Page 3793 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 8 November 1994
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NIES enterprise improvement programs, including business planning, export market planning and quality assurance, and assistance for businesses to enter export markets is also available from the co-located Austrade Export Centre. In 1993-94, the centre's business advice and referral service handled 3,070 inquiries, conducted 325 individual consultations and conducted prebusiness seminars for 1,342 people. NIES provided 72 services to business.
In the ACT the new AusIndustry program will be delivered through the Business Services Centre and it presents an excellent opportunity to build on the services currently delivered by the centre. The Commonwealth has a large range of business improvement and development programs, and AusIndustry will help ACT businesses to gain access to these. Associated with this, a new service, Bizhelp, will be coming on stream shortly and will provide immediate information on all government industry assistance programs and services. My officers have worked with the Commonwealth to have ACT information incorporated into the database.
The memorandum of understanding on AusIndustry is a partnership between the Commonwealth, States and Territories. It provides the broad conceptual and implementation framework for AusIndustry. The detailed arrangements will be incorporated in further agreements to be developed as quickly as possible between the Commonwealth, States and Territories. Finalisation will, in part, depend on the outcomes of the Burgess review of Commonwealth enterprise development and improvement programs. This review is considering the rationalisation of all such programs and is expected to report to the Commonwealth later this year.
AusIndustry will subsume the current joint Commonwealth, State and Territory enterprise development program NIES - that is, the National Industry Extension Service - for which current arrangements expire on 30 June 1995. It will be guided by an advisory board including four representatives of the States and Territories on a two-year alternating basis. The ACT will be represented on the board in the second two-year term. Madam Speaker, AusIndustry will be of significant help to ACT businesses in improving their competitiveness in regional, national and international markets, and I am pleased to be able to advise members of this development.
2000 COMMITTEE
Ministerial Statement
MR LAMONT (Minister for Urban Services, Minister for Housing and Community Services, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport), by leave: Madam Speaker, I recently had the opportunity to circulate to each member of the Assembly the report of the ACT 2000 Committee. The report represents the first step in planning our participation in and support for the 2000 Olympics and, importantly, the Paralympic Games; but, first and foremost, it is an opportunity for Canberra, as the national capital, to support Sydney in hosting the 2000 games. It is also an opportunity to support Olympic activities and events so that our community can be part of that prestigious event. With collaborative planning, we can capture these opportunities and build long-term benefits.
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