Mr BURKE - 2003-10-09
In reference to your previous answer, in May of last year, regarding these figures that you now call ‘volatile and unreliable,’ you boasted in this House that employment in the Northern Territory had gone above 100 000. That is the blip on the trend graph here - 101 600. Employment in the Northern Territory today, September 2003, is 92 500.
These figures show that more than 8000 jobs have been lost in the past 12 months but, also, that the labour force has declined by 7200 Territorians this year alone. Chief Minister, Territorians are walking away from the work force because they cannot get jobs. What are you going to do to rectify this situation? These are ABS figures.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, again I refer to my previous answer. What I said clearly, and what is not being recognised by the Leader of the Opposition, is that I recognise that we have had, according to figures - and again I say they are volatile - fewer numbers in our work force. I am not denying this, and I have not denied it over the time. We have a problem that we are tackling.
One of the ironies of the figures that we see coming out from the ABS is - and let me give you an immediate anecdote on this - every month I have a Business Round Table, and every month businesses say to me, with growing frustration: ‘We cannot get people into our work force. We cannot get the skills we need across a whole range of areas’. They are in diverse areas such as the automotive industry, and professional services that support businesses, like bookkeepers and accountants. That frustration is there: businesses are advertising but cannot get the staff. Another anecdote from Katherine is that the hotels cannot recruit wait staff. We have a lot of areas where they cannot secure staff.
Mr Burke interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, if the Opposition Leader asks a question, you would think he would show the courtesy to listen to the answer.
On one level, there are many businesses throughout the Territory that cannot recruit enough into their work force, cannot secure the skills they need. This is why the labour market analysis that we have done is so important, so that we can start matching up the training with the needs in the work force. Even though the figures are not ones that I would like to see, there are businesses that cannot get the work force they want. We have put in place the strategies that I believe will turn this around, and are starting to turn it around.
I say again to the Leader of the Opposition: go out and talk to business about the confidence that they now have in our economy. The fact that the government commitment to a $600m waterfront redevelopment has boosted that confidence. The expenditure committed by ConocoPhillips and Bechtel on the LNG plant is another boost in confidence. With the first part of the Darwin Business Park set to happen at the rail, means a $17m investment by Toll, and others to follow.
The growth figures are there. The strategies and the reality is there to see our economy grow. We are not, as government, sitting there saying: ‘Well, we cannot do anything about building this work force’. A marketing strategy to promote the Territory as a great place to live, work and invest, with a very successful first visit to Sydney - and we actually had people who flew here on the basis of what they heard in Sydney to get jobs. What we are seeing is a growing interest in being in the Northern Territory, with better strategies about getting people to consider coming into the Territory, particularly to Darwin, where we need those jobs, and to Alice Springs. We have the strategies in place, and the best we have from the opposition is to clutch a graph, and say nothing is happening. We are moving ahead, the confidence is growing, and I say again: the whingeing, negativity and the selling down our economy is coming from the opposition and the Opposition Leader.
These figures show that more than 8000 jobs have been lost in the past 12 months but, also, that the labour force has declined by 7200 Territorians this year alone. Chief Minister, Territorians are walking away from the work force because they cannot get jobs. What are you going to do to rectify this situation? These are ABS figures.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, again I refer to my previous answer. What I said clearly, and what is not being recognised by the Leader of the Opposition, is that I recognise that we have had, according to figures - and again I say they are volatile - fewer numbers in our work force. I am not denying this, and I have not denied it over the time. We have a problem that we are tackling.
One of the ironies of the figures that we see coming out from the ABS is - and let me give you an immediate anecdote on this - every month I have a Business Round Table, and every month businesses say to me, with growing frustration: ‘We cannot get people into our work force. We cannot get the skills we need across a whole range of areas’. They are in diverse areas such as the automotive industry, and professional services that support businesses, like bookkeepers and accountants. That frustration is there: businesses are advertising but cannot get the staff. Another anecdote from Katherine is that the hotels cannot recruit wait staff. We have a lot of areas where they cannot secure staff.
Mr Burke interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, if the Opposition Leader asks a question, you would think he would show the courtesy to listen to the answer.
On one level, there are many businesses throughout the Territory that cannot recruit enough into their work force, cannot secure the skills they need. This is why the labour market analysis that we have done is so important, so that we can start matching up the training with the needs in the work force. Even though the figures are not ones that I would like to see, there are businesses that cannot get the work force they want. We have put in place the strategies that I believe will turn this around, and are starting to turn it around.
I say again to the Leader of the Opposition: go out and talk to business about the confidence that they now have in our economy. The fact that the government commitment to a $600m waterfront redevelopment has boosted that confidence. The expenditure committed by ConocoPhillips and Bechtel on the LNG plant is another boost in confidence. With the first part of the Darwin Business Park set to happen at the rail, means a $17m investment by Toll, and others to follow.
The growth figures are there. The strategies and the reality is there to see our economy grow. We are not, as government, sitting there saying: ‘Well, we cannot do anything about building this work force’. A marketing strategy to promote the Territory as a great place to live, work and invest, with a very successful first visit to Sydney - and we actually had people who flew here on the basis of what they heard in Sydney to get jobs. What we are seeing is a growing interest in being in the Northern Territory, with better strategies about getting people to consider coming into the Territory, particularly to Darwin, where we need those jobs, and to Alice Springs. We have the strategies in place, and the best we have from the opposition is to clutch a graph, and say nothing is happening. We are moving ahead, the confidence is growing, and I say again: the whingeing, negativity and the selling down our economy is coming from the opposition and the Opposition Leader.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016