Mr STIRLING - 2000-08-08
Since he has been Chief Minister, the Territory’s trend unemployment rate has been climbing and has now reached 5.4%. That is the highest rate since July 1997. Worse still, Territory employment is now 5.1% lower than when he became Chief Minister. That is a loss of 4800 jobs. Given that he has failed to deliver jobs and business opportunities for Territorians, will he now concede it is time for a jobs strategy?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the unemployment rate in the Northern Territory is 2 points better than any other jurisdiction in Australia. We have to spell it out very carefully for the Leader of the Opposition. We are 2 percentage points better than any other jurisdiction in Australia. If you had read your newspaper today you would see that in terms of advertisements in the paper, the July 2000 result was 35.4%, an increase on the July figure last year. So we are, in employment as we are in so many other economic statistics, the pocket dynamo of Australia and we will continue to be so.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the unemployment rate in the Northern Territory is 2 points better than any other jurisdiction in Australia. We have to spell it out very carefully for the Leader of the Opposition. We are 2 percentage points better than any other jurisdiction in Australia. If you had read your newspaper today you would see that in terms of advertisements in the paper, the July 2000 result was 35.4%, an increase on the July figure last year. So we are, in employment as we are in so many other economic statistics, the pocket dynamo of Australia and we will continue to be so.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016