Page 4061 - Week 13 - Thursday, 10 November 1994
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they run a proposal through the fairly extensive community process and see what result that brings. That would allow everybody to comment upon it and the various implications of that proposal. Additional to that, it may be necessary also to have a fairly careful look at the retail needs in Tuggeranong.
A little time ago I indicated that we would be opening up some local shopping centres. They will proceed because the community needs access to a corner store, so to speak, in order to go and get milk or emergency provisions. It is certainly the case that those corner stores, the local centres, do not deal in large-scale selling. People go to the large supermarkets for that. I did indicate when I made the announcement about those local centres, as I recall, that they would be upwards of 500 square metres or so. It has become apparent that that might be a little large. If a local shopping centre is to be viable without too much debt built into it, without too much overhead, it might be desirable to have them smaller with as little investment as possible.
MR CORNWELL: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Minister, I was interested to hear that you had had representations from Leda in relation to this. Has the Federal member for Canberra, Mrs Kelly, made representations to you in support of this development of an extra 16,000 square metres in the Hyperdome?
MR WOOD: The answer is yes. I have had, I suppose, informal conversations. Mrs Kelly has not come to me in a formal way; but, as I have met her around the place, she has expressed a point of view. I might say to Mr Cornwell that there have been quite a number of people expressing a view to me. It has raised quite a deal of debate in the area. If Mrs Kelly has seen me, or sent a message to me, quite a number of other people and groups also are expressing a view.
Unemployment
MR STEFANIAK: My question is directed to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, you will be aware that the unemployment figures for the ACT show that we now no longer have the lowest jobless rate in Australia. You will also be aware that our trend rate of 7.6 per cent for October is the highest for 12 months and compares with decreases figures also show that we have the highest youth unemployment rate in Australia, and possibly one of the highest since self-government, at 40.6 per cent. Will you now admit that your so-called jobs budgets of the last three years have utterly failed?
MS FOLLETT: I thank Mr Stefaniak for the question, Madam Speaker. I would like, first of all, to correct an incorrect impression that Mr Stefaniak might have given. The general unemployment figures for October 1994, whilst they are very disappointing figures, and I am the first to admit that, are actually substantially better than they were in October 1993 - about 1.2 per cent better.
Madam Speaker, the strategy that the Government has adopted in looking at the question of unemployment has been a multifaceted strategy. We have in place programs that are designed to assist people who are particularly disadvantaged in the labour market. Those programs include things like ACT Jobskills, where we have devised a six-month program of on and off the job training for people who have been unemployed.
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