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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 3995 ..

MR OSBORNE (continuing):

I would like to hear from Mr De Domenico about that money. Is it going into that black hole or not? Mrs Carnell has claimed here that it will not, but I would like another reassurance from Mr De Domenico, for the record. One rumour going around was that these new apprenticeships, these new jobs that we are hearing so much about, were going to be filled by existing apprentices on other schemes, and that was of great concern to me. Mr De Domenico says in his letter:

You also raised concerns about the prospect of those apprentices placed within the skills centre being not "new" apprentices, but rather transferred from other training schemes. Let me be quite clear on this point. It is the Government's intention that those apprentices placed in the skills centre by way of the funding from this Bill will be new or currently unemployed apprentices/trainees.

I have a real problem with that word "intention". It makes me hark back to the debate on the salaried medical officers, when I had an undertaking that there would be full bulk-billing doctors. The next thing I heard was that it was only the intention of the Government. So I am very nervous about that word. Perhaps Mr De Domenico could guarantee that these apprentices - 70, I think - will all be new, not people who have been off-loaded by MBA Group Training. I also have a letter from Graham Evans, the chairperson of MBA Group Training Inc., in which he says:

I understand you have raised some concerns about the potential for existing MBA apprentices to utilise the proposed Industry Skills Centre.

Let me categorically state that it is MBA Group Training's intention -

there is that word again, Mr Speaker -

that those apprentices going into the proposed Skills Centre be new apprentices or apprentices who are currently unemployed.

I cannot seem to get away from "intention". I seek leave to table that letter, and the statutory declaration.

Leave granted.

MR OSBORNE: That is a very important issue. I would hate to think that, once this skills centre is set up, MBA Group Training suddenly winds back and sacks people, and then sends them down to join the queue to enter the skills centre. I want a guarantee from the Minister about that. Next, Mr De Domenico spoke about the make-up of the board:

To ensure compliance with this intent, the Government will require close monitoring of the activities of both MBA Group Training and the Skills Centre by the tripartite management committee. We also intend to amend the contract between the Government and MBA Group Training to leave no doubt as to the Government's intentions on this matter.

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