Page 430 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 27 June 1989
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work can be onerous on occasions, but it is the sort of position, it seems to me, that could easily be filled by a person who has retired from the work force.
I think it is most unfortunate that the Bill contemplates the disability of a person over the age of 65 sitting on that authority.
I come finally, Mr Speaker, to clause 21 of the Bill, which I was very curious to examine when I first read it. Clause 21, subclause (2) says:
If an appointed member of the Authority -
(a) becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with creditors or makes an assignment of remuneration for the benefit of those creditors; ...
the Minister shall terminate the appointment of the member.
It is interesting indeed to note that the self-government legislation which establishes this Assembly, which provides for the election of members and the appointment of Ministers, does not contain a similar disability. It is curious that a person is disqualified from membership of the authority, whose positions, I would argue, are far less onerous and far less important than the responsibilities of a Minister, for example, by virtue of bankruptcy or some arrangement under the bankruptcy laws when members of the Government are not under that same disability. I would ask the Government to consider whether that is entirely congruous in the circumstances.
MS MAHER (4.28): Mr Speaker, I welcome the setting up of the Vocational Training Authority and I believe it will play an important role in promoting equal employment within the ACT community.
I refer to clause 8 of the Bill, which specifies that one of the functions of the Authority will be to promote equity in access to training opportunities. To achieve this equity in access the authority will be required to break down many of the barriers that impede employment opportunities for various disadvantaged groups within our community.
These groups include women, the physically disabled, the long-term unemployed and ethnic groups whose job opportunities are limited by deficient English language skills. Also, employment statistics on the ACT labour market show that women in general are segmented into a narrow range of occupations with low remuneration and career opportunities, as is found throughout the rest of Australia, and that women are underrepresented in the trade and key occupations such as computing and engineering.
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