 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
The second point is that there are other things that the ACT Government could have done but has not done. Ms Szuty, quite correctly, recalled a number of recommendations made by the Government's own Economic Priorities Advisory Committee. I think that there was a report in May 1992 that had 37 recommendations, or in the high thirties anyway. I stand to be corrected on the exact number. I am advised that, at one stage, there were about 80 such recommendations spanning three reports. Very few of those recommendations, I believe, have actually been taken on board. Advice is often given to this Government. Sometimes the advice is listened to, but then nothing is done about it.
We all recall the Burmah Fuels situation, where certain small businesses have said that their employment prospects will be affected once again by a direct decision made by this Government. That will impinge on the potential to employ more young people. We have said a lot about the VITAB affair and the potential that it had - - - (Quorum formed) No-one will ever forget the enormous potential to cause unemployment that VITAB had - and still has, I suppose. Ms Follett, and Ms Szuty also, talked about Joblink and the potential success that that may have. Yet earlier this week we heard the CES complain about the doubling up in the process between CES, Joblink and the Canberra Chamber of Commerce. So, perhaps that is something that we need to look at to make sure that we are getting the optimum benefit out of areas like Joblink.
We have also noticed over recent times that the Canberra Business Council has decided to express its great concern about the future of employment in this town by going out on a marketing campaign. I note that two or three weeks ago the Chief Minister herself acknowledged the fact that we need to create 1,000 jobs additional to the 5,000 per year that we are to be creating now, in the private sector alone, in order to hold the unemployment level literally at the level it is at now. We saw very little in this paper about exactly what the Government has it in mind to do to create the atmosphere in which the private sector can produce more jobs, especially more jobs for young people. There is no doubt - and you do not have to be a genius to realise it - that one of the major concerns that the private sector has is the cost of employing people. That includes workers compensation, government red tape and all the sorts of things that business has to comply with. There was very little in the statement about that.
Ms Szuty quoted some very interesting statistics. We know that there are now more unemployed people than there were a year ago. There are also fewer employed people than there were a year ago. We know that the educational situation has reached saturation point. That can be added to those two statistics. We also know that we have a high population growth rate here in the ACT, especially in areas like the Tuggeranong Valley. On top of that, we know that the Government can directly contribute a little more than it has done by not underspending in the public works area. We know that the public works area and the building and construction industry are areas that employ a lot of young people. So, there are three or four things that the Government has done that, I believe, have perpetuated the rate of unemployment or have allowed it to hover around the 30 per cent mark. There are also things that it could have done but has not. I refer to things that are the direct responsibility of the Government.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .