Page 3297 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 21 August 2018

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MR BARR: Along with the announcement of the move to license labour hire operators, the government has introduced legislation, as members would be aware, to implement our secure local jobs package. This fulfils an election commitment to use the territory government’s purchasing power to deliver better outcomes for our city.

In a booming economy with significant construction and export opportunities opening up for local, national and international companies, we want to ensure that workers always get a fair go, have the right to organise and have access to their legal pay and entitlements.

We are committed to proper resourcing of the ACT public service and to promoting permanent employment and job security for ACT government employees. This means minimising the use of labour hire casual, temporary and contract employment in the ACT public service as well as the use of outsourcing.

To ensure that these commitments are delivered, the government has set up a taskforce to look at existing employment practices and to put forward policy proposals for the future. That is why the government will introduce labour hire licensing laws to ensure that workers are protected and treated fairly.

MS CODY: Chief Minister, what do the most recent employment figures demonstrate for the ACT?

MR BARR: I thank Ms Cody for the supplementary. It is pleasing to see that the ACT economy continues to generate thousands of new jobs each year and that our focus on training workers in new industries as diverse as space industries, renewables and health research is delivering more secure, well-paid jobs for Canberrans into the future.

I am pleased to advise the Assembly that in July the employment figures once again showed that the territory had the lowest unemployment rate in the country, at just 3.6 per cent. In that month 600 more Canberrans found work and in the past 12 months there were 5½ thousand new full-time jobs created. These figures demonstrate that the government’s focus on economic diversification and jobs growth is working and that, whilst the public sector will continue to be a strong backbone for our economy, we have a much more diverse employment base than we have had previously.

These new jobs and new industries have been created off the back of very significant economic growth and record increases in domestic and international tourism, for example, and very strong service export growth, particularly led by the higher education sector, all of which is showing that our local economy continues to go from strength to strength.

Trade unions—influence on government

MS LAWDER: My question is to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, the CFMMEU recently gave a directive that its staff become members of the left faction of your


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