Page 4062 - Week 13 - Thursday, 10 November 1994
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We have the Joblink program, which is under the management of the Chamber of Commerce, where young people, in particular, are matched to jobs in the private sector, and there is a mentoring process for ensuring that those job placements are successful. We have continued funding of programs like Involve, which is designed to give young people, especially, exposure to voluntary work as a way into the employment market. We also have a raft of other programs aimed at assisting, for instance, women who may be returning to the paid work force, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and so on. So, we have in place all of those labour market programs that are designed to assist people.
On the other hand, we have also put in place an economic climate which is conducive to business. That has taken a number of forms - for instance, by ensuring that our taxes are in line with the taxes of other States and that there is not a disincentive to businesses to do business in Canberra. We have, for instance, offered support to businesses through the Business Services Centre, through our business assistance scheme, which has been funded in the budget and which offers financial support to businesses. We have also, for example, assisted businesses to be represented overseas, at trade fairs and so on, where it might be of help locally. Indeed, Madam Speaker, the action that we took this morning in putting forward a tax regime which will be of assistance to the casino in expanding its operations overseas is another example of the kind of action that the Government has taken.
Madam Speaker, all of those actions have been taken by the Territory Government. They, I believe, have, over time, assisted us to have the lowest unemployment rate in the country. This is the first month for many months that we are actually the second lowest, not the lowest. I think that that is very much to our credit. Nevertheless, Madam Speaker, we cannot solve the issue alone. We do have to look to the national scene for additional assistance, as does every other State and Territory in Australia. Issues like the Working Nation statement by the Federal Government, which is aimed particularly at assisting long-term unemployed people, will also have an impact here in the Territory.
The one issue that Mr Stefaniak has drawn attention to in particular is youth unemployment. That is a particular problem here in the Territory. It is a fact, Madam Speaker, that the statistics actually measure teenage unemployment - that is, people from 15 to 19 years of age who are looking for full-time work. In the Territory it is a fact that over 90 per cent of those 15- to 19-year-olds are either at school or in some kind of training or have jobs. For the remainder, the task of finding a job is extremely difficult. This is not a town that has enormous opportunities for totally unskilled and inexperienced people, and I am sure that members would be aware of that. What I have launched this week is a youth employment strategy that is aimed at assisting those young people, particularly those leaving school, into the work force. What we have done is to redefine some of the labour market programs and tailor them more specifically to meet the needs of school leavers. As members are indicating they are aware, we have also put together in a booklet all of the information that might be of assistance to those young people, and it will be distributed to all of them.
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