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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 9 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 2603 ..

Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, on the point of order: I would have to say that you have repeatedly ruled, I believe, in this place that "concise" does not mean "staccato, brief"; it means "full and succinct", and that is precisely the way the Chief Minister is answering the question. It is very distressing to think that those opposite would find so much misery in the news that 1,000 new jobs are being created in this town. They should just sit back and enjoy the good news the Chief Minister has to offer.

MR SPEAKER: I uphold Mr Humphries's point of order that "concise" does not mean a brief yes or no. This is a fairly detailed response. It needs to be detailed because there are a number of aspects of it that - - -

Mr Wood: You shut us up all the time, but they can talk forever. Two rules operate here.

MR SPEAKER: Order! People may not understand and it is necessary to spell out the reasons. We are talking about 1,000 jobs. It is reasonable that the Chief Minister explain why there should be that number of jobs. In her response, she is explaining why this is necessary. Personally, I am finding it very interesting. Therefore, I do not uphold Mr Berry's point of order. I do uphold Mr Humphries's, and I call on the Chief Minister to continue.

Mr Kaine: I did ask for the details, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: Indeed, you did, Mr Kaine.

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, Unisys believes that by the end of 1996, which is just a few months away, there will actually be a shortage of people with the skills needed to fix this problem, which is why the agreement with Unisys is so significant. Just recently we had some discussions with another major computer operator who was considering that they may have to send their work overseas because of a lack of trained people here in Australia. That, in itself, indicates a real opportunity here in Canberra.

We will be working with Unisys to develop accredited training courses at the Canberra Institute of Technology. The outcome will be a pool of skilled labour to tackle the year 2000 problem. Hopefully, that will mean that people will not have to send work offshore, which, as I say, at least one major computer company was considering doing. Members will already be aware that CIT's strong track record in tailoring training courses to meet industry needs is exemplary. This is a further example of partnerships in action - one that promises to generate major benefits for Canberra.

Ms Follett: This is still concise, would you say, Mr Speaker? We are still on the concise track, are we?

MR SPEAKER: Order! This is germane.

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