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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 3 Hansard (27 March) . . Page.. 711 ..

MR DE DOMENICO (continuing):

in small business management, 12 months' business support and a start-up grant of up to $3,000 for each business. In addition, Mr Speaker, I am pleased to inform the Assembly that 12 Canberra businesses have agreed to fund youth business initiative grants in 1996. The program began as a pilot project last year, with five young people now running successful small businesses full time and one part time. The 1996 program will begin with 25 taking part in the training course starting in April, and up to 14 new businesses are expected to commence operating in June. Mr Speaker, I am also pleased to see that many of Canberra's schools are teaching the types of skills that students will need if they pursue a career in business, and I congratulate Mr Stefaniak for his initiative there.

Last week I officially opened the 1996 ACT business educators seminar, which saw teachers of business from around Canberra come together for a chance to discuss the state of business education in the ACT. The focus of this year's seminar was enterprise education, which is what we must instil in the minds of Canberra's young people if they are to develop an interest in the business world. Mr Speaker, I also took the opportunity of launching the ACT's "Plan your own Enterprise" competition. The competition involves students from Years 9 to 12 from around Australia submitting a comprehensive business plan as part of a national education initiative to stimulate students' interest in the business world. This is what this Government has initiated, Mr Speaker.

During Labor's last year of office a mere 700 new jobs were created - a figure which reflects the priority given to business by the former Government, a government more interested in dealing with unions than in supporting the private sector. Mr Speaker, I am pleased to inform members that, under this Government, the outlook for Canberra's ever-increasing private sector is a good deal rosier. The latest Yellow Pages small business index, announced recently, showed that 63 per cent of small businesses in the ACT are now positive about their prospects. Mr Speaker, we will continue to work closely with the business sector to ensure that this confidence is maintained. In addition, Mr Speaker, when speaking to a recent seminar of about 82 small business women in the ACT the major thing they said to me was, "For heaven's sake, if you are going to educate kids, educate them about being business people. Make sure that the education program is geared towards that". Once again, I applaud the work Mr Stefaniak is doing.

On top of that, Mr Speaker, to answer Mr Hird's question, as you know, from 1 January of this year this Government increased the payroll tax threshold to $600,000. From 1 January next year it will be increased to $800,000, thus injecting $13.5m back into the private sector. Can I also say, Mr Speaker, that this Friday I will be travelling to Melbourne to meet with colleagues as Industrial Relations Ministers to make sure that under Federal legislation proposed by the Howard Liberal Government - which this Government will support - the unfair dismissal laws will be changed, secondary boycotts legislation will be changed, and hopefully also protected strike action under section 170 will be changed, to make sure that the private sector is given every opportunity possible to employ more young people. So, Mr Speaker, this Government, unlike the previous Labor Government, has done a lot to make sure that the future is rosier for young people seeking employment in the ACT.

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