Mr HIGGINS - 2014-03-25
Can you inform the Assembly about the government’s plans for supporting non-government organisations to further develop their business skills?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. Yesterday, I was at a meeting of non-government organisations in Alice Springs. I meet with non-government organisations, in the Top End and the bottom of the Territory, every six months. At the meeting, I had the opportunity to announce a new program to the non-government organisational sector, known as a business support pilot program. It is a $210 000 program, designed for the non-government organisation sector to assist them in moving towards business ideas and realigning themselves as commercial operating businesses in a social setting.
We have been running a model of contestability through government, working out ways we are able to further outsource delivery of some services to the non-government organisational sector. They have responded across a wide range of areas as we seek to facilitate the growth and development of those organisations, to become more robust in their ability to competitively tender for government services and government opportunities and assist them to become more commercially viable in the way they deliver services. We have put this program out and we think it is very positive.
Wendy Morton from NTCOSS said the sector had been calling for better support to build the capacity of their organisation and the pilot program has the potential to help achieve this. It is a positive program.
It was interesting talking with Will MacGregor from BushMob, who spoke about how this program will assist him further to realign its business modelling. It provides a range of services to young Central Australians who, quite often, have alcohol or drug issues and provides accommodation for them at night. It is currently moving into a new building on Priest Street through the old CAT facility - some people in the Chamber would know that facility.
It provides a fee-for-service basis for unused beds. There may be youth from South Australia or Western Australia - and potentially the APY lands or around the Warburton area - where, if the SA or WA government wishes to have accommodation for those youth, it can do so on a fee-for-service basis. The fee-for-service basis allows it to reinvest money to provide more accommodation services to Central Australian kids, which is a good business model.
This business support pilot program will enable other organisations to work towards a model like Will MacGregor at BushMob is using to invest in how they can get business opportunities on a fee-for-service-type basis - not necessarily, but it can be - to gain greater sustainability in their organisation, to deliver their services as part of their constitution, deliver services as part of a contestable model of outsourcing and deliver other services to the corporate and non-corporate areas across the jurisdiction they work in.
I commend the program to the House.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. Yesterday, I was at a meeting of non-government organisations in Alice Springs. I meet with non-government organisations, in the Top End and the bottom of the Territory, every six months. At the meeting, I had the opportunity to announce a new program to the non-government organisational sector, known as a business support pilot program. It is a $210 000 program, designed for the non-government organisation sector to assist them in moving towards business ideas and realigning themselves as commercial operating businesses in a social setting.
We have been running a model of contestability through government, working out ways we are able to further outsource delivery of some services to the non-government organisational sector. They have responded across a wide range of areas as we seek to facilitate the growth and development of those organisations, to become more robust in their ability to competitively tender for government services and government opportunities and assist them to become more commercially viable in the way they deliver services. We have put this program out and we think it is very positive.
Wendy Morton from NTCOSS said the sector had been calling for better support to build the capacity of their organisation and the pilot program has the potential to help achieve this. It is a positive program.
It was interesting talking with Will MacGregor from BushMob, who spoke about how this program will assist him further to realign its business modelling. It provides a range of services to young Central Australians who, quite often, have alcohol or drug issues and provides accommodation for them at night. It is currently moving into a new building on Priest Street through the old CAT facility - some people in the Chamber would know that facility.
It provides a fee-for-service basis for unused beds. There may be youth from South Australia or Western Australia - and potentially the APY lands or around the Warburton area - where, if the SA or WA government wishes to have accommodation for those youth, it can do so on a fee-for-service basis. The fee-for-service basis allows it to reinvest money to provide more accommodation services to Central Australian kids, which is a good business model.
This business support pilot program will enable other organisations to work towards a model like Will MacGregor at BushMob is using to invest in how they can get business opportunities on a fee-for-service-type basis - not necessarily, but it can be - to gain greater sustainability in their organisation, to deliver their services as part of their constitution, deliver services as part of a contestable model of outsourcing and deliver other services to the corporate and non-corporate areas across the jurisdiction they work in.
I commend the program to the House.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016