Dr LIM - 1996-11-20
I understand that some businesses in Alice Springs, which have to recruit staff from interstate, have been experiencing problems not only with enticing but also with retaining interstate staff. I was told that an accounting firm went to Adelaide and successfully interviewed a new staff member. The man and his family drove to Alice Springs to start the job, stayed for 2 hours, turned around and drove out of town. Does the government plan to address this problem?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the honourable member's question reminds me of my arrival in the Northern Territory in 1979, when I picked up my wife and children and flew from Hobart to Alice Springs. My children were very young. In those days, there were probably only half-a-dozen properties along the road from the airport. I smiled to myself as I drove through the Gap and
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the vista opened up. There was a collective sigh of relief from my 3 little ones in the back seat when they realised there were actually houses there.
It is amazing the perceptions one can have when one relies on the media and one's education for knowledge about a particular area of Australia. This was exemplified the other night on the news when there was talk of space debris landing in Australia. A report from the United States - I think it was on CNN - said that the debris might come down on a little place called Canberra, somewhere in the outback of New South Wales. What people think about the Northern Territory, in particular my home town of Alice Springs, has always surprised me.
Industry feedback to my department in Alice Springs has indicated that there is indeed a problem with recruitment to and retention of staff in Alice Springs. That is basically because people either do not understand or do not give the town the opportunity of a long enough period in which to demonstrate what it can offer. Employers believe the main problem is that they have no visual aid that will show potential employees what is available and enable them to make a well-informed decision about accepting a position and coming to the town. The Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Central Australian Tourist Industry Association executive, with the financial support of the Department of Asian Relations, Trade and Industry, decided to try to solve this problem by producing a recruitment video. A concept was developed for a video of about 6 minutes duration which they believe is economical and readily distributable. It is generic to specific industries which results in
economies of scale and production costs. It is adaptable to individual businesses, meaning that they can insert their own footage. It is non-datable and therefore future production costs are expected to be minimal. It is frank and explicit. The format of the video allows for the insertion of a 2-minute segment relating to tourism, construction or service. A generic video that excludes the 2-minute industry segment is also being produced.
Funding for the video has come from the Alice Springs Economic Development Committee through the Alice Springs Town Council ($9000), from my department ($4000), from the NT Chamber of Commerce and Industry ($2000), from the Central Australian Tourist Industry Association ($2000) and from the Territory Construction Association ($2000). These amounts will cover the total cost of some $19 000. The video is being produced by Imparja Television and it is hoped that production will be completed before Christmas. We will be in a position then to enable people to take with them something that is truly representative of the town itself - the lifestyle of Alice Springs, the type of houses there, the layout of the main streets, the opportunities for education and some of the sporting facilities around the town. It will enable someone who has never been to the Northern Territory, let alone to Alice Springs, to have a clear picture of the community they will enter if they accept the position. I am sure that, in turn, it will enable people to adapt far more easily to the central Australian lifestyle. When we came to the Territory in 1979, my family set a time frame of 5 years for living in Alice Springs, and I am still there. I am sure many Territorians started that way. This will help people settle into the community and will certainly help companies operating in the Northern Territory to recruit and retain their staff.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the honourable member's question reminds me of my arrival in the Northern Territory in 1979, when I picked up my wife and children and flew from Hobart to Alice Springs. My children were very young. In those days, there were probably only half-a-dozen properties along the road from the airport. I smiled to myself as I drove through the Gap and
Page 1782
the vista opened up. There was a collective sigh of relief from my 3 little ones in the back seat when they realised there were actually houses there.
It is amazing the perceptions one can have when one relies on the media and one's education for knowledge about a particular area of Australia. This was exemplified the other night on the news when there was talk of space debris landing in Australia. A report from the United States - I think it was on CNN - said that the debris might come down on a little place called Canberra, somewhere in the outback of New South Wales. What people think about the Northern Territory, in particular my home town of Alice Springs, has always surprised me.
Industry feedback to my department in Alice Springs has indicated that there is indeed a problem with recruitment to and retention of staff in Alice Springs. That is basically because people either do not understand or do not give the town the opportunity of a long enough period in which to demonstrate what it can offer. Employers believe the main problem is that they have no visual aid that will show potential employees what is available and enable them to make a well-informed decision about accepting a position and coming to the town. The Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Central Australian Tourist Industry Association executive, with the financial support of the Department of Asian Relations, Trade and Industry, decided to try to solve this problem by producing a recruitment video. A concept was developed for a video of about 6 minutes duration which they believe is economical and readily distributable. It is generic to specific industries which results in
economies of scale and production costs. It is adaptable to individual businesses, meaning that they can insert their own footage. It is non-datable and therefore future production costs are expected to be minimal. It is frank and explicit. The format of the video allows for the insertion of a 2-minute segment relating to tourism, construction or service. A generic video that excludes the 2-minute industry segment is also being produced.
Funding for the video has come from the Alice Springs Economic Development Committee through the Alice Springs Town Council ($9000), from my department ($4000), from the NT Chamber of Commerce and Industry ($2000), from the Central Australian Tourist Industry Association ($2000) and from the Territory Construction Association ($2000). These amounts will cover the total cost of some $19 000. The video is being produced by Imparja Television and it is hoped that production will be completed before Christmas. We will be in a position then to enable people to take with them something that is truly representative of the town itself - the lifestyle of Alice Springs, the type of houses there, the layout of the main streets, the opportunities for education and some of the sporting facilities around the town. It will enable someone who has never been to the Northern Territory, let alone to Alice Springs, to have a clear picture of the community they will enter if they accept the position. I am sure that, in turn, it will enable people to adapt far more easily to the central Australian lifestyle. When we came to the Territory in 1979, my family set a time frame of 5 years for living in Alice Springs, and I am still there. I am sure many Territorians started that way. This will help people settle into the community and will certainly help companies operating in the Northern Territory to recruit and retain their staff.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016