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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Thursday, 1 July 2004) . . Page.. 3228 ..

reduce the incidence of malaria by consuming mosquito larvae. There are innumerable small-scale projects such as these throughout the developing world, only we rarely hear about them. They do not get nearly the amount of funding that they deserve.

Those points are important because so often very general and bland statements that just do not stand up to the reality are made in debate, especially when people talk about developing countries. If you speak to the scientists in the developing countries—and I have done that—you will find that they will support what I have just said.

Question put:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

The Assembly voted—

Question so resolved in the negative.

Bill negatived.

Annual Leave Amendment Bill 2003

Debate resumed from 25 September 2003, on motion by Ms Gallagher:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

MR PRATT (9.53): Mr Speaker, the Liberal opposition supports the bill. The Annual Leave Amendment Bill 2003 serves dual purposes—to allow Canberra businesses to operate under a flexible employment framework and to ensure that part-time employees receive the benefit of annual leave, as full-time employees currently do.

For many years now Canberra businesses have had to engage part-time employees for a minimum number of hours per week if annual leave was to be accrued. Businesses were obliged to have these employees work this number of hours even if the business did not require it. In addition, employees had to work the minimum number of hours to accrue annual leave even if it did not suit their lifestyles.

Mr Speaker, there have been important changes in employment patterns over the past decades. Employers and governments have to be flexible with these changes. We have to be flexible in this Assembly to ensure that no employer or employee is negatively impacted by the conditions we impose upon employment benefits in Canberra. We

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