Page 741 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 24 March 1993
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In conclusion, Madam Speaker, I would like to say to members that the ACT's unemployment rate has been consistently well below the national average, and remains well below it. I think that is something which, as a community, we can be very grateful for. But I accept that we need to keep working on it, and that is just what we are doing.
MR KAINE: I ask a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. The Chief Minister's answer was, as usual, non-specific and did not really address the question. Perhaps I can ask her to be a bit more specific. In the budget, Chief Minister, you promised more than 3,000 jobs in the ACT in 1992-93. This promise was obviously made having regard for the international and other factors that you talked about. Presumably, these were 3,000 jobs that the ACT Government itself was going to create. It is now March. Can you tell us where the approximately 1,800 jobs are that should have been created on a pro rata basis this year - jobs that you have created as a result of your budget?
MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, as I have said, we will be rehearsing these issues in detail on the matter of public importance. I can do that now if members wish me to, but I think it would be a much better use of members' time to do it later.
I can give members an example. For instance, the casino has created jobs. We have attracted new businesses to the ACT, which I will tell you more about later. Because of our support for small business in the ACT, we have seen more than 250 clients each month in the Business Services Centre. We are indeed making progress with employment of young people through projects such as the conservation corps, through our Jobskills program and through the traineeships and the additional apprenticeships, all of which have had some impact. As I said before, the number of jobs in the ACT, the number of people employed, has grown in the year to February by 7,400. That is an increase of 5 per cent. I think that that is a good sign in the ACT economy. Nearly all of those jobs were full-time jobs. I believe that we are making progress and we will continue to do so.
Householder Survey
MR LAMONT: My question is directed also to the Chief Minister. Can the Chief Minister advise the Assembly on the progress of the 1993 householder survey?
MS FOLLETT: I thank the member for the question. Madam Speaker, the householder survey for 1993 was distributed to all households during the past week.
Mr Cornwell: I have not got it yet.
MS FOLLETT: If Mr Cornwell has not got one I can assure him that it is not a personal reflection on him. I suspect that Mr Cornwell should look more closely at what lands in his mailbox.
Given that we have actually had less than a week for getting responses to the householder survey, Madam Speaker, I am very pleased indeed with the numbers of completed questionnaires that have been sent back. In fact, more than 20,000 forms have been received in the past week. That number already exceeds the total response that we had to the 1991 survey. I think it is a clear
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