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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Wednesday, 30 June 2004) . . Page.. 3019 ..

the white paper. We need to be careful when we selectively read the entrails of reports produced by firms that have specialist interest in very limited fields.

As you can see, you can have a different reading from both Sensis and the Chamber of Commerce. The employment expectation from the Chamber of Commerce is a net minus 4. Employment levels are down from the June expectation of 52 per cent to a September expectation of 48 per cent. There is a decline on the figures done by a local survey and that really contradicts what the Hudson Report is saying. In contrast again to the Hudson Report, the chamber survey is based on a wide range of economic parameters. The chamber survey found overall that there were some signs of slowdown in growth in the September quarter.

We can sit here and pat ourselves on the back for having found a report that says that we are doing a good job, but the question is: what do we do with that report? Do we take the foot off the pedal? Do we sit back and say things are okay? I do not think things are okay. Mr Hargreaves attended the Tuggeranong Business Forum the other day. All the candidates spoke about the need to increase employment in the Tuggeranong Valley. Mr Hargreaves himself expressed some concerns that the Canberra plan was not doing anything for Tuggeranong, that it was not working for the people of Tuggeranong—and he is right.

Mr Hargreaves: That is not what I said, Brendan. Get it right.

MR SMYTH: You can correct it.

Mr Hargreaves: Go back and get it right or I will have you in a censure motion.

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Hargreaves!

Mr Hargreaves: Get the quote.

MR SPEAKER: Order! You can come back to it.

MR SMYTH: I will get the proper quote.

MR SPEAKER: Direct your comments through the chair.

MR SMYTH: The quote said words to the effect, “If you expect me to tell you that the Canberra plan is working for Tuggeranong—well, I can’t cause it ain’t.” But I will get the quote. The Canberra Times quote was fairly accurate as to what was said.

There are still concerns about jobs growth in areas such as Tuggeranong, Belconnen and Gungahlin. It is all well and good to have a survey that says, “This is the expectation”, but how are we going to deliver it? The real question becomes: what are we doing about making sure that there is long-term employment into the future? The government’s answer seems to be, “We have got a white paper.” The commentary on the white paper from both Sensis and the Chamber of Commerce seems to be that since the release of the white paper we have seen two quarters where confidence in the government is either flat or has fallen significantly.

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